Centerpoint School of Theology COVENANT (1)

Transcription

1 Centerpoint School of Theology [Got Questions? fptheologyschool.com] Facebook: FP Theology School COVENANT (1) A biblical covenant is a binding relationship in which God promises to bless and his people promise to obey. Phil Ryken, sermon on Jeremiah 31:31 Courage to Stand: Jeremiah s Battle Plan for Pagan Times (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998), 138 The covenant is a life and death kind of bond signified and sealed by physical symbols Sinclair Ferguson, Baptism: Three Views ed. David F. Wright (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2009), 96 A sovereign administration of grace and promise John Murray, The Covenant of Grace (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), 31 A bond in blood sovereignly administered Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), 4 A covenant relationship is a voluntary mutual commitment that binds each party to the other. J.I. Packer, What is Covenant Theology? (Paternoster, 1998), 11 1

2 1. What is Covenant Theology? a. A hermeneutic: a way of reading the Bible so as to make sense of the whole; a key to bring together disparate elements into a coherent message or system (without it being viewed as an imposition something essentially alien to the Bible). Meta-narrative. (CF. Dispensationalism) b. The BIG PICTURE view of God s self-disclosure: think of a MAP on which you see the following names: Medford, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Columbia, and Tallahassee. But you fail to see that written across the entire map are the words THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. c. Similarly, you may study many things in the Bible: God s promises, baptism, faith, sin, adoption, Levitical (animal) sacrifices, Jesus, etc. But what brings all these studies together? Is there a way of reading the Bible as ONE message rather than MANY? d. One such hermeneutic is to see that the STORY of Scripture runs along a Creation Fall Redemption pathway. But pull the lens back a little further, and ask, How does God communicate with us his plan and purpose? The answer is covenantally. e. The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God s part, which he hath been pleased to express by way of covenant. (Westminster Confession 7:1). f. SO: all relationships of God with his creation are viewed as covenantal. 2. Definitions of a Covenant: a. A biblical covenant is a binding relationship in which God promises to bless and his people promise to obey. [Phil Ryken, sermon on Jeremiah 31:31, Courage to Stand: Jeremiah s Battle Plan for Pagan Times (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998), 138] b. A sovereign administration of grace and promise [John Murray, The Covenant of Grace (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), 31] c. A bond in blood sovereignly administered [Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), 4] d. A covenant relationship is a voluntary mutual commitment that binds each party to the other. [J. I. Packer, What is Covenant Theology? (Paternoster, 1998), 11] 2

3 e. Quick note: i. Palmer Robertson s definition assumes that blood-shedding is essential to a covenant (This poses problems for the relationship of God to Adam in the Garden before the Fall. Was this relationship, too, not covenantal? We will take this up later.) f. Basic idea: a mutual agreement (Berith [Hebrew], diatheke [Greek]) i. Covenants between men in the Bible: 1. Abraham and Abimelech (Genesis 21:27, 26:28) 2. Jacob and Laban (Genesis 31:44) 3. David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:3, 23:18) 4. Men of Jabesh-Gilead and Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:1) ii. Covenants between God and his people in the Bible: 1. ADAM: Covenant of Works with Adam and his children: like Adam they transgressed the covenant (Hosea 6:7). (Note: Adam can also be mankind but would be too vague a reference. Also, suggestions that Adam is a geographical location has little warrant.) a. Basic idea: God promises to prolong and augment the relationship, provided Adam observes one prohibition. 2. NOAH: Covenant with Noah and his children (Genesis 6:18, 9:8-17). a. Basic idea: Covenant of preservation. God commits himself to preserve the present order of the world so that the work of redemption can be accomplished. 3. ABRAHAM: Covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:18, 17:1-14, 22:16-18) a. Basic idea: God s redemptive purpose becomes clearer: Abraham s descendants will become a nation, securing a line from which the Savior will come. God s promise is ratified in a life and death ritual of self-malediction (Genesis 15) in which God passes through the severed 3

4 pieces of sacrificed animals, thereby suggesting, I promise unto death. The promise involved a family sign and seal (circumcision) as well as a visual display of the way redemption would come through a son not spared (Genesis 22; CF. Romans 8:32). 4. MOSES: Covenant with Moses and the Israelites (Exodus 3:4-10, 6:7, 19:5-6, 24:8). Note implication for children (Deuteronomy 29:9-14). a. Basic idea: man cannot keep the terms of the covenant by himself and God s law showed this as nothing else could. The fullest expression of the blessings God promises is by living within the terms of covenant life. Thus Jesus said that he had not come to destroy the law but to uphold it (Matthew 5:17-19). 5. DAVID: Covenant with David and his children (Psalm 89:3-4, 18-37; 2 Samuel 22:51, 23:5). a. Basic idea: a KING is coming, whose sovereign rule and reign ensures both the promise of redemption and the consequent well-being of God s people. 6. The NEW covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25). a. Basic idea: not new as in totally different, with no continuity with the Old Covenant (Dispensationalism). Unifying strands include: i. One covenant promise: I will be your God and you will be my people. ii. One personal Mediator for both covenant administrations: Jesus Christ. iii. One people of God, the covenant community, the people of God, Israel, and the church as one. iv. One pattern of salvation, covenant life (piety), destiny. b. Better covenant (Hebrews 7:22): 4

5 i. 2 Corinthians 3: Law written on heart; letter kills, but the Spirit gives life; glory of the law was transient whereas the glory of the gospel is permanent. 3. Typical Features of a Covenant: a. Solemn ratification b. Mutually binding agreements c. TWO parties: i. Biblical covenants are unilateral. Covenants between God and men are NOT between equals. God initiates the relationship. It is neither a contract drawn up nor an agreement. CF. Genesis 17:7-8, I will establish my covenant between me and you I will be their God. (Note: God s commitment here involves the totality of the redemptive process: foreknowledge, election, calling, justification, perseverance, glorification.) God says, I am your God. I am showing mercy to you. Never forget that. ii. Also bilateral: God s people do not contribute to the construction of the covenant; nevertheless, there are two parties with mutual promises, pledged unity, fidelity, and tenacity. God says, I require you to keep my law always. I am your holy LORD and judge. iii. The basic covenant dynamic (See Sinclair Ferguson, Baptism: Three Views, 97) God Makes His COVENANT his people respond to his covenant in FAITH or UNBELIEF and obedience and disobedience and receive either BLESSING or CURSING 5

6 d. Ancient Near-Eastern Treaties (ANE): i. Suzerainty treaties between kings and vassals / biblical covenants (CF. Exodus 20:2-3 and the words preceding the Ten Commandments) 1. Preamble: I am the LORD your God 2. Historical prologue: who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery 3. Promise: I am... your God. 4. Stipulation: You shall have no other gods before me. 5. Signs: Sabbath (Exodus 31:16-17) [Note: all biblical covenants have signs : Noah rainbow (Genesis 8:12); Abraham circumcision (Genesis 17:1); Moses Sabbath (Exodus 31:16-17); David throne (Psalm 89:29); New Covenant baptism and Lord s Supper (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25)] ii. Pantechnicon promise (Packer): I will be your God. 1. In both Old and New Testaments: Genesis 17:6-8; Exodus 20:2, 29:45FF; Leviticus 11:45; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; 34:30FF, 36:28; 2 Corinthians 6:16-18; Revelation 21:2FF. 2. CF. Luther: Christianity is about personal prepositions. e. Conditional or unconditional? i. Initiation is unconditional, but there are obligations with promises and threats for obedience and non-compliance. ii. Covenant faithfulness is the condition and means of receiving covenant benefits, and there is nothing arbitrary in that; for the blessings flow from the relationship, and human rebelliousness and unfaithfulness stop the flow by disrupting the relationship. Israel s infidelity was constantly doing this throughout the Old Testament story, and the New Testament makes it plain that churches and Christians will lose blessings that would otherwise be theirs, should covenant fidelity be lacking in their lives. [J.I. Packer, What is Covenant Theology? (Paternoster, 1998), 12] 6

7 4. Viewing the Gospel Covenantally: a. The Bible s story is a story of covenant unveiled: i. A covenant revealed, ruined, and restored ii. Bi-covenantal: Covenant of Works / Grace iii. Adam: Covenant of Works promising confirmation of a probationary relationship, provided Adam complied with covenant stipulation. (Note: though the word covenant (Berith) does not occur in Genesis 3, the use of the expression I will cause-to-stand my covenant with you in Genesis 6:18 suggests that a prior covenant is in view. See W.J. Dumbrell, Covenant and Creation (Paternoster, 1984) Also, Hosea 6:7, a covenant with Adam, also suggests that the relationship of God with Adam in Eden was covenantal.) iv. A redemptive covenant, revealed in embryo immediately after the fall (Genesis 3:15), but more clearly with Abraham, made a nation from his descendants, delivered them from slavery, gave them his name, taught them the family code (law), disciplined them when they failed, sent messengers to teach them, painted pictures of the covenant Mediator in sacrificial liturgical system, specific prophecies, and a host of emblematic pictures (e.g. King, prophet, priest, sufferer). b. Christ as Mediator and Guarantor of the covenant relationship: i. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). ii. Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises (Hebrews 8:6). iii. Faith in Christ brings us into the fulfillment of the covenant s promise a relationship in which we have fellowship with God and he with us. The application of redemption is thus a covenantal action. iv. Corporately, the church is thus a covenantal community with covenantal worship, sacraments, blessings, and responsibilities. c. God is to be understood covenantally: i. Covenant of Redemption / Grace: pre-temporal covenantal in which the Father would glorify his Son by sending him as a Mediator of sin (foreseen). 7

8 ii. Shapes our understanding of the atonement as Trinitarian love. iii. Salvation has been God s plan from the beginning and the covenantal nature of it sovereignly and unconditionally initiated guarantees its accomplishment. It is the basis on which Paul can argue from Foreknowledge to Glorification in Romans 8: iv. Christ is viewed as the Mediator of the Covenant fulfilling the Covenant of Works as Last Adam / Second Man. With whom was the covenant of grace made? The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and in him with all the elect as his seed. (Q 31) 5. Theologically Expressed: a. Only when the believer understands how he has to receive and has received everything from the Mediator and how God in no way whatever deals with him except through Christ, only then does a picture of the glorious work that God wrought through Christ emerge in his consciousness and the magnificent idea of grace begin to dominate and form in his life. For the Reformed, therefore, the entire ordo salutis [order of salvation], beginning with regeneration as its first stage, is bound to the mystical union with Christ. There is no gift that has not been earned by him. Neither is there a gift that is not bestowed by him and that does not elevate God s glory through his bestowal. Now the basis for this order lies in none other than in the covenant of salvation with Christ. In this covenant those chosen by the Father are given to Christ. In it he became the guarantor so that they would be planted into his body in the thought-world of grace through faith. As the application of salvation by Christ and by Christ s initiative is a fundamental principle of Reformed theology, this theology has correctly viewed this application as a covenantal requirement which fell to the Mediator and for the fulfilling of which he became the guarantor. (Geerhardus Vos, Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation, ed. Richard B. Gaffin, Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980, 248) b. Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by (the first) covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace: wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe... (Westminster Confession 7:3). c. This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the gospel; under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, 8

9 sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all foresignifying Christ to come, which were, for that time, sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation; and is called the old Testament. (Westminster Confession 7:5). d. Under the gospel, when Christ, the substance, was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord s Supper... in them, it is held forth in more fullness, evidence and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is called the New Testament. There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations (Westminster Confession 7:6). 9

10 6. Doxologically Expressed: a. Tis mine, the covenant of his grace, And every promise mine; All sprung from everlasting love, And sealed by blood divine. On my unworthy favored head Its blessings all unite; Blessings more numerous than the stars, More lasting, and more bright. (Philip Doddridge). b. My God! the covenant of thy love Abides for ever sure; And in its matchless grace I feel My happiness secure. Since thou, the everlasting God, My Father art become Jesus, my Guardian and my Friend, And heaven my final home; I welcome all thy sovereign will, For all that will is love; And, when I know not what thou dost, I wait the light above. (Philip Doddridge). c. A debtor to mercy alone, Of covenant mercy I sing; Nor fear, with thy righteousness on, My person and offering to bring. d. Jehovah s covenant shall endure, All ordered, everlasting, sure! O child of God, rejoice to trace Thy portion in its glorious grace. Tis thine, for Christ is given to be The covenant of God to thee; In him, God s golden scroll of light, The darkest truths are clear and bright. O sorrowing sinner, well he knew, Ere time began, what he would do! Then rest thy hope within the veil; His covenant mercies shall not fail. O doubting one, Eternal Three Are pledged in faithfulness for thee Claim every promise sweet and sure By covenant oath of God secure. O feeble one, look up and see Strong consolation sworn for thee: Jehovah s glorious arm is shown His covenant strength is all thine own. O mourning one, each stroke of love A covenant blessing yet shall prove; His covenant love shall be thy stay; His covenant grace be as thy day. O Love that chose, O Love that died, O Love that sealed and sanctified, All glory, glory, glory be, O covenant Triune God, to thee! (Frances Ridley Havergal). The terrors of law, and of God, With me can have nothing to do: My Savior s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions from view. The work which his goodness began The arm of his strength will complete; His promise is Yea and Amen, And never was forfeited yet. Things future, nor things that are now Not all things below or above, Can make him his purpose forego, Or sever my soul from his love. (Augustus Toplady) 10

11 For Further Reading: J.I. Packer, Introduction to The Economy of the Covenants between God and Man: Comprehending A Complete Body of Divinity, by Herman Witsius. (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1990);, Covenant Theology, in Collected Shorter Writings of J.I. Packer, 4 Vols. (Paternoster, 1998), 1:9-22. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Banner of Truth, ), ; Donald MacLeod, The Covenant 1 (Banner of Truth Magazine, April 1975); The Covenant 2; (Banner of Truth Magazine, June 1975), Covenant Theology, in Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology (IVP, 1993), John Currid, Against the Gods: The Polemical Theology of the Old Testament (Crossway, 2013) Michael Horton, God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology (Baker Books, 2007) Meredith Kline, Treaty of the Great King (Wipf and Stock, 2012) John Murray, Covenant Theology, in Collected Writings of John Murray, 4 Vols. (Banner of Truth, 1982), 4: , The Covenant of Grace (Tyndale Press, 1961) Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (P & R, 1980), Covenants: God s Way with His People (Great Commission Publications, 1987) Peter Golding, Covenant Theology: The Key of Theology in Reformed Thought and Tradition (Mentor, 2004) David McKay, The Bond of Love: God s Covenant Relationship with His Church (Mentor, 2001) Thomas Boston, A View of the Covenant of Grace (Focus Christian Ministries Trust, 1990). Geehardus Vos, Biblical Theology (Wipf and Stock, 2003) 11