Christianity teaches a unique salvation where God takes the initiative in saving humankind from the plight of sin. God “chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 4-5, 10).
According to the plan of salvation, the Son volunteered to bear the divine punishment by his death on the cross. This was necessary because reconciliation cannot ignore the holiness of God which is God’s settled opposition against anything sinful and evil. Sin must be punished because divine justice must be upheld. The substitutionary and atoning death of Christ on the cross opens the way for sinners to be justified (declared righteous) while maintaining the justice of God.
Critics of substitutionary atonement on the cross mischievously describe it as “a form of cosmic child abuse – a vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed.” This criticism is misguided. In truth, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). The Father did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all (Romans 8:32). On the other hand, Son was not coerced as he voluntarily accepted the punishment of sin on the cross. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends” (John 10:15, 15:13). The plan of salvation which involves the Father and the Son working together in the presence of the Holy Spirit is aptly termed as the “covenant of redemption.”
The eternal covenant of redemption of the Trinity serves as the basis of the covenants God makes with mankind. In particular, the covenant of grace was ratified by the Son’s “blood of the eternal covenant” (Hebrews 13:20). Insofar as the chosen will definitely be saved by the blood shed by the Son, they represent the pre-temporal gift of the Father to the Son (John 17:6,9,24). The covenant of redemption is not made with Christ in isolation and apart from his people.1William Shedd, Dogmatic Theology 3e ed. Alan Gomes (Presb. & Reformed, 1894, 2003), p. 679.
The covenant of redemption determines not only the results, but also the means which guarantees the results. The justification of believers by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9; 1 John 1:7) and the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification are the means in the accomplishment of God’s eternal decree which foreordained that those who receive Christ may be conformed to the image of his Son and glorified in him. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30). There is no greater assurance than the realization that our experience of salvation progresses inexorably “according to the counsel of his will.”
The history of salvation is the unfolding accomplishment of God’s eternal counsel or covenant of redemption. Each of the three persons accepts and discharges his role in the covenant. Salvation is the harmonious work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The execution and consummation of the covenant of salvation confirm the unity of will and inseparable operations of the persons of the Trinity. Finally, the covenant of redemption ensures that the Christian understanding of salvation is truly grounded in the Triune God.
——————————
The Covenant of Redemption. 2M.E. Osterhaven, s.v. “Covenant Theology” in Walter Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Baker, 1984). According to covenant theology, the covenant of grace, established in history, is founded on still another covenant, the covenant of redemption, which is defined as the eternal pact between God the Father and God the Son concerning the salvation of mankind. Scripture teaches that within the Godhead there are three persons, the same in essence, glory, and power, objective to each other. The Father loves the Son, commissions him, gives him a people, the right to judge, and authority over all mankind (John 3:16; 5:20, 22, 36; 10:17-18; 17:2,4,6,9,24; Psalm 2:7-8; Hebrews 1:8-13); the Son loves the Father, delights to do his will, and has shared his glory forever (Hebrews 10:7; John 5:19; 17:5). The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit commune with each other; this is one of the meanings of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. On this foundation covenant theology affirms that God the Father and God the Son covenanted together for the redemption of the human race, the Father appointing the Son to be the mediator, the Second Adam, whose life would be given for the salvation of the world, and the Son accepting the commission, promising that he would do the work which the Father had given him to do and fulfill all righteousness by obeying the law of God. Thus before the foundation of the world, within the eternal being of God, it had been determined that creation would not be destroyed by sin, but that rebellion and iniquity would be overcome by God’s grace, that Christ would become the new head of humanity, the Savior of the world, and that God would be glorified.
The Covenant of Grace. This covenant has been made by God with mankind. In it he offers life and salvation through Christ to all who believe. Inasmuch as none can believe without the special grace of God, it is more exact to say that the covenant of grace is made by God with believers, or the elect. Jesus said that all those whom the Father had given him would come to him and that those who come would surely be accepted (John 6:37). Herein is seen the close relation between the covenant of grace and the covenant of redemption, with the former resting on the latter. From eternity the Father has given a people to the Son; to them was given the promised Holy Spirit so that they might live in fellowship with God. Christ is the mediator of the covenant of grace inasmuch as he has borne the guilt of sinners and restored them to a saving relationship to God (Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24). He is mediator, not only in the sense of arbitrator, although that is the sense in which the word is used in I Timothy 2:5, but in the sense of having fulfilled all the conditions necessary for procuring eternal salvation for his people. Thus Hebrews 7:22 calls Jesus the “surety” or “guarantee” of the new covenant, which is better than that which came through Moses. Within the context of this last passage repeated mention is made of God’s promise to Christ and his people. He will be their God and they will be his people. He will bestow on them the grace they need to confess his name and live with him forever; in humble dependence on him for their every need, they will live in trustful obedience from day to day.
This latter, called faith in Scripture, is the sole condition of the covenant, and even it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Although the covenant of grace includes various dispensations of history, it is essentially one. From the promise in the garden (Genesis 3:15), through the covenant made with Noah (Genesis 6-9), to the day that the covenant was established with Abraham, there is abundant evidence of God’s grace. With Abraham a new beginning is made which the later, Sinaitic covenant implements and strengthens. At Sinai the covenant assumes a national form and stress is laid on the law of God. This is not intended to alter the gracious character of the covenant, however (Galatians 3:17-18), but it is to serve to train Israel until the time would come when God himself would appear in its midst. In Jesus the new form of the covenant that had been promised by the prophets is manifest, and that which was of a temporary nature in the old form of the covenant disappears (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8). While there is unity and continuity in the covenant of grace throughout history, the coming of Christ and the subsequent gift of the Holy Spirit have brought rich gifts unknown in an earlier age. These are a foretaste of future blessedness when this present world passes away and the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, comes down out of heaven from God (Revelation 21:2).
—–
** However, one challenging question arises. Given that any covenant is premised on a plurality of participants, wouldn’t a theology of “covenant of redemption” lead to the dubious teaching of Social Trinitarianism or worse, the heresy of tritheism? Certainly not! We will defend this judgment in the next post.
Next Post:
The Covenant of Redemption Does Not Entail Social Trinitarianism/Tritheism.