The Bible is a book about the greatest story, and it touches on hundreds of themes. When we read it, we tend to focus on one of these things; the overall narrative or the themes. Typically we use biblical theology to follow scripture’s story; and systematic theology to trace scripture’s themes. Covenant theology combines these approaches. It helps us step back and see that the Bible tells the story of redemptive history (biblical theology) by using a specific theme or structure: God’s covenants (systematic theology).
Now, this doesn’t mean that covenant theology replaces the other approaches. Covenant theology is really a hermeneutic, a way of reading the scriptures, building on the strengths of both biblical and systematic theology to understand the Bible as a cohesive whole.
In this article, I’ll briefly define a covenant, introduce the Covenants of Works as well as the Covenant of Grace, and in so doing demonstrate how covenant theology helps us understand what Christ has done for us. Some will be familiar with the concepts, while others may have only recently discovered covenant theology. This article is primarily written for the second group, though I hope those of us familiar with these concepts will find our memories refreshed and our hearts encouraged.
What Is a Covenant?
A covenant is a mutual agreement between two parties, where both parties are bound to each other to perform the conditions contracted. At a basic level, it’s a contract. There are blessings for keeping the terms of the covenant, and curses for breaking them. But biblical covenants are deeper than just an agreement to perform a certain action. They connect people to each other and establish a relationship between them; in the scriptures, especially, they connect man and God.
By covenanting with us, God chooses to enter into relationship with us.
Covenants are typically agreements between equals. So we must for a moment acknowledge the obvious imbalance between God and man. First, we are not equals. Humans depend on God for existence. He is the Creator. We are the creature. Secondly, as part of God’s creation, he has authority over us. He doesn’t need our consent. But God doesn’t force us to simply do as he commands. Instead, he graciously condescends to us, coming to our level and binding himself in covenant to us. By covenanting with us, God chooses to enter into relationship with us. And this means that every covenant is based on God’s grace, even the Covenant of Works.
The Covenant of Works
The Covenant of Works was made with Adam in the Garden of Eden, before the fall. But this covenant doesn’t just involve Adam: God appointed Adam as a representative of all humanity. Adam had a natural right to represent us as the first man, and perhaps more importantly, a legal right which he received from God. This means that Adam’s actions affect us, just as a king who signs a peace treaty signs not just for himself, but for every citizen.
Adam’s actions affect us, just as a king who signs a peace treaty signs not just for himself, but for every citizen.
One might summarise the Covenant of Works in this way: “Do this and live.” Note: God does two things here. Firstly, he sets a law (do this) and gives a promise (you will live). If God had only commanded us to do this, there wouldn’t have been any grace. He would simply demand obedience. If God only told us to live, then we’d have a promise but wouldn’t be drawn closer to God. It’s only as a covenant, a mixture of promise and law, that we get the full picture. For it’s by obedience to God that we can draw closer to him and enjoy life. This is the blessing offered under the Covenant of Works.
Let’s expand on that summary. God required Adam to perfectly and personally obey his Law. Adam knew the Law through reason, nature, and of course, God’s plain command. The Ten Commandments would later summarise what Adam was required to obey (Exodus 20:1-26). “Perfectly” and “personally.” These words are important. Perfectly is simple enough to understand. Remember, at this point, Adam had not sinned. He was fully capable of perfectly obeying God’s commands. And of course, the word personally is crucial. We’ll come back to that in a moment.
Perfect Obedience is Impossible for Us
In spite of a wonderful promise, and his ability to obey God’s command, Adam sinned (Genesis 3:6; Hosea 6:7).
The thing with covenants is that they promise both blessing and curses. There was always an implied danger. If Adam’s reward for obedience was life, then he wouldn’t get life if he disobeyed. And in the moment that he disobeyed God, Adam deserved not life but death (Romans 5:20-21).
In spite of a wonderful promise, and his ability to obey God’s command, Adam sinned.
And as he represented us, we too are now covenant breakers. Recall our analogy of a king. When Adam rebels, in the same way as a king declaring war on a foreign nation involves his citizens, we too are involved in his rebellion. Adam’s disobedience against God is therefore our disobedience, and the death that Adam receives for breaking the covenant, we too receive.
The terms of the covenant haven’t changed. Only now we’re unable to obey. The Covenant of Works can only offer us condemnation (Galatians 3:10). And that’s where “personally” comes in. We can’t get someone else to step in and keep God’s Law on our behalf. Or can we?
The Covenant of Grace
Condemnation by the law sets the stage for the gospel, in the form of the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Grace doesn’t take away the requirements of obedience to God’s Law set out in the Covenant of Works. Rather, it takes away the requirement that this perfect obedience be ours, personally. It can be someone else’s: Christ’s (John 3:16).
This has always been God’s method of salvation. Every person who enjoys God’s salvation, whether in the Old Testament or the New, has been saved by placing their faith in God to supply what they lacked through the Covenant of Grace. This is easy to illustrate. Many promises in the Old Testament are so clearly out of our ability to fulfil and must be fulfilled by God himself (Genesis 12:2; 2 Samuel 7:4-17).
By placing our faith in Christ, we can lay claim to his perfect righteousness.
The saints of the Old Testament looked forward to Christ, not knowing every detail, but placing their trust in God to supply by grace the perfect obedience they lacked; and to bear the punishment of death that they deserved. Our faith is the same. However, now that Christ has come and as Paul writes, the mystery has been revealed (Romans 16:25). In the Covenant of Grace, by placing our faith in Christ, we can lay claim to his perfect righteousness. In this way, we satisfy the demands of the Covenant of Works and receive life from God.
On the cross, Christ died the death we deserve for breaking the covenant. By taking the punishment we deserve as law-breakers, we are put at neutral standing before God. But, remember, we need a positive standing. For life comes from obedience to the Law. For this reason, Christ also lived a perfect, sinless life, in full and perfect obedience to the Covenant of Works. This righteousness is given to us by God’s grace in Christ (Romans 5:19; Ephesians 2:4-9; Hebrews 10:10-14).
The Comfort in Covenant Theology
Assurance and Confidence
Understanding covenant theology not only deepens our understanding of the Bible, but it also has practical implications for our lives. It brings us comfort and assurance, reminding us that our salvation is not based on our own obedience, but on God’s grace and faithfulness. This assurance frees us from the burden of trying to earn our salvation and allows us to rest in the finished work of Christ.
Through his covenant love, God reveals his unfailing commitment to us.
With this confidence, we can approach God with boldness and draw near to him in intimate covenant relationship. For those who have faith in Christ, the conditions of the covenants are met by God himself. We no longer need to fear covenant curses, and can look to God’s covenants as promises of blessing. Through his covenant love, God reveals his unfailing commitment to us. We can know that our standing before him is secure, not because of our own merit, but because of Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to us through the Covenant of Grace. That surely gives us the greatest comfort!
Faith and Obedience
Furthermore, covenant theology empowers us to live a life of faith and obedience. First, God graciously chose to covenant with us, and second, he undertook the conditions of the covenants on our behalf when we failed to do so. When we understand this covenant love, we are motivated to respond with lives of grateful obedience. We are inspired to obey his law, not as a means to earn salvation under the Covenant of Works, but as a joyful response to his covenant faithfulness to us.
God will not abandon, forsake, or break his covenants. We have no reason to fear and every reason to rejoice.
Now that God is in covenant with us, he is bound to uphold his promises. He will not abandon, forsake, or break his covenants. We have no reason to fear and every reason to rejoice. We can hold onto his covenant promises, knowing that no matter how weak we may be, our God is mighty to save (Isaiah 59:16).
Identity and Belonging
As those who have been saved, this also impacts our identity. Not only are we personally freed by Christ, but we join the community of believers through the ages who have depended wholly on God for salvation. We are united by our common faith and dependence on God’s covenant love, and we should long to invite others to share our joy.
United by our dependence on God’s covenant love, we should long to invite others to share our joy.
Ultimately, covenant theology isn’t just an abstract theological concept, but a truth that leads to practical application in every area of our lives. Knowing and experiencing God’s covenant love transforms us and enables us to live lives marked by grateful obedience and faithful dependence on God’s covenant promises to us, declared through Jesus Christ our Lord.
