Faithful God is a book the Reformed community in South Africa—and beyond—doesn’t know it needs. Asking someone who identifies as Reformed what that means, their answer will usually include the doctrines of grace as summarised in the five solas. However, throughout Faithful God, Antonio Coppola helps us understand that historically Reformed theology is best understood as covenant theology. As he puts it, “in many ways Reformed theology is covenant theology” (p12).
South Africa has a sad history with a certain unbiblical expression of covenant theology.
Admittedly, South Africa has a sad history with a certain unbiblical expression of covenant theology (verbonds teologie or verbondsvolk). This means that a biblically faithful and historically careful approach to covenant theology is crucial for addressing the many caricatures and aberrations. Faithful God is refreshingly helpful in this regard.
The More Practical Aspects
However, Coppola isn’t interested in merely rehashing a theological framework. Rather, he seeks to recover the grand, reassuring biblical theme of covenant. Faithful God relates the themes of covenant theology to the everyday experiences and concerns of believers. Those themes include: promise (broken promises); faithfulness (unfaithfulness), and relationships (isolation); each of which are core to covenant theology. And by pulling on their strands, Coppola establishes rapport with his readers.
God is faithful to his promises and not only in an abstract sense.
These themes even make this book a helpful resource for evangelism, as the subject of covenant theology speaks to God’s faithfulness amidst a world plagued by scandals of unfaithfulness. “In a myriad of broken promises we face in this sinful world, God is the only One who truly and perfectly keeps his promises all of the time” (p9). This makes God faithful to his promises and not only faithful and true in an abstract sense. “God expresses his faithfulness to us through covenants that he makes with his people” (p9). This, Coppola notes, is at the heart of his book.
Coppola goes on to argue that because covenants are how God relates to his people, covenant theology is essential for Christian discipleship. Our relationship with God is not “unmediated,” “unregulated,” or “free-for-all,” writes Coppola; it is “founded on terms set by God, not us” (p10). Therefore, “understanding the nature of God’s covenants with us is so important” (p10). That is the aim of Faithful God as well as this review. By summarising the content of Coppola’s book, I hope to persuade you that covenant theology isn’t only integral to understanding the Bible but also invaluable for living the Christian life.
The Biblical Covenants
1. Covenant of Redemption
The covenant of redemption is essentially “God’s blueprint for our salvation” (p14). According to Coppola, just “as any building has to be designed beforehand by an architect, so our redemption in Christ was planned before time by God” (p14). Our planned redemption by God before time is what is called the covenant of redemption.
The covenant of redemption vividly illustrates God’s sovereignty.
This is not a mere theological construct, but a life-giving and biblical doctrine. So Coppola gives a fair amount of effort to demonstrating the covenant of redemption from scripture. In the process he draws convincingly on Psalm 110, Isaiah 53, and Ephesians 1. He explains how the covenant of redemption vividly illustrates God’s sovereignty. It “reveals the love of God” and “gives us great assurance” (p19).
Faithful God: An Introduction to Covenant Theology
Antonio Coppola
Faithful God: An Introduction to Covenant Theology
Antonio Coppola
Covenant theology is God’s inspired framework that helps us understand his Word better. It helped me see the highpoints in the history of redemption, which in turn highlighted for me the deep and rich Old Testament doctrines that all pointed to Christ and made his work in the New Testament appear much more glorious. Thus covenant theology gave me a new perspective of and appreciation for God’s story, the history of redemption.
This book will do the same for you. The subtitle—An Introduction to Covenant Theology—describes the content, while the title hints strongly at the purpose: giving glory to our faithful God. It is organised chronologically, working from the first pages of Scripture to the later Old Testament prophets who clearly anticipated the coming of Christ. And it presents covenant theology systematically in thoughtful ways, including practical reflection in each section to help the reader apply these truths.
Coppola concludes, “The fact that God covenanted before the creation of the world to save us, is incredibly comforting and encouraging. If God himself has chosen us before creation, has come down to die on the cross for us in Christ and has sealed us with his Spirit, then nothing in heaven and on earth can separate us from his love, nor can we fall out of favour with God or lose our salvation” (p19).
2. Covenant of Works
The second covenant found in the Bible is the “one God made with Adam,” called the covenant of works (p21). Coppola writes that, “the covenant of works is a conditional covenant that God made with Adam, as the first man and representative of the human race, in the Garden of Eden” (p21). In the covenant of works God “sets out the promise of eternal life upon condition of perfect obedience” (p25). Therefore, some have called this covenant the covenant of works.
Coppola powerfully underscores the importance of the covenant of works as foundational for salvation.
Adam was representative of all mankind. Thus “every son of Adam and daughter of Eve is included in this covenant” (p23). What this means is that “the consequences of Adam’s actions were passed down to all his children” (p23). Sin, death, and the curse have been inherited by every single human being because of Adam breaking this covenant. Coppola argues persuasively from the scriptures and the Reformed tradition that denying the covenant of works has significant implications, for the “covenant of works lays the foundation for the gospel” (p24).
Coppola acknowledges the presence of grace in the covenant of works. However, he distinguishes it from “saving grace that characterises the covenant of grace” (p24). To avoid confusion, Coppola encourages the use of the term “love” instead of grace to “describe God’s covenantal arrangement with Adam” (p24). This, according to Coppola, preserves the integrity of the works principle in Genesis 1-2. Yet, as Coppola observes, “thank God, there is Someone who has fulfilled the terms of this covenant” (p25). Herein he powerfully underscores the importance of the covenant of works as foundational for salvation.
3. The Covenant of Grace
Coppola begins his chapter on the covenant of grace by drawing attention to the breaking of the covenant of works in Genesis 3. The “effects” of Adam and Eve’s disobedience are “immediate,” as all of mankind are now with them “plunged into sin” (p28). Though it seems as if all was now lost, this isn’t the case. As the scriptures unfold another covenant appears: the covenant of grace. Simply put, the “the covenant of grace is the one covenant through which all believers, all of God’s chosen people, are saved” (p29).
All those who lived in the time from Adam to Christ lived under the covenant of grace.
Though God established this in eternity, it “begins in time…with a promise to send a Saviour to crush the head of the serpent” and “culminates in the coming of Christ” (p29). This covenant is “administered in various ways,” as seen in the covenants God makes with “Adam (Genesis 3:15), Noah (Genesis 6-8), Abraham (Genesis 15; 17), Moses (Exodus 19-24), David (2 Samuel 7), and in Christ in the New Covenant” (p29). In other words, all those who lived in the time from Adam to Christ lived under the covenant of grace; the same could be said of those who lived from the time of Christ to today.
The promise of God in the covenant of grace is this: “I will be your God, and you will be my people” (Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:11-12; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 37:26-27; Revelation 21:2-3). That promise, crucially, isn’t secured by our works. Nor is it “jeopardised by our sin or doubts” (p30). Coppola describes the covenant of grace as unilateral. It’s “established and initiated entirely by God,” though “a response is required from us,” repentance and faith (p30).
Only those who respond in faith and repentance receive the benefits and blessings of the covenant of grace. Coppola demonstrates how the covenant of grace holds together the entire story of the Bible. He says that it essentially tells “one story…leading to a single endpoint,” which is Christ and his gospel of grace (p30).
4. Covenant with Noah
Coppola’s treatment of the Noahic covenant is particularly refreshing. For he explains its relevance to the covenant of grace and the world as we know it. Coppola describes God’s covenant with Noah by writing that “God promised Noah that he would never again destroy the earth and that he would sustain all mankind after him with food from the earth” (p35). What is important to note in the Noahic covenant is the concept of common grace. This is “God’s undeserved kindness to all people, regardless of whether they are believers or unbelievers” (p35). This, writes Coppola, is to be contrasted with God’s special grace “that he only grants to his chosen people, the church” (p35).
Coppola’s treatment of the Noahic covenant is particularly refreshing.
Moreover, the notion of common grace is an important aspect of the Noahic covenant. It preserves the world and mankind in affirming “marriage and procreation,” “lordship over animals,” “the goodness of labour,” “the institution of the state,” and “natural law” (p37-38). The preservation of the world, secured through the Noahic covenant, anticipates a world into which the Saviour will be born and die and be raised for the salvation of sinners.
5. Abrahamic Covenant
After the Noahic covenant, notes Coppola, “the problem of sin remained” (p44). Thus when God called Abram and made a covenant with him it was a gracious covenant. Coppola explains that gracious covenants are “not dependent on any works, but entirely dependent on God’s promises to him” (p44).
When God called Abram and made a covenant with him it was a gracious covenant.
Coppola unpacks the importance of the Abrahamic covenant by showing how it is fulfilled, the role Jesus plays in it, the place of the church as the offspring of Abraham, and how the land promise of the covenant fits in the redemptive story.
6. Mosaic Covenant
The next covenant in the biblical narrative is the Mosaic covenant. This covenant too is considered by Coppola as an administration of the covenant of grace. However, for Coppola, the Mosaic covenant is also a covenant of law. As he observes “in order to enjoy God’s blessings and protection in the Promised Land, Israel must obey the law” (p54).
Coppola maintains that the mosaic covenant, “like the original covenant of works with Adam, contains a works principle” (p54). There is a diversity of opinions on this specific point, and while sound Reformed theologians disagree here, Coppola is to be commended for his effort to remain faithful to the scriptures as well as aligned with the historical Reformed confessions. Ultimately, Coppola shows how Jesus fulfils the law of the Mosaic covenant and provides a healthy presentation of the law and its applicability to the Christian life.
7. Davidic Covenant
One of the great strengths of Coppola’s book is his ability to connect the storyline of the Bible with the major covenants of the Bible. To this end Coppola next turns to the Davidic covenant.
The Davidic covenant continues to tell the story of grace promised in the garden.
This covenant “God made with King David to establish his dynasty in Israel” (p61). The Davidic covenant continues to tell the story of grace promised in the garden and does so by showing how David’s descendants “would play an important part in the redemption of his people” (p61). Therefore, God’s promise that “a seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent, is developed further” in the Davidic covenant (p61).
Coppola shows through careful engagement with relevant biblical texts how Jesus fulfilled the Davidic Covenant and “reigns on the throne of David, at the right hand of the Father in all eternity” (p66).
8. The New Covenant
Finally, Coppola discusses the New Covenant. He shows how throughout the Old Testament, there was a great expectation that God would make a new covenant with his people, particularly in light of their failure to observe the Old (or Mosaic) covenant.
Throughout the Old Testament there was an expectation that God would make a new covenant.
He traces the storyline of the Bible, from the Old Testament hope and promise to the reality when “Jesus, the promised Messiah, truly God and truly man, took the Passover meal with his disciples” and on that night he was betrayed ratified the New Covenant “in his blood” (p69).
A Help in Knowing Our Covenant Making God
Coppola’s book takes an important biblical subject, namely covenant theology, which is often only deliberated in theological textbooks or academic papers, and brings it into the pew in a clear, concise, and understandable manner.
It’s important for God’s children to know more about God’s covenants, so that we can learn more about his character.
Each chapter walks the reader through the biblical covenants and tells the Bible’s redemptive story through these covenants. If it is true, as Coppola asserts, that God’s covenants “reveal something of his character and nature” (p78), then it is important for God’s children to want to know more about his covenants, so that we can in turn learn more about his character and nature.
