Understanding Biblical Covenants: God's Promises and Redemption

I think it's very important for us to understand at the outset that the whole concept of covenant is integral; it's foundational. It's basic to the whole scope of Divine revelation. We could even say, for example, that the way God that reveals His Word and His plan biblically is through the structure of various covenants. [00:00:51]

Now, let me just say again, that the biblical revelation that we encounter in Scripture is progressive; that is, there's a gradual unfolding of God's revelation. He doesn't give it all to us in the book of Genesis. But as history moves through time, God gives more and more and more revelation of Himself and of His plan of redemption. [00:02:26]

The first question that we ask about covenants is "What are they? What is a covenant?" And again, there is a little bit of confusion there. We understand that a covenant involves some kind of agreement. And just in church this past week, I was talking to our congregation about the way in which covenants are foundational to our very culture and to our very lives. [00:03:19]

Now again, the key function in terms of redemption and redemption history of a covenant in the Bible is the relationship between promise and fulfillment. When I say that the basic structure of redemptive history that we see in the Scripture is covenant, what I'm simply saying is that we exist as a church, we exist as people because God has made promises to His people, and He has kept those promises. [00:07:54]

Now again, I say that because the hardest thing in the world for the Christian is to live by faith, rather than by sight. It's difficult because we never see God. We have not been eyewitnesses of the resurrection like the first century apostles were. You know, we live on the basis of the testimony of those who went before us, and we are to walk by faith. [00:09:42]

And so, we see the Son coming from heaven to do the will of the Father in this world because the two of them from all eternity, God the Father and God the Son, are in perfect agreement about the mission that the Son will fulfill in this world -- that the Father and the Son are one in their eternal purpose -- and you could add to that also the Holy Spirit who's also in complete agreement with the Father and the Son in God's plan of redemption. [00:16:33]

So, we have to talk about this prior covenant that takes place within the Godhead among the Persons of the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. And so, we often will say that in the economy of redemption, it's the Father who sends the Son into the world to redeem His people; it's the Son who accomplishes that redemption by His work of obedience; and it is the Holy Spirit then who applies the work of Christ to the people. [00:17:04]

Now, when we talk about the working out of the covenant of redemption, again, in historic reformed theology, not only in reformed theology, but in other Protestant theology you'll hear as well, a distinction is made with respect to the obedience of the second Person of the Trinity, or the obedience of Christ the God-Man; is a distinction between what is called the perfect-active obedience and the perfect-passive obedience. [00:18:38]

The active obedience has to do with Christ working as the second Adam, willingly placing Himself under the requirements of the law, and takes upon Himself that responsibility in our behalf, and actively obeys every commandment that God requires from human beings. [00:19:20]

And so then, we distinguish that from the passive obedience. In the passive obedience -- you can't make this an absolute distinction because he actively submits Himself to being passive to the requirements of the Father, and this has to do with His suffering. His active obedience is that obedience by which He achieves perfect righteousness and thereby merits redemption for His people. [00:21:21]

And all of this, of course, was agreed upon in eternity before the Logos ever became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ agreed to do the work necessary for our redemption. That's why we call it the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son and then by extension, also the Holy Spirit. [00:22:57]

Redemption, biblically -- and we have to understand this from beginning to end -- is a Trinitarian work. And again, the point of the covenant of redemption is that this idea of redemption is not an afterthought in the plan of God -- a plan B -- whereby God is going to correct the mess He made out of creation. No, before He even creates the world, He has an eternal purpose of redemption, of redeeming His people in this world, and that is in complete agreement among all three Persons in the Godhead. [00:23:55]