“All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
In the course of our study of Hebrews 8 we have been looking at the new covenant and how it is better than the old one. In order to help us better understand covenants and how they determine the relationship between God and His people, we will spend the next few weeks studying the covenants in the Bible with the help of the teaching series The Promise Keeper by Dr. R.C. Sproul.
The concept of covenant is fundamental to our understanding of the Scriptures. The idea is found both explicitly and implicitly throughout the entire Bible. God’s work in and with His creation is typically expressed in covenantal terms.
The definition of the term covenant is difficult to express simply because there are many nuances to the idea. Basically, a “covenant” is an agreement between two parties to fulfill obligations made one to another. When understood this way, we see that even our modern day society carries out its business in a covenantal manner through things like business contracts and marital agreements.
To be sure, covenants between human beings are analogous to the covenants made between God and man. But it would be a mistake to say that they are exactly identical. For one, God and man are not equal parties, and God has no need to enter into covenants with us at all. Secondly, unlike us, there is no possibility at all that God will fail to fulfill His covenant oaths. God is always true to His word and will always do that which He has sworn to do. He alone is the Rock and the God of faithfulness and uprightness (Deut. 32:4)
In the upcoming days, we will look at the variety of covenants found in the Bible. Today we will examine briefly the one covenant that is the foundation for all other covenants found in sacred Scripture, namely, the covenant of redemption.
The covenant of redemption is the agreement made between the members of the Trinity in order to bring us salvation. We find allusions to it in several biblical texts. Under this covenant, the Father plans redemption and sends the Son in order to save His people. The Son agrees to be sent and to do the work necessary to save the elect (John 10:17–18), and the Spirit agrees to apply the work of Christ to us by sealing us unto salvation (Eph. 1:13–14).
Coram Deo
The covenant of redemption is one of the greatest examples of God’s grace that we have. The Father, Son, and Spirit did not have to pledge to each other that they would bring to us salvation. But when they did, they guaranteed that it would happen. Remember that the grace of God was working on our behalf long before we were born.
