2016/4 Covenant Theology


The annual Reformed Ministers’ Conference was held from 5 – 8 September at the Damansara Reformed Baptist Church, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The overseas speaker was Pastor Steve Clevenger of Covenant Reformed Baptist Church, Warrenton, Virginia, USA, who spoke on the theme of “Covenant Theology”. Below are the notes of his talks.

COVENANT THEOLOGY

1 Introduction (PDF Print Version)

2 A Survey of the Divine Covenants (PDF Print Version)

3 The Covenant of Redemption (PDF Print Version)

4 The New Covenant, Part 1 (PDF Print Version)

5 The New Covenant, Part 2 (PDF Print Version)

6 Two Great Covenant Heads (PDF Print Version)
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1 Title: Introduction to Covenant Theology
Text – Luke 1:67-79

Luke 1:67–79 (NKJV)
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Introduction: Today we begin a study of “The Importance of (Baptist) Covenant Theology”. My hope is that you will begin to grasp how central this teaching is to the Bible and that you will appreciate the implications of this teaching for Christians.

Covenant theology is at the heart of Biblical Christianity. For example, on the most basic level, we think of the organization of our Bibles as Old Covenant and New Covenant. The Scriptures speak of our salvation in term of “covenant.” For instance, when Christians gather to partake of the Lord’s Supper we are reminded of the Words of our Lord when He says,

Luke 22:20 (NKJV)
20 . . . “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

And as we are reading the Old Testament we continually stumble upon passages that speak of the “covenant” that God made with the Patriarchs. For example, when God appeared to Abraham we read,

Genesis 17:7–8 (NKJV)
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

The importance of the Bibles teaching concerning covenant cannot be overstated. It is a persistent theme in Scripture. The word “covenant” appears in the Bible over 300 times.

In pointing out the significance of this Biblical teaching Charles Spurgeon said, “The doctrine of the divine covenant lies at the root of all true theology.”

Now, let’s look a few places in the Bible where we can see how the subject of “covenant” is grounded in the Scriptures. Also, how it unifies Scripture and how it relates to redemptive history.

Let’s begin by turning to Luke’s Gospel chapter one.

Our passage begins with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist.

An Angel Announces the Birth of John the Baptist
Luke 1:11–17 (NKJV)
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, (OT Quote, Malachi 4:5-6) ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The angel announces to Zacharias that he will have a son, and he will be the forerunner to the Old Testament prophesied Messiah. The ministry of John the Baptist would fulfill the Words of Isaiah 40:3-5 (see Luke 3:3-6) and Malachi chapter 3 and 4 where the Baptist is the future Elijah.

Malachi 4:5–6 (NKJV)
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

Notice the use of the word “covenant” in Malachi 3:1.

Malachi 3:1 (NKJV)
1 “Behold, I send My messenger (John the Baptist), And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant (Jesus Christ), In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

With the angel’s announcement of the arrival of John the Baptist (My messenger) it is evident that God’s covenantal dealings with Israel are unfolding. There is a clear connection from the end of the Old Testament (Malachi) to the beginning of the New Testament, the Gospels (Luke). So, we see a unified Biblical scheme, and we are getting hints that behind this unity are God’s covenantal dealings.

Secondly, let’s move future along to verses 26-33.

Gabriel Announces Christ’s Birth
Luke 1:26–33 (NKJV)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (2 Samuel 7:14-17)
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Now the announcement of the angel moves from the forerunner to the Christ. Mary is told that His name is to be Jesus, and He will be the Son of God, and fulfill the promises made to David. Verses 32 and 33 recall 2 Samuel 7:14-17, Isaiah 9, and many other Old Testament passages. Again we have the theme of God’s covenant. This is the covenant God made with David known as the Davidic Covenant.

2 Samuel 7:11–17 (NKJV)
11 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.
12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

Isaiah 9:6–7 (NKJV)
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

So, as we see God’s covenantal dealings unfold, we notice Biblical unity, but also a movement of promise to fulfillment, from types or shadows to antitype or reality.

Next, in verses 46-55 we see Mary’s Song.

Mary’s Song of Praise (also known in the Latin as the “Magnificat”)
Luke 1:46–55 (NKJV)
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Mary praises the Lord, and rejoices in God whom she calls “Savior.” In chapter 2 the angel applies this title “savior” to Jesus.

Luke 2:11 (NKJV)
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

There are Old Testament themes interwoven throughout Mary’s praise, but notice in verse 55 how she links the promise of the birth of Jesus to the covenant made with Abraham in Genesis 17.

Genesis 17:7 (NKJV)
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

Consequently, we are noticing how the saints in the Old and New Testament, like Mary, understand “covenant” and God’s covenantal dealings with His people. Mary recognizes the birth of Jesus as a fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. She believes that the fulfillment is a saving act of God.

And lastly, let’s look at verses 67-79. Here we have Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist prophesying concerning John’s ministry.

Zacharias Prophesies of John’s Ministry
Luke 1:67–79 (NKJV)
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

There is so much that could be said about this passage, but let’s just touch a few items. Notice verse 72 and 73, and how Zacharias understands the ministry of John the Baptist and the coming Messiah as the fulfillment of the promise made to the patriarchs. He recognizes this as an act of God fulfilling covenant promises. He links covenantal promises made to David (v.69) and covenantal promises made to Abraham (v.73). Zacharias, like Mary, believes that this act of God in fulfilling His covenantal promises will result in redemption for God’s people.

Conclusion: Let me close with a few thoughts.

I hope as we have started this journey concerning “covenant theology” that you are starting to see the importance of this doctrine. That this is not some obscure teaching in the Bible, but in fact is found throughout Scripture and that it is a major theme of the Bible.

Secondly, it is vital that you grasp the importance of covenant theology and its relation to the biblical teaching of redemption. In other words, the structure of redemptive history is grounded in the theme of covenant. We have a better understanding of the great redemptive acts of God on behalf of His people as they are seen in the light of His covenantal promises.

The covenantal promises of God strengthen faith, give us hope and assurance. We see examples of this in the passages that we read today. Did you notice how the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises strengthened faith in Mary and Zacharias?

Lastly, consider that we are gathered here today as God’s people, His church, because He has established a covenant with us, through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the pinnacle of redemptive acts, God sent His Son into the world to die for sinners.

Luke 22:20 (NKJV)
20 . . . “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

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2 Title: A Survey of the Divine Covenants
Text – Genesis 3:1-24 and selected passages

Introduction: We continue our journey into – “The Importance of (Baptist) Covenant Theology”. Its centrality in the Bible and the implications for us as God’s people.

The God of the Bible is a covenant God. Sinclair Ferguson has expressed this reality by saying,

“God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. If you have never thought of Him in these terms, then you have not yet begun to think about Him in the way he wants you to. God’s Word describes those covenants, proclaiming Him to be a covenanting God. In a sense, the Bible is the book of His covenant. We even call it that – the Old and the New Covenants [Testaments]!” (A Heart for God, 1987, p. 36, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.)

Understanding the biblical theme of covenant is important for every believer because the basis of our relationship with God is through the means of covenant. Covenant Theology is central to the Christian faith.

The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 states the centrality of this covenantal relationship.

“The distance between God and the Creature is so great, that although reasonable Creatures do owe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of Life, but by some voluntary condescension on Gods part, which he hath been pleased to express, by way of Covenant.” (1689 Original Version 7:1)

Now let’s define some basic terms that will help us to understand this teaching.

  • What is “Covenant Theology”?
  • What is a “Divine Covenant”?

1 Covenant Theology, also known as “federal theology” is a theological system that interprets the Bible through the various covenants that God has established with man. Covenant Theology teaches that there is a unified way of salvation in the Old and New Testaments. The one way of salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Jesus Christ alone. Covenant Theology sets forth an arrangement of three primary covenants which are (1) The Covenant of Redemption, (2) The Covenant of Works, and (3) the Covenant of Grace. These three fundamental covenants I will address in later messages.Definition of a

2 Divine Covenant. The primary word for covenant in the Hebrew Old Testament is berith and in the Greek New Testament the key word used is diatheke. The basic meaning of these words is that of a solemn oath, a pledge, a bond, or promise. The Divine covenants are an action on God’s part, therefore the emphasis in the Bible is upon the sovereign initiation of God. God sovereignly establishes the covenants, and administers the covenants.

Hebrews 6:13-19 is a Biblical example of God emphasizing that the covenant made with Abraham was essentially His “promise”, sworn by an oath.

Hebrews 6:13–19 (NKJV)
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,

God, gave an infallible promise through an oath to Abraham. There is no greater authority than God himself, therefore the promises are certain. Such examples in Scripture are to encourage the people of God, and strengthen faith.

The Puritan theologian John Owen helps us in understanding the meaning of covenant when commenting on Hebrews 8:6.

Hebrews 8:6 (NKJV)
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

Owen writes,

(1.) That every covenant between God and man must be founded on and resolved into “promises.” Hence essentially a promise and a covenant are all one; and God calls an absolute promise, founded on an absolute decree, his covenant, Gen. 9:11. . . The being and essence of a divine covenant lies in the promise. Hence are they called “the covenants of promise,” Eph. 2:12;—such as are founded on and consist in promises.

Now that we have briefly defined the Biblical term covenant let’s move to a brief survey of the Divine covenants found in Scripture. There are six Divine covenants that I want us to look at (1) The Adamic Covenant, (2) The Noahic Covenant (3) The Abrahamic Covenant (4) The Mosaic Covenant (5) The Davidic Covenant, and (6) the New Covenant.

1 The Adamic or The Edenic Covenant – The Covenant of Works (Gen 3:15)

The first Divine covenant was made with Adam in the Garden. While the word “covenant” is not found in the passage, the elements of a covenant are present. Hosea 6:7 may speak of a covenant made with Adam (the word “men” can be translated “Adam” see NASB). Additionally, the Adam/Christ parallel in New Testament passages provide further testimony of the covenant made with Adam (see Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15).

The Adamic was a covenant of works. There is a promise by God to Adam that he may eat of any tree in the garden. But, man was forbidden to eat of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If man disobeyed the command of God the penalty was death.

A Covenant of Works
Genesis 2:15–17 (NKJV)
15Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

After the Fall, God graciously pursues the sinful couple in the Garden.

Genesis 3:9 (NKJV)
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

Notice judgment is announced upon the couple, and the serpent. However, in the midst of judgment there is the promise of redemption.

  • First, the serpent is cursed vv.14-15.
  • Secondly, the woman is told of suffering and pain v.16.
  • Thirdly, Adam is judged vv.17-19.

Genesis 3:14–19 (NKJV)
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

In verse 15 redemption is Promised. The serpent (the Devil) will be defeated by the Promised Seed of the woman. In verse 21 we have the death of an animal, a sacrifice, the shedding of blood, and a covering is provided for the sinful couple. Notice God supplied the covering for Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:21 (NKJV)
21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

Notice a few important items from the passage.
God graciously sought out the sinful couple v.9.
Redemption is Promised in the form of an unconditional Promise 3:15, the “I will” statement by God. Clearly, a Promise is made that God will fulfill.
The shedding of blood takes place and the provision of a covering with the skins v.21.
The couple and future generations are banished from the Garden, and from the immediate presence of God and access to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:22–24 (NKJV)
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—
23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Now, from this point forward in the Bible these items become central to the forward movement of redemptive history, (1) the effects of the Fall and sin upon the human race, (2) the need for the shedding of blood – atonement, (3) God’s gracious action toward fallen man, (4) and the Promise of a Redeemer through the Seed of the woman.

Now, our Confession of Faith explains what we have just read, and expounds upon its covenantal significance. Notice the precise language and the words, “by farther steps”.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689; 7:3

“This Covenant is revealed in the Gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of Salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, untill the full discovery thereof was compleated in the new Testament; and it is founded in that Eternal Covenant transaction, that was between the Father and the Son, about the Redemption of the Elect; and it is alone by the Grace of this Covenant, that all of the posterity of fallen Adam, that ever were saved, did obtain life and a blessed immortality; Man being now utterly uncapable of acceptance with God upon those terms, on which Adam stood in his state of innocency.” (1689 Original Version 7:3)

So, Genesis 3, especially 3:15 become the launching pad for the rest of the Bible in the way of the forward movement and revelation concerning redemption in Jesus Christ. Yes, it is rooted in the Covenant of Redemption from eternity, but in human history, it begins in Genesis chapter 3 and finds its ultimate fulfillment in the New Covenant, the life and death of the Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ.

It is important to notice that the forward movement biblically is Promise to Fulfillment, from Shadow to Reality.

2. The Noahic Covenant – The Covenant of Preservation
Genesis 6:18 (NKJV)
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

The covenant made with Noah functions as a way to preserve creation until the fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 3:15. God promises not to destroy the earth again in like fashion. Noah, his family, and the animals are preserved by God in the Ark.

Genesis 8:20–22 (NKJV)
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

Genesis 9:1–17 (NKJV)
1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:
9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.
11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

3. The Abrahamic Covenant
Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV)


1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.


3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God establishes a covenant with Abraham and through him a great nation will be formed. Jesus Christ is the promised Seed of Abraham and through Christ, the nations shall be blessed.

Genesis 15:1-21 (NKJV)


1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”


2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”


5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”


6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.


7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”


8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”


9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”


10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.


11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.


12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.


13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.

14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.


18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—

19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,

20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Galatians 3:5-9 (NKJV)


5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

4. The Mosaic or Sinaitic Covenant – The Covenant of Law
The Mosaic Covenant provides the legislation for the nation that God redeemed out of Egypt.

Exodus 19-24

Israel Affirms the Covenant
Exodus 24:1–8 (NKJV)
1Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.
2And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.”
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
6And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”
8And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
5. The Davidic Covenant – The Covenant of the Kingdom
The Davidic Covenant, established a kingly line and a throne for the Messiah.

2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NKJV)


12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.


13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.


14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

Acts 2:29-36 (NKJV)

29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.

32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,

35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’

36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

6. The New Covenant
The Promised One would come onto the scene of history with the New Covenant. Jesus Christ would fulfill the shadows of the previous covenants, He would bring eternal redemption, and establish the New Covenant Church.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (NKJV)
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Matthew 26:26–28 (NKJV)
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Conclusion: Observing the promises of God as found in the Divine covenants helps us to see that from the Old Testament to the New Testament there is a unified message. That is a message of a promised Redeemer.

Let me read again from our Confession of Faith as it directly touches upon what we have just seen in Scripture.

“This Covenant is revealed in the Gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of Salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the new Testament; – (The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689; 7:3)

And it is only by this promised Redeemer revealed in these steps that fallen humanity finds forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God, and eternal life.

The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament points us to Jesus as the promised redeemer.

The Apostle wrote,

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV)
20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

As we read our Bible, we see Jesus Christ from Genesis to Revelation, from the Promised Seed of the woman, to the risen, exalted conquering King.

Listen to the words of Jesus.

Luke 24:25–27 (NKJV)
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Footnotes:

1 Berkhof, L. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938.

2Owen, John. An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Ed. W. H. Goold. Vol. 23. Edinburgh: Johnstone and Hunter, 1854. Works of John Owen.

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Title: The Covenant of Redemption
Text – 2 Timothy 1:8-10 and Selected Passages

2 Timothy 1:8-10 (NKJV)

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,

9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Introduction: We now turn our attention to what is known as the Covenant of Redemption. This covenant is also known theologically as “the covenant of peace,” or “the counsel of redemption.” The Divine Covenants of Promise (especially the New Covenant) that we see revealed in Scripture are anchored in this everlasting covenant. This teaching is foundational to understand the covenantal development of the Bible.

This is not a covenant between God and humans. This covenant is between the members of the Godhead, the members of the Holy Trinity. It is an inter-Trinitarian covenant, or oath.

The Biblical teaching concerning God is that there is One God, and Three Person, who are one in essence. The Persons of the Holy Trinity are God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and it is among the Persons of the Trinity that this covenant was established.

Notice the wording of verse 9 which says, “before time began”.

It is a before-time covenant (pre-temporal), from eternity, before the world was made, before creation, before Genesis 1:1, before the covenant made with Adam in the Garden, the Persons of the Holy Trinity entered into an everlasting covenant. You might think of this covenant as God’s eternal plan to redeem His elect people.
The Apostle Paul is teaching that God in time has saved us not by our works, but according to God’s purpose and grace in Jesus Christ and it was granted to us before time began. It was planned by God from eternity. And in verse 10 Paul is saying that this eternal purpose of salvation is now revealed in time with the arrival of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, He who came forth from eternity and broke upon the scene of human history, died on the cross, and rose from the dead.

Jesus taught this truth when He declared,

John 6:38–40 (NKJV)
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Furthermore, we should understand that the covenants God made with man in the Bible are rooted in and grow out of this everlasting covenant.

Christians have confessed this teaching for centuries, for instance in our Confession of Faith notice the precise wording concerning this doctrine.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689
Chapter 7: Of God’s Covenant
3.This covenant is revealed in the gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament; and it is founded in that eternal covenant transaction that was between the Father and the Son about the redemption of the elect; and it is alone by the grace of this covenant that all the posterity of fallen Adam that ever were saved did obtain life and blessed immortality, man being now utterly incapable of acceptance with God upon those terms on which Adam stood in his state of innocency.

There are a number of places in the Bible that teach that the Triune God determined the salvation of the people of God. If you look closely you notice that each person has a specific role in the accomplishment of this eternal purpose. For instance, this can be seen in Ephesians chapter one.

God the Father chooses a people.
Ephesians 1:3–6 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

God the Son accomplishes redemption through the shedding of His blood on the cross.
Ephesians 1:7–12 (NKJV)
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Finally, the Holy Spirit seals the individuals that the Father chose and the Son redeemed by His blood.
Ephesians 1:13–14 (NKJV)
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

The whole Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are active in the salvation of the people of God. The work sprung from the eternal counsel of God, the Father chose a people, and the Son came forth from heaven, was born of woman, and shed His blood to redeem, and the Holy Spirit would seal the elect people of God as a guarantee of their salvation.

The Scriptures speak of the Son as in a state of submission to the Father, and the Father sending the Son into the world to accomplish a mission. The obedient Son obeys the Father and completes redemption. The Apostle in Galatians 4:4 writes,

Galatians 4:4 (NKJV)
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

And Jesus spoke of the work that He was sent to do. Notice the wording of John 17,

John 17:1–4 (NKJV)
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

Charles Spurgeon spoke of this before-time covenant in story form. He said it like this,

“I behold the Father pledging himself to the Son, and the Son pledging himself to the Father, while the Spirit gives his pledge to both, and thus that divine compact, long to be hidden in darkness, is completed and settled—the covenant which in these latter days has been read in the light of heaven, and has become the joy, and hope, and boast of all the saints.”

The covenant therefore had for its end the restoration of the chosen people. And now we may readily understand what were the stipulations. On the Father’s part, thus run the covenant. I cannot tell you it in the glorious celestial tongue in which it was written: I am fain to bring it down to the speech which suiteth to the ear of flesh, and to the heart of a mortal. Thus, I say, run the covenant, in lines like these: “I, the Most High Jehovah, do hereby give unto my only begotten and well-beloved Son, a people, countless beyond the number of the stars, who shall be by him washed from sin, by him preserved, and kept, and led, and by him, at last, presented before my throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. I covenant by oath, and swear by myself, because I can swear by no greater, that these whom I now give to Christ shall be for ever the objects of my eternal love. Them will I forgive through the merit of the blood. To these will I give a perfect righteousness; these will I adopt and make my sons and daughters, and these shall reign with me through Christ eternally.” Thus run that glorious side of the covenant. The Holy Spirit also, as one of the high contracting parties on this side of the covenant, gave his declaration, “I hereby covenant,” saith he, “that all whom the Father giveth to the Son, I will in due time quicken. I will show them their need of redemption; I will cut off from them all groundless hope, and destroy their refuges of lies. I will bring them to the blood of sprinkling; I will give them faith whereby this blood shall be applied to them; I will work in them every grace; I will keep their faith alive; I will cleanse them and drive out all depravity from them, and they shall be presented at last spotless and faultless.” This was the one side of the covenant, which is at this very day being fulfilled and scrupulously kept. As for the other side of the covenant this was the part of it, engaged and covenanted by Christ. He thus declared, and covenanted with his Father: “My Father, on my part I covenant that in the fulness of time I will become man. I will take upon myself the form and nature of the fallen race. I will live in their wretched world, and for my people will I keep the law perfectly. I will work out a spotless righteousness, which shall be acceptable to the demands of thy just and; holy law. In due time I will bear the sins of all my people. Thou shalt exact their debts on me; the chastisement of their peace I will endure, and by my stripes they shall be healed. My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. I will magnify thy law, and make it honourable. I will suffer all they ought to have suffered. I will endure the curse of thy law, and all the vials of thy wrath shall be emptied and spent upon my head. I will then rise again; I will ascend into heaven; I will intercede for them at thy right hand; and I will make myself responsible for every one of them, that not one of those whom thou hast given me shall ever be lost, but I will bring all my sheep of whom, by thy blood, thou hast constituted me the shepherd—I will bring every one safe to thee at last.” Thus ran the covenant; and now, I think, you have a clear idea of what it was and how it stands—the covenant between God and Christ, between God the Father and God the Spirit, and God the Son as the covenant head and representative of all God’s elect. I have told you, as briefly as I could, what were the stipulations of it. You will please to remark, my dear friends, that the covenant is, on one side, perfectly fulfilled. God the Son has paid the debts of all the elect. He has, for us men and for our redemption, suffered the whole of wrath divine. Nothing remaineth now on this side of the question except that he shall continue to intercede, that he may safely bring all his redeemed to glory.
On the side of the Father this part of the covenant has been fulfilled to countless myriads. God the Father and God the Spirit have not been behindhand in their divine contract. And mark you, this side shall be as fully and as completely finished and carried out as the other. Christ can say of what he promised to do, “It is finished!” and the like shall be said by all the glorious covenanters. All for whom Christ died shall be pardoned, all justified, all adopted. The Spirit shall quicken them all, shall give them all faith, shall bring them all to heaven, and they shall, every one of them, without let or hindrance, stand accepted in the beloved, in the day when the people shall be numbered, and Jesus shall be glorified.
3. And now having seen who were the high contracting parties, and what were the terms of the covenant made between them, let us see what were the objects of this covenant. – (Spurgeon, C. H. “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.” The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons. Vol. 5. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1859. 419–420.)

Application:

1. We learn from this doctrine that God is not a God of plan B. God is not making things up as time unfolds, and He is not in a state of constant reaction to man. Rather the Scriptures teach that all of history is the unfolding of God’s plan, God purposes. His plan is perfect and shall be accomplished. He is the sovereign of the universe, He is God.

Isaiah 46:8–11 (NKJV)
8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.

2. Our salvation in Christ is not an afterthought.

John 3:16 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 8:28–30 (NKJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

John 17:20–26 (NKJV)
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

3. And though this covenant is from eternity it is in time and through the shedding of the blood of the Son of God, the Great Shepherd of the sheep that we have been brought into this covenant, this relationship with God.

Hebrews 13:20 (NKJV)
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Holy God has redeemed us, forgiven us, reconciled us, by virtue of the death of His Son. Jesus Christ by suffering and dying on the cross in the place of guilty sinners, suffering the penalty that was due unto them. Jesus dying, Jesus buried, and Jesus raised from the dead because His work accomplished and was received by the Father for us.

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3 Title: The New Covenant (Part 1)
Text – Hebrews 8:6-13

Hebrews 8:6–13 (NKJV)
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Introduction: We now look at the Bibles teaching concerning the New Covenant. In our previous messages, we observed forward progression, unity, and continuity in the development of the Divine Covenants. But as we come to the New Covenant we will notice that there is unity, and continuity, however, there is also discontinuity.

The language used by the writer of Hebrews is that the God will “make a new covenant” and it will not be like the Old Covenant. The New will be a better covenant, which is established on better promises.

1 The Better Covenant vv.6
a The Need of a Better Covenant vv.7-9
2 The Better Promises vv.10-13

I The Better Covenant vv.6
Hebrews 8:6 (NKJV)
6 But now He (Jesus) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

The “better covenant” with “better promises” are inseparably connected to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Notice verse 6 of our text and how it places emphasis on the work or ministry of Jesus as “Mediator of a better covenant.” So, Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant. A mediator is a legal “go-between” or “arbitrator” who represents the two parties. In this case Jesus the Mediator between man and God.

The Apostle Paul affirms this in 1 Timothy 2:5,

1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus is critically linked to His mediatorial work.

Hebrews 9:15 (NKJV)
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Once more, the “better covenant” with “better promises” are inseparably connected to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Because of the better priesthood of Jesus, as the One who is endowed with “endless” or “indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:16) and His better sacrifice, He has become a surety or guarantee of a better covenant.

Hebrews 7:22 (NKJV)
22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety (guarantee) of a better covenant.
When we speak of Jesus Christ, His Person, His work, and all the spiritual blessings that He has purchased for His people, we are essentially speaking of the Gospel.

John Calvin commenting on this verse wrote, “The Apostle says now that it was but right that Moses and Aaron should give way to Christ as to one more excellent, because the Gospel is a more excellent covenant than the Law, and also because the death of Christ was a nobler sacrifice than the victims under the Law.”

I would add that the ministry of Christ and the new covenant which has better promises are qualitatively better because they are eternal. The shadows of the Law have given way to their fulfillment, to the reality in Jesus Christ.

In verse 7 the writer begins to explain why there is a need for a new covenant, and why the new covenant is better than the old.

A. The Need of a Better Covenant vv.7-9
Hebrews 8:7–9 (NKJV)
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.

The Old Covenant, which is the Mosaic Covenant was not faultless. If it were faultless, then there would be no need for a second or new covenant. So what was the problem? The problem was not exactly the covenant itself; the problem was that the people who the covenant was established with were not able to keep the covenant. Notice the statement in verse 8a “Because finding fault with them” or “but finding fault with the people.” So, ultimately the problem was the inability of the people to keep the covenant. The people did not continue in God’s covenant, they “broke” the covenant according to the words of Jeremiah 31:32.

If there was a fault with the Old Covenant, it was that it did not internally give the people hearts to obey God, to keep the covenant, it could not impart new life. John Owen, commenting on this thought wrote,

“If the first covenant had made the church perfect and passed on all the grace and mercy God meant humankind to have, then its wise and holy author would have no reason to establish another covenant. “For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law” (Galatians 3:21). The first covenant was imperfect and therefore had to be removed.”

The Bible teaches a doctrine of man’s sinfulness. Apart from saving grace, humanity is corrupt, and his heart is rebellious. Jeremiah described the heart of lost humanity.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)
9“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Our hearts are hostile to God, and left to ourselves we will not submit to His Lordship over us. We cannot in our power transform ourselves. Again Jeremiah declares,

Jeremiah 13:23 (NKJV)
23Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

The Old Covenant did not and could not renew man’s fallen heart. The Law could not remove the curse or perfect the heart of fallen mankind. In chapter 7 the writer of Hebrews states this fact.

Hebrews 7:19 (NKJV)
19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

But there was hope for the people of God because God announced through the prophet that there would come a day when He would establish a better covenant, a new covenant that was not like the old covenant established with their fathers. This New Covenant had better promises and would accomplish what the old could not.

II The Better Promises vv.10-13
Hebrews 8:10–13 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

It is God alone who establishes the New Covenant. This is the Divine initiative. Notice the “I will” statements of God sprinkled through the passage.

Hebrews 8:10–12 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

This is God’s free and sovereign grace. Men do not bargain with God in a covenant relationship. God establishes the covenant sovereignly, or unilaterally. Again John Owen comments on the new covenant,

“This covenant was a collection and confirmation of all the promises of grace that had been given to the church since the world began. I will make emphasizes that it was God alone who could provide a guarantee for this covenant. It underlines God’s infinite wisdom, goodness, grace, power, and faithfulness.”

In verses 10-13 the blessings of the new covenant are announced. The writer of Hebrews quotes the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34. We have in the following verses the nature and characteristics of the new covenant. The blessings of the new covenant are threefold.

They are:

  1. The Promise of Regeneration v.10
  2. The Promise of a Personal Knowledge of God v.11
  3. The Promise of Forgiveness of Sins v.12

1. The Promise of Regeneration v.10
Hebrews 8:10 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

That which was lacking under the Old Covenant has been remedied by the inner transformation of the Spirit of God. This is the promise of regeneration. This is the Holy Spirit giving new life. God will put His law in the minds and hearts of His people.

The mind and heart are the place of inward corruption. The Apostle Paul wrote of our depraved nature,

Ephesians 4:18 (NKJV)
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

So, it is this inward place of corruption that must be renewed and transformed. The law that was written on tablets of stone at Mount Sinai, will now be written on the hearts of the people. That which was outwardly given will now be inwardly present.

So, what do we mean by spiritual regeneration? A detailed definition of regeneration by Matthew Barret is,

“Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit to unite the elect sinner to Christ by breathing new life into that dead and depraved sinner so as to raise him from spiritual death to spiritual life, removing his heart of stone and giving him a heart of flesh, so that he is washed, born from above and now able to repent and trust in Christ as a new creation. Moreover, regeneration is the act of God alone and therefore it is monergistic in nature, accomplished by the sovereign act of the Spirit apart from and unconditioned upon man’s will to believe. In short, man’s faith does not cause regeneration but regeneration causes man’s faith.”

The prophet Ezekiel spoke of this inward work of God upon the heart. This is a prophecy concerning the New Covenant.

Ezekiel 11:19–20 (NKJV)
19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

By transforming the mind and heart, the stony heart is removed, that which is contrary to the will of God is overcome. And the giving of a heart of flesh, a new heart, the will and affections are moved to love God, and obey His commandments. There is a removal and a giving in this transformation.

The Apostle described this transformation as a spiritual resurrection.

Ephesians 2:1 (NKJV)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

And as the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5 (NKJV)
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Jesus, described it as a new birth, or birth from above.

John 3:3–8 (NKJV)
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Now listen closely, the new birth is a work of God by the Spirit through the Word of God. As God’s people, we are to speak the truth of the Gospel to those who are perishing. We are to bring people to an encounter with the living Christ as He is found in the Word of God. As ministers of the Gospel let us boldly proclaim the Word of God. The risen Christ commissioned the Apostle Paul and said to him,

Acts 26:17–18 (NKJV)
17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Furthermore, there might some here that have never experienced this radical new birth from above. Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). If you are not born again, you are not a Christian. To not be a Christian is to be without Christ, and to be without the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is only found in the death of Jesus on the cross. The Bible says,

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Well, let’s close with the first part of this message with some application.

Application: We are starting to see the superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant. What is better about the new when compared to the old?

1. The new covenant is made only with those who are born-again by the Holy Spirit. God by His sovereign grace has promised to inwardly transform every covenant member.

Hebrews 8:10 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

There were born-again believers that were members of the old covenant. But there also were unregenerate members of the old covenant. As the Apostle Paul teaches,

Romans 9:6 (NKJV)
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

Romans 9:11–13 (NKJV)
11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

The great contrast is that all or every member of the New Covenant has received the blessing of regeneration. Every member has the law of God written in their mind and on their heart. Every member has been born from above. This is one way the new covenant is “not according to the covenant that God made with their fathers.” This blessing is universal among the new covenant members, and it demonstrates the superiority of the new covenant over the old.

Now this is in contrast to what some might teach about new covenant membership. For instance, paedobaptists, those who baptize the infant children of Christians typically believe that there are members of the new covenant who are not born-again, who do not have the law written on their minds and hearts. However, such a position is contrary to the teaching of the Bible.

The Words of Jesus are quite clear, “You must be born again.” (John 3:7)

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4 Title: The New Covenant (Part 2)
Text – Hebrews 8:6-13

Hebrews 8:6–13 (NKJV)
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Introduction: Let’s return to our study of the New Covenant.

In our previous message, we observed forward progression, unity, and continuity in the development of the Divine Covenants. But as we come to the New Covenant we will notice that there is unity, and continuity, however, there is also discontinuity.

The language used by the writer of Hebrews is that the God will “make a new covenant” and it will not be like the Old Covenant. The New will be a better covenant, which is established on better promises.

  1. The Better Covenant vv.6
    a. The Need of a Better Covenant vv.7-9
  2. The Better Promises vv.10-13

In our last study, we began to see the superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant. What is better about the new when compared to the old?

The first great blessing of the New Covenant is the promise of spiritual regeneration.

1. The Promise of Regeneration v.10

Hebrews 8:10 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

That which was lacking under the Old Covenant has been remedied by the inner transformation of the Spirit of God. This is the promise of regeneration. This is the Holy Spirit giving new life. God will put His law in the minds and hearts of His people.

Listen how A.W. Pink describes this work of God in the inward man.
Regeneration consists in a radical change of heart, for there is implanted a new disposition as the foundation of all holy exercises; the mind being renovated, the affections elevated, and the will emancipated from the bondage of sin.

According to verse 9, Israel “did not continue in God’s covenant” and because of their disobedience “God disregarded them.” But by the transforming work of the Spirit, every member of the New Covenant the Law of God is imbedded inwardly. Consequently, new desires and affections are enabled, and now it is the delight of the Christian to walk in the ways of God. The New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant because of this work of regeneration in every covenant member.

2. The Promise of a Personal Knowledge of God vv.10b-11

Hebrews 8:10–11 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

God would be their God, and they would be His treasured people.
Verse 10b “and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” This statement is a repeated covenantal theme in both the Old and New Testaments. While in both testaments the people of God are His treasured people, the superiority of the New Covenant is that now God and His people are eternally, and inseparably united because of the mediation of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:15 (NKJV)
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

And verse 12,

Hebrews 9:12 (NKJV)
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

The death of Christ secured a permanent relationship between God and His people.

Because of the inward work of the Spirit in regeneration and the permanent relationship secured by the death of Christ, there is now a universal knowledge of God with every covenant member. Notice the words of the text.

Hebrews 8:11 (NKJV)
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

What is promised here is personal, intimate, and universal knowledge of God with every covenant member. The same language is used by Jeremiah in 24:7

Jeremiah 24:7 (NKJV)
7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

And it was used by Jesus as He taught about the effectual grace of God in salvation.

John 6:45 (NKJV)
45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Leon Morris commenting on the words of Jesus,

God will teach his people himself, that is he will teach them within their hearts.11

So, here we have the promise that every covenant member will have a personal knowledge of God.

3. The Promise of Forgiveness of Sins v.12
Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV)
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Lastly, we have in verse 12 the promise of forgiveness of sins. This is the great redemptive promise that was accomplished by Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood on the cross.

The Old Covenant provided animal sacrifices for sin. But those sacrifices were only typical, or shadows and could never take away sins. The animal sacrifices under the Law only pointed to the one true sacrifice of Christ.

Only in the death of Christ are sins forgiven.

The writer of Hebrews would say this way,

Hebrews 10:1–4 (NKJV)
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

And,

Hebrews 9:11–15 (NKJV)
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Well, let’s close and consider some of the applications of this truth.

Application: I hope we have heard the main point that the writer of the book of Hebrews is presenting to us. The point is that Jesus Christ and the New Covenant are much better, they are superior to the Old Covenant.

In this passage, the superiority of the New Covenant has been stressed. Now, let’s recall how the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant.

1. The New Covenant, is made only with those who are born-again by the Holy Spirit. God by His sovereign grace has promised to inwardly transform every covenant member.

Hebrews 8:10 (NKJV)
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

There were born-again believers that were members of the old covenant. But there also were unregenerate members of the old covenant. As the Apostle Paul teaches,

Romans 9:6 (NKJV)
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,

Romans 9:11–13 (NKJV)
11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

The great contrast is that all or every member of the New Covenant has received the blessing of regeneration. Every member has the law of God written in their mind and on their heart. Every member has been born from above. This is one way the new covenant is “not according to the covenant that God made with their fathers.” This blessing is universal among the new covenant members, and it demonstrates the superiority of the new covenant over the old.

Now this is in contrast to what some might teach about new covenant membership. For instance, paedobaptists, those who baptize the infant children of Christians typically believe that there are members of the new covenant who are not born-again, who do not have the law written on their minds and hearts. However, such a position is contrary to the teaching of the Bible.

The Words of Jesus are quite clear, “You must be born again.” (John 3:7)

2. In the New Covenant, every member of the covenant has a personal knowledge of God.

Hebrews 8:11 (NKJV)
11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

3. In the New Covenant every member of the covenant has a has received the promise of the forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV)
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

4. If the blessings of the New Covenant are universal among every member of the covenant, then this truth has a vital role for us in determining membership in the covenant community, the church. Furthermore, the proper candidates for participation in the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

You cannot be in the New Covenant without the internal realities. The internal realities are universal among the New Covenant members. There are no external members only, as there were under the Old Covenant.

5. If the blessings of the New Covenant are universal among every member of the covenant, then there is a great assurance that every member receives.

There is the sovereign word of God, and the gracious work in the heart that causes the believe to persevere.

First, The Promise of Perseverance.
Jeremiah 32:40 (NKJV)
40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

Secondly, great assurance under the New Covenant by the “I will” statements of God. An unbreakable covenant “not like the covenant they broke”.

Finally, the better covenant is assured. The old covenant was naturally limited, temporary and partial, but the new covenant is unrestricted in its power, eternal in its duration and complete in its effects. God makes definite promises to his people and binds himself in honour to blot out their transgressions. Here are the better promises. The ‘I wills’ of God rob uncertain, doubting man of his timidity, reticence and fear. God says, ‘I will make this covenant’, ‘I will engrave my laws in their hearts’, ‘I will be their God’, ‘I will manifest myself to them all’, ‘I will make myself known to the least as well as the greatest’, ‘I will be merciful’, ‘I will forget their sins.’ All the tentativeness and hesitancy of the earlier days have gone. Man can now be sure: All shall know me.

Footnotes:

1. Pink, Arthur Walkington. The Holy Spirit.

119 Cf. Paul’s statement that the Thessalonian Christians were θεοδίδακτοι (1 Thess. 4:9). Odeberg maintains that this term “points to the fact that no real knowledge exists of the Divine world, that does not proceed from God, it points to the internality versus the externality; διδακτοὶ θεοῦ is to be subsumed under the general γεννηθέντες ἐκ θεοῦ” (FG, p. 258).

2. Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to John. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995. Print. The New International Commentary on the New Testament.

3. Brown, R., & Brown, R. (1988, c1982). The message of Hebrews : Christ above all. Originally published under title: Christ above all. The Bible speaks today (151). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press.

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Title: Two Great Covenant Heads
Text – Romans 5:12-21

Romans 5:12–21 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Introduction: Stand in a large cemetery and notice all the headstones and you quickly realize that death reigns. And there is absolutely no escape. You can be a billionaire and have at your disposal all the means of modern medicine and in the end death will overcome. You can be president or a king with a mighty army and in the end, death will conquer. Even your powerful army will be overtaken by death eventually.

The Bible teaches that death came by the first man Adam, and that new life, resurrection life from the dead, came by Jesus Christ.

These two men found in Scripture serve as two great covenantal heads or two federal representatives that all of humanity stand in solidarity with one or the other. (1) Adam and (2) Jesus Christ. The two men serve as great focal points of Biblical history.

Notice how the Apostle teaches that Adam “is a type of Him who was to come.”
Romans 5:14 (NKJV)
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

In Romans chapter 5 the apostle is contrasting these two men and the effects of their actions upon their posterity.

All of Adam’s physical posterity are affected by his one act of disobedience in the Fall.

All of Christ’s spiritual posterity are affected by His one act of obedience in the work of the cross.

This is the doctrine of “Imputation”. Imputation can be defined as “charging or reckoning something to a person’s account.”

The Bible teaches three great acts of imputation. They are (1) the imputation of Adam’s sin to his descendants. (2) The imputation of the believer’s sin to Christ. (3) The imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer.

The Apostle teaches this truth in Romans 5:19.

Romans 5:19 (NKJV)
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

However, let’s begin in verse 12 and observe the devastating effects of Adam’s Fall v.12

I.  The Effects of Adam’s Fall vv.12-14
Romans 5:12–14 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Adam served as covenantal representative for mankind. But, he disobeyed God in the garden and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. By this act of disobedience Adam brought sin, death, and condemnation upon himself and upon all mankind that he represented. Notice our text in Romans 5.

v.12, and v.17 Adam brought death upon himself and all mankind because of his sin.

Romans 5:12 (NKJV)
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Romans 5:17 (NKJV)
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

v.16 Adam brought condemnation upon himself and all mankind.

Romans 5:16 (NKJV)
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.

v.19 By Adam’s disobedience he became a sinner and all of mankind were made sinners.

Romans 5:19 (NKJV)
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

As descendants of Adam, mankind is born in a natural state of sin and rebellion. David declares this truth in the Psalm 58

Psalm 58:3 (NKJV)
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

The Apostle Paul in chapter 3 affirms the universal fallenness of mankind.

Romans 3:9–18 (NKJV)
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:23 (NKJV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

II. The Effects of Christ’s Obedience vv.15-21
Romans 5:15–21 (NKJV)
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Notice, how the Apostle teaches that just as the sin of Adam brought condemnation to himself and all mankind. Now, because of the obedience of Jesus Christ, He has become the ground of justification and life to all that have faith in Him.

v.18 The One righteous act (Christ’s obedience to the law of God, and redemptive work on the cross) results in justification to all men that have faith. These are all men that are united to Him by faith.

Romans 5:18 (NKJV)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

v.19 Through the obedience of Jesus Christ all who He represents (believers) will be made righteous.

Romans 5:19 (NKJV)
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
We find this teaching of justification by faith alone in chapter 4.

Romans 4:5–7 (NKJV)
5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;

By the fall of Adam the entire human race has fallen into sin and death. But God sent His Son, the to redeem us from sin and death by His work on the cross.

I agree with John Calvin who said,

“Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy.”

In the final analysis before God, we are saved by works, but not our works, the works of another, the work of Christ upon the cross.

Adam and Jesus Christ are representatives of the entire human race and we are all connected to them either by nature or by grace. Who are you connected to?
1 Corinthians 15:21–22 (NKJV)
21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Footnotes:

1. Youngblood, Ronald F., F. F. Bruce, and R. K. Harrison, Thomas Nelson Publishers, eds. Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary 1995 : n. pag. Print.

2. Calvin, John, and John Owen. Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans.

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