Covenant theology (also known as Covenantalism or Federal theology or Federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of covenant as an organizing principle for Christian theology.

General description

The standard description of covenant theology views the history of God's dealings with mankind in all of history, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants — the covenants of redemption, of works, and of grace.

These three covenants are called theological because they are not explicitly presented as such in the Bible but are thought to be theologically implicit, describing and summarizing the wealth of Scriptural data. Within historical Reformed Christian systems of thought, covenant theology is not merely treated as a point of doctrine, neither is it treated as a central dogma. Rather, Covenant is viewed as the structure by which the biblical text organizes itself.

As a framework for biblical interpretation, covenant theology stands in contrast to dispensationalism in regard to the relationship between the Old Covenant with national Israel and the New Covenant in Christ's blood. Regarding the theological status of modern day Jewish people, covenant theology is often referred to as "supersessionism," or "replacement theology" by its detractors, due to the perception that it teaches that God has abandoned the promises made to the Jews and has replaced the Jews with Christians as his chosen people in the earth. Covenant theologians deny that God has abandoned his promises to Israel, but see the fulfillment of the promises to Israel in the person and the work of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who established the church in organic continuity with Israel, not a separate replacement entity.

Covenant theology is a prominent feature in Protestant theology, especially in churches holding a reformed view of theology such as the Reformed churches and Presbyterian churches and, in different forms, some Methodist churches and in some Baptist churches.

Theological covenants

The nature of God's covenantal relationship with his creation is not considered automatic or of necessity. Rather, God voluntarily condescends to establish the connection as a covenant, wherein the terms of the relationship are set down by God alone according to his own will.

In particular, covenant theology teaches that God established two covenants with humankind, flowing from one eternal covenant within the Trinity which deals with how the other two relate. Thus, focusing on the relationship of God and man, historic Calvinism has been bi-covenantal, reflecting the early Reformation distinction between Law and Gospel.

Covenant of redemption

The covenant of redemption is the eternal agreement within the Godhead in which the Father appointed the Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to redeem the elect from the guilt and power of sin. God appointed Christ to live a life of perfect obedience to the law and to die a penal, substitutionary, sacrificial death as the covenantal representative for all who trust in him. Some covenant theologians have denied the intra-Trinitarian covenant of redemption, or have questioned the notion of the Son's works leading to the reward of gaining a people for God, or have challenged the covenantal nature of this arrangement. Those who have upheld this covenant point to passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 and Revelation 5:9-10 to support the principle of works leading to reward; and to passages like Psalm 110 in support that this is depicted in Scripture as a covenant.

Covenant of works

The covenant of works was made in the Garden of Eden between God and Adam who represented all mankind as a federal head. (Romans 5:12-21) It promised life for obedience and death for disobedience. Adam, and all mankind in Adam, broke the covenant, thus standing condemned. The covenant of works continues to function after the fall as the moral law.

Though it is not explicitly called a covenant in the opening chapters of Genesis, the comparison of the representative headship of Christ and Adam, as well as passages like Hosea 6:7 have been interpreted to support the idea. It has also been noted that Jeremiah 33:20-26 (cf. 31:35-36) compares the covenant with David to God's covenant with the day and the night and the statues of heaven and earth which God laid down at creation. This has led some to understand all of creation as covenantal: the decree establishing the natural laws governing heaven and earth. The covenant of works might then be seen as the moral law component of the broader creational covenant. Thus the covenant of works has also been called the covenant of creation, indicating that it is not added but constitutive of the human race; the covenant of nature in recognition of its consonance with the natural law in the human heart; and the covenant of life in regard to the promised reward.

Covenant of grace

The covenant of grace promises eternal blessing for all people who trust in the successive promises of God. Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of these promises. He is the substitutionary covenantal representative fulfilling the covenant of works on their behalf, in both the positive requirements of righteousness and its negative penal consequences (commonly described as his active and passive obedience). It is the historical expression of the eternal covenant of redemption. Genesis 3:15, with the promise of a "seed" of the woman who would crush the serpent's head, is usually identified as the historical inauguration for the covenant of grace.

The covenant of grace became the basis for all future covenants that God made with mankind such as with Noah (Genesis 6, 9), with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17), with Moses (Exodus 19-24), with David (2 Samuel 7), and finally in the New Covenant fulfilled and founded in Christ. These individual covenants are called the biblical covenants because they are explicitly described in the Bible. Under the covenantal overview of the Bible, submission to God's rule and living in accordance with his moral law (expressed concisely in the Ten Commandments) is a response to grace - never something which can earn God's acceptance (legalism). Even in his giving of the Ten Commandments, God introduces his law by reminding the Israelites that he is the one who brought them out of slavery in Egypt (grace).

Biblical covenants

Adamic covenant

Covenant theology first sees a covenant of works administered with Adam in the Garden of Eden. Upon Adam's failure, God established the covenant of grace in the promised seed (Genesis 3:15), and shows his redeeming care in clothing Adam and Eve in garments of skin — perhaps picturing the first instance of animal sacrifice. The specific covenants after the fall of Adam are seen as administered under the overarching theological covenant of grace.

Noahic covenant

The Noahic covenant is found in Genesis 9. Although redemption motifs are prominent as Noah and his family are delivered from the judgment waters, the narrative of the flood plays on the creation motifs of Genesis 1 as de-creation and re-creation. The formal terms of the covenant itself more reflect a reaffirmation of the universal created order, than a particular redemptive promise.

Abrahamic covenant

The Abrahamic covenant is found in Genesis chapters 12, 15, and 17. Abraham is promised a seed and a land, although he would not see its fruition within his own lifetime. The Book of Hebrews explains that he was looking to a better and heavenly land, a city with foundations, whose builder and architect is God (11:8-16). The Apostle Paul writes that the promised seed refers in particular to Christ (Galatians 3:16).

Mosaic covenant

The Mosaic covenant, found in Exodus 19-24 and the book of Deuteronomy, expands on the Abrahamic promise of a people and a land. Repeatedly mentioned is the promise of the Lord, "I will be your God and you will be my people" (cf. Exodus 6:7, Leviticus 26:12), particularly displayed as his glory-presence comes to dwell in the midst of the people. This covenant is the one most in view by the term Old Covenant.

Although it is a gracious covenant beginning with God's redemptive action (cf. Exodus 20:1-2), a layer of law is prominent. Concerning this aspect of the Mosaic Covenant, Charles Hodge makes three points in his Commentary on Second Corinthians: (1) The Law of Moses was in first place a reenactment of the covenant of works; viewed this way, it is the ministration of condemnation and death. (2) It was also a national covenant, giving national blessings based on national obedience; in this way it was purely legal. (3) In the sacrificial system, it points to the Gospel of salvation though a mediator.

Davidic covenant

The Davidic covenant is found in 2 Samuel 7. The Lord proclaims that he will build a house and lineage for David, establishing his kingdom and throne forever. This covenant is appealed to as God preserves David's descendants despite their wickedness (cf. 1 Kings 11:26-39, 15:1-8; 2 Kings 8:19, 19:32-34), although it would not stop judgment from finally arriving (compare 2 Kings 21:7, 23:26-27; Jeremiah 13:12-14). Among the prophets of the exile, there is hope of restoration under a Davidic king who will bring peace and justice (cf. Book of Ezekiel 37:24-28).

New Covenant

The New Covenant is anticipated with the hopes of the Davidic messiah, and most explicitly predicted by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 31:34). At the Last Supper, Jesus alludes to this prophecy, as well as to prophecies such as Isaiah 49:8, when he says that the cup of the Passover meal is "the New Covenant in [his] blood." This use of the Old Testament typology is developed further in the Epistle to the Hebrews (see especially chs. 7-10). Jesus is the second Adam and Israel's hope and consolation: he is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17-18). He is the prophet greater than Jonah (Matt 12:41), and the Son in the house where Moses was a servant (Hebrews 3:5-6), leading his people to the heavenly promised land. He is the high priest greater than Aaron, offering up himself as the perfect sacrifice once for all (Hebrews 9:12, 26). He is the king greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42), ruling forever on David's throne (Luke 1:32). The term "New Testament" comes from the Latin translation of the Greek New Covenant and is most often used for the collection of books in the Bible, can also refer to the New Covenant as a theological concept.

Covenantal signs and seals

Since covenant theology today is mainly Protestant and Reformed in its outlook, proponents view Baptism and the Lord's Supper as the only two sacraments, which are sometimes called "church ordinances." The sacraments are a sign and a seal of the covenant of grace. Along with the preached word, they are identified as an ordinary means of grace for salvation. The benefits of these rites do not occur from participating in the rite itself (Latin: ex opere operato), but through the power of the Holy Spirit as they are received by faith.

Lord's Supper

The Eucharist or the Lord's Supper was instituted by Jesus at a Passover meal, to which he gave a radical reinterpretation. The festival of Passover commemorates the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt - specifically, how the lamb's blood which God commanded them to place on their door posts caused the Angel of Death to "pass over" their dwellings, so that their firstborn might be spared from the final plague. The New Testament writers understand this event typologically: as the lamb's blood saved the Israelites from the plague, so Jesus' substitutionary death saves God's New Covenant people from being judged for their sins. Covenant theology has generally viewed the Eucharist as a mysterious participation in the Real Presence of Christ mediated by the Holy Spirit (that is, real spiritual presence or pneumatic presence). This differs from Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism which believe in the Real Presence as an actual bodily presence of Christ, as well as from the generally Baptist position that the supper is merely a memorial commemoration.

Baptism

Paedobaptist Covenant theologians see the administration of all the biblical covenants, including the New Covenant, as including a principle of familial, corporate inclusion or "generational succession." In The Acts of the Apostles 2:38-39, the promise is seen to extend to the children of believers as it was in the Old Covenant. The biblical covenants between God and man include signs and seals that visibly represent the realities behind the covenants. These visible signs and symbols of God's covenant redemption are administered in a corporate manner (for instance, to households — see Acts 16:14-15; 16:31-34), not in an exclusively individualistic manner.

Baptism is considered to be the visible sign of entrance into the New Covenant and therefore may be administered individually to new believers making a public profession of faith. Paedobaptists further believe this extends corporately to the households of believers which typically would include children, or individually to children or infants of believing parents (see Infant baptism). In this view, baptism is thus seen as the functional replacement and sacramental equivalent of the Abrahamic rite of circumcision and symbolizes the internal cleansing from sin, among other things.

Credobaptist Covenant theologians (such as the Baptist John Gill) hold that baptism is only for those who can understand and profess their faith, and they argue that the regulative principle of worship, which many paedobaptists also advocate and which states that elements of worship (including baptism) must be based on explicit commands of Scripture, is violated by infant baptism. Furthermore, because the New Covenant is described in Jeremiah 31:31-34 as a time when all who were members of it would have the law written on their hearts and would know God, Baptist Covenant Theologians believe only those who are born again are members of the New Covenant.

History

Concepts foundational to covenant theology can be found in the writings of Church Fathers such as Irenaeus and Augustine, but the reformer John Calvin (Institutes 2:9-11) was the first to organize God's salvation economy under the categories of covenant theology. Early post-reformation developments include Caspar Olevianus (1536-1587) in Concerning the Substance of the Covenant of Grace between God and the Elect (De substantia foederis gratuiti inter deum et electos, 1585) and the Scottish Theologian Robert Rollock (1555-1599) in A Treatise of our Effectual Calling (Tractatus de vocatione efficaci, 1597).

The classical statement of covenant theology can be found in the British Westminster Confession of Faith (particularly chap. 7, 8, 19), as well as in the writings of English theologians such as John Owen (1616-1683), Biblical Theology, and An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The classical statements among 17th century continental theologians include Johannes Cocceius (c. 1603-1669) in The Doctrine of the Covenant and Testament of God (Summa doctrinae de foedere et testamento dei, 1648), Francis Turretin (1623-1687) in his Institutes of Elenctic Theology, and Hermann Witsius (1636-1708) in The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man. It may also be seen in the writings of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in Collected Writings of Jonathan Edwards (Vol 2, Banner of Truth edition, p.950).

The interpretation of how the reformed scholastics treated the relationship between covenant and contract is one that has been much debated, especially concerning the continental development of federal theology. Lyle Bierma has challenged the commonly held notion in contemporary scholarship that Genevan Reformers taught a unilateral and unconditional covenant relationship whilst the Rhineland Reformers taught a bilateral contractual relationship. He argued that Leonard Trinterud’s identification of the apparent polarisation between Calvin and Olevianus on the one hand and Luther and Bullinger on the other hand is a faulty reading of history. Revisiting the possible cross-fertilization of thought between the continental reformers and English reformers such as William Tyndale, it seems that they were developing a similar approach to federalism, namely that the covenant relationship incorporates both a unilateral and a bilateral dimension.

In the United States, the Princeton theologians (Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, Geerhardus Vos, and J. Gresham Machen) and, in the Netherlands, Herman Bavinck followed the main lines of the classic view, teaching the Covenant of Redemption, the Covenant of Works (Law), and the Covenant of Grace (Gospel).

Recent well-known covenant theologians in the United States include Michael Horton, Meredith G. Kline, J. I. Packer, Richard L. Pratt, Jr., O. Palmer Robertson and R. C. Sproul. This system is taught at schools such as Covenant Theological Seminary, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Knox Theological Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Westminster Seminary California.

Recent developments

There have been a number of recent developments in covenant theology by a fast-growing minority of Reformed and Presbyterian pastors and theologians.

Covenant structure

Meredith G. Kline did pioneering work in the field of Biblical studies, in the 1960s and 1970s, building off of prior work by George E. Mendenhall, by identifying the form of the covenant with the common Suzerain–Vassal treaties of the Ancient Near East in the 2nd century BC. One of the highlights of his work has been the comparison of the Mosaic Covenant with the Hittite Suzerainty Treaty formula. A suggested comparison of the treaty structure with the book of Deuteronomy is as follows:

• Preamble (cf. Deuteronomy 1:1-4)
• Historical prologue (cf. Deuteronomy 1:5-3:29)
• Stipulations (cf. Deuteronomy 4-26)
• Document clause (cf. Deuteronomy 27)
• List of gods as witnesses (notably lacking in Deuteronomy)
• Sanctions: curses and blessings (cf. Deuteronomy 28; 31-34).

Kline has argued that comparisons between the suzerainty-vassal treaties and royal grants of the Ancient Near East provide insight in highlighting certain distinctive features of the Mosaic covenant as a law covenant, in contrast with the other historic post-Fall covenants. Many who have embraced Kline's insights have still insisted, however, in accordance with the Westminster Confession of Faith, that the Mosaic covenant was fundamentally an administration of the Covenant of Grace.

Contemporary revisions and controversy

A number of major 20th-century covenant theologians including Karl Barth, Klaas Schilder, and John Murray have departed from the traditional recognition of a Covenant of Works to develop a monocovenantal scheme subsuming everything under one Covenant of Grace. The focus of all biblical covenants is then on grace and faith. This has not been developed consistently between the various theologians. For example, Barth, influential in the mainline churches and in certain evangelical circles, conceived of grace as the fundamental reality underlying all of creation. Influential among more conservative Presbyterian and Reformed churches, Murray acknowledged the traditional concept of a works principle as a condition for life with Adam in the Garden of Eden, comparing Adam's works to the works of Christ. He disputed its label as a covenant, however, preferring to call this arrangement the Adamic administration.

At Westminster Theological Seminary in the late 1970s, Norman Shepherd, a professor of systematic theology, was dismissed due to controversy over his teaching on justification. His views involved a reconfiguration of covenant theology that went beyond those of Murray, his predecessor. Shepherd denied any notion of a works or merit principle, leading to a denial that Christ's righteousness is imputed to the believer. He argued that Jesus' own justification was due to his faith and obedience which is not to be considered meritorious. In the same way then, the believer must be justified before God by faith and his or her own personal obedience. He explains in The Call of Grace (2000, p. 39):

God does not tempt his children to try to earn their salvation by the merit of their works. Nor does he tease them by offering a way of salvation that he knows will not work. More pointedly, the very idea of merit is foreign to the way in which God the Father relates to his children. Rather, in love the Lord leads his people to trust him. In the Mosaic covenant, he teaches his people how to live happy and productive lives in the Promised Land in union and communion with the Lord of the Covenant. He promises forgiveness of sins and eternal life, not as something to be earned, but as a gift to be received by a living and active faith.

Theologians who follow Shepherd deny that God ever made a covenant where humanity was required to earn anything by their works. Their claim is that the Covenant of Works between Adam and God in the Garden of Eden was not originally part of covenant theology. A Covenant of Works at creation does not receive explicit mention in early confessions such as the French Confession (1559), the Scots Confession (1560), the Belgic Confession (1561), the Thirty-Nine Articles (1562), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) (John Murray, Collected Writings of John Murray: 4, Studies in Theology, pp. 217-218).

Some of Shepherd's critics contend that the concept of a works principle distinct from a Covenant of Grace is evident in the commentaries and dogmatic works of the earliest covenant theologians, particularly in the distinction made between Law and Gospel (for instance, Zacharias Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism). There is also explicit articulation of a Covenant of Works in the writings of those such as Olevianus and Rollock. Additionally, defenders of the traditional view argue that the concept of this works principle operating in the pre-Fall state in the Garden of Eden as a covenant is present in the early confessions even if the Covenant of Works is not explicitly named. Examples include Belgic Confession, article 14, which speaks of Adam having received and transgressed the "commandment of life"; or Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answer 6 affirming the goodness of man in creation. The later Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) explicitly names the Covenant of Works which Adam transgressed (7.2; 19.1), and which "continues to be a perfect rule of righteousness" in the form of the moral law (19.2, 3).

In opposition to the modern revisers, Meredith Kline has reemphasized the idea of a covenant of works as expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith 7.2 as a means to protect a gospel of grace. Kline writes in Kingdom Prologue (Two Age Press, 2000), p. 108-109:

If meritorious works could not be predicated of Jesus Christ as second Adam, then obviously there would be no meritorious achievement to be imputed to his people as the ground of their justification-approbation. The gospel invitation would turn out to be a mirage. We who have believed on Christ would still be under condemnation. The gospel truth, however, is that Christ has performed the one act of righteousness and by his obedience of the one the many are made righteous (Rom 5:18, 19)…. Underlying Christ's mediatorship of a covenant of grace for the salvation of believers is his earthly fulfillment, through meritorious obedience, of his heavenly covenant of works with the Father.… What begins as a rejection of works ends up as an attack, however unintentional, on the biblical message of saving grace.

Kline, Michael Horton, and others have sought to uphold the classical distinction of two sorts of covenant traditions: one based on law (works) and the other on promise (grace). While works in Reformed theology are antithetical to grace as the means of justification, they are on the other hand ultimately the basis for grace since God requires perfect upholding of the law for salvation, and heaven must be earned. However, since this is seen as an impossible task for the corrupted sinner, it is Christ, who perfectly obeyed the law and who, earning the reward, graciously bestows it to his people. The sinner is thus saved by Christ's works and not his own. Right standing before God is then due to an alien or imputed righteousness, not by personal faithfulness which is recognized as the fruition of salvation and not its ground. For example, in Getting the Gospel Right (Baker Books, 1999), p. 160, R.C. Sproul writes:

Man's relationship to God in creation was based on works. What Adam failed to achieve, Christ, the second Adam, succeeded in achieving. Ultimately the only way one can be justified is by works.

Here, Sproul articulates the traditional view, that Jesus was glorified in his death and resurrection because of his merit in fulfillment of the Covenant of Works as the second Adam. His merit is then counted for those he came to save. The believer is not justified by personal righteousness, but by faith, receives the righteousness of the mediator, Jesus Christ.

See also

• New Covenant Theology
• Christian view of the Law

References

Historical documents

• Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 19 and chapter 27
• Helvetic Consensus (1675)

Advocates

• Ball, John (1645). A Treatise of the Covenant of Grace. Facsimile reprint: Dingwall, Peter and Rachel Reynolds (2006), ISBN 1-84685-278-1
• Horton, Michael (2006). God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. ISBN 0-8010-1289-9
• Kline, Meredith (2000). Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview. Overland Park: Two Age. ISBN 0-9706418-0-X
• Murray, John (1982). Covenant Theology. In Collected Writings of John Murray, vol. 4. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust. ISBN 0-85151-340-9
• Reymond, Robert L. (1998). A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith. Nashville: Nelson. ISBN 0-8499-1317-9
• Robertson, O. Palmer (1981). Christ of the Covenants. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed. ISBN 0-87552-418-4
• Robertson, O. Palmer (2000). The Israel of God: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed. ISBN 0-87552-398-6
• Van Til, Cornelius (1955). Covenant Theology. In L. A. Loetscher (Ed.), The New Schaff-Herzog Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Grand Rapids: Baker. ISBN 99914-2-980-8.
• Vos, Geerhardus (2001). "The Doctrine of the Covenant in Reformed Theology." In R. B. Gaffin, Jr. (Ed.), Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed. ISBN 0-87552-513-X
• Witsius, Hermann (Reprint 1990). The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man, 2 vols. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed. ISBN 0-87552-870-8.
• Malone, Fred (2003). The baptism of disciples alone: A covenantal argument for credobaptism versus paedobaptism. Founders Press. ISBN 0-9713361-3-X

Critics

• Showers, Renald (1990). There Really Is a Difference: A Comparison of Covenant and Dispensational Theology. Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. ISBN 0-915540-50-9

External links

• Nave's Topical Bible on covenant
• The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man by Hermann Witsius
• Commentary on Romans 5:12-21 by Charles Hodge - a central passage for federal theology
• "The Covenant of Works" and "The Covenant of Grace" from Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge
• "The Adamic Administration" by John Murray
• "What is a Covenant" from Kingdom Prologue by Meredith G. Kline
• "Two Adams, Two Covenants of Works" from Kingdom Prologue by Meredith G. Kline
• "Covenant Theology Illustrated: Romans 5 on the Federal Headship of Christ" by S. M. Baugh, Modern Reformation (2000)
• Introduction to Covenant Theology by J. I. Packer
• Series on Covenant Theology by J. Ligon Duncan
• Theses, quotations from Reformed covenant theologians, and histories of covenant theology collected by R. Scott Clark, associate professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary California
• Essays on covenant theology by historic and contemporary scholars
• Covenant theology articles and essays
• "God's Covenants" series by Fred Malone
• Law and Covenant in Israel and the Ancient Near East by George E. Mendenhall, 1954