The Covenant of Grace

This week we focused our study on the Special Revelation of God as expressed in three covenants from Scripture.

1) The Covenant of Redemption

Why is there Trinity? Because God covenanted within himself to restore the worship of heaven by creating and redeeming a new kind of creature, a human. After casting from Heaven Lucifer and a third of the angels who had engaged in the Rebellion, God's challenge was to make sure that rebellion would never enter His realm again. And so before time began, The Father elects a people in the Son as their mediator to be brought to saving faith by the Spirit. The plan of salvation was not in response to Adam's failure. The plan of salvation pre-dated Eden. Christ is spoken of as the Lamb Slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesiasn 1:4).

2) The Covenant of Obedience

Sometimes referred to as the Covenant of Works or the Law, God gave us humans a Covenant of Obedience, first with Adam and later with Israel. The Covenant of Obedience says keep the law and you live; rebel against the law and you die (Ezekiel 18:4). Both Adam and Israel fail. Romans 3:20 says, "By the works of the law, no human being will be justified (put right with God) So, why would God demand something no one can deliver? There are three purposes of the Covenant of Obedience.

1. To reveal the character of God (Deuteronomy 29:29)
2. To identify rebellion against God in us (Romans 7:7-12).
3. To define the ministry of the Son (John 6:38)

By being the only human who ever perfectly kept the Covenant of Obedience, Jesus earns life.

3) The Covenant of Grace

As established by the Covenant of Redemption, Jesus accepts our death penalty under the law and confers his righteousness to us by grace. Grace means "free gift." How we are made partners of this Covenant is outlined in the Ordo Salutis (order of salvation).

Please save this handout by right-clicking on the link and choosing Save As. Study this. Learn it. Understand the great grace in which we stand as the people God chose by his own free will before time to belong to Jesus and to be conformed to his will by the Holy Spirit.