To recap before moving forward, we have been considering Reformed Theology. We have said that Reformed Theology is Calvinistic, yet not all Calvinists are what might be more formally considered Reformed. We have pointed out two characteristics of Reformed Theology: Confessionalism and Covenantalism. The most recent post explained Confessionalism. This time we will give an overview of Covenantalism.

Covenantal theology views God’s dealings with His people based on “covenants.” Very simply stated, Covenantalism says that there are two basic covenants: Law (with Adam before the Fall), and Grace (with Adam and his descendants after the Fall.) In each of the successive covenants God made in the Old Testament, the Covenant of Grace was unfolded further until it was completely revealed in the New Covenant in Christ’s blood.

There are slight variations held by different groups of Covenantalism, but I will not venture into these intramural variations of Covenentalism.

Covenantal theology rightly emphasizes continuity between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. An important aspect of this belief is the insistence that God has one people of faith made up of Israel and the Church. The one company of the redeemed comes from people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. God’s one plan for His people began in eternity past in what theologians refer to as the Covenant of Redemption, when the Triune Godhead decreed to save some of fallen humanity by forgiving their sins, thereby putting God’s grace on display.

The next Covenant in time was with Adam. It is the Covenant of Works. Adam was to obey God and live or disobey and die. Adam and Eve broke the Covenant of Works in the Garden of Eden, after which death entered the human condition.

The Covenant of Grace was first revealed in Genesis 3:16, when God promised to provide a Deliverer to reverse the Fall and save His people. That Deliverer is Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. This took place long before Israel existed as a people.

The next installment of the Covenant of Grace involved Noah (Genesis 9). This too took place long before Israel existed as a people.

The next installment of the Covenant of Grace was the promises made to Abraham (Genesis 13 & 15), in which God promised that the Deliverer would come from Abraham’s descendants. The Apostle Paul identified Abraham’s Seed as Jesus, not Israel (Galatians 3:16).

The next installment of the Covenant of Grace was given through the Law of Moses (Exodus 20). The Law was not given as a means of salvation, but as a means of revealing to sinful humanity the impossibility of earning salvation through obedience. The redeemed are those who, condemned by God’s Law, cry out to God to do for them what they are incapable of doing for themselves.

God’s Law also promised in Deuteronomy 28 that Israel would enjoy God’s blessing as the result of obedience, or God’s judgment and eventual abandonment as the result of disobedience. Israel disobeyed, and according to God’s promise, they were exiled to Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and eventually Rome. The promised Deliverer, Jesus, appeared during Israel’s subjugation to Rome.

Whew! This brief overview is getting long! I’ll continue next time…