The Reality of God’s Plan

To the actual existence of the Covenant of Redemption, called by most writers the Covenant of Grace, the Word of God bears in every part the amplest testimony.

The character of a Surety,³⁷ for example, given to the Savior in the divine oracles, necessarily involves the covenant, since the least that can be said of that relation is that he who bears it is constituted the representative of others, and thereby comes under an engagement to fulfill certain obligations in their name and for their benefit (Heb 7:22). And when about to offer up His own life upon the cross, He said, “Lo I come to do Thy will, O God” (Heb 10:7). But how could this fearful sacrifice have been known to be the will of God, had He not previously so declared it? The prophets abound in declarations affirmative of the covenant of redemption. To Messiah the Father said, “I the LORD have called thee…and will…give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house” (Isa 42:6-7). And again, “Thus saith the LORD…I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people” (Isa 49:8). But more fully, He says of Him, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul”—the fruit—“and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa 53:10-12). The last of the prophets, announcing His coming, says, “The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of host” (Mal 3:1).

From these and similar texts you learn that, by the gracious act of the Father, Christ the Son was constituted the Surety of His people; that when He “gave himself for us” (Ti 2:14), it was according to the previously declared will of God; and that He was called to this work by the Father, Who, for our redemption, made His soul an offering for sin. Did all this occur without any previous consent or agreement? Who, then, can question the reality of the covenant of redemption? That this covenant came into being before the fall of man is a truth sustained in the divine Word by the clearest evidence.

It is fully supported by Peter when he says, addressing Christians in all lands, “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation [manner of life] received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God” (1Pe 1:18-21). Paul bears concurrent testimony in the declaration, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Ti 1:2). He says, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2Ti 1:9). And yet more: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Eph 1:3-4). The covenant of redemption was, therefore, brought into being before the creation of the world.

The purpose of the covenant is expressed by its name. It looked to the redemption³⁸ and salvation of men. The plan, however, by which these results were to be gained, must necessarily be such as would, at the same time, glorify the purity, justice, and honor alike of all the Persons of the adorable Trinity. It is impossible [that] He could have devised or approved any arrangement that would fail of these ends. Had man been restored to happiness without meeting these demands, God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—would have been dishonored. It was the design of the covenant, therefore, to bring into perfect harmony the salvation of men and the glory of God.

The contracting parties appear distinctly before your mind. This part of our subject, however, demands somewhat more of particularity. It is plain that man could not have been one of these parties, since…the covenant was made before the foundation of the world; and he, of course, was not then in being. His happiness was indeed its object; but in its formation, he could assuredly have had no active participation. But even had this been otherwise, his fulfillment of the necessary terms of redemption would have been impossible. None but a divine person could do this, who joining Himself to our nature, could bear Almighty wrath, and “magnify the law” (Isa 42:21) by a perfect obedience.

Angels could not, for the same reasons, have been parties to this covenant. They excel men in the spirituality of their essence and the extent of their powers. Still, like men, their nature is too limited. And, besides, they belong to another class of beings, who never could, either by incarnation or in any other manner, become so related to us as to accomplish the design proposed.

Who, then, were the parties covenanting? They were, I answer, the same Who in the beginning said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). They were God, as He has made Himself known to us, in the exalted Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Truly, “The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deu 6:4), and, “There is no God else beside me” (Isa 45:21). But it is equally true that for the purpose of redeeming us, He has revealed Himself in the form of a glorious Trinity, all the persons of Whom are “the same in essence, and equal in divine properties.” To [each] of these, sin was in every sense as offensive as to another. The honor of each was alike engaged to demand its rebuke and punishment. The concurrence of all was, therefore, alike necessary to any expedient by which the penalty might be averted from those by whom sin should be committed. Nor was this concurrence difficult, since the love that impelled to redemption burned with equal intensity in the hearts of each. The promise of eternal life was indeed made by the Father, but it was not exclusively His. It was equally expressive of the goodness of both the other Persons in the Godhead. And also the life promised was, in its nature, to be the enjoyment no less of the love and favor of the Son and the Spirit, than of the Father.

When, therefore, John prayed for grace and peace for the churches of Asia, he supplicated them not only from Him “which was, and is, and is to come” (Rev 4:8), that is, the Father, but also from the Holy Ghost, Whom he calls on account of the variety and fullness of His gifts, “The seven spirits which are before his throne” and “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:4-5). Each was alike interested, since the covenant in its practical development was to vindicate the right and to manifest the glory of all. Redemption was, therefore, the result of the united wisdom and grace, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

One of the parties to the covenant was, therefore, God the Father. That the adorable Jehovah might have left [this] guilty race to perish in their sin, all intelligent beings must acknowledge. He was not in justice bound to interfere in their behalf. As the righteous Governor of the universe, He might have proceeded to uphold the authority of His law by executing its penalty upon the disobedient, and thus to give an awful example of vengeance to the intelligent inhabitants of the various provinces of His empire. His goodness did not require that He should rescue His rebellious subjects from the misery that they had brought upon themselves because He had already given of this an ample display in their creation and endowments; it was still exhibited in the happiness diffused through all the regions of innocence. His glory does not depend upon the manifestation of any particular attribute, but of them all, on proper occasions, and in full harmony. He is glorified when He bestows blessings upon the righteous, and He is no less glorified when He inflicts punishment upon the wicked.

The event shows that His glory is greater in the salvation than it would have been in the destruction of men. It ought, however, to be considered that His glory means nothing but the manifestation of His character to His creatures; and that as there was no necessity for such a manifestation and as it could contribute in no degree to His [happiness], it was perfectly voluntary and might have as well been withheld. The only necessity that can be admitted is that if He did show Himself to His creatures, the exhibition should correspond with the greatness and excellence of His character. He might, had He pleased, not have created a single being to contemplate His perfections. When He did create them and they dishonored Him, He might have cast them off forever. It was under these circumstances that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Joh 3:16). The whole arrangement was, therefore, of His own sovereign grace, uninfluenced by human merit. But this conclusion is not only inferable from the facts before you. His entire sovereignty in this whole transaction is expressly affirmed in His Word: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Ti 3:5-7).

Another of the parties in the covenant of redemption was God the Son. Nor were His acts in this behalf less sovereign that those of the Father. In all respects, both the Father and the Son were moved by the same considerations. However, it was the prerogative,³⁹ alone of the Son, to assume our nature, thus becoming our representative Head, in a sense similar to that sustained to us by “the first Adam,” to meet and satisfy on our behalf all the claims of divine justice. Having assumed this relation in the covenant, He was substituted in our place. His acts, therefore, had legal respect to those whom He represented, and by the supreme Lawgiver were held as a full equivalent for the sins of His people. Having in Himself the power to redeem us, He gladly undertook this great work. He Himself says in regard to it, “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psa 40:8).

He is indeed expressly made known to us as “the second Adam”: “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1Co 15:45-49). And still more. “Not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:15-17). Thus, the representative character of Adam and of Christ is clearly stated.

The result of their agencies were different—the one being the cause of guilt, depravity, and death; the other of righteousness, sanctification, and life. Their relations to us are similar—the federal association of Christ being as clearly stated as that of Adam. If the first man had not been our federal head, we should not have suffered by his transgression. If the second Man, “the Lord from heaven” (1Co 15:47), had not been our federal head, we should not have been benefitted by His obedience. Our relations to them being alike, Paul says, “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom 5:19). He, in a word, became our Mediator by this covenant…“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1Ti 2:5-6).

The other party to the covenant of redemption was God the Holy Ghost. Partaking in the love and grace of the Father and the Son [and] acting with the same freedom, He engaged to become the efficient agent by which men might be regenerated, sanctified, and prepared to receive and enjoy the blessings of eternal life, and thus to consummate the end for which we were redeemed. A necessity exists for the work of the Spirit in salvation, no less imperative than for the work of the Father and of the Son. “Except a man be born again [born of the Spirit], he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Joh 3:3).

These are the covenanting parties: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and such, briefly, is the part that each engaged to perform in the redemption of men…

Thus, we have seen the actual existence of the covenant of redemption; the previous period at which it was brought into being; the purposes it contemplated; [and] the parties covenanting…This was the covenant upon which was predicated the announcement in Eden of the Deliverer from sin, under the power and penalty of which man had fallen by a violation of the provisions contained in the covenant of works. Well then may we join in, with all our heart, that exalted thanksgiving uttered by the beloved disciple: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:5-6).

From The Cross and the Covenants, Sprinkle Publications, www.sprinklepublications.net.

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Robert Boyte Crawford Howell (1801-1868): American Southern Baptist minister, missionary, and editor; borne in Wayne County, North Carolina, USA.

The covenant between the Father and the Son is the foundation of the whole of our salvation.—Herman Witsius