The Divine Covenants

The Everlasting Covenant (Part 2)

God’s plan of mercy is revealed in the Everlasting Covenant.

· Eph. 3:10-11, His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our covenant oneness is clearly revealed in Eph. 1:3-5, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.

There are many, many statements in the New Testament concerning Jesus Himself which are only intelligent in the light of His having acted in fulfillment of a covenant agreement with His Father. For example:

· Luke 22:22 “The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays Him.”

From this verse what do you think is the destiny of Judas?

· John 6:38-40, “For I came down from heaven not to do my own will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Now notice three things in this passage:

· First, Jesus has received a certain charge or commission from His Father.

· Second, He solemnly undertook to carry out that charge.

· And third, the end expected in that arrangement was not merely the announcement of spiritual blessings, but the actual granting of them on those that His Father had given Him.

And who were the ones that had been given to Him? The elect.

· John 10:16, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

Here it is evident that Jesus has been given a specific charge or job to do. His mention of “other sheep” is a reference to the Gentiles.

In His high priestly prayer we hear Him saying:

· John 17:24, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given to me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” Here was Jesus claiming something that had been promised to Him for doing what had been assigned to Him. This obviously presupposes both an arrangement and a promise on the part of the Father.

Now look at the next three passages.

· Romans 5:12-19, Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned---for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, sin reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a commandment, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification. For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life to all men. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

· 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His foot.

· 1 Corinthians 15: 45-47, So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after the natural the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

The first thing to notice in these passages is the parallel between Adam and Jesus and this parallel can only be interpreted as one being a representative of sin and death and the other as the representative of righteousness and life. But how could God promise eternal life before the world began on any other basis than an agreement with His Son on behalf of His people?

The Everlasting Covenant, or the covenant of grace, is that mutual agreement between the Father and Jesus before the foundation of the world and it was the plan of salvation for the elect. In it Jesus was named as the Mediator, who willingly consented to leave heaven, come to earth, sacrifice His perfect life and return to heaven after a miraculous resurrection.

That there was a divine covenant in which Jesus was involved is very plain from the Scriptures.

· Isaiah 42:6-7, “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

As a covenantee, Jesus is given to His people as a pledge of all the blessings that the covenant promised.

In Malachi 3:1 He is called the “Messenger of the covenant”, because He came here to carry out the terms of the covenant and to make its blessings known to the world. In Hebrews 7:22 He is called “the surety of a better covenant”. A surety is one who is legally established to be the representative of others and He was therefore under an obligation to fulfill all the terms of the covenant on behalf of those He represents and for their benefit. And there is no legal obligation which the elect owed to God that He did not perfectly fulfill. In other words, He has paid the whole debt of His insolvent people.

· Hebrews 9:15, For this reason Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance---now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Jesus now stands between God and His people, advocating their cause. But how could Jesus fill such a position unless a covenant had been made with Him assigning such a role to Him?

There is a passage in Hebrews that established the fact of an organic connection between the covenant of grace and the sacrifice of Jesus.

· Hebrews 13:20, May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

Every time that Jesus used the term “My God” He gave evidence to His covenant standing before the Godhead.