12/31/04
The Covenant of Grace, in its Spiritual
Essence and in its Visible Administration
The Westminster Larger Catechism excellently exposits and reconciles the various passages of scripture in its treatment on the Covenant of Grace. Two pertinent sections of the Larger Catechism read:
"Q.31 With whom was the
Covenant of Grace made?
"A. The Covenant of Grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and in
him with all the elect as his seed."
In the new and better covenant, God the Father made an agreement with God the
Son, Jesus Christ. Acting as the Mediator, as the Representative and Substitute
for his people, the elect, Jesus Christ
fulfilled all the conditions of the Covenant of Works that Adam had
failed to fulfill. Jesus procured all the blessings of salvation for his
people, and that salvation he gives to them all as a free gift.
Q. 166. Unto whom is baptism to be administered?
A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church,
and so strangers from the covenant of promise, till they profess their faith in
Christ, and obedience to him,[1066] but infants descending from parents, either
both, or but one of them, professing faith in Christ, and obedience to him, are
in that respect within the covenant, and to be baptized.[1067]
We must distinguish the Covenant
of Grace in its spiritual essence (see question 31) and its visible
administration (see question 166). With respect to its spiritual essence,
the Covenant of Grace is with the elect alone, and unconditional unto them.
But with respect to its visible administration (as exemplified in water
baptism), the Covenant of Grace is with the visible church (consisting of elect
and non-elect), and hence conditional. The conditions are true faith and
repentance, for not all of the visible church will be saved, but only those
with true faith and repentance. Of course, only the elect will have true
faith and repentance, for they alone did Christ atone for and the Spirit
regenerate, God working faith and repentance in them.
Here is how the Dutch theologian Witsius
described it:
"V. Moreover, as we restrict this
covenant to the Elect, it is evident we are speaking of the internal, mystical,
and spiritual communion of the covenant. For salvation itself, and everything belonging
to it, or inseparably connected with it, are promised in this covenant, all
which, none but the Elect can attain to. If, in other respects, we consider the
external economy of the covenant, in the communion of the word and sacraments,
in the profession of the true faith, in the participation of many gifts, which,
though excellent and illustrious, are yet none of the effects of the sanctifying
Spirit, nor any earnest of future happiness; it cannot be denied, that, in this
respect, many are in covenant, whose names, notwithstanding, are not in the
testament of God." (Witsius, Economy of the Divine Covenants, bk 3 ch. 1)
Nevertheless, there are many who have erred on the doctrine
of the covenant, by denying one aspect of the covenant or the other.
There are many, like Schilder and the Canadian Reformed Churches, who have
denied that the Covenant of Grace in its spiritual essence is with the elect
alone. They have asserted that all
covenants are conditional by their very nature. But this error undermines the Biblical doctrines of grace, which
recognize that salvation is of free grace to God’s people.
On the other hand, we must beware the error of those who deny the Covenant of
Grace in its visible administration is conditional, as if what we believe and
how we live has no relation to our salvation. This tends toward
antinomianism. It is an error that
Hoeksema and the Protestant Reformed Churches have tended towards. They have denied that there is any sense in
which the divine covenant can be conditional.
This explains in large measure why the Protestant Reformed Churches have
denied the Covenant of Works (with its conditionality), and they have rejected
that adultery is just cause for divorce, severing the marriage covenant.
But the Biblical truth is this: the Covenant of Grace in its spiritual essence is unconditional (and with the elect alone), and the Covenant of Grace in its visible administration is conditional (and with the whole visible church).