Lesson 1 Flashcards
How does O. Palmer Robertson define the term Covenant?
Covenant is a bond (an oath bound committment (Joshua 9 Gibianites; Heb 6:13; 16-18) committing people to each other in life and death) in blood (promising the sheading of blood to the one who breaks it; Gen Gen 15; Jer 34) sovereignly administered (with no barganing the terms of the Covenant with God, e.g. Moses, Abraham)
What themes does O. Palmer Robertson identify as unifying the covenants?
The Immanuel Priciple - I will be your God and you will be my people.
- God’s covenants manifest a structural unity.
- God’s covenants manifest a thematic unity.
How does the Immanuel Principle unify the covenants?
Throughout the biblical record of God’s administration of the covenant, a single phrase recurs as the summation of the covenant relationship: “I shall be your God, and you shall be my people.” The constant repettion of this phrase or its equivalent indicates the unity of God’s covenant.
- The theme appears in the Abrahamic (Gen 17:7) , Mosaic (Ex 6:6-7), Davinic (2 Kings 11:17), and New Covenant (Heb 8:10)
- God dwelling with His people accross the covenants. Eden, Sinai, Tabernacle, Temple, City of God, Christ Himself, The Church, then His people dwelling with HIm in Heaven.
- Christ is the heart of them all, and thus He, being undevided, unifies them all.
How does Berkhof characterize the relationship between the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Works?
1) The covenant of works is not abrogated in that first, we still owe God obedience, second, we are still punished with death for disobedience, and third, the promise of life for obedience still holds.
2) The covenant of grace is simply the execution of the original covenant of works by Christ as our surety, and through faith in Him we reap the fruit of the original covenant.
3) The covenant of works is abrogated in that first, under the covenant of grace even more blessing is promised and received through Christ’s obedience to the covenant of works, and second, in that the covenant of works is no longer an appropriate means of attaining eternal life.
According to MacLeod how is covenant theology organized?
It is Organized around three covenants:
1. The Covenant of Works
2. The Covenant of redemption (between Father and Son)
3. The Covenant of grace (between God and believer)
According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, how has the Covenant of Grace been differently administered under the various dispensations?
- Under all dispensations, faith in Christ (messiah) is worked be the Holy Spirit.
- Under the law: by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, etc, all foresignifying Christ to come.
- Under the Gospel, when Christ, the substance, was exhibitted, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
List and explain the various definitions for Covenant Theology.
Ligon Duncan - The gospel set in the context of God’s eternal plan of communion with his people; and its historical outworking in the covenant of works and grace.
MacLeod - The use of the covenant concept as an architectonic principle for systematizing of Christian Truth.
Covenant is a bond (an oath bound committment (Joshua 9 Gibianites; Heb 6:13; 16-18) committing people to each other in life and death) in blood (promising the sheading of blood to the one who breaks it; Gen Gen 15; Jer 34) sovereignly administered (with no barganing the terms of the Covenant with God, e.g. Moses, Abraham)
What are the five biblical themes of Covenant Theology?
- Atonement
- Assurance of Faith
- The sacraments
- The coninuity of redemptive history
- The Christian Life (God’s sovereignty and our human responsibility)
What are the roles of signs in covenants?
- To remind us of God’s promises to us.
- To confirm the promises
- To guarantee the promises - assurance (Gen 17:10-11) and show the closeness between the sign and the covenant itself)
What are the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words used in Scripture to translate the term covenant?
- Hebrew: Berit
- Greek: Diatheke
- Latin:
i. Testamentum (OT / NT)
ii. Foedus (“Federal Theology” = covenant theology
iii. Pactum - Pact or agreement.
What is meant by the term “Covenant of Redemption”?
- There are two different definitions, one by Robertson and the other by the Puritans:
A. Rebertson: The covenant of grace (that God made with Adam after the fall)
B. Puritans: The intra-Trinitarian relationship of God before the foundations of the world (Berkhof: “Pactum Solutis”)
How do the Puritans and the Westminster Divines differ concerning the number of covenants in scripture?
- Puritans believed in 3, WM Divines in 2
- Puritans: Covenant of Redemption, Covenant of Works, and Covenant of Grace.
(Creation, nature or life)
John Murray’s = Adamic Administration - WCF: Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace
Has the covenant of works been abrogated?
It is generally agreed that no change in the legal status
of man can ever abrogate the authority of the law; that God’s claim
to the obedience of His creatures is not terminated by their fall in sin
and its disabling effects; that the wages of sin continues to be death;
and that a perfect obedience is always required to merit eternal life.
This means with respect to the question under consideration:
a. That the covenant of works is not abrogated: (1) in so far as the
natural relation of man to God was incorporated in it, since man
always owes God perfect obedience; (2) in so far as its curse and
punishment for those who continue in sin are concerned; and (3) in
so far as the conditional promise still holds. God might have
withdrawn this promise, but did not, Lev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12.
It is evident, however, that after the fall no one can comply with the
condition.
b. That the covenant of works is abrogated: (1) in so far as it
contained new positive elements, for those who are under the
covenant of grace; this does not mean that it is simply set aside and
disregarded, but that its obligations were met by the Mediator for His
people; and (2) as an appointed means to obtain eternal life, for as
such it is powerless after the fall of man.
