Unlocking Abraham, Pt. 1: The Covenant of Redemption

This is the first of a series of posts in which I hope to offer an explanation of my view of God’s covenant dealings with Abraham. This view is virtually the same as that held by Nehemiah Coxe, and presented in the book Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ, by Nehemiah Coxe & John Owen. Some dear paedobaptist brothers and sisters of mine are often confused when I assert that while the Covenant of Grace (I prefer the name Covenant of Redemption) was most certainly revealed to Abraham, the Covenant of Circumcision cannot be equated with this Gospel Covenant. In this, and, Lord willing, future posts, I’ve tried to present my view in the form of succinct statements, followed by Scriptural support. It is my hope that this will serve to edify and clarify my convictions concerning Abraham, circumcision, grace, baptism, and God’s eternal plan of redemption in Christ.

1.) God’s promises to Abraham are based in mercy, not merit.

Micah 7:20

²⁰Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

Luke 1:72-73

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

Galatians 3:18

¹⁸For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

2.) The Covenant of Redemption, made in Christ’s blood and the only way of salvation, was revealed to Abraham.

Galatians 3:6-9, 13-14, 16-19, 29

⁶Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

⁷Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

⁹So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. […]

¹³Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

¹⁴That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. […]

¹⁶Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

¹⁸For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

¹⁹Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. […]

²⁹And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Luke 1:72-73

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

 ⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

3.) In Genesis 12, the Gospel Covenant, the Covenant of Redemption, is revealed to Abraham.

Genesis 12:1-3

¹Now Jehovah had said unto Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

³And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Galatians 3:8, 14, 17

⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.” […]

¹⁴That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. […]

¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ,the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Genesis 12 marks the point in history in which Abraham was called out and separated unto God as the father of a particular nation. Here, in Genesis 12, we see the beginning of the nation which would come to be known as Israel.

The law, referred to in Galatians 3:17 above, was delivered to Israel immediately after their deliverance from Egypt. This occurs 430 years after the inception of the nation recorded in Genesis 12.

Exodus 12:40-41

⁴⁰Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

⁴¹And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt.

4.) These Redemption-Covenant promises are later confirmed.

Genesis 15:5-6

⁵And he brought him forth abroad, and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them”: and he said unto him, “So shall thy seed be.”

 ⁶And he believed in Jehovah; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Romans 4:3, 18

³For what saith the scripture? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” […]

¹⁸Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, “So shall thy seed be.”

5.) Any and all redemptive, justifying blessings that believers receive ultimately find their source in Christ, who has secured them in the Covenant of Redemption.

Isaiah 42:6

⁶I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Hebrews 7:22

²²By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

2 Corinthians 1:19-20

¹⁹For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

²⁰For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Galatians 3:16-17

¹⁶Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, “And to seeds,” as of many; but as of one, “And to thy seed,” which is Christ.

¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Genesis 17:7

⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Genesis 22:18a

¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Here it must be noted that Paul, in Galatians 3:16-17, is reading the promise of Genesis 17:7 in a sense that is not readily apparent. We must remember that the New Testament often provides clarity in areas where the Old Testament has shadows. The immediate sense of Genesis 17:7 is that Abraham’s physical descendants will have a special relationship with God which would not be shared with other nations. Yet Paul goes deeper than this typological sense, interpreting “seed” to mean Christ (and, by extension, all those federally united to Him). Thus Genesis 17:7 has implications for Abraham’s physical descendants, as well as his spiritual children. We must not forget to always interpret the Old Testament by the New, and not the other way around. Thus, we must be careful not to confuse the two senses of this promise. By this promise, the physical descendants of Abraham are promised a physical (visible, national) relationship to God. At the same time, the spiritual children of Abraham, in Christ, are promised a spiritual (salvific) relationship to God.

6.) Gentile believers are rightly called Abraham’s children because they are counted in Christ, the promised Seed of blessing to the nations.

Romans 4:16-25

¹⁶Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

¹⁷(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

¹⁸Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

¹⁹And being not weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb:

²⁰He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

²¹And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

²²And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

²³Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

 ²⁴But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

²⁵Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Galatians 3:8, 29

⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.” […]

²⁹And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

7.) The way of salvation – inclusion in the Covenant of Redemption confirmed in Christ and revealed to Abraham – is by faith alone, and not by physical descent.

Romans 4:9-10, 13, 16

⁹Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

¹⁰How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. […]

¹³For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

¹⁶Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all…

This promised salvation by grace through faith cannot be canceled, superseded, annulled, overridden, or ever take a backseat to any other law and/or covenant introduced in history. Thus, any other covenant (whatever principles, purposes, or parties involved) must necessarily be subservient to this Covenant of Redemption promised to Abraham. Now, subservient does not mean that it is opposed to this Gracious Covenant, but rather that it exists in order to further accomplish the ultimate purpose of the Covenant of Redemption. On the other hand, just because it functions as a servant to the Covenant of Redemption, it does not follow that it is the same in substance as the eternal Covenant of Redemption confirmed in the blood of Christ. The scaffolding providing temporary structure for a house is subservient to the building, but it is not the house itself.

Galatians 3:17

¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

8.) The promises discussed above – the Gospel Covenant of Redemption – were given to Abraham 25 years before the institution of circumcision. There was no external sign, nor seal, attached to the Covenant of Redemption.

9.) The blessings of the Covenant of Redemption in Christ are spiritual in nature, and the recipients of them are those who are included in Christ & Abraham by faith alone.

10.) Since the promises discussed above comprise the gospel in an early, general form, the heirs of blessing are guaranteed to receive all the promises of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood. There is no partial or temporary interest in the Gospel Covenant of Grace – the Covenant of Redemption in Christ. It is all of grace, and all of faith.

Isaiah 54:13

¹³And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

Isaiah 59:21

²¹As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith Jehovah, from henceforth and for ever.

Jeremiah 31:33-34

³³But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith Jehovah, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

³⁴And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

²⁵Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

²⁶A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

 ²⁷And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

11.) The promise of a blessed seed was given uniquely to Abraham. It is not said that all believers will be made fathers of a nation, or given a seed through which all nations will be blessed. Thus, our blessings are derived from Abraham. Just as a man leaves his inheritance to his children, so we receive Abraham’s inheritance, and he is our father. The promises discussed above are to Abraham and his seed. We have seen that this seed is Christ, and all believers in Him by faith.

Galatians 3:29

²⁶For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

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