“The Covenant of Redemption”

[netchaplain]

The only people that ever had a covenant with God was Israel. They are presently without a covenant (Heb 10:9), but will inherit a “New Covenant” in the Millennium (Jer 31:31-33; Eze 36:25-27); and they permanently become “the people of God.” Christians were never in a covenant with God, but are recipients of it. Their Covenant is between God and His Son, “The Covenant of Redemption.” There is nowhere is Scripture that designates this covenant to any other than the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! When the Lord Jesus said, “This is My Blood of the New Testament,” it is for the benefit of those whom God foreknows will receive the Lord Jesus and believe in Him, i.e. “which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mat 26:28). -NC

What Is the Covenant of Redemption?

A persistent tradition claims that upon being mocked by a skeptic with regard to his doctrine of creation, Saint Augustine was cynically asked, “What was God do

learn.ligonier.org

“The Covenant of Redemption is an eternal agreement within the Trinity, specifically between the Father and the Son, established before creation to plan the redemption of God's elect. It involves the Father appointing the Son as the Redeemer, who willingly agrees to accomplish salvation through His life and death. -chapelpasadena.com


Parties Involved
Father: Appoints the Son as the Redeemer.
Son: Willingly agrees to fulfill the role of Redeemer through His life and sacrificial death.

Purpose
The covenant is designed to ensure the salvation of those chosen by God, often referred to as the elect.
Characteristics
Nature of the Covenant
Eternal: It exists outside of time, established before creation.
Intratrinarian: It occurs within the relationships of the Trinity, not between God and humanity.

Agreement Details
The Father promises the Son a reward for completing the work of redemption.
The Son accepts this mission, demonstrating His willingness to undertake the task of salvation.

Biblical Basis
While the term "covenant of redemption" is not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, its principles are implied throughout various biblical texts. The covenant reflects God's sovereign plan and the cooperative work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the process of salvation. -learn.ligonier.org

 

[bdavidc]

This teaching falls apart as soon as it is tested by Scripture.

Israel was not the only people ever included in a covenant with God. God made a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and “every living creature” (Genesis 9:9-17). God also made promises to Abraham before the nation of Israel existed, including the promise that “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).

Hebrews 10:9 does not say Israel is presently without a covenant while waiting for another one in the Millennium. It says, “He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” The New Covenant was established through the death and blood of Jesus Christ, not postponed to some future age.

Jesus said, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Hebrews calls Christ “the mediator of the new testament” and says His death redeemed those who were under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15). Hebrews 10:15-17 quotes Jeremiah’s New Covenant promise and says, “the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us.” That is present reality, not merely a future millennial arrangement.

It is also false to say Christians have no covenant relationship with God. Paul said God “hath made us able ministers of the new testament” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Believers have come “to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant” (Hebrews 12:24), and Christ’s blood is called “the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20).

Gentile believers were once “strangers from the covenants of promise,” but through Christ they have been “made nigh by the blood of Christ” and are now “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:12-19). Galatians 3:29 says, “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

The so-called “Covenant of Redemption” is not named anywhere in Scripture. The Father sent the Son, the Son willingly came, and the Holy Spirit applies the work of salvation. Those truths are biblical. But Scripture never calls this an eternal covenant made between the members of the Trinity. Even the source quoted admits that the term is not explicitly found in the Bible.

That is the problem. A theological tradition is being treated as though it were revealed doctrine, while clear New Testament statements about believers and the New Covenant are being denied. We should not build doctrine from what Ligonier, a chapel website, or any theological system claims. We must remain with what is written.