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covenant. Christ speaks of promises made to Him before his advent, and repeatedly refers to a
commission which He had received from the Father, John 5:30,43; 6:38-40; 17:4-12. And in
Rom. 5:12-21 and I Cor. 15:22 He is clearly regarded as a representative head, that is, as the
head of a covenant.
3. Wherever we have the essential elements of a covenant, namely, contracting parties, a
promise or promises, and a condition, there we have a covenant. In Ps. 2:7-9 the parties are
mentioned and a promise is indicated. The Messianic character of this passage is guaranteed by
Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5. Again, in Ps. 40:7-9, also attested as Messianic by the New Testament
(Heb. 10:5-7), the Messiah expresses His readiness to do the Father’s will in becoming a
sacrifice for sin. Christ repeatedly speaks of a task which the Father has entrusted to Him, John
6:38,39; 10:18; 17:4. The statement in Luke 22:29 is particularly significant: “I appoint unto you
a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me.” The verb used here is diatithemi, the word
from which diatheke is derived, which means to appoint by will, testament or covenant.
Moreover, in John 17:5 Christ claims a reward, and in John 17:6,9,24 (cf. also Phil. 2:9-11) He
refers to His people and His future glory as a reward given Him by the Father.
4. There are two Old Testament passages which connect up the idea of the covenant
immediately with the Messiah, namely, Ps. 89:3, which is based on II Sam. 7:12-14, and is
proved to be a Messianic passage by Heb. 1:5; and Isa. 42:6, where the person referred to is the
Servant of the Lord. The connection clearly shows that this Servant is not merely Israel.
Moreover, there are passages in which the Messiah speaks of God as His God, thus using
covenant language, namely, Ps. 22:1, 2, and Ps. 40:8.
C. THE SON IN THE COVENANT OF REDEMPTION.
1. THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF CHRIST IN THIS COVENANT.
The position of Christ in the
covenant of redemption is twofold. In the first place He is Surety (Gr. egguos), a word that is
used only in Heb. 7:22. The derivation of this word is uncertain, and therefore cannot aid us in
establishing its meaning. But the meaning is not doubtful. A surety is one who engages to
become responsible for it that the legal obligations of another will be met. In the covenant of
redemption Christ undertook to atone for the sins of His people by bearing the necessary
punishment, and to meet the demands of the law for them. And by taking the place of
delinquent man He became the last Adam, and is as such also the Head of the covenant, the
Representative of all those whom the Father has given Him. In the covenant of redemption,
then, Christ is both Surety and Head. He took upon Himself the responsibilities of His people.
He is also their Surety in the covenant of grace, which develops out of the covenant of
redemption. The question has been raised, whether the suretyship of Christ in the counsel of
peace was conditional or unconditional. Roman jurisprudence recognizes two kinds of