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The covenant of redemption may be defined as the agreement between the Father, giving the
Son as Head and Redeemer of the elect, and the Son, voluntarily taking the place of those
whom the Father had given Him.
III. Nature of the Covenant of Grace
In a discussion of the nature of the covenant of grace several points come up for consideration,
such as the distinction between it and the covenant of works, the contracting parties, the
contents, the characteristics of the covenant, and the place of Christ in the covenant.
A. COMPARISON OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE AND THE COVENANT OF WORKS.
1. POINTS OF SIMILARITY.
The points of agreement are of a rather general nature. The two
covenants agree as to (a) the author: God is the author of both; He only could establish such
covenants; (b) the contracting parties, which are in both cases God and man; (c) the external
form, namely, condition and promise; (d) the contents of the promise which is in both cases
eternal life; and (e) the general aim, which is the glory of God.
2. POINTS OF DIFFERENCE.
(a) In the covenant of works God appears as Creator and Lord; in
the covenant of grace, as Redeemer and Father. The establishment of the former was
prompted by God’s love and benevolence; that of the latter, by His mercy and special grace. (b)
In the covenant of works man appears simply as God’s creature, rightly related to his God; in
the covenant of grace he appears as a sinner who has perverted his ways, and can only appear
as a party in Christ, the Surety. Consequently, there is no mediator in the former, while there is
in the latter. (c) The covenant of works was contingent on the uncertain obedience of a
changeable man, while the covenant of grace rests on the obedience of Christ as Mediator,
which is absolute and certain. (d) In the covenant of works the keeping of the law is the way of
life; in the covenant of grace, it is faith in Jesus Christ. Whatever faith was required in the
covenant of works was a part of the righteousness of the law; in the covenant of grace,
however, it is merely the organ by which we take possession of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
(e) The covenant of works was partly known by nature, since the law of God was written in the
heart of man; but the covenant of grace is known exclusively through a special positive
revelation.
B. THE CONTRACTING PARTIES.
Just as in the covenant of works, so in the covenant of grace God is the first of the contracting
parties, the party that takes the initiative, and graciously determines the relation in which the
second party will stand to Him. He appears in this covenant, however, not merely as a