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condition to the covenant, but in the covenant; the way to obtain possession of and to enjoy all
the other blessings of the covenant.” Roeping en Wedergeboorte, p. 108.] The description
“believers and their seed” merely serves as a convenient practical designation of the limits of
the covenant. The question of harmonizing these two aspects of the covenant will come up
later on. The covenant of grace may be defined as that gracious agreement between the
offended God and the offending but elect sinner, in which God promises salvation through faith
in Christ, and the sinner accepts this believingly, promising a life of faith and obedience.
C. THE CONTENTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
1. THE PROMISES OF GOD.
The main promise of God, which includes all other promises, is
contained in the oft-repeated words, “I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”
Gen. 17:7. This promise is found in several Old and New Testament passages which speak of the
introduction of a new phase of the covenant life, or refer to a renewal of the covenant, Jer.
31:33; 32:38-40; Ezek. 34:23-25,30,31; 36:25-28; 37:26,27; II Cor. 6:16-18; Heb. 8:10. The
promise is fully realized when at last the new Jerusalem descends out of heaven from God, and
the tabernacle of God is pitched among men. Consequently we hear the last echo of it in Rev.
21:3. This grand promise is re-echoed time and again in the jubilant exaltation of those who
stand in covenant relationship to God, “Jehovah is my God.” This one promise really includes all
other promises, such as (a) the promise of various temporal blessings, which often serve to
symbolize those of a spiritual kind; (b) the promise of justification, including the adoption of
children, and a claim to life eternal; (c) the promise of the Spirit of God for the application, full
and free, of the work of redemption and of all the blessings of salvation; and (d) the promise of
final glorification in a life that never ends. Cf. Job 19:25-27; Ps. 16:11; 73:24-26; Isa. 43:25; Jer.
31:33,34; Ezek. 36:27; Dan. 12:2,3; Gal. 4:5,6; Tit. 3:7; Heb. 11:7; Jas. 2:5.
2. THE RESPONSE OF MAN.
The assent or response of man to these promises of God naturally
appears in various forms, the nature of the response being determined by the promises. (a) In
general the relation between the covenant God and the single believer or believers collectively
is represented as the close relationship between man and wife, bridegroom and bride, a father
and his children. This implies that the response of those who share the covenant blessings will
be one of true, faithful, trustful, consecrated, and devoted love. (b) To the general promise, “I
will be thy God,” man responds by saying, “I will belong to thy people,” and by casting his lot
with the people of God. (c) And to the promise of justification unto the forgiveness of sins, the
adoption of children, and eternal life, he responds by saving faith in Jesus Christ, by trust in Him
for time and eternity, and by a life of obedience and consecration to God.