The sixteenth article of our confession spoke about the election from eternity – how a Triune God made a covenant from eternity so that out of the fallen human race a remnant could be saved. We know that a covenant is an agreement between two or more parties about certain things, and in this agreement certain conditions and promises are made. In daily life it is also called a contract, which is an agreement to do something.

The Covenant of Grace is sometimes also called the Covenant of Redemption or the Counsel of Peace. In this covenant we must consider two things: (a) the agree­ing parties, and (b) the work of the respective parties. The Father reveals Himself as sovereign God and deals with His Son, the second person in the Divine Being, concerning the ransom that had to be paid for the elect. Thus God the Father is the first party in this covenant, Who requires satisfaction of the Divine attributes which were offended by the sin of man; the other party is the Son as redeemer and mediator, Who obliges Himself to pay the debt of the elect.

The Covenant of Grace may be defined as the agreement between the Father, Who requires satisfaction for sin, and the Son, Who voluntarily takes the place of the elect to give a perfect satisfaction. The Father required of the Son that He assume our human nature in order to place Himself under the law to pay the penalty for sin and to merit everlasting life for the elect, but He also had to apply His merits to the elects. The Father promised the Son that He would prepare Him a body endowed with the necessary gifts and grace for the performance of His task, and that He would support Him in His work. But at the same time the Father promised the Son as wages upon His labors a certain seed over which He Would be Head and King. We read of this in John 17:9, "I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me." The work of the Son in this agreement was the accepting of the demands of the Father and the assuming of complete respon­sibility for fulfilling this demand for the elect. Of this we read in Psalm 40:7, 8, "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book is written of Me, I delighted to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart."

This article speaks of the Covenant of Grace, which was made from eternity and first revealed in time immediately after the fall. There are but two covenants, as Rev. Hellenbroek points out in his lesson on the Covenant of Works. These are the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. When the first covenant was broken, the Lord gave in its place the Covenant of Grace. Although there are only these two covenants which concern our eternal state, there are many in our days who teach that there are three convenants. A Professor Heynes came with this new doc­trine, teaching that there was a complete separation between the Counsel of Peace and the Covenant of Grace; however, that originated with Arminius, the leader of the Arminians, who also taught this separation.

By making a distinction between the Covenant of Redemption from eternity and the Covenant of Grace in time, Arminius made room for his wicked doctrine of universal redemption, namely, that Christ died for all people. Thus he taught that only those will receive salvation who meet the requirements of the covenant and therefore man will receive salva­tion on the condition of faith and conversion, as performed by man himself. This is again the doctrine of free will. The same covenant made from eternity is revealed in time, so there are only two covenants which deal with man's eternal state.

You will recall that in our last article we spoke about the supra-and infra-lapsarians. The first gives more emphasis to God's sovereignty and the infras speak more about the responsibility of man. These differences were not of sufficient significance at the Synod of Dort to cause disunity. But this cannot always be repeated in our days. It is among the infras, who emphasize the re­sponsibility of man too much, that we find the error of the three covenants. Should we talk about this as if it is not so important for us? It is of the greatest importance because this doctrine of the three covenants is brought out in churches which are fairly close to us. If you do not listen too closely, it seems to be about the same, and when there is a gifted preacher, we forget all about the rest.

People say that in such a preaching they receive a personal word, which is because they em­phasize the responsibility of man more than the sovereignty of God. We like to hear this, but there is a great danger that, although it seems to be sound it is not sound. By separating the covenants it is so easy to proclaim that the Covenant of Grace is also made with those who are not elected, namely, with all the seed of Abraham – his natural seed, meaning all persons, adults and children, which are baptized. This is wrong. When we explain it this way, then there are those in the Covenant of Grace who are given to Christ as His wage, but also those who shall never receive salvation. The Lord says it so simply that He loved Jacob, but that He hated Esau.

With three covenants it is taught that the children of the covenant can again lose their salvation, that only when we by faith accept the covenant will we receive salvation. God's Word shows clearly that not all children of Abraham are in the covenant. Ishmael remained in an outward relationship to the covenant, but Isaac was in the covenant. How clear is Paul in Galatians 3:29, "And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." It is necessary to be brought from the state of death to the state of life; to be in the covenant, we must be regenerated.

By nature we are all in the state of death. "And you has He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Because we want to be something and hate to be nothing, there is such a great danger in over-emphasizing the responsibility of man and trying to get him to work his own salvation. With such a preaching we get many converted people whereof the Lord has no knowledge. They become rich young men. They are very nice people who can always speak about the Lord, but they don't know what a poor sinner is who cannot exist before a holy and righteous God. They speak so much about Jesus. Is this not good? Of course it is, if it is in the right way. It is very well possible that God's people are often too quiet, which is not good either, but there must be something before we can talk about these matters! Those who always talk much about the Lord Jesus often cannot tell how, as a poor sinner, they came to that knowledge. You cannot be jealous of them!

Young people, we are in an external relationship with the covenant. Pray the Lord that we may come to the assurance of being in the covenant. And, as the God of the covenant is unchangeable, our eternal destination is then also unchangeable in His hand.

Thus we have seen that there are two covenants – the covenant of works before the fall and the covenant of grace after the fall. The covenant of grace was made between God the Father and God the Son, Who represented the elect. This took place in the Coun­sel of Peace, and was necessary, for otherwise none could be saved.

Since we left the Lord, we are by nature in a state of death. Our article speaks of this: "We believe that our most gracious God, in His admirable wisdom and goodness, seeing that man had thus thrown himself into temporal and eternal death, and made himself wholly miserable, was pleased to seek and comfort him, when he trembling fled from His presence." After he left the Lord, man wandered over the earth. He was as it were pursued by the wrath of the righteous Judge, was a prey of all kinds of misery and pain, had been driven out of Paradise, and was an object of death. The greatest misery was a separation from God for ever. Sin had done its work and the creation was un­der the curse of God.

How terrible is the situation into which man came after we began to war against God. Now peace on earth is no more possible – war between nations, divisions in families between parents and children and among brothers and sisters, schism in churches. The whole human race gathers the bitter fruit of sin. If war were only on the outside and there were peace within, then it would be bearable, but there is also unrest within the conscience. It is not only a struggle for life, but a greater struggle between flesh and spirit. Sin brings separations and struggles, it blinds our minds, depraves our morals, and causes us to misuse our strength for unrighteousness. It is clear that we are in a state of death, and we cannot deny it.

What a wonder that the Lord is the first to deliver and save His elect, whom He has chosen from eternity. They are bought by the mediatorial works of Christ, and the Lord will also seek them in time, no matter how miserable and sinful they are. Adam did not seek the Lord, for he fled trembling from the presence of the Lord, but the Lord sought him. God begins the good work. Who of God's children can say that they sought the salvation of their souls? Not one can say this, but the Lord begins and He will finish this work.

The salvation of mankind is a deed of His seeking love, a revelation of His hidden pleasure and eternal intention. He Who loved His children from eternity and elected them to salvation will also gather them in time. God was pleased to seek and comfort him (Adam) when he trembling fled from His presence, promising him that He would give His Son, Who would be made of woman, to bruise the head of the serpent, and would make him happy. This covenant of grace was made from eternity, but was not revealed before the fall as there was no place for grace in Paradise.

After the fall the covenant of grace was revealed, immediately after the covenant of works was broken. Then God came to man, as it is written in Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." Although He was hurt by the disobedience of Adam, the Father here speaks. He explained the covenant to man, according to 2 Corinthians 5:19, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

In John 10:28, the Son explained Himself as Mediator, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." The Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of Christ, applies these merits, (1 Corinthians 12:3) "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Thus the Lord has revealed Himself as a merciful and gracious God, but also as perfectly holy and righteous. Where man fled from the Lord, expecting a threefold death, the Lord came to comfort man with the promise of Christ, Who would destroy the head and works of Satan. This was the first revelation of the covenant of grace, to the glory of God and the salvation of mankind.

The question now arises, with whom is the covenant made? As was said before, if we speak of three covenants, we can come to the error that all baptized children are in the covenant of grace, giving evidence of this in their life. This means that each child of believing parents is in the covenant and has the right to receive the benefits of the covenant. It is only necessary to accept it, and then you are a partaker of it. This is a doctrine which is against God's Word. By nature we are children of wrath, and only by regeneration do we come in the covenant.

This covenant is established with the elect; (Ezekiel 16:6) "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, Live." This covenant of grace is the way by which God through Christ becomes the property of the sinner, and by which he in turn becomes the property of God. And then the wonder, that the Lord Who requires faith and conversion also works this in the heart of the elect by Word and Spirit. As the Lord came to Adam to seek and comfort him, so that Lord also works throughout all ages by His servants the prophets, the apostles, and evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, according to 2 Corin­thians 5:20, "We preach you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

Many refuse to listen to the message which they receive, but this is not the fault of the Word or of the servants, but the hardening of their hearts. Still the Lord is calling, "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" From our side there is no hope, but the Lord calls out of free grace from death to life, just as Lazarus was called out of the sepulchre. The Lord draws them with cords of a man and with bands of love. The internally-called sinner may accept the Lord as his God, and surrenders himself to God.

This is, in a few words, what happens when a sinner is incorporated in the covenant of grace. He has no knowledge of all these things, because he becomes a poor sinner, but in the exercise of faith he is taught this. It is often a question for God's children whether they are in the covenant or not. These covenant people are not rich, but are poor in themselves, as Peter says, "Be ye clothed with humility." They esteem others better than themselves. David cried out, "I am a worm and no man." Though a saint, though a king, yet a worm. When Moses' face shone, he covered it with a veil; when God's people shine most, they cover themselves with a veil of humility. Thus they remain poor and miserable sinners in themselves, but they are rich in the Lord, for they are on His account.

I hope that all the readers may become jealous of this work of God.