As Paul deals with this contrast in covenants, it is important to notice that the very same law that was written in stone at Mt. Sinai is written in our hearts in the New Covenant. The New Covenant, in other words, does not abrogate the Law of the older covenants. (817)

What Paul does NOT mean by these phrases is that the Old Testament law is evil or death-producing (Rom. 7:10f; 10:5; Gal. 3:12; Lev. 18:5; Prov. 4:4). (817) 

“The distinction here, then, between the letter and the spirit indicates the difference between the law as externally written at Sinai on tablets of stone and the same law as written internally in the heart of the Christian believer.” 171. Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 100. (818)

"The letter kills in that it causes us to sin knowingly; ...but the spirit gives life in that it causes us to fulfill what is commanded....Let the spirit be added therefore to the letter, and the letter to which the Spirit gives life no longer kills." 172. [Hervetius] Quoted in Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 102. (818)

"By the ministration of death he means the law.… And mark too what great caution he uses in the comparison, so as to give no handle to the heretics; for he did not say, “which causeth death,” but “the ministration of death”; for that which caused death was sin; but the law brought in the punishment and showed the sin: it did not cause it. For it more distinctly revealed the evil, and punished it: it did not impel unto the evil; and it did not minister to the existence of sin or death, but to the suffering of retribution by the sinner—so that in this way it was even destructive of sin." 177. [Chrysostom] Quoted in Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 102. (819-820)

The Law is a “ministry of condemnation” because of man’s lawbreaking. Such a phrase exalts the sanctity and authority of the Law. On the other hand, the Gospel is a “ministry of righteousness,” i.e., of law-keeping, thus making clear that the Gospel is not lawless. (820)

That which was fading is not the law, but the glory which accompanied it; Paul brings this out in order to magnify the contrasting glory of Christ’s gospel which is without interruption throughout eternity. In honor of the gospel Paul did not find it necessary to discredit the law. 181Bahnsen, Theonomy in Christian Ethics, 224. (820-821)

Moses’ veil was symbolic of rebellion and unbelief which “veiled” the hearts of Israelites from the true vision of the glory of God (2 Cor. 4:3f). ...Now it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that the blinding veil is removed so that a person can properly understand the Old Testament and fully appreciate the New Covenant.  ...Notice that when we return to the Lord Jesus, the veil, not the law, is taken away. (821)

Having turned to Christ, the “unveiled” believer enjoys God’s sanctifying glory without intermission or interruption until it is revealed to us in all its fulness (Rom. 8:18). (822)

The older covenants make us expect that the New Covenant will present us with no different covenantal and moral order... (822)

"Now, as to the new covenant, it is not so called, because it is contrary to the first covenant; for God is never inconsistent with himself, nor is he unlike himself. He then who once made a covenant with his chosen people, had not changed his purpose, as though he had forgotten his faithfulness. It then follows, that the first covenant was inviolable; besides, he had already made his covenant with Abraham, and the Law was a confirmation of that covenant. As then the Law
depended on that covenant which God made with his servant Abraham, it follows that God could never have made a new, that is, a contrary as a different covenant. God in the Gospel brings forward nothing but what the Law contains. We hence see that God has so spoken from the beginning, that he has not changed, no not a syllable, with regard to the substance of the doctrine. For he has included in the Law the rule of a perfect life, and has also shewn what is the way of salvation, and by types and figures led the people to Christ." 186. John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, trans. by Rev. John Owen, 4 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979),
4:126 (823)

The same participants: the LORD God and His covenant people in Christ in a continued line of generations (Gal. 3:28–29). (823)

His people are “the House of Israel and the House of Judah,” i.e., the covenantal and organic “seed” of Abraham, that is, those who belong to Christ by faith, regardless of ethnic origin (Gal. 3:28–29). (824)

...the constitution of God’s people as a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation” (Ex. 19:5f; 1 Pet. 2:9). (825)

“Grace is the foundation, and holiness the character, of all covenant relationships with God.” 187 Bahnsen, Theonomy in Christian Ethics, 187 (825)

...the differences between the testaments CANNOT be defined in the following terms: a change in the method of justification, or in the method of sanctification, or in the nature of divine blessing, or in the orientation from earth to heaven, or in the orientation from victory to defeat. (826)

[1] The difference between incomplete and complete. The Old Testament never was intended to be permanent and close-ended (Gal. 3:24). (826)

[2] The difference between limited and universal. In the Old Testament the covenant blessings were largely, though not totally, confined to one group of people (the remnant)—now those blessings embrace people from all over the world, both Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:15–19; Isa. 66:22–24). (826)

[3] The difference between sufficient and abundant. The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is one of degree, not content (2 Cor. 3:1–18). (826)

[4] The difference between good and better. ...(1) Under the New Covenant the gospel gives that righteousness in Christ which the Law demands (Rom. 1:16f)....(2) The New Covenant internalizes the law, giving us the motive and ability to obey God (Heb. 8:10). (3) The New Covenant is personally and perfectly administered by Jesus Christ (Heb. 7:22f). (827)

[5] The difference between ornate and simple. In the Old Testament God’s covenant was administered by promises, prophecies,sacrifices, symbols, circumcision, rituals, feasts and a large variety of types and ordinances pointing to Jesus Christ, and fully realized in Him (Heb. 1:1f). In the New Testament the manner in which
God’s covenant is administered is simpler, clearer, fuller and more powerful (Heb. 1:2; Jer. 31:33; Heb. 12:22f), most particularly, through the preaching of the Word of God and the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (827-828)

[6] The difference between shadow and reality. The Old Testament prefigures the New Testament. It represents in rites and ceremonies that which the New Testament fulfills in reality (Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5; 10:1). (828)

[7] The difference between prophecy and fulfillment. A definite correspondence exists between what the Old Testament prophets said and the life of Jesus Christ. (829)

The first promise of the New Covenant is the return of Israel to the promised Land: “‘For, behold, days are coming’, declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it.’” (Jer.30:3). ...when God’s people are back in God’s pasture (1) they will be fruitful and increase, in fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant; (2) they will be governed and provided for by the Good Shepherd Himself, the Messiah...; (3) they will be safe and secure under the Messiah’s care; and (4) the promised land will be theirs to enjoy on which they can build a God-honoring civilization. (830)

In the light of the fact that believers in Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles, comprise the true Israel (Gal. 3:28–29; Phil. 3:3), this promise ultimately points to the penitent-believing return of God’s people throughout the nations of the earth to God and to covenant life and blessing. Wherever Christ is, there is Canaan. (831)

The second promise of the New Covenant is the full restoration of God’s covenantal blessing upon God’s people...As God’s elect “return” to God in Christ, they, their families, their communities and eventually the whole earth will be restored to health, righteousness, peace and prosperity under God’s blessing. (832)

The third promise of the New Covenant is the divine fulfillment of all covenant promises... (834)

The fourth promise of the New Covenant is the renewal of the heart by the Holy Spirit and the internalization of God’s Law...(1) God gives His people a new heart that is responsive to God, replacing the old hard, depraved heart, that was unresponsive to Him. (2) God places His own Holy Spirit within our new hearts to motivate and enable us to obey His revealed will, to strengthen and encourage us in obedience and repentance. (3) God writes His Law on our new hearts, giving us a love for it, along with a desire and ability to obey it with joy and thanksgiving.
(835-836)

The fifth promise of the New Covenant is the enjoyment of God by His people in intimate and eternal union and communion with Him... (836)

The sixth promise of the New Covenant is the full forgiveness of sins... (837)

The seventh promise of the New Covenant is the overwhelming success of Gospel preaching in the global enjoyment of the knowledge of God... (838)

The eighth promise of the New Covenant is the union of Israel and Judah...The hallmark of the New Covenant will be the great unity of all God’s people in the earth regardless of ethnic, social or racial origin (Gal. 3:28). (840)

First, Jesus’ birth and the New Covenant, (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:32f, 54f, 68–79). From His birth Jesus is described as the one who would fulfill and consummate the promises of God’s covenant with Israel. (840)

Second, Jesus’ earthly life and the New Covenant....Jesus continually made claims concerning Himself, as the Covenant Lord (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1), which as the God of Abraham incarnate, were claims of Deity. (840)

Third, Jesus’ teaching and the New Covenant. (841)

[1] The seed of Abraham: “do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matt. 3:9). (842)

[2] The blood of the New Covenant: Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20 place Christ’s messianic mission and work in the light of God’s covenant. (842)

[3] The identity of God’s people: “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save HIS PEOPLE from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). ...Phrases, such as “His people,” take on a new meaning in the teaching of Jesus. ...They are those who share in Christ’s promised remission of sins and whose hearts
have been renewed by the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31f). (843)

[4] The permanency of God’s covenant in spite of Israel’s apostasy... (843)

[5] The significance of Abraham... (843)

[6] The “Abraham-sayings”: All of the “Abraham-sayings” in the teaching of Jesus relate to God’s covenant by bringing out specific covenantal provisions or by rebuking men for perverted views of the covenant. Notice how Jesus stands ready to apply the provisions of the covenant. (844)

Fourth, Jesus’ death and the New Covenant. ... Jesus is the “guarantee” and “mediator of the new covenant,” who, by substituting Himself in the place of covenant-violators deserving covenant curses, suffered and died to remove those curses and to activate the covenant blessings. (846)

Fifth, Jesus’ resurrection and the New Covenant....(1) The New Covenant is based on the “once-for-all” sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. (2) The New Covenant is perfectly and eternally applied and administered by the resurrected Christ, who, because of His endless priesthood and endless life, is “able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). (846)

Sixth, Jesus’ second coming and the New Covenant....Christ will come again, personally and visibly, to earth to bring to a glorious climax the effects and promises of God’s covenant, perfectly and eternally fulfilling all its marvelous provisions. (846)

A covenant is (1) a bond of friendship (Gen. 17:7), (2) involving the “cutting into pieces” of an animal (Gen. 15:9f; Jer. 34:18), and (3) eating a covenant meal which the participants shared as covenant brothers (Gen. 31:44f). (848)

(1) Not only was the initiative with God in the establishing of this covenant, but the whole covenant is God’s covenant. This covenant is graciously and sovereignly imposed upon Noah, who himself makes no bargaining in its terms. (2) This covenant is made with Noah as a representative man and not merely as an
individual. He represents his entire family. (3) The terms of this covenant were stated in the form of a promise (Gen. 9:11). (4) There was a witness and sign that the covenant would be kept, i.e., the rainbow (Genesis 9:12–16). Therefore, we learn from this first appearance of the word “covenant” (berith), in the Bible, that God’s covenant is a covenant of unearned and unmerited grace, which God freely bestows upon His servants, and not given to them as a deserved reward for correct services rendered. (848)

The second covenant explicitly described as such in the Bible is between God and Abraham in Genesis 15:18. (848)

It is important to note that only God passed between the pieces, not Abraham. God is taking upon Himself all the obligations of this covenant, emphasizing, as He did in the covenant with Noah, that His covenant is a covenant of “promise,” a covenant of grace, not a covenant of merit. (849)

Once again the initiative is with the Lord, who sovereignly called Moses to Him in the mountain. (850)

FIRST, the covenant was “cut” with the whole people, all the families of the people of God (Deut. 5:2 and 29:15). (850)

SECOND, God binds the people to Himself as their King and Lawgiver, as well as Savior. God’s covenant is “sovereignly administered,” in that He determines the terms and the participants of His covenant and undertakes the responsibility for its continuance. (851)

THIRD, the people are sprinkled by Moses with sacrificial blood, called “the blood of the covenant,” teaching us that a covenant is “a bond in blood.” (851)

FOURTH, the people are commanded to obey the revealed Law of their Covenant Lord and Savior (Ex. 20:1–2). (852)

The New Testament interprets the death of Christ in terms of the “pledge-to-death” ritual in the inauguration of the Abrahamic Covenant. (853)

Death was inseparably related to the Old Testament covenants (Gen. 15:8; Ex. 24:8; Deut. 28:26; etc). (854)

So then, Christ’s death, at one and the same time, perfectly removed the curse of the Old Testament from God’s people, and activated the blessings of the New
Covenant. (854)

[God] "assumes to Himself the full responsibility for seeing that every promise of the covenant shall be realized. It is not that Abraham had no obligations in the covenant relation....The pleading voice of the patriarch had urged: “How can I
KNOW? How can I be sure?” The solemn ceremony of covenantal self-malediction provides the Lord’s reply: “I promise. I solemnly commit Myself as Almighty God. Death may be necessary. But the promises of the covenant shall be fulfilled.” In Jesus Christ, God fulfills His promise. In Him, God is with us. He offers His own body and His own blood as victim of the covenantal curses. His flesh is torn that
God’s word to the patriarch might be fulfilled. Now He offers Himself to you. He says: “Take, eat; this is My body. This is My blood of the covenant shed for many. Drink, all of you, of it.” " 233 Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, 128. (855)

So then, what is God’s covenant revealed in the Bible? It is that eternal bond of intimate friendship between God and His people which God has graciously and sovereignly established on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. This friendship is entered by faith and repentance, which are gifts of God, and that manifest themselves in obedience to Biblical Law motivated by gratitude for the promise of the gospel. In this covenant God brings His people into a communion of life with Himself, and gives to them a sovereignly dictated order for life, in which He promises gracious blessings upon faithfulness to Him and curses upon unfaithfulness to Him. These promises and claims He seals in His people by the sacraments. The goal of God in His covenant is His own glory adored by a world filled with godly families, who live as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, down through thousands of generations of those who love Him. (855-856)

The Covenant of Works was the first covenant God made with man in history, and the Covenant of Grace was the second. The Covenant of Redemption was made in the Godhead before creation and before human history. ...First, the Covenant of Grace is God’s remedy to man’s failure in the Covenant of Works. ...Second, the Covenant is one of Grace to us, because it is one of Works to Jesus Christ. ...Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, fully completed all the terms of the Covenant of Works, meriting salvation for His people by His life of perfect obedience and His sacrificial death paying the full penalty of sin. Third, the Covenant of Works is also a Covenant of Grace, and therefore, is one phase of God’s covenantal dealings with human beings. (856-857)

God’s grace is more clearly and abundantly manifested in the “second” covenant, commonly called the Covenant of Grace. It is richly displayed in its provisions, offers, requirements, promises and Divine works. (857)

...it was an act of sheer grace for the God against whom man had sinned to allow for and to provide a Mediator, who would pay man’s debt of eternal condemnation to God, thereby redeeming him from his sins, purchasing eternal life and salvation, and reconciling him to God (Mark 10:45). (858)

In the present administration of God’s Covenant, God holds out a free and unrestricted offer of life and salvation by Christ to all sinners universally and indiscriminately. (858)

Faith in Christ alone is the one essential, instrumental condition for receiving life and salvation from God: “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the
works of the Law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16). Faith in Christ does not merit life and salvation, nor does it accomplish it, but rather, it is the means without which life and salvation cannot be received. (860)

      Racheal

      Racheal

Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the Lord.

      Racheal

      Racheal

Three weeks old...

Cool design, eh?

Slopping my feathered hogs... ;)

Mash trough.

This batch of mash needed a little more water in it...

Getting on to being someplace around a full pound these days...

"A'right, ya squawk-box! You can hush up now!"

      Racheal

God poured out total and absolute judgment on the seed of Satan and bestowed free and unmerited grace on the seed of Eve, as represented in Noah and his
family (Gen. 3:15). (755)

(1) It emphasizes the close interrelation of the Noahic Covenant and the Edenic Covenant, i.e., God’s covenant with Adam before the Fall, by including a renewal of the provisions of the earlier covenant, viz, the creation mandates of marriage, procreation, work, dominion (Gen. 1:24, 25, 28 ,30; 6:20; 8:17; 9:1, 2, 7). ...
(2) It emphasizes the particularity of God’s redemptive grace (Gen.6:8). ...
(3) It emphasizes God’s intention to deal with families in His covenant (6:18; 7:1, 7, 13, 23; 8:16,18; 9:9, 12). ...
(4) It may be described as a “covenant of preservation” (8:20–22), because in
this covenant, God binds Himself to preserve the earth, His order for creation and human society, and history until the end of time, when God has consummated His purpose of redemption. 
(5) It possesses a distinctively universalistic aspect (9:10); in that, not only man, but the entire universe will experience ultimate salvation from the curse of sin. ...
(6) The sign of this covenant is the rainbow, emphasizing that it is a covenant of grace. 
(7) This covenant bond and its promises are founded, not on human merit or achievement, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ (8:20–22). (755-756)

In Genesis 8:20–22 we see the divine establishment of a new world order based on the atonement of Christ. God knows that man’s sin-problem will never be cured by judgment (6:5–7). Something more is needed—redemption. The promises and fulfillment of God’s covenant with Noah based on Christ’s atonement provide the answer to human sin. (756)

This covenant has been called a covenant of preservation, because in it, God commits Himself to maintain the historical context for the realization of all the purposes of redemption in Christ. (756)

First, we are given God’s institution for the propagation of life: the godly family. ...
Second, we are given God’s institution for the protection of life: godly civil government (9:5, 6). ...
Third, in Genesis 9:1–4, we are given God’s institution for the sustenance and enhancement of life: godly work under the dominion mandate (Gen. 1:28). (757-758)

God vows to maintain the historical context in order to accomplish redemption in
Christ for all those He intends to save. (759)

The Abrahamic Covenant is the root and core of the rest of Biblical revelation, of the gospel of Christ, and of all Christian theology. It is the key to the entire history of redemption. (761)

The establishment of this covenant began with God’s sovereign and gracious call to Abraham to worship and serve Him (Gen. 12:1–3;22:2). God’s call to Abraham was the act that brought Abraham to God and that brought him into the Covenant of Grace. (761)

This call of God bound Abraham to Himself in an intimate, vital and eternal union of communion and friendship (Gen. 17:1). Jesus’ call to His disciples has the same effect (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26). (761)

"All the elements included in the call to Abraham were operative in the call issued by Jesus....The God who revealed himself to Abraham is the God who was in
Christ. The promises given to Abraham were the promises God perfected in Christ. In issuing his call, as in other elements in his ministry, Jesus was both following and bringing to perfect expression the pattern God had set in the Abrahamic Covenant." 107 Theophilus J. Herter, The Abrahamic Covenant in the Gospels (Cherry Hill, NJ: Mack Publishing Co., [1966] 1972), 91. (761-762)

God called Abraham to break all ties with culture, family and friends. God wanted Abraham to realize that salvation is not something that springs from within human possibilities....To bring this out clearly and decisively is the reason behind God’s command to Abraham to separate himself from everything and everyone. (762)

The Abrahamic Covenant is a true covenant, i.e., “a bond in blood sovereignly administered.”110 God chose its participants, and its contents were sovereignly imposed by Him (Gen. 12:1–3). 110. Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, 4. (762)

As we have seen, all the Biblical covenants are organically related. The ABRAHAMIC Covenant aims at the restoration of the “land,” i.e., earth, and the replenishing of the earth with a godly “seed,” whereby the original dominion mandate of the EDENIC Covenant can be carried out (Gen. 1:28). The “seed” promise and “blessing” promise of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1–3) advances the promise of the conquest of evil in the ADAMIC Covenant (Gen. 3:14–15). Its sign of circumcision (Gen. 17:7–14) points to the deadly pollution caused by sin and the impossibility of salvation by human birth. As did the NOAHIC Covenant (Gen. 6–9) the Abrahamic Covenant emphasizes the centrality of family (Gen.17:7) and the particularity of election with a view to universal implications (Gen. 12:1–3). Its concern is the possession and godly reconstruction of life on the entire earth (Rom. 4:13). Later in Biblical history, the MOSAIC Covenant (Ex. 19–24) is rooted in and builds upon the Abrahamic Covenant (Ex. 6:1–8; Gal. 3:17–29; Deut. 1:1–11); as does the DAVIDIC Covenant (2 Sam. 7:8; 23:5). And the New Covenant in Christ is the supreme fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant (Luke 1:50, 72; Gal. 3:8; Acts 2:14; 13:32–37; 26:6–7; Rom. 4). (763)

The participants, or parties, in the Abrahamic Covenant are Jehovah (15:7) the “Almighty God,” (17:1), and Abraham and his “seed” (12:2; 17:7). (763)

In the Abrahamic Covenant, God appears not only as our Creator and Lord, but also as our Redeemer and Father. (764)

The other party in this covenant is Abraham and his “seed” (Gen. 12:2; 17:7). Who is Abraham’s promised “seed?” (764)

First, the “seed” is Jesus Christ, as the last Adam, the head of the new (regenerate) humanity (Rom. 5:12–21; 2 Cor. 5:17–21; 1 Cor. 15:45, 47). (764)

Second, the “seed” are those who belong to Christ by faith: “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith that are sons of Abraham….And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:7, 29). (765)

The implications of this truth are important. (1) Becoming a Christian involves entering into the Biblical heritage and religion of Abraham (Rom. 11). (2) The covenants of promise of the Old Testament with all their promises and moral laws belong to all Abraham’s seed, i.e., to all those who belong to Christ by faith, regardless of ethnic background. (3) The Christian Church is the true Israel, the New Israel, “the Israel of God” (Rom. 2:29; Gal. 6:16). As Christians we must read the Old Testament prophets knowing that their message is addressed to us who believe in Jesus. (4) Believer in Jesus, the whole Bible is for you! Do not let anyone rob you of a single verse of the Bible. (766)

Third, the “seed” is to be found in the descendants of believers: “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you” (Gen. 17:7). (766)

Children of believers were always included as participants in “the covenants of promise.”...It is the fundamental law in the Bible that children are viewed as a unit with their parents. “The unique feature of the covenant as established with Abraham and his posterity is precisely laid down at this point: the descendants in all generations are to be considered heirs of the covenant as soon as their existence began.” 114. Dwight H. Small, The Biblical Basis for Infant Baptism (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, [1959] 1968), 41 (766)

Scripture is precise and specific that children of believers are to be counted as members of God’s covenant, and therefore, are to be counted among the “seed,” unless by their lives they prove themselves apostate. Here is the evidence:
(1) God makes covenant promises to believers and their children in such a way that they both stand in the same position before God (Gen. 17:78; Deut. 30:6; Acts 2:38, 39; Acts 16:31; Psa. 112:1–2; 115:9–15; Deut. 5:1, 2).
(2) God looks upon “households” as spiritual units under one head in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
(3) God causes His covenant to continue to unfold down through the successive generations of the people of God (Ex. 10:5, 6; Deut. 29:14–15; Luke 1:50; Gen. 17:9). (768)

The promises of the Abrahamic Covenant are centrally four: (1) The promise of union and communion with God (Gen. 17:7); (2) The promise of a “seed” (Gen. 15:5); (3) The promise of a “land” (Gen. 15:18f); and (4) The promise of world-wide blessing (Gen. 12:3). Understanding these promises is essential to understanding the gospel. (770)

The book of Acts contains SPECIFIC COVENANT TERMINOLOGY. ...The God of the apostles is the God of Abraham (3:13; 7:2, 16, 17, 32; 13:26). Christ is the servant of the God of Abraham (3:13, 24–28). Christ’s resurrection rests on God’s covenant oath (2:30). The Abrahamic Covenant is quoted in 3:25. The preached gospel is rooted in the covenant promises and prophecies (8:35; 26:22; 28:23; 3:17; 3:22, 24, 25; 9:43). Acts places the emphasis on the covenant-relation of “households” to God (2:39; 11:14; 16:34). The church (ekklesia inGreek) bears the same characteristics as did Abraham: “the called ones” (15:4). Believers are to possess their promised covenant inheritance (20:32). Christ is the Covenant Lord in human flesh (3:14; 7:55;3:6; 4:12). Paul was motivated by covenant hope and by faith in covenant promise (24:14–16; 26:6; 28:20). Christians were marked by covenant faithfulness, specifically hospitality (10:23; 16:15, 34; 17:7) and obedience to covenant law (7:38; 21:20–24; 22:12; 24:25). The basis of salvation is covenant mercy (2:47; 4:33; 7:10, 46; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3; 15:11, 40; 18:27; 20:24; 20:32). Baptism serves as the covenant sign in Acts with the same place, meaning and function in the early church that circumcision had in the Abrahamic Covenant. (775)

Also in the book of Acts we see the HISTORICAL REALIZATION OF COVENANT PROMISES made to Abraham. (775)

What can we conclude from the covenantal structure and message of the book of Acts? (1) World evangelization is covenantal world mission....(2) Covenant principles still govern life in this world. (775-776)

(1) Separation from the evil of this world and consecration to God (Gen. 12:1; Rom. 12:1–2). ...(2) Worship and obedience (Ps. 2:12).
(3) Faith and repentance (Gen. 15:6). (777-778)

Circumcision was instituted by God to be a sign and seal of the highest spiritual blessings of the covenant: (1) union and communion with God (Gen. 17:10); (2) cleansing from the guilt of sin by the blood of Jesus (Rom. 4:11); and (3) cleansing from the pollution of sin by the Holy Spirit (Deut. 30:6). ...(1) It was a sign and seal of God’s gracious covenant blessings (Romans 4:11); (2) It was a means of distinguishing God’s people from the world (Ex. 12:48, Gen. 34:14); and (3) It was a public admission into the visible congregation of the Lord (Gen. 17:4). ...There were not two kinds of circumcision with two meanings, i.e., one for adults and one for children. There was one circumcision, which had the same meaning for all concerned (Rom. 4:11). ...All circumcised babies were to be viewed as “the seed of Abraham,” unless their life or special revelation showed otherwise. (779-780)

Baptism is now the sign of the covenant, because baptism is the fulfillment of circumcision. The divine command to bear and to give to the children of believers the sign of the covenant has never been annulled or abrogated anywhere in the Bible. (780)

Therefore, we must conclude the following: (1) The true, inner circumcision of the heart is accomplished by Christ and received by faith, and sealed, sacramentally, by baptism (Rom. 6:3–4; Phil. 3:3). (2) Baptism, therefore, is the sign and seal of that spiritual circumcision which has been wrought in every believer in Christ. (3) Water baptism has appropriately succeeded circumcision as the sign of the covenant. (4) Children of believers, being heirs of the covenant, have a right to baptism, as they did to circumcision in the Old Testament. (781)

First, it [Rom. 4:11] tells us that baptism, as circumcision, is nothing in and of
itself. It cannot save or bring into existence that which it signifies (Gal. 5:6). Second, baptism presupposes the existence of that which it signifies: justification by faith in Christ. Third, baptism is a sign and seal of justification by faith. ...
This means, fourthly, that baptism is God’s pledge that the blessing of Abraham is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him and on their children’s children (Ps. 103:17–18). We baptize infants of believers in obedience to God’s eternal covenant and because of the solidarity of covenant relations in the family.(781)

At Mt. Sinai, Jehovah established the Mosaic Covenant with Israel, recommitting Himself to be Israel’s God forever; and Israel committed herself to be His people forever, who would faithfully trust in Him and obey His revealed will, living in fellowship with Him as the Subject of her highest loyalty and love. ...(1) The Mosaic Covenant must not be interpreted apart from Jesus Christ; and (2) Christ’s ethical teaching and redemptive work must be interpreted as consistent with the Mosaic Covenant. (783)

All Old Testament covenants have abiding validity, being fulfilled in the New Covenant in Christ (Rom. 16:20; 2 Pet. 3:5–9; Rom. 4:16f; Rom. 15:12; Acts 7:38). (783)

The Exodus came before Mt. Sinai. This one chronological fact teaches us that salvation is by grace not law, and that those who are saved by grace are given God’s Law to show them how to live as saved people. (784)

First, the Exodus-Redemption is a vivid demonstration of the motivating force behind covenant salvation: the sovereign, electing grace of God. ...
Second, the Exodus-Redemption is a vivid demonstration that the effecting force behind covenant salvation is not human ability, but Divine omnipotence. ...
Third, the Exodus-Redemption is a vivid demonstration that the basis for covenant salvation is atoning sacrifice. ...
Fourth, the Exodus-Redemption is a vivid demonstration that an integral part of covenant salvation is deliverance from the realm of sin, subjectively and objectively (Ex. 3:8f; Rom. 6:8). (784-785)

The Mosaic Covenant presupposes, is rooted in, and is an expansion of, the Abrahamic Covenant. (785)

The reasons for calling the Mosaic Covenant a covenant of grace, growing out of the Abrahamic Covenant are good ones. (1) The Bible never speaks of the Mosaic Covenant as a covenant of works as over against the Abrahamic Covenant of grace. ...(2) At Mt. Sinai, God covenanted with His people in grace and mercy, not in anger, as their Redeemer and Deliverer (Ex. 19:5; 20:2). (3) The content of the Mosaic Covenant is the content of the Abrahamic Covenant expanded (Ezek. 16:3–6; Ps. 109:21; Isa. 37:35; Lev. 26:12; Jer. 11:4; 30:22). (4) Galatians 3:17 teaches that “fidelity to the bond already contracted with Abraham and his seed, forbade the after formation of a different compact with them.”136 ...(5) The utensils of the tabernacle and the book of the testimony were sprinkled with blood (Heb. 8:18–23), to fore-signify that Christ’s blood and propitiatory sacrifice is the basis of the covenant, not our obedience to God’s Law. (6) Both moral and ritual law were in force under Abraham (Rom. 5:13,14; Gen. 17:14) (7) Christ expressly taught that Moses taught about Him (Luke 24:27; John 5:46). 136. Robert L. Dabney, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 455. (787)

The Law of the Mosaic Covenant serves the purposes of grace. It was given to a people redeemed by grace to show them how to live as God’s covenant people. (788)

The Mosaic Covenant is related organically to the totality of God’s redemptive purposes. Law is significant in all covenants prior to Moses (Gen. 3:19; 9:6). Even in the Abrahamic Covenant of promise, Abraham’s call from God demanded the total devotion of the whole of his life (Gen. 12:1; 17:1, 14). And Law is significant in all covenants that follow the Mosaic (1 Kings 2:1–4; Matt. 5:17f; Rom. 7:7, 12). (788)

In the totality of all God’s redemptive purpose, the Mosaic Covenant is an advancement beyond all that precedes it. ... Furthermore, it is less than all that follows it. (788-789)

The superior participant in this covenant is Jehovah (Ex. 3:13–16; 6:2–6; 34:6–7). (789)

The inferior participant in the Mosaic Covenant is Israel (Ex. 19:1f). Who is Israel? (1) A people graciously and sovereignly chosen by God...(2) A people adopted by God as His children...(3) A people redeemed by God from the bondage of sin...[and] (4) A people who are the “seed” of Abraham organically, covenantally and genealogically in the line of continued generations... (790-791)

This historical prologue recounts God’s gracious, fatherly, redemptive dealings with His covenant people, reminding us that this covenant is based on Divine redemption not on human merit. (791)

(1) God’s people are God’s property (1 Pet. 2:5f). ...(2) God’s people are a kingdom of priests (1 Pet. 2:5,9). ...
(3) God’s people are a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:5f). (791-792)

All of God’s covenants of promise demand the same response of us—a covenantal vow to keep covenant faith and covenant law—“You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God... that you may enter the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today” (Deut. 29:10–12). (793)

The basis for the demand for obedience in the Mosaic Covenant is the majestic holiness of Jehovah: “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored” (Lev. 10:3). A holy God must have a holy people and this holiness must pervade the entirety of their lives. (793)

The Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) is foundational to the whole of Biblical morality. Every law, proverb, exhortation, admonition, and ethical principle in the Old and New Testaments is based on the Ten Commandments. (795)

These foundational and structural laws of the Old Testament and New Testament comprise Christian morality (Matt. 5:17f). (796)

First, the sacrificial system is a promise of redemption from sin for the people of God (Lev. 1–16; Ex. 1–12). (796)

Second, the theocratic law is the promise of sanctification to God for the people of God (Ex. 20–23; Deut. 5–27; Lev. 17–27). (797)

Third, the Tabernacle is the promise of complete reconciliation with God for His covenant people (Ex. 25–40). (801)

God’s covenant with David is one of the great landmarks of history (2 Sam. 7:1–29; 1 Chron. 17:1–27; Ps. 89:1–52; Luke 1:32–33). ...“In the Davidic Covenant God’s purposes to redeem a people to himself reach their climactic stage of realization so far as the Old Testament is concerned.” 153. Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, 229 (803)

The Davidic Covenant grows out of and is an advanced stage of the Abrahamic Covenant. (804)

Abraham was promised that “kings shall come out of you” (Gen. 17:6), and the Davidic Covenant is the realization of that promise (2 Sam. 7:12). The allusions to the Abrahamic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7 include: (1) The promise to David of a “great name” (7:9b; Gen. 12:2); (2) The promise to establish Israel in a “place” (7:10; Gen. 15:18; Deut. 11:24f); (3) The promise of a “seed” (7:12b; Gen. 17:7–10); (4) The promise of union and communion with God (7:23, 24; Gen. 17:7, 8). (804)

Therefore, we can conclude that the Abrahamic-Mosaic-Davidic Covenant is one covenant in several administrations. It is not selfcontradictory in any of its principles, relations, laws, foundation, definitions or goals. IT IS A COVENANT OF SOVEREIGN GRACE. (805)

The Lord God (Adonai Yahweh) (7:19, 20, 28, 29), and the house (seed) of David (7:11, 12, 16, 19, 25–29). (806)

Three divine promises are at the heart of the Davidic Covenant: (1) a permanent “dwelling-place” for Jehovah on earth (7:11, 13); (2) an eternal and universal kingdom of Jehovah on earth (7:16); and (3) a divine-human Messianic King (7:12). (808)

First, God promises David A PERMANENT “DWELLING PLACE” FOR JEHOVAH ON EARTH (7:11, 13). This has immediate reference to the Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon, David’s son and successor, which was a symbol and pledge of the presence of Jehovah with His people. (808)

This Davidic Covenant, then, has one three-fold fulfillment: Christ is God’s dwelling-place on earth. The Church, as Christ’s body, is God’s home on earth. And we, as individual believers, are the temples of God’s Spirit. (809)

Second, God promises David AN ETERNAL AND UNIVERSAL KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH (7:16). ...It is obvious that this prophecy points beyond the United Kingdom and has strong Messianic implications (7:13). ...The New Testament clearly identifies this Davidic promise with Christ’s mediatorial, redemptive
kingdom... (809)

Third, God promises David A DIVINE-HUMAN MESSIANIC KING (7:12). The promised personification of the eternal and universal rule of God in Genesis 49:10 is even more clearly focused in one person in 2 Samuel 7:12—in the Messiah. (810)

A major theme in the New Testament is that Jesus Christ is the royal seed of the Davidic dynasty...And what is more, JESUS IS THE SON OF DAVID AND THE SON OF GOD (2 Sam. 7:14). (810)

No one can fully appreciate the influence of the Davidic Covenant on the Old Testament without going through the Old Testament “with an ear open for the many echoes which this one clear voice has awakened in the souls of hoping, believing men of Israel.”161 It not only shapes the message of the later books, it also provides a framework for the history of Israel that follows it. And this continuity of covenant promise and of a covenant framework reveal the faithfulness of God to David. 161. James Oscar Boyd, “Echoes of the Covenant with David,” Princeton Theological Review (Princeton, NJ: Vol. XXV, 1927), 587.  (811)

From this information we can draw three important conclusions. (1) The Lord God’s prophetic and covenantal word not only predicts the future, it determines the future....(2) God’s covenant is concerned with actual and concrete historical realities...(3) “This long history of judgmental realization on the basis of God’s covenant word must be balanced by focusing equal attention on the faithful maintenance of the Davidic line through the history.” 165. Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, 268–69 (813)

The life, ministry and gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ can be defined in terms of the Davidic Covenant. Jesus is clearly identified as the Son of David (Mark 10:46–52; 11:9–10; 12:35–40). (813)

     Racheal

"Governor, if I had foreseen the use those people designed to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox Courthouse; no, sir, not by me. Had I foreseen the results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in this right hand." ~~General Lee to Governor Fletcher Stockdale of Texas

General Robert Edward Lee, CSA

President Jefferson Finis Davis, CSA (in 1875)

     Racheal

Doesn't he look like a little buzzard??

Heh, heh, heh...

Chicken tractors--this is where the Rangers will go when they get a bit bigger.

There are two of these in each tractor--one is for water, the other for the wet mash feed.

Elderberry blossoms--I think these are some of my favorite fruit flowers. (They aren't totally bloomed out yet.)

First Raspberry...

(It felt 'right' today--cowboy hat on [the wind wasn't blowing too hard!] and pistol strapped to my leg.)

Half the table...since I decapitated everyone in the first shot...

The other half of the table.

(I think she liked it!)

      Racheal

I cut the front up two inches (pattern piece 1). Next time (presuming there is a next time), I think I'd bring it up at least one more inch. I took a minute to scratch my head about how the bodice side front/back pieces (2 and 4) went on the fabric. I'm used to laying bodice pieces on the grainline, so off-kilter was an oddity to me.

You can see my pencil marking for the added skirt length. After I had the bodice all put together and was fixing to stitch the four skirt panels together (the fabric is doubled), I realized that Savannah had told me to cut the skirt out to the next size bigger (because the waist had gotten expanded a little bit). Thankfully, with quarter inch seams at the sides, it fit the bodice perfectly!

The lining. I used the already cut out pieces as pattern pieces so I would get the arm holes matching...

Yes, here's the bodice! :D

I grabbed a scrap of black and stitched it on, the trimmed it to the proper length and sewed the shoulder together. Turns out I had to take this shoulder up later. *rolls eyes* Oh well, I still needed some extra length anyway!

This is what is should have looked like! :P

The bodice.

Very cool picture here...the lace off the dress I was wearing...the subject of the photograph out of focus...And look! My cat-scratch matches! ;P (Heh...)

I took this picture in Mama's mirror...and yes, I know with that red skirt and green dress underneath it, I look something like a Christmas tree...

Lining pinned for the hand work.

Lining all stitched down.

A pinned hem. There is this thing about circular skirts (which this one is--made from four, rather than two panels) and it is that the hems are never completely smooth...you'll always get those little folds while pinning them.

Sorry, the picture is a little blurry/overexposed, but I think that was THE BEST job I've ever done on a hook and eye. (I hate sewing them on...)

And there 'tis! A hair large (as usual whenever I make something!), but I like it.

I love the skirt!!

Even though it has a 'mid-riff', this belt lover decided to wear a belt with it. It looks better (on me at any rate) with the belt and kind of hides the fact that the dress is a tag baggy where it shouldn't be.

And, just because I'm a goof...here's the hair do I tossed up in an attempt to really capture the 1950's flair that this dress has. (Maybe I can remember how to do this if I want to do it again. Note to self: make sure you hair is damp like it was this morning...)

Kind of a mighty big package for a narrow little pack of guitar strings! :D (They have changed the packaging on the D'Addario strings since I bought my last set last year! [April, I think it was...it's been plenty long enough for a new set.])

      Racheal

What was the Father’s part in the covenant of redemption? First, He issued commands which function as the conditions of the covenant. Second, He set forth promises upon fulfillment of the conditions. And third, He confirmed all these promises to the Son.

(1) God the Father "sent” Christ to carry out the “commandment” He gave Christ before He came to earth, i.e., in eternity. (2) This “commandment” includes everything Christ must do to give “eternal life” to His people. (3) Jesus said or did nothing except what He was commanded to do by His Father.... (4) Christ’s authority to “lay down” His life in death and to “take it up again” in resurrection are parts of “this commandment” that He received from His Father. (5) Therefore,
nothing in man will determine nor hinder the outworking of the Divine commandment Christ came to execute for our salvation. (714-715)

(1) The Son would take upon Himself our fallen human nature by incarnation...(2) The Son, as Immanuel, truly God and fully human, having assumed the human nature of elect sinners, would become their substitutionary sacrifice for sin...(3)
On behalf of His chosen ones, He would bear all the punishment which their sins deserved, and would suffer, die and rise from the dead...(4) On behalf of His chosen
ones, He would have to fulfill all righteousness in order to make them righteous...(5) He would make the elect actual partakers of the salvation He merited for them, by calling them with the gospel, regenerating them, giving them the gift of faith, keeping them from falling from Him, resurrecting them from the dead, and bringing them into heaven... (715)

Second, God the Father added promises upon the fulfillment of these conditions, which promises have reference both to Christ and to the elect. (1) The Father promised Christ that God’s good pleasure would prosper through Him, that God would actually accomplish what He was pleased to purpose by the work of Christ...(2) The Father promised Christ that He would be the King over a global and eternal kingdom of His elect, comprised of Jews and Gentiles...(3) The Father promised Christ that He would have authority and power over all creation in order to cause all things to work together for the benefit of the elect...(4) The Father promised Christ that He would be exalted and glorified in an incomparably wondrous manner which would be observed by the entire creation...(5) The Father promised Christ that He would be the Judge of heaven and earth....(6) The Father promised Christ that the elect would receive all the blessings and promises of the covenant of grace through Him... (715-716)

Third, God the Father confirmed all these promises of the covenant of redemption to Christ by means of both sacraments and extraordinary declarations. (1) He confirmed them to Him by an oath: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’” (Ps. 110:4)....(2) God confirmed them to Him by means of extraordinary revelations and declarations....(3) God sealed these covenantal promises to Him by means of the Old and New Testament sacraments of circumcision, Passover, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (716-717)

He accepted both the conditions and the promises. He fulfilled the conditions,
and He demanded that the promises be fulfilled on the basis of the conditions being fulfilled. (717)

First, God the Son, upon hearing the conditions laid down by God the Father, “neither would nor could but accept these conditions due to His perfect holiness and love for God.”39 With fullness of joy He wholeheartedly accepted them... 39. Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1:258. (717)

Second, God the Son accepted the promises made to Him by God the Father, which is confirmed by the fact that the Father supported Him in the execution of the conditions of the covenant: “He who vindicates Me is near; who will contend with Me?” (Isa. 50:8). (718)

Third, God the Son, having promised to fulfill all the Father demanded of Him in the covenant of redemption, came and perfectly accomplished all He had promised to fulfill: “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou has given Me to do” (John 17:4; 19:30; Phil. 2:6–8). (718)

Fourth, upon fulfilling the conditions of the covenant of redemption, God the Son, being equal with the Father, demanded the fulfillment of the promises of the Father both for Himself and for the elect. (718)

"Certainly, just as creation and providence come into being from the Father through the Son and in the Spirit, so the redemption or recreation takes place only through the applicatory activity of the Holy Spirit [John 16:7; Acts 2:4,17; John
15:26; 16:13,14; John 3:3; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 8:15; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30].… And all this the Holy Spirit can work out and bring into being because, together with the Father and the Son, He is the one true God who lives and reigns eternally." 41 Bavinck, Our Reasonable Faith, 268. (719)

It [the Covenant of Redemption] is the firm foundation of the covenant of grace, making the covenant of grace possible. And it gives effectiveness to the covenant of grace, for it provides the means for its establishment and execution. (720)

The covenant of redemption was made in eternity before the creation of the world; and the covenant of grace was made in history after the creation of the world. (720)

First, the covenant of grace has its origin and basis in the covenant of redemption.

Second, the covenant of redemption reveals a love that is unparalleled and which exceeds all comprehension.

Third, the covenant of redemption teaches us that the work of salvation is from first to last, from beginning to end, the work of God alone, and not of man (Rom. 11:34–36).

Fourth, the covenant of redemption is the work of God’s infinite mind AND of His sovereign and omnipotent will, which powerfully realizes His plans in time and history.

Fifth, because the covenant of grace from generation to generation is nothing other than the working out of the eternal covenant of redemption in God, therefore, a person does injustice to the work of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, “when he removes the foundation of eternity from time by loosening history from its anchorage in the gracious, almighty Divine will.” 47. Bavinck, Our Reasonable Faith, 273

Sixth, the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace cannot be separated, but they differ from each other in this: the covenant of grace is the actualization of the covenant of redemption.

Seventh, “Behind the covenant of grace lies the sovereign and omnipotent will of God, which is penetrated by Divine energy and which therefore guarantees the triumph of the kingdom of God over the whole power of sin…." 48. Bavinck, Our Reasonable Faith, 277–7

Eighth, in the covenant of redemption we see the distinguishing trait of Christianity that separates it from all other of the world’s religions. 

The covenant of redemption is proof that God took the initiative in entering into fellowship with man.

Ninth, the honor of God is inseparably linked to the doctrine of the covenant of redemption.

Tenth, the covenant of redemption is the basis for the certainty of the success of the evangelization of the earth.

Life in the Garden of Eden was defined and enriched by “the Covenant of Life,” which God made with Adam, “upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.” (WLC, Q. 20). (727)

When God entered into this Covenant of Life with unfallen Adam, as the root and head of the human race (Rom. 5:12), He acted in grace and condescension....In
grace, God offered to bestow upon obedient Adam far more than he would ever earn or deserve by his obedience. This relationship between God and Adam was not only a natural one between Creator and creature, or Sovereign and subject. It had the added quality of a covenant bond, wherein a loving Father graciously seeks the welfare and happiness of His dependent children. (729)

God...gave Adam the opportunity to secure for himself, and his posterity, unloseable eternal life and indefectible holiness of life, by bringing him into a probation period, wherein Adam’s righteousness and holiness would be tested. (730)

[Adam] was placed, at the beginning of his life, under a divine arrangement, in which he was the subject of special divine revelation. Man’s life in this world has always been defined and conditioned by the gracious self-revelation of the character and will of God.(730)

Therefore, being moved by sheer grace, God condescended to establish the Covenant of Life with Adam in which He would graciously accept a temporary obedience to a limited probationary period as the basis for God’s giving Himself in love to Adam, and assuring him of eternal and indefectible holiness, happiness and
communion with the Living God. (732)

God acted in grace, not only by limiting the time frame of Adam’s probation, but also by limiting the persons being tested to Adam, as the root, head and representative of the entire human race(Rom. 5:12–21). (732)

"The provision by which Adam was made a public person, [the representative of the human race], and not treated as a private individual, is as much a provision of pure goodness as any other provision of the whole scheme.....Without the principle of representation it is possible that the whole race might have perished and perished for ever. Each man, would have been placed under the law of distributive justice. His safety, therefore, would have been contingent. It is possible that if the first man, with all his advantages, abused his liberty and fell, each of his descendants might imitate his example and fall also…. There can be no redeemer if each man is to be treated exclusively as an individual. If we cannot sin in another, we cannot be redeemed by another. If the principle of representation is to be excluded from God’s government, salvation to the guilty must also be excluded." 61 Thornwell, Collected Writings, 1:269–270. (733)

The reward promised to Adam’s obedience was far more generous than his obedience deserved, securing forever his position as a son of God, and surrounding him forever with the safeguards of His wisdom, omnipotence and faithfulness, making his holiness, happiness and eternal life in God’s favor indefectible and unloseable. (734)

Eternal life in the Bible includes the blessing of knowing God, and all that implies (John 17). Eternal life includes holiness, happiness, intimate knowledge of God, and eternal security. Eternal life implies: (1) A change of inward condition; and (2) A
change of outward condition. (735)

God gave Adam the promise of life in the path of obedience, which, if he walked in that path, would secure life for himself and for all his descendants. If he chose to disobey, he would secure death for himself and his posterity (Rom. 5:12–21)....His deliberate choice of disobedience corrupted himself; but, in addition, because he was the natural, covenantal and representative head of mankind, his disobedience affected, corrupted and condemned all his descendants. (738)

God justly threatened Adam and his posterity with death—spiritually, physically, and eternally, if he disobeyed God’s commands. (738)

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL (2:9; 3:3) symbolized the principle of probation....It was the sign of God’s supremacy over man and of man’s submission to God. Man is to live in terms of God’s definitions, moral boundaries and ethical standards. He is to learn the radical difference between good and evil, from God’s perspective. (739)

THE TREE OF LIFE was the symbol of the principle of life in its highest potency. It was God’s “pledge” to Adam of life and communion with Him in covenant faithfulness to each other. (739)

First, the human race is no longer on probation....We have fallen in Adam: “All in Adam die” (1 Cor. 15:22). (740)

Second, human beings cannot attain to eternal life and communion with God in terms of the Covenant of Life, i.e., by their obedience to God’s Law. (740)

Third, God continues to require of man perfect obedience as a requirement of fellowship with Him. (741)

Fourth, the mandates and promises of the Covenant of Life give us a whole and unified world-and-life-view. We become kingdom-centered, rather than exclusively church-centered. The Christian man and woman, as the restored images of God, are to be concerned with all of life on earth, now and forever. (742)

[Fifth], “We all stood the probation in Adam as our representative head and failed in Adam.” 72 John Murray, Collected Writings of John Murray, 4 vols. (Edinburgh, Scotland: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1997), 2:58. (743)

...the Law God gave Adam was the law of the ten commandments... (745)

The law of God was the standard of right and wrong for Adam before the Fall.

The demands of God’s law are absolute, requiring personal, entire, exact and perpetual obedience. (746)

Immediately after the Fall of Adam and Eve into sin and death (Gen. 3:1–13), God made a second covenant with Adam. The Covenant of Works gave way to the Covenant of Grace....This covenant is a covenant of grace in the fullest sense of the word, both as to its basis and purpose (Eph. 1:6). (747)

First, GOD’S WORD OF TRIUMPH (3:14–15). In this promise of victory over Satan and evil, God promises: (a) Satan’s defeat (3:14), and (b) Christ’s victory (3:15). The history of the covenant of grace, from this point onward, involves the totality of man and his created environment. (749)

The divine initiative in the establishment of this “enmity” is emphatic. God created the animosity between man and the serpent. “God himself shall perpetuate a continuing warfare,”85 between Satan and evil, on the one hand, and the people He redeems in Christ on the other. 85. Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, 96. (850-751) 

Second, GOD’S WORD OF CURSE AND BLESSING (Gen. 3:16–19). In God’s promise of curse and blessing, He gives a specific promise to woman (3:16) and to man (3:17–19). (752)

      Racheal