Kingdom Trough Covennant

he disciplines of biblical and systematic theology join forces to investigate anew
the biblical covenants and the implications of such a study for conclusions
C OVENANT
in systematic theology.
K I NGDOM
By incorporating the latest research from the ancient Near East and examining
implications of their work for Christology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and
hermeneutics—biblical scholar Peter Gentry and systematic theologian Stephen
Wellum present a thoughtful and viable alternative to both covenant theology
K I NGDOM
t
and dispensationalism.
roug
“Here we find incisive exegesis and biblical “Hermeneutically sensitive, exegetically rig-
theology at its best. A must read that will orous, and theologically rich—Gentry and
t roug
be part of the conversation for many years Wellum have produced what will become
to come.” one of the standard texts in the field.”
THOMAS R. SCHREINER, MILES V. VAN PELT,
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and
Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Biblical Languages, Reformed Theological
C OVENANT
Theological Seminary Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi
“ What makes their contribution unique “ What do you get when you cross a world-
is the marriage of historical exegesis, class Bible scholar and a first-rate system-
biblical theology, and systematic theology. atic theologian? You get 800-plus pages
I enthusiastically recommend this book!” of power-packed biblical goodness.”
STEPHEN G. DEMPSTER, JONATHAN LEEMAN,
Professor of Religious Studies, Editorial Director, 9Marks; author, The Church and
Crandall University the Surprising Offense of God’s Love
“Directly applicable to a pastor faithfully “Because of the importance of this subject

seeking understanding of God’s Word. and the exegetical and theological skill
I have found this study personally trans- of the authors, this work deserves a wide
forming, and enriching in my teaching hearing. Highly recommended!”
ministry.” MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN, A B i b l i c a l -Th e o l o g i c a l
JOSEPH LUMBRIX, Professor of Church History and Biblical
Pastor, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Understanding of the Covenants
Willisburg, Kentucky Seminary
PETER J. GENTRY (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of Old

Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and
director of the Hexapla Institute. PE T E R J. GE N T R Y
STEPHEN J. WELLUM (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is
professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary GENTR Y &
and editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theolog y.
WE L L UM S T E PH E N J. W E L LU M
THEOLOGY
U.S. $45.00
Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants
-
mitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the
® ®
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esv ®
Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
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nlt are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation
rsv is from The Revised Standard Version
nrsv is from The New Revised Standard Version
kjv are from the King James Version
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gentry, Peter John.
Kingdom through covenant : a biblical-theological under-
standing of the covenants / Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J.
Wellum.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-4335-1464-7 (hc)
1. Covenants—Biblical teaching. 2. Covenants—Religious
aspects—Christianity. 3. Theology, Doctrinal. I. Wellum,
Stephen J., 1964- II. Title.
BS680.C67G46 2012
231.7'6—dc23 2012001514
Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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CONTENTS
PART ONE
PROLEGOMENA
PART TWO
EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS

PART THREE
THEOLOGICAL INTEGRATION

THE IMPORTANCE OF
COVENANTS IN BIBLICAL
AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
covenant presents God’s desire to enter into relationship with men and
-
cations of covenant and covenant relationship between God and human-
of the Bible, and secondly, how a number of crucial theological differences
tied to one’s understanding of how the biblical covenants unfold and relate to
not asserting that the covenants
-
Michael Horton nicely captures this point when
he writes that the biblical covenants are “the architectural structure that we
The God of Covenant: Biblical, Theological, and Con-

temporary Perspectives
Old
Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate
“The Reader Must
Understand”: Eschatology in Bible and Theology -
God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology

PROL E GOME N A
If this is the case, which we con-

tend it is, then apart from properly understanding the nature of the biblical
covenants and how they relate to each other, one will not correctly discern
the message of the Bible and hence God’s self-disclosure which centres and
tradition who have written at length about the importance of covenants and
In fact,
wrestled with the relationships between the covenants, particularly the old
and the implications for the church on how to live vis-à-vis the old covenant
God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology
God of Prom-
ise Reformed theology is synonymous with covenant

The Importance of Covenants in Biblical and Systematic Theology
their heart these two systems differ on many matters which, in the end, are
rooted in their different views on the nature of the biblical covenants and
ultimately issues in a promise of a new covenant whose advent is tied with
spills over to other issues, especially the question of what from the old cov-
state, the application of various moral prohibitions, and many more issues,
central to the doing of biblical and systematic theology and thus to the theo-
-
ology, especially in regard to dispensational and covenant theology, then
how we understand the nature of the biblical covenants and their relation-
ship to each other must be faced head on and not
two theological traditions in such a way that we learn from both of them but
also provide an alternative—a via media
more accurate way to understand the relationship of the biblical covenants
Wisd. Sol. Ag. Ap Mos

Jub
antedates Moses
NDBT

PROL E GOME N A
church history warns, that goal is too ambitious, minimally our aim is to
help us become more epistemologically self-conscious in how we put our
narrative plot structure of the Bible, which we want to develop in detail in
or to coin a better term, “progres-

6
Obviously the problem in attaching a label to any view
via
media
unity of
revealed his eternal plan to us over time and through the covenants, in order
to discern God’s plan correctly we must understand each biblical covenant in
-
6
New Covenant Theology
New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in
Christ The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theol-
ogy Abraham’s Four Seeds
Journal of New Covenant Theology The Newness of the New
Covenant
Tyndale Bulletin
a continuing and yet transformed

relationship between the new epoch of redemptive-history and the Old Covenant economy
stress a strong element of discontinuity due to the superiority of the new covenant to the old because of the person

including all of the previous covenants, through the lens of the achievement
Yet, 8
regardless of the particular label, our intent is to propose an alternative way

of understanding the nature of the biblical covenants and their relationship
implications of this view for various theological loci since one’s understand-
-
atic theology is greatly affected by one’s comprehension of how the biblical
Our procedure is to begin this study by establishing the importance of

-
ous ways this point could be demonstrated but we will do so by setting our
-
ology (along with their varieties) largely frame how evangelicals put their
that each system draws vastly different conclusions—not so much on pri-

-
areas of ecclesiology and eschatology, but it is not limited to these matters,
of biblical covenants by doing so through the lens of these two theologi-

cal systems and discerning where they differ from each other especially in
merely that of ecclesiology and since Baptists differ in matters of God’s sovereignty, soteriology, and eschatology,

PROL E GOME N A
-
sion on how we conceive of the nature of biblical theology and its relation
and systematic theologies it is important to

describe our use of these terms, given that there is no unanimous agreement
biblical-systematic theologies particular attention will be focused on their

respective understanding of the biblical covenants and how it is that each
some basic hermeneutical assumptions we will employ in our reading of
-
cussion of dispensational and covenant theology by outlining some of
the hermeneutical similarities and differences between them which need
resolution in order to adjudicate these two systems and thus argue for a
via media
Let us now turn to a brief discussion of our understanding of the nature
-
-

THE NATURE OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

We believe this attempt to understand the biblical covenants across redemp-
-
not
9
One
biblical theology is not entirely new, since the church has always wrestled
-
it is still accurate to note that, in the past, there was a tendency to treat
carefully through the Bible’s developing story line as it was forged across
9
in NDBT New Testament Theology The Salvation
Historical Fallacy? Reassessing the History of NT Theology
Anchor Bible Dictionary
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
According to Plan: The

Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible

PROL E GOME N A
With the rise of the Enlightenment, biblical theology begins to emerge
However, one must care-

fully distinguish the emergence of biblical theology in the Enlightenment
era along two different paths, one path serving as an illustration of an ille-
gitimate approach to biblical theology tied to the Enlightenment’s Zeitgeist
church history but now in a more precise, detailed, and historically con-
associated with the Enlightenment and classic liberal theology before we
During the period of the Enlightenment there was a growing tendency

critically
rooted in history but, unfortunately, also open to historical-critical meth-
historical, and descriptive discipline, in contrast to systematic theology,
Revolutions in Worldview:
Understanding the Flow of Western Thought A
Primer on Postmodernism The Gagging of God: Christi-
anity Confronts Pluralism
Is There a Meaning in This Text? The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge
NDBT

-
ical-critical not use the term in the sense that we ought to
critical use, he meant that

-
theology we do not
-
torical, literary, and philosophical criticism (tied to a rationalist epistemol-
between the several periods of the old and new religion, which, for Gabler,
-
critically to determine what was
As this path of biblical theology developed in the late eighteenth and

early nineteenth centuries, practitioners increasingly made use of the histori-
cal-critical method, which for the most part, assumed a methodological natu-
Over time the end result of such an approach was the fragmentation
Resurrection and Eschatology: Theology in Service of the Church,

-
and science without considering God’s involvement in the world and divine action as represented by divine revela-
not necessarily require a commitment to atheism, even though
-
Origins and Design

Origins
and Design

PROL E GOME N A
critical methodologies and

-
In the twentieth century, there were some attempts to overcome
Its goal was to over-

come the more negative results of the historical-critical method and allow
-
gelical pioneer of a legitimate approach to biblical theology, had warned at
The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative: A Study in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Hermeneutics
Andrews University Seminary Studies

Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Supplementary Volume
etc
etc

assumptions of the historical-critical method which questions the integrity
simply as an anthology of religious writings put together by the religious
In our opinion, this is not the proper way to view, let alone to do biblical
sensus literalis) tied to the intention(s) of
disclosed himself through the biblical authors across redemptive-history,
in NDBT Two Testaments, One Bible: The Theological Relationship between the
Old and New Testaments .
-
-
as Paul Noble, The Canonical Approach: A Critical Reconstruction of the Hermeneutics of Brevard S. Childs
The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical

Linguistic Approach to Christian Doctrine -
Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Recovering a
Christian Practice

PROL E GOME N A
who sought to follow the path distinct from that of the Enlightenment, was
a method that reads the Bible on its own terms, following the Bible’s own
much of the resurgence of biblical theology within evangelicalism, in the
Post-Reformation
Covenant and Eschatology: The Divine Drama -

The Fabric of Theology: A Prolegomenon to Evangelical Theology
Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments

Pauline Eschatology -
Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos (Phillipsburg,
Westminster Theological Journal
Biblical Theology

Bible’s teaching about God and his relations to the world on its own terms,
historical, and theological dimensions of various corpora, as well as to the
biblical theology is interested not merely in words and word studies but also
in concepts and themes as it traces out the Bible’s own story line, on the
-
intertextual
on
its own terms intratextually
With these basic ideas in mind, let us now summarise what we believe
hermeneutical discipline
God’s Word written,
progressive unfolding of God’s
NDBT
on its own terms is at the heart of biblical
biblical theology is the approach by which redemptive-history is divided into various historical epochs and then the
the Bible’s own presentation of itself, or, in other words, they do not carefully trace out the Bible’s own literary plot
on its own terms
what are the Bible’s own internal structures, and how ought those structures shape our doing of biblical theology?

PROL E GOME N A
before and after in that

As such, biblical theology provides the
is discovered through the individual human authors but ultimately at the
THE NATURE OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

-
one’s construal of systematic theology is tied to one’s larger theological,
synchronic and diachronic Synchronic refers to viewing events occurring at a
Diachronic refers to
plan develops throughout -

Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of
Evangelical Biblical Interpretation Fabric of
Theology
Trinity Journal
-
International Journal of Systematic Theology The
Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology

apply
-
ing the biblical story line and letting the Bible, on its own terms, describe for
-
ing and doctrine, since we are not doing theology unless we are correctly
theology since it involves the application to all areas of life
doctrinal formulation, grounded in biblical theology and done in light of

historical theology, but which also involves interacting with all areas of
-
systematic theology is also critical
Within the church, theology is critical by analysing theological proposals

-
theology is the discipline which attempts “to bring our entire thought captive
The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God

PROL E GOME N A
of the relationship between biblical and systematic theology? As presented

here, obviously we view them as intimately related and central to the theo-
logical
hermeneutical dis-
critique other theological proposals within the church, and also false ideas
of alien worldviews outside the church, so that we learn anew to live under
Basically we are setting forth a proposal for a better way of understand-

ing the nature of biblical covenants and how those covenants relate to each
-
Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its
Developments
-
meneutical discipline which allows us to draw biblical conclusions for systematic theology, and that systematic
theology as the application
foundational to systematic theology but is also a subset of it, and systematic theology does not necessarily have to
Goldsworthy, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics -

over against those views an alternative theological proposal, and argue that
we want to argue that the theological conclusions drawn from other ways of
-
-
logical systems within evangelical theology in order to understand the nature
of the biblical covenants and their relations to each other, which will be the

COVENANTS IN BIBLICAL-
THEOLOGICAL SYSTEMS:
DISPENSATIONAL AND
COVENANT THEOLOGY
Within evangelical theology, dispensational and covenant theology largely

-
discern the overall unity of God’s revelation, from creation to the new cre-
one must be careful not to overplay the differences between these views, for
when it comes to a basic understanding of the gospel, they agree more than
understanding of the nature of the biblical covenants and their relationships
to discover precisely how they relate the biblical covenants one to another

PROL E GOME N A
telos
DISPENSATIONALISM AND ITS VARIETIES 1

-
Originally it was associated with
, which provided vari-
Systematic Theology
Over the years, dispensational theology has gone through a number of
revisions even though it remains united by a common core, which we will
dispensationalists, yet, as Blaising notes, we can classify “three broad forms of
Progressive Dispen-
sationalism Dispensationalism,
The Case
for Progressive Dispensationalism Three
Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism: A Comparison of Traditional and Progressive Views (Grand
Issues in Dispensationalism
Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship between the
Old and New Testaments Progressive Dispensationalism:
An Analysis of the Movement and Defense of Traditional Dispensationalism
Understanding
Dispensationalists
-
Progressive Dispensationalism Dispensationalism,
Progressive Dispensationalism: An Analysis of the Movement This World Is Not My

Home: The Origins and Development of Dispensationalism
Systematic Theology

Covenants in Biblical-Theological Systems: Dispensational and Covenant Theology
6
which are important to distinguish in order to grasp
oikonomia
-
Behind this term is the idea of
God’s plan or administration being accomplished in this world and how God
8
Dispensationalists
-
-
not completely helpful for distinguishing dispensationalism
from other views, since “virtually all ages of the church and all branches of
the church have believed that there are distinctive dispensations in God’s
government of the world, though sometimes the consciousness of such dis-
-
-
tionalism is not
-
-
ists and nondispensationalists use the term and concept of a dispensation,
6
Progressive Dispensational-
ism Continuity and Discontinuity
Understanding Dispensationalists dispensa-
tio oikonomia
8
9 Poythress, Understanding Dispensationalists

PROL E GOME N A
dispensational theology, especially given its diversity over the years? What
is its distinctive feature, or, what is its sine qua non? Much discussion and
It is our conviction, however, that the sine qua non of the view is the Israel-
church distinction, which is largely tied to their understanding of the cove-
nantal differences between the ethnic nation of Israel under the old covenant
not
-
ment of the promises made to Israel as a nation, particularly those associated
are qualitatively
-
ence of the person under the new covenant is qualitatively different from the
It is for this reason that dispensational theology, given the Israel-church

distinction, sees more discontinuity from the old to the new covenant vis-à-
Israel-church distinction is God’s unchanging promise to Israel of a literal
at these two points—ecclesiology and eschatology—that we see the greatest
Dispensationalism Dispensa-
tionalism, Israel, and the Church

With regard to ecclesiology, since the church is distinctively new in the

newness of the
nature of the church, along with its structure and ordinances, as distinct from
nature of the church, contra covenant theology, dispensational ecclesiology

views the church as comprised of a regenerate community, born of and per-
sign of the old covenant with the sign of the new, given the fundamental dis-
not draw the

same Israel-church distinction and instead argues for more of a continuity
between Israel and the church, not only in terms of the nature of the covenant
In all of these ways, dispensational ecclesiology differs from covenant theol-
-
ise given to national Israel under the Abrahamic covenant has not yet been
inct from the
By contrast, covenant
their view, the church is constituted of believers and
The Late Great Planet Earth

There’s a New World Coming Left
Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days

PROL E GOME N A
theology rejects a dispensational, premillennial eschatology for a variety of

reasons but mainly because they believe that the land promise given to Israel
-
pensational and covenant theology on these points is directly related to their
different understanding of the Israel-church relationship and thus how they
theology as described by the terms classic, revised, and progressive, and

note how each one attempts to understand the relationships between the bib-
CLASSIC DISPENSATIONALISM
At the heart of classic dispensational theology is a dualistic conception of
heaven and one related to earth, and tied to two different groups of people,
In terms of God’s earthly purpose in
redemption, it is God’s plan to redeem the creation from its curse and to
of those who are living on the earth when the Lord returns and reaches its
all the redeemed from all dispensations (a transdispensational people) who

-
-
lennialism and postmillennialism, but dispensational theology always maintains a distinctive dispensational form
-
The Bible and the Future
Understanding Dispensationalists,
Bibliotheca Sacra

different arrangements
In the early dispensations, God

gave promises regarding earthly life, but we failed, due to our sin, to obtain
-
of the church, classic dispensationalists argued that the church was a paren-
thesis in the history of God’s earthly purpose of redemption—an earthly
In this sense, the primary purpose of the church as a heavenly people was to
How did classic dispensationalists correlate the biblical covenants?

-
the Abrahamic covenant God’s earthly purpose was primarily revealed as

involving physical descendants who would become a great nation in a spe-
dispensationalists did not deny that one could interpret the Abrahamic cove-
nant spiritually
heavenly purpose), but they strongly asserted that in relation to Israel the
Understanding Dispensationalists
Poythress, Understanding Dispensationalists
sic
Israel and the church is, in fact, the deeper dualism determining when and where the hermeneutical dualism of

PROL E GOME N A
applied only to Israel and not
not the
that it must refer to an entirely different covenant, which, as critics rightly

-
church other than in a spiritual or allegorical

covenants are tied to God’s earthly purpose for his earthly people and not to
REVISED DISPENSATIONALISM
Probably the greatest change that occurred within dispensationalism began
-
ists “did not believe that there would be an eternal distinction between one
In its place, they argued

to either one or the other, but not to both at the same time, and each group
was “structured differently, with different dispensational prerogatives and
that the salvation each group ultimately received was the same (thus avoid-
resurrection state, yet they maintained an eternal distinction between the two
classic understanding of seven dispensations, they primarily distinguished
Israel, God achieved political, national, and spiritual purposes, but now in
the church age, God’s purpose in and through the church is primarily spiri-
new reality of the
of the nature of the church as a regenerate community in contrast to the
In regard to the biblical covenants there was also another crucial revision
Dispensationalism
Three Central Issues in Contemporary
Dispensationalism

PROL E GOME N A
problem with this view is that it was virtually impossible to sustain bibli-
that revised dispensationalists rightly rejected the idea that the “new cove-
-
tain, along with their classic colleagues, that the Abrahamic covenant was
the foundational covenant and that tied to it were the Mosaic, Palestinian
spiritually in
-
-
covenants, then, are all unconditional, and it is God himself, in his Messiah,
God does not replace Israel in accomplishing her share when Israel rejects
reinterpret
expand
sets aside the nation temporarily and
incorporates believing Gentiles along with a believing Jewish remnant to
That ministry is based on

the provisions of the new covenant received by faith in the provision of
In a similar fashion, as Blaising summarises, proponents of revised dis-

spiritually
Three Central Issues in Contemporary

Dispensationalism

the national and political aspects (the earthly features) of the covenant in
which, as we shall note below, distinguishes this view sharply
-
tant change which eventually led to the church being viewed as “standing
in the line of a historical
change, dispensationalists were moving slightly closer to covenant the-
this point that we see one of the sharpest disagreements between dispen-
is much more continuity

church and the church is the new Israel, the promise of land to Israel is also
terms of our eternal inheritance, or more commonly today, typologically

PROL E GOME N A
returns, and after the millennial reign we will see the universal and media-
spiritual
-
As Blaising notes, this was an important revision, since
It is this last revision which has paved the way for a further revision within
PROGRESSIVE DISPENSATIONALISM
-
pensational theology argues that the church is more organically related to
Instead
the church today is a revelation of spiritual blessings which all of God’s
people throughout the ages will share while preserving their distinctive eth-
successive (not different) arrangements of the various dispensations as they
stress the continuity of God’s plan across redemptive-history, and in this

regard, they are much closer to how covenant theology understands the
Dispensationalism
Issues in Dispensationalism
Three Cen-
tral Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism

divinely directed political affairs in the past dispensation and the empha-
But all these dispensations point to a future culmination in which God

will both politically administer Israel and the Gentile nations and indwell
progress by revealing different aspects of
covenant theology, that as one moves across redemptive-history there is a

“qualitative
a fundamental discontinuity
same
progressives continue to view the church as a new entity in God’s unfolding

plan and hence different from Israel but not new as previous dispensational-
Earlier dispensationalists viewed the church as a completely different
redemption promised to Jews and Gentiles in the past and future dispensa-
a new manifestation of grace, believe that this grace is precisely in keeping

with
have been inaugurated in the church distinguishes the church from Jews
some of those blessings
all of the blessings will not just be
not

PROL E GOME N A
something new
of God and as such there is no distinction in the salvation blessings they
are not
Jews and Gentiles, now and in the future, share the same salvation blessings,
but “the same redeemed Jews and Gentiles will be directed and governed
tied to God’s
Interestingly, progressives, in order to support these differences from

previous dispensationalists, began to argue that typology is more than
was viewed as that which “refers to patterns of resemblance between per-
moving in this direction, progressives were able to avoid such a sharp dis-
tinction between dispensations and see much more of the progressive, suc-
How does all of this relate to the biblical covenants? Progressive dis-
-
ists, they argue that the Abrahamic covenant, in all of its diverse dimen-
-
ever, older dispensationalists did not view typology as a divine planned and purposed “person, event, or institu-
Progressive Dispensationalism

It is through the Abrahamic promise that we learn of God’s promise to bless
Even though Abraham is required to obey God and his obedience functions
“as the means and the commands
to Abraham “condition the how and the when God’s prom-
Additionally, given the foundational nature of the Abrahamic cove-
and the mediation of that blessing is passed to Abraham’s descendants as
which Blaising views, along with much of contemporary scholarship, as
-
stituted as a nation, a nation which is to function as the means by which the
Journal of Dispensational Theology -

Three Crucial Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism
Blaising begins his analysis of the structure of the biblical covenants with the Noahic covenant although recog-
Everlasting Dominion: A
Theology of the Old Testament
Criswell Theological Review
Everlasting Dominion
Sealed with an Oath: Covenant in God’s Unfolding Purpose
The Structure of Biblical Authority
Law and Covenant in Israel and the Ancient Near
East

PROL E GOME N A
obedience and thus come under the covenant’s curse, which, unfortunately,
-
dience did not overturn God’s unilateral promise found in the Abrahamic
a certain generation (or generations) fails the terms of the Mosaic covenant
for a renewed offer of blessing to that generation or later descendants of

which is precisely what occurs in the later biblical covenants,
Abrahamic, as a royal grant covenant, “the role of mediating blessing was
made with David to bless him and his son(s) with rulership over Israel and
the rest of the nations, an intimate and blessed relationship with God, and
the mediation (even priestly mediation) of blessing to Israel and to all peo-
-
enant would replace the Mosaic and would bring the Abrahamic blessing to
In this new covenant, then, God would bring about full forgiveness of
-
-
But since these
the new covenant should be viewed as “the form in which the Abrahamic
-
Trinity
Journal

But the present form of the new covenant does not
to the covenants there is a lot of similarity, as we will note below, with
notes, in contrast to earlier forms of dispensationalism, “Instead of divid-
theology, progressive dispensationalists view the future consummation of
SUMMARY OF DISPENSATIONALISM AND ITS VARIETIES

Over the years there has been quite a bit of development within dispensa-
with that said, in order to clarify what is at the heart of these varieties of
-
-
ies of dispensational theology but also when dispensationalists themselves
surprising since the prophecies of the new covenant envisioned Messiah reigning upon the earth over a transformed
Progressive
Dispensationalism

PROL E GOME N A
though a number of features are listed, dispensationalists eventually return
-
However when these distinc-
tive or essential features are probed deeper, either they are shown not to be
dispensations in redemptive-history, the newness of the church, or even
fact, it seems safe to say that the sine qua non of the view (in all of its vari-
the future millennial and eternal age, which has theological implications
which has theological
-
cally ground this crucial Israel-church distinction which is so central to their
-
ish the current discussion by describing the alternative biblical-theological
-
will argue for a via media
COVENANT THEOLOGY AND ITS VARIETIES 54
God of Promise: Introducing Cov-

enant Theology Covenant Theology: The Key of Theology in
Reformed Thought and Tradition
Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation:
The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos The Christ of the
Covenants Covenant and Creation: A Theology of the Old
Testament Covenants Understanding Dispensationalists
Continuity and Discontinuity

As the name suggests, covenant theology not only organises the his-
tory of the world in terms of covenants, it also contends that what brings
Michael Horton, in answering the question, “What brings all of the themes
God’s relationship to the world (especially humanity), and the covenant of
covenantally about every
Historically, covenant theology has maintained that all of God’s rela-

tions to human beings are understood in terms of three covenants—the pre-
pactum salutis) between the persons of
foederus naturae) made with Adam
foederus gratiae
-
-
ing, Covenant Theology
Horton, God of Promise Covenant and Eschatology: The Divine Drama
Horton, God of Promise

PROL E GOME N A
cal covenants under the overarching theological category of the “covenant
of an overall unity or continuity tied to their conviction that the biblical

covenants one
grace is administered differently, but overall it is substantially the same in all

However, as we will note below, the nature of the continu-
emphasis was undeniably on the unity of one 60
It is for this reason, contra dispensationalism, that covenant theology has

always seen much more continuity in God’s plan across the ages, especially
that we see a major difference between these two theological systems which
leads to corresponding differences in how each views aspects of ecclesiol-
that God has one plan of redemption and one people of God and that the
similarities between Israel and the church as covenant communities are sig-
60
the new covenants, the locus of the covenant community and the locus of the elect are distinct, hence covenant

becomes hard not to say that the only major difference between the old and
terms of regeneration, indwelling, and sealing is basically the same across
With this general introduction in place, let us now describe the basic
contours of covenant theology, especially in regard to their understanding
-
ogy understands the nature and relations among the biblical covenants, the
nature of the church in relationship to Israel, and the nature of the covenant
then be in a better position to compare and contrast the differences between
COVENANT THEOLOGY AND THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS

-
-
tant since he rightly contends that in redemptive-history there is a “substantial
and not all of the biblical covenants are
diverse biblical covenants? As noted above, the answer to that question is that
covenant theology views the biblical covenants under two larger theological
The Covenant of Redemption
Horton, God of Promise Sealed with an Oath

God of Promise Covenant Theology
Collected Works Christ of the Covenants

60 PROL E GOME N A
66
However, Horton is correct to argue that, “If we hold simultane-
what objection could be raised in principle to describing this divine decree

in terms of the concept of an eternal covenant between the persons of the
-
-
When it comes to the covenants in history, covenant theology locates all

of the biblical covenants under the theological headings of “the covenant of
The Covenant of Works
his disobedience, he, along with entire human race, was plunged into a state
66
God of Promise
Horton, God of Promise Systematic Theology

Systematic Theology

God freely offered to sinners life and salvation through the last Adam, the
At this point, it should be noted that within covenant theology there is

68
-
damental to any divine-human relationship including the relationship with
Adam in the original situation, even though this is a minority view within
69
the human race, who was created in a state of integrity (moral goodness)
righteousness, yet also able to disobey and thus bring about a state of death
of grace, and for many within covenant theology, this becomes the means
gracious,
God’s act of liberation of Israel from bondage—a gracious and powerful act
68 God of Promise
69 Christ of the Covenants
Systematic Theology God of Promise

PROL E GOME N A
his promises, by grace through faith, but Israel’s national status in God’s
The Covenant of Grace
-
ity, only one
covenant, the covenant of grace was administered through various promises,

-
Children of the Promise: The Biblical Case for Infant Baptism

promise to Israel, grounded in the Abrahamic covenant, has not been abro-
not argue
for the land promise in the same way, yet it does appeal to the circumci-
-
given in the Abrahamic covenant and it carries over, now in baptism, as the
new covenant sign, but underneath both signs is the unchanging genealogi-
still carries the same spiritual -

istration, given the continuity of the covenant of grace and the fact that the
Booth emphasises this point when he writes, “under the old administrations
of the covenant of grace, circumcision was the sign and seal of covenant
covenant), water baptism has replaced circumcision as the sign of covenant

Yet, even though the form of the covenant sign has changed,
given the underlying unity of the covenant of grace, the meaning and appli-
new about the new covenant, given

its stress on continuity in the one covenant of grace? What is the main differ-
ence, if any, between the older and newer administrations of the covenant of
-
renewal
God of Promise
that the covenant with Israel as a national entity in league with God was conditional and that the nation had so
The Israel of God: Yesterday, Today, and

Tomorrow
Booth, Children of the Promise

PROL E GOME N A
intact the fundamental elements of the covenant of grace—hence the asser-
Interesting and very important for highlighting theological differences,
new covenant in terms of the changes which have occurred in the nature
and structure
the church is substantially different from Israel, as do many dispensational-
ists and those in the believers church tradition (including Baptists), what
all those within the “new covenant
Children of the Promise

The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism -
Toward Rediscovering the Old Testament
that covenant theology views the new covenant in renewal terms, I am highlighting their emphasis on continuity
God of Promise
Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism

Christianity Today Systematic Theology

certainly seems to point in this direction, and it is here that various under-
-
discontinuity at the structural level between
the old and new covenants, a view which covenant theology rejects given
understands the nature and structure of the new covenant in relation to the
previous biblical covenants is a crucial matter which needs to be resolved
At this point, it is necessary to pause for a moment and address two

important differences within covenant theology in regard to their under-
nature of the covenant of grace, particularly the
turn in order to highlight not only these different viewpoints within covenant
the most part, covenant theology has argued that the covenant is uncon-
ditional
in terms of repentance, faith, and obedience, he graciously grants them
Not only are the covenant’s obligations preceded by God’s gracious prom-

66 PROL E GOME N A
merit, whereby the faith and obedience of God’s people would be the basis
With that said, however, within covenant theology, and related to the
some have wanted to distinguish the biblical covenants further in terms
Mosaic) is predominately a law-covenant and republication of the “cov-
covenants are grounded in God’s unconditional promise to act unilaterally
It
is also for this reason that he argues, contra dispensational thought, that the
then, in disobeying the covenant, forfeited the land and as such, “its theo-
On the other hand, covenant theology has also argued that the covenant
of grace (including the new covenant) is conditional
grace’s conditionality is in terms of the covenant obligations placed on us in

God of Promise -

Even Horton, who strongly argues

80
that the new covenant is an unconditional or a royal grant covenant, contra

-
It is at this place in the discussion that most covenant theologians con-
“with blessings for those who obey the conditions of the covenant and curses
for those who disobey its conditions In principle, then, the covenant of
grace, which includes the new covenant, is conditional in the second sense
described above and is thus breakable It is at this point that most covenant
-
-
munity, the circle of the covenant community, whether in the old or new era,
“in its administration

As Horton and all covenant theologians
as in the nation of Israel under the old covenant, to have those within the
church who are believers as well as those who are unbelievers, with all of
that “not everyone who belongs to the covenant community will persevere to
80 Systematic
Theology
God of Promise
that God requires in this covenant is also given

covenant see Wilson, To a Thousand Generations

its administration
in the wilderness and responded in faith, while others did not—and the writer to the Hebrews uses this as a warning

68 PROL E GOME N A
86
In fact, it is due to this understanding of the nature of the “covenant
-
they argue, there is nothing objectionable in viewing unregenerate people as

part of the covenant community and thus to apply to them the covenant sign,
contra the believers church tradition (and those in the dispensational tradi-
At the heart of this difference between these

two ecclesiologies is a larger covenantal debate regarding the similarity and
second important issue discussed within covenant theology, namely, the

question, in the covenant of grace, with whom does God enter into covenant
-
ties of the covenant? Does God covenant with the elect only, or does he
he writes, “In the strictest sense of the covenant as a saving communion with
God, the parties of the covenant of grace are the triune God and his elect
88
and the condition of reception into that covenant is repentance and
outside the
covenant of grace and, it would also seem to imply, they are also outside the
If this is so, however, then why do so many covenant theologians argue
86 Horton, God of Promise
88

Covenants in Biblical-Theological Systems: Dispensational and Covenant Theology 69
of grace are inherited only by the elect, argue that the covenant promise,
89
a covenantal view of the church and ordinances, especially its defense of
In deference to this established biblical pattern, we must assume that, apart

from explicit biblical warrant to the contrary, the children of believers
90
biblical, especially in regard to the nature of the new covenant (an issue
covenant theologians understand the relationship between the biblical cov-

enants in relation to the one
-
-
torical covenant which includes within it national, typological, and spiritual
-
ues unchanged across redemptive-history, even with the inauguration of the
point is that it tends to reduce the national (physical) and typological aspects
of the Abrahamic covenant to the spiritual aspects, which, in turn, becomes
89 Systematic Theology
90 Booth, Children of the Promise
Interestingly and a bit ironically, covenant theology appeals to the Abrahamic covenant similarly to the way
not

PROL E GOME N A
but, as we will contend (along with the dispensational tradition), it is highly
-
-
ments of the Abrahamic covenant and to interpret them solely in spiritual
that, at least in theory, the Abrahamic covenant has both national and spiritual
aspects to it, but in reality the national aspects of the covenant fall by the
wayside and the spiritual
say that circumcision is “the initiatory sign and seal of the covenant of grace
(when in truth it is the sign of the Abrahamic covenant and not of all of the
is essentially identical
with little regard for the redemptive-historical distinctions between the bibli-
-
we are under divine command, derived
Systematic Theology
Systematic Theology -
-
and forms, which, in connection with the theocratic life of Israel, placed the demands of the law prominently in the
God of Promise
Collected Writings of John Murray

Murray, and most covenant theologians do is to strip the Abrahamic covenant

of some of its aspects, identify it as a pure gospel covenant, and then equate
-
ing of the relationship between the biblical covenants and the “covenant of
does it do justice to the biblical distinctions between the covenants which

discontinuities—all of which have
us now develop in more detail covenant theology’s view of the nature of the
COVENANT THEOLOGY AND THE

NATURE OF THE CHURCH
We have already stated that covenant theology insists that, in the administra-
tion of the covenant of grace across time, there are many who belong to the
covenant community, with all of the covenant privileges pertaining thereto,
-
ted that the circle of the covenant community is wider than the circle of elec-
What is crucial to note is how this view of the nature of the church is
Intimately related to the unity of the covenant of grace is the unity of the
emphasis on continuity and discontinuity, covenant theology tends to empha-

sise the element of continuity
96
one church has developed through various stages, she is still the same church
God of Promise
96 -
The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission
Christ of the Covenants Israel of God

PROL E GOME N A
One of the crucial ecclesiological conclusions drawn from
membership of the covenant community (Israel) then nothing has changed in
he says, “Since God has not changed the terms of church membership, new cov-
enant believers and their children are likewise included in his church 98
continuity of the people of God across redemptive-
history reminds us of an earlier observation we noted regarding the nature of
people of God (Israel) and the new covenant people of God (church) as one
circle of the church is wider than the circle of true believers, born of the
It is at this point in the discussion that covenant theology employs the
invisible church refers to the church as God sees it, that is, the elect—
the new covenant, is a spiritual entity, invisible to the natural eye—the one
-
ible to the natural eye—and yet these things constitute the real forma (ideal
99
itself in history in a visible
Booth, Children of the Promise Systematic Theology,

Systematic Theology
Christian Baptism
98 Booth, Children of the Promise
99 Systematic Theology
church see Booth, Children of the Promise Christian Baptism

It becomes visible in the ministry of the Word, in the practise of the sacra-
But as a visible entity
How does this understanding of the nature of the church lead covenant
theology to draw the crucial theological entailment of infant baptism? As
-
holds were included in the visible church (Israel) by their circumcision and
prior to a personal profession of faith and, additionally, by that act were
considered full members of the covenant community even though they
Hence the rationale to apply the covenant sign of baptism to the infants of
even though this practise disrupts the biblical order of baptism in the New
Obviously, covenant theology’s view of the nature of the church differs

substantially from that of many in the dispensational tradition, including
In a believers church view, at least in the one we will defend, even though
there is only one people of God throughout the ages, there is, at least, a
what is unique about the nature of the new covenant community is that it is
Murray, Christian Baptism

Systematic Theology
Baptism in the New Testament (Grand
SBJT

PROL E GOME N A
of the new covenant community as only those who have actually entered into
the new covenant church, is reserved only for those who have entered into
nature of the church tied to their understanding of the nature of the cov-
—which, in the end,
What evidence is typically given for covenant theology’s view of the

-
one people of God throughout
-
enant community with Abraham and his children and the nation of Israel is
also true of the nature of the new covenant community, the visible church,
seem to imply that it is possible for a person to be a member of the new cov-
faith, thus demonstrating that they never were a regenerate, believing person
-
-
Systematic Theology Christian Baptism Children of the Promise

Wilson, To A Thousand Generations

unbelievers, that is, those who by receiving the covenant sign (circumcision
understanding to infant baptism and contends that there is nothing objection-

able in applying the covenant sign of baptism to infants and viewing them as
Obviously, at this point someone could dispute this particular interpreta-
line of argument leads to the interpretation that it is possible for true, regen-
Needless to say, cov-

enant theologians counter by arguing that the Arminian understanding of these
as applied to the elect
as applied to full covenant members who

are not the elect
demonstrate that “unregenerate members of the visible church can be covenant

-
elect and the covenant members Hence,

-
-
covenants are unlike
alike
paedobaptist holds that the difference between the covenants is that the
promises in the New are much better—meaning that the ratio of believer to
Grace Unlimited The Grace

of God, the Will of Man
Systematic Theology A New Systematic Theology of the Christian
Faith
Wilson, To a Thousand Generations

PROL E GOME N A
covenantal sign of baptism given the continuity of the covenant of grace and
be regarded as subjects of baptism, just as they were of circumcision in the Old
under older covenant administrations, then we must assume that, apart from
Given what has been stated, it should not surprise us that this has
important implications for how covenant theology views the nature and
John Murray, Christian Baptism
believe that infants now may not properly be given the sign of that blessing which is enshrined in the new cov-
In the absence of such evidence of repeal we conclude that the administering of the sign and seal of the covenant

function of the covenant signs since, given the continuity of the covenant
of grace and the covenant community, it is assumed that the covenant signs
COVENANT THEOLOGY AND COVENANT SIGNS

Given the continuity of the covenant of grace and the covenant community
across the ages, covenant theology also contends that the covenant signs
part of the overall defense of infant baptism since the relationship between
circumcision and baptism is viewed in terms of replacement
What, then, is the essential meaning of the two covenantal signs?

Primarily the signs signify entrance into the covenant community and all the
ex opere operato
for this reason that one could legitimately distinguish between the covenant
Children of the Promise Christian Baptism

Wilson, To a Thousand Generations

PROL E GOME N A
baptism replaces
as with circumcision, we are brought into the visible
are truly the remnant or part of the invisible -
of circumcision is that most of the argument attempts to demonstrate the

spiritual Why? Because central to
the covenantal argument is the continuity of the covenantal signs—a conti-
spiritual realities of such things as regenera-
Hence, for baptism to replace circumcision, it must be shown that both cir-
-
spiritual
contention is whether circumcision, in its Old Testament covenantal context,

conveys the exact same realities
spiritual realities—which minimally demands that circumcision and baptism

are similar in meaning but not
In so doing, one must be careful of reading new covenant realities into the
In covenant theology literature the spiritual

circumcision is usually understood in at least three ways—ways that
Systematic Theology
made with Abraham has a national aspect to it, but then he turns around and contends that the Abrahamic covenant
must be viewed primarily as a spiritual covenant, parallel to the new covenant, including the rite of circumci-
Children of Promise
Christian Baptism

not
-
ment of sin, the cleansing from sin, and it pointed to the need for a spiri-
the inward, spiritual need for the grace of God in the heart of the covenant
it does not
has faith, nor even that Abraham (or anyone else, for that matter) has righteous-
righteousness will be given on the basis of faith
Christian Baptism Children of the Promise


80 PROL E GOME N A
covenant theology argues that essentially they signify the same gospel reali-
then why did circumcision disappear as a covenant sign, especially for the
to the greater blessings that the new covenant has ushered in, especially in
Here in a nutshell is the basic viewpoint of covenant theology, especially

in relation to how it conceives the nature and relationship of the biblical cov-
enants, and the implications of this for its view of the nature of the church
points, at the heart of their differences is their understanding of the nature of
need adjudication and why it is that we are convinced that our via media—
theologians argue that covenant children should be included in communion given the fact that they are full cov-
The Case for Covenant Communion

Children at the Lord’s Table?

he disciplines of biblical and systematic theology join forces to investigate anew
the biblical covenants and the implications of such a study for conclusions
C OVENANT
in systematic theology.
K I NGDOM
By incorporating the latest research from the ancient Near East and examining
implications of their work for Christology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and
hermeneutics—biblical scholar Peter Gentry and systematic theologian Stephen
Wellum present a thoughtful and viable alternative to both covenant theology
K I NGDOM
t
and dispensationalism.
roug
“Here we find incisive exegesis and biblical “Hermeneutically sensitive, exegetically rig-
theology at its best. A must read that will orous, and theologically rich—Gentry and
t roug
be part of the conversation for many years Wellum have produced what will become
to come.” one of the standard texts in the field.”
THOMAS R. SCHREINER, MILES V. VAN PELT,
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and
Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Biblical Languages, Reformed Theological
C OVENANT
Theological Seminary Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi
“ What makes their contribution unique “ What do you get when you cross a world-
is the marriage of historical exegesis, class Bible scholar and a first-rate system-
biblical theology, and systematic theology. atic theologian? You get 800-plus pages
I enthusiastically recommend this book!” of power-packed biblical goodness.”
STEPHEN G. DEMPSTER, JONATHAN LEEMAN,
Professor of Religious Studies, Editorial Director, 9Marks; author, The Church and
Crandall University the Surprising Offense of God’s Love
“Directly applicable to a pastor faithfully “Because of the importance of this subject

seeking understanding of God’s Word. and the exegetical and theological skill
I have found this study personally trans- of the authors, this work deserves a wide
forming, and enriching in my teaching hearing. Highly recommended!”
ministry.” MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN, A B i b l i c a l -Th e o l o g i c a l
JOSEPH LUMBRIX, Professor of Church History and Biblical
Pastor, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Understanding of the Covenants
Willisburg, Kentucky Seminary
PETER J. GENTRY (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of Old

Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and
director of the Hexapla Institute. PE T E R J. GE N T R Y
STEPHEN J. WELLUM (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is
professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary GENTR Y &
and editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theolog y.
WE L L UM S T E PH E N J. W E L LU M
THEOLOGY

Kingdom Trough Covennant

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he disciplines of biblical and systematic theology join forces to investigate anew

“Directly applicable to a pastor faithfully “Because of the importance of this subject

PETER J. GENTRY (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of Old

nasb are from The New American Standard Bible®

nlt are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation

rsv is from The Revised Standard Version

nrsv is from The New Revised Standard Version

kjv are from the King James Version

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 6 5/31/12 2:06 PM

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 9 5/31/12 2:06 PM

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 10 5/31/12 2:06 PM

of the Bible, and secondly, how a number of crucial theological differences

The God of Covenant: Biblical, Theological, and Con-

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 21 5/31/12 2:06 PM

If this is the case, which we con-

God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 22 5/31/12 2:06 PM

ultimately issues in a promise of a new covenant whose advent is tied with

Wisd. Sol. Ag. Ap Mos

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 23 5/31/12 2:06 PM

narrative plot structure of the Bible, which we want to develop in detail in

or to coin a better term, “progres-

Obviously the problem in attaching a label to any view

a continuing and yet transformed

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 24 5/31/12 2:06 PM

regardless of the particular label, our intent is to propose an alternative way

Our procedure is to begin this study by establishing the importance of

that each system draws vastly different conclusions—not so much on pri-

areas of ecclesiology and eschatology, but it is not limited to these matters,

of biblical covenants by doing so through the lens of these two theologi-

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 25 5/31/12 2:06 PM

and systematic theologies it is important to

biblical-systematic theologies particular attention will be focused on their

some basic hermeneutical assumptions we will employ in our reading of

Let us now turn to a brief discussion of our understanding of the nature

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 26 5/31/12 2:06 PM

THE NATURE OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

According to Plan: The

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 27 5/31/12 2:06 PM

With the rise of the Enlightenment, biblical theology begins to emerge

However, one must care-

associated with the Enlightenment and classic liberal theology before we

During the period of the Enlightenment there was a growing tendency

rooted in history but, unfortunately, also open to historical-critical meth-

historical, and descriptive discipline, in contrast to systematic theology,

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 28 5/31/12 2:06 PM

critical use, he meant that

As this path of biblical theology developed in the late eighteenth and

Resurrection and Eschatology: Theology in Service of the Church,

Origins and Design

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 29 5/31/12 2:06 PM

critical methodologies and

In the twentieth century, there were some attempts to overcome

Its goal was to over-

Andrews University Seminary Studies

Kingdom through Covenant.514647.i06.indd 30 5/31/12 2:06 PM

assumptions of the historical-critical method which questions the integrity

simply as an anthology of religious writings put together by the religious