God graciously chose to covenant with us, and second, he undertook the conditions of the covenants on our behalf when we failed to do so. When we understand this covenant love, we are motivated to respond with lives of grateful obedience. We are inspired to obey his law, not as a means to earn salvation under the Covenant of Works, but as a joyful response to his covenant faithfulness to us.

The Bible is a book about the greatest story, and it touches on hundreds of themes. When we read it, we tend to focus on one of these things; the overall narrative or the themes. Typically we use biblical theology to follow scripture’s story; and systematic theology to trace scripture’s themes. Covenant theology combines these approaches. It helps us step back and see that the Bible tells the story of redemptive history (biblical theology) by using a specific theme or structure: God’s covenants (systematic theology).
Now, this doesn’t mean that covenant theology replaces the other approaches. Covenant theology is really a hermeneutic, a way of reading the scriptures, building on the strengths of both biblical and systematic theology to understand the Bible as a cohesive whole.
In this article, I’ll briefly define a covenant, introduce the Covenants of Works as well as the Covenant of Grace, and in so doing demonstrate how covenant theology helps us understand what Christ has done for us. Some will be familiar with the concepts, while others may have only recently discovered covenant theology. This article is primarily written for the second group, though I hope those of us familiar with these concepts will find our memories refreshed and our hearts encouraged.
What Is a Covenant?
A covenant is a mutual agreement between two parties, where both parties are bound to each other to perform the conditions contracted. At a basic level, it’s a contract. There are blessings for keeping the terms of the covenant, and curses for breaking them. But biblical covenants are deeper than just an agreement to perform a certain action. They connect people to each other and establish a relationship between them; in the scriptures, especially, they connect man and God.
Covenants are typically agreements between equals. So we must for a moment acknowledge the obvious imbalance between God and man. First, we are not equals. Humans depend on God for existence. He is the Creator. We are the creature. Secondly, as part of God’s creation, he has authority over us. He doesn’t need our consent. But God doesn’t force us to simply do as he commands. Instead, he graciously condescends to us, coming to our level and binding himself in covenant to us. By covenanting with us, God chooses to enter into relationship with us. And this means that every covenant is based on God’s grace, even the Covenant of Works.
The Covenant of Works
The Covenant of Works was made with Adam in the Garden of Eden, before the fall. But this covenant doesn’t just involve Adam: God appointed Adam as a representative of all humanity. Adam had a natural right to represent us as the first man, and perhaps more importantly, a legal right which he received from God. This means that Adam’s actions affect us, just as a king who signs a peace treaty signs not just for himself, but for every citizen.
One might summarise the Covenant of Works in this way: “Do this and live.” Note: God does two things here. Firstly, he sets a law (do this) and gives a promise (you will live). If God had only commanded us to do this, there wouldn’t have been any grace. He would simply demand obedience. If God only told us to live, then we’d have a promise but wouldn’t be drawn closer to God. It’s only as a covenant, a mixture of promise and law, that we get the full picture. For it’s by obedience to God that we can draw closer to him and enjoy life. This is the blessing offered under the Covenant of Works.
Let’s expand on that summary. God required Adam to perfectly and personally obey his Law. Adam knew the Law through reason, nature, and of course, God’s plain command. The Ten Commandments would later summarise what Adam was required to obey (Exodus 20:1-26). “Perfectly” and “personally.” These words are important. Perfectly is simple enough to understand.
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Life, relationships, teaching sound doctrine, practicing church discipline, etc. can present complex challenges. Pastors need to maintain the simple practice of remembering Christ as they engage knotty and complicated issues. The glory of Jesus and his resurrection outshines and outweighs the problems of this life. Just one glimpse of Him in glory repays the toils of pastoral ministry. 

Pastors face a myriad of trials and struggles while shepherding the flock. People they love and trust unexpectedly leave the church and cut off communications. Relationships can leave painful scars. Elders must routinely broach difficult topics and engage in uncomfortable conversations. Shepherds often help members address complicated issues in their lives. Exegeting difficult texts and clearly explaining doctrine regularly pose frequent challenges. Moreover, the faithful pastor must maintain his own commitment to family and personal spiritual disciplines. “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor 2:16) can easily become their life verse (it’s a good one!).
This is part of a series of blog posts encouraging pastors to persevere in their labor (please share these posts with your pastors). This entry will highlight a very simple truth from 2 Timothy to help pastors endure. Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy to exhort him to continue in what he had learned and believed (2 Tim 3:14). Throughout this epistle, the apostle gives several instructions and commands to help church leaders persevere in their work. One of the simplest, clearest, and most profound of these commands is, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Tim 2:8). Following this simple command keeps pastors grounded in the truth of the gospel as they navigate the challenges of shepherding the flock.
Remember Jesus Christ, Risen from the Dead
A high school football coach I know was invited to watch the Indianapolis Colts workout and practice. He hoped to learn some new drills or special plays from the professionals. In the practice, however, the NFL coaches focused on the fundamentals of stretching, running, blocking, and tackling. He left a bit disappointed, but then realized an important lesson he had already known—even the greatest players at the highest level must practice the fundamentals of the game.
In Timothy’s distress, Paul reminds him of the fundamentals of the gospel and commands him to remember them. “Remember” is a present imperative verb meaning, “continually remember.” We specifically remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. Paul uses the perfect tense of the verb “risen,” which describes a past event with abiding implications for the present. This points to glorious spiritual realities associated with the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25). Jesus’s resurrection fulfilled the Scripture and vindicated his teachings (Luke 24:26–27). His resurrection further identified him as God (John 20:28). His resurrection proved he had overcome the world and was given all authority in heaven and in earth (Matt 28:18). His resurrection gives us powerful truths to meditate upon—weighty realities to remember in the midst of our struggles.
Remembering requires mental exercise (as in the previous verse, 2 Tim 2:7). Thus, we must intentionally remember the resurrection of Jesus and the benefits we receive from him. In his book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges offers practical means of preaching the gospel to yourself every day.
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Written by T. M. Suffield |
Sunday, February 5, 2023
Joy is not happiness. We think it is, but it’s not. How do we know? Because Peter makes it clear that it co-exists with grief (look up chapter 1 and read from verse 3, see what I mean?). Happiness changes with emotion, joy co-exists with emotions. Which of course should lead us to a conclusion: joy isn’t an emotion.

I’ve written before on how longing is the ground of joy, but a friend pointed out that I didn’t actually define joy in that piece. A fair criticism, that if I’m honest was because I was still trying to find a neat way of saying what I wanted to and feared that an around the subject rumination would take the length of four usual posts and perhaps not leave you wiser at the end.
So, foolishly, I’m going to attempt that now. As my jumping off point I want to start with 1 Peter 1.8-9.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Is your life characterised by a joy inexpressible that is filled with glory? Hearts around the world sink as they read the question. It probably isn’t because what you’re picturing is effervescent extroverts who act like they’re modelling for a Coke advert all the time.
Your life may not be characterised by a joy inexpressible that is filled with glory, but I do wonder if part the problem is our expectations. I pulled that quote out of 1 Peter without the context. He’s just told them that they’re going to suffer, they should expect to know grief, and they live in a time that is dying while (he hints) belonging to a time that has yet to be birthed. He is not writing to a bunch of happy clappy charismatics (though joy is for them too) who are so heavenly minded they’re no earthly use—he’s writing to people who know challenge, ostracism, difficulty, and the mind-numbingly cold embrace of grief.
The grammar of the Greek tells us that this is not a command, but a description. Thank goodness.
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