Covenant Theology

Covenant Theology
(1689 Federalism) 

All of Scripture unified in Christ through the covenants—one plan of salvation by grace through faith.

📜 "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." — Luke 24:27 (ESV)

📜 "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory." — 2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)

What We Believe

At Teaching Bridge Fellowship, we believe that the Bible is one unified story of God's redemptive plan, revealed progressively through covenants and fulfilled completely in Jesus Christ. This is the heart of covenant theology—and specifically, 1689 Federalism, the covenantal framework held by historic Reformed Baptists.

Scripture is not a random collection of disconnected stories, moral lessons, or disjointed dispensations. It is a coherent, Christ-centered narrative that unfolds through God's covenantal dealings with humanity. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible tells one story: God redeeming a people for Himself through the promised Seed, Jesus Christ.

What Is a Covenant?

A covenant is a solemn, binding agreement between two parties, established by God and governed by His terms. In Scripture, covenants are not mere contracts—they are relational commitments that define how God deals with His people.

Biblical covenants typically include:

• Parties (who is involved)

• Promises (what God pledges to do)

• Conditions (terms of the relationship)

• Signs (visible markers of the covenant)

• Blessings and curses (rewards for obedience, consequences for disobedience)

God is the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. And every covenant He makes points forward to the ultimate Mediator: Jesus Christ.

The Three Foundational Covenants

1. The Covenant of Works (with Adam)

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" — Genesis 2:16-17

Before the Fall, God entered into a covenant of works with Adam. The terms were simple: obey fully, and live; disobey, and die. Adam was placed in the Garden as humanity's federal head (representative). If he obeyed, he would secure eternal life for himself and his descendants. If he disobeyed, he would bring guilt, corruption, and death upon all.

Adam failed. He broke the covenant, and the consequences were catastrophic: sin, death, and separation from God for the entire human race (Romans 5:12-19).

But the covenant of works was not abolished—it was fulfilled in Christ, the second Adam. Where Adam failed, Christ succeeded. Christ lived the perfect, obedient life that Adam should have lived, and He earned the righteousness that the covenant of works demanded. Now, in Christ, believers receive the righteousness of the second Adam and eternal life (Romans 5:17-19).

2. The Covenant of Redemption (Eternal Counsel of the Trinity)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world." — Ephesians 1:3-4

Before time began, the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—entered into an eternal covenant of redemption. The Father elected a people to save. The Son agreed to become their Mediator, to take on flesh, to live, die, and rise for them. The Spirit agreed to apply the Son's redemptive work to the elect, regenerating, sanctifying, and sealing them.

This is the foundation of all salvation. Redemption was not Plan B after Adam's fall—it was planned in eternity (Revelation 13:8, 2 Timothy 1:9). The covenant of redemption is the blueprint; the covenant of grace is the outworking of that plan in history.

3. The Covenant of Grace (Inaugurated in Christ, Revealed Through Promises and Types)

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." — Hebrews 8:10 (quoting Jeremiah 31:33)

The covenant of grace is God's gracious promise to save His people through the Mediator, Jesus Christ. It was first announced in Genesis 3:15 (the promise of the Seed who would crush the serpent's head), and it was progressively revealed through the Old Testament covenants (with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David), all of which pointed forward to Christ.

But here's the key: the covenant of grace was not formally established until Christ came. The Old Testament saints were saved by grace through faith in the promises of the coming Messiah. They looked forward to Christ; we look back to Him. But all are saved the same way: by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

This is the distinctively 1689 Federalist view. Unlike some covenant theologies that see the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants as different "administrations" of the covenant of grace, 1689 Federalism sees them as types, shadows, and promises that anticipated the covenant of grace but were not themselves the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace was inaugurated in Christ and is mediated exclusively through Him.

The Old Testament Covenants: Shadows Pointing to Christ

The Noahic Covenant (Genesis 9)

God's promise to preserve creation and restrain judgment, ensuring that the world would endure long enough for the Redeemer to come.

The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12, 15, 17)

God's promise to bless all nations through Abraham's Seed (Galatians 3:16). This pointed forward to Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.

The Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19-24)

A temporary, typological covenant that exposed sin, revealed God's holiness, and pointed forward to the need for a better Mediator. The Mosaic covenant was not the covenant of grace—it was a covenant of works given to national Israel to show their inability to keep God's law and their need for a Savior (Galatians 3:19-25).

The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7)

God's promise to establish David's throne forever—a promise ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who reigns eternally (Luke 1:32-33).

All of these covenants were temporary, typological, and preparatory. They were shadows cast by the substance: Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:17).

The New Covenant: The Fulfillment in Christ

"This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." — Luke 22:20

The New Covenant is the fulfillment of all God's promises. It is the covenant of grace fully revealed and inaugurated in Jesus Christ. In the New Covenant:

• Sin is forgiven (Hebrews 8:12)

• Hearts are transformed (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

• The law is written on the heart (Hebrews 8:10)

• The Holy Spirit is poured out (Acts 2:33)

• Believers have direct access to God through Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22)

The New Covenant is better than the old because it is:

• Eternal, not temporary (Hebrews 13:20)

• Effective, not typological (Hebrews 9:11-14)

• Based on Christ's blood, not animal sacrifices (Hebrews 9:12)

• Written on hearts, not on tablets of stone (2 Corinthians 3:3)

And here's the glory: the New Covenant is for all who are in Christ—Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female (Galatians 3:28). There is one people of God, united to Christ by faith, heirs of the promise made to Abraham and fulfilled in Jesus.

Why It Matters

Covenant theology—and specifically 1689 Federalism—provides the framework for understanding the entire Bible. Without it, Scripture feels fragmented, disconnected, and confusing. But when you see the covenants, you see the unity of God's redemptive plan from Genesis to Revelation.

First, it reveals Christ as the center of Scripture. Every covenant points to Him. Every promise finds its "Yes" in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20). The Bible is not about you—it's about Jesus.

Second, it clarifies the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is not irrelevant, but it is also not normative in the same way. The shadows have given way to the substance. We don't ignore the Old Testament—we read it through the lens of Christ's fulfillment.

Third, it shapes how we worship, obey, and live. We are not under the Mosaic covenant with its ceremonial and civil laws. We are under the New Covenant in Christ, where the law is written on our hearts and we worship in Spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).

Fourth, it protects us from legalism and license. We don't try to earn God's favor by keeping the law (legalism), nor do we ignore God's moral will because we're under grace (license). We obey from a heart transformed by grace, empowered by the Spirit, for the glory of Christ.

What Scripture Says

Genesis 3:15

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

This is the first gospel promise—the Seed of the woman (Christ) would crush the serpent (Satan). The covenant of grace begins here, in God's promise to redeem fallen humanity through a Savior.

Galatians 3:16

"Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to offsprings,' referring to many, but referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' who is Christ."

The Abrahamic covenant was ultimately about Christ. All of God's promises to Abraham find their fulfillment in Jesus. If you are in Christ, you are an heir of the promise (Galatians 3:29).

Hebrews 8:6

"But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises."

The New Covenant is better because it is based on Christ's finished work, not on temporary shadows and types. Christ is the Mediator of a superior covenant.

Jeremiah 31:31-33

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers... For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts."

The New Covenant was promised in the Old Testament and fulfilled in Christ. It is not like the Mosaic covenant—it is radically new, transformative, and eternal.

2 Corinthians 3:6

"Who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

The Old Covenant brought death because it exposed sin without providing power to overcome it. The New Covenant brings life because the Spirit indwells, transforms, and empowers believers.

Historical & Confessional Grounding

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith articulates covenant theology clearly in Chapter 7:

"The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience to him as their creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of life but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which he hath been pleased to express by way of covenant." (1689 LBCF 7.1)

"Moreover, man having brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace, wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved; and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe." (1689 LBCF 7.2)

The 1689 presents a clear covenant framework: one covenant of works (with Adam), one covenant of grace (in Christ), and the Old Testament covenants as types and shadows pointing forward to Christ.

This is 1689 Federalism—a distinctively Reformed Baptist covenant theology that sees Christ as the fulfillment of all God's covenants and the mediator of the one true covenant of grace.

Common Misunderstandings

"Doesn't the church replace Israel?"

No. Christ fulfills Israel. Jesus is true Israel (Matthew 2:15), and all who are united to Him by faith—Jew or Gentile—become part of the one people of God. There is one olive tree (Romans 11:17-24), one body (Ephesians 2:14-16), one covenant people in Christ.

"Are we still supposed to keep the Mosaic law?"

The Mosaic covenant was a temporary, typological covenant for national Israel. Christians are not under the Mosaic law in the same way Israel was. However, the moral law (summarized in the Ten Commandments) reflects God's unchanging character and is written on our hearts in the New Covenant (Romans 2:14-15, Hebrews 8:10).

"If the Old Testament covenants aren't the covenant of grace, were Old Testament saints saved differently?"

No. Old Testament saints were saved the same way we are—by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. They looked forward to the promised Messiah; we look back to the revealed Messiah. But all are saved by Christ's work, applied by the Spirit.

"Isn't covenant theology just Reformed tradition imposed on Scripture?"

No. Covenant theology flows from Scripture itself. The Bible is organized around covenants. God's dealings with humanity are covenantal. When you read Scripture with the covenants in view, the entire Bible comes alive with Christological clarity and redemptive-historical unity.

A Word of Application

If you've never studied covenant theology, start now. Read through the Bible with the covenants in view. Watch how every promise, every type, every shadow points to Christ. See how the Old Testament anticipates Him and the New Testament reveals Him. Let the unity of Scripture shape your reading, your worship, and your understanding of God's plan.

And if you already understand covenant theology, live in light of it. You are in Christ. You are under the New Covenant. The law is written on your heart. The Spirit dwells within you. You have access to the Father through the Son. This is not just doctrine—it's your identity, your hope, your joy.

Prayer

Father, thank You for Your covenants—Your faithful promises to save a people for Yourself through Jesus Christ. Thank You that all of Scripture points to Him, that every promise finds its Yes in Him, and that in Him we have eternal life. Help us to read Your Word with covenant eyes, to see Christ on every page, and to live as New Covenant people filled with Your Spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. 🙏

Related Resources:

📖 1689 London Baptist Confession, Chapter 7 – "Of God's Covenant"
📘 Jesus Christ: The Only Savior (TBF Page 4)
📘 How We Interpret Scripture (TBF Page 12)
🎙️ Recommended Video: Richard Barcellos – "Introduction to 1689 Federalism?"
🎙️ Recommended Video Playlist: "1689 Federalism"
📚 Recommended Book: The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology - Revised by Pascal Denault

Next: The Church: A Regenerate Community →

In Sum:

TBF believes in covenant theology (1689 Federalism)—all of Scripture unified in Christ through the covenants. Learn what we believe about God's covenant plan.