Before the night he was betrayed,
The Lord of glory died;
Indeed before the world was made,
The Lamb was crucified.
Before the sin, the spear, the lash
(Eternal was the flood!)
God put his inkwell at the gash,
And filled it with his blood;
Then with his crimson ink and quill,
A holy world compiled,
And wrote his kind and costly will:
The name of ev’ry child.
Then, finally, with tears, he took
A blade to foreordain,
And graved the title of the book:
The Life, the Lamb, the Slain.
We have looked progressively at the unfolding covenants of scripture. We have moved from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses and on to David. But this week, though you might think we would go directly on to Christ and consider the ‘NEW COVENANT’ we back up to BEFORE THE BEGINNING.
We are going in search of the MYSTERY hidden for ages and finally revealed in Christ.
The theologians - those who have spent an entire lifetime studying the scriptures - have called this ‘The Covenant of Redemption’. Those words never appear in scripture, in fact there is no single passage that we can go to and read about this covenant. But we are CERTAIN that an agreement existed between the trinity before the words of creation were even spoken.
When we speak of MYSTERY we are not speaking of something that is UNKNOWN but rather of something that was hidden and then revealed - it is the great PLOT TWIST. If you’ve ever read a truly great mystery novel, you discover that you can read it twice with enjoyment. The first time through you are in the dark, though you know that there is something unknown. The second time through, with knowledge of the mystery, you wonder how you didn’t recognize it the first time - on every page you see the secret revealed.
So Paul writes: …I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:25-27
Over the next three weeks we will peer into this revealed mystery.
This week we will track the EXISTENCE of an ANCIENT COVENANT THAT PREDATES CREATION.
Next week we will consider the REQUIREMENTS of the Covenant of Redemption.
The final week of the year we will consider the REWARDS promised in the Covenant of Redemption.
This week we want to look at the Evidence in the Old Testament; Evidence in the Statements of Jesus and Evidence in the Writings of the Apostles.
I. Evidence in the Old Testament
a. Psalm 2:7-9 - I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Note the word DECREE? God has decreed that the nations will be subject to his son. Of course, this Psalm predates Jesus by centuries, but in the book of Acts and Hebrews the fulfilment of this Psalm is ascribed to Jesus Christ.
b. Psalm 40:6-8 - Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
These words are also ascribed to Jesus by the New Testament writers. Note that the servant comes declaring that he has come to accomplish WORDS ALREADY ESTABLISHED… WRITTEN IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK?
c. Isaiah 49:1-3 - Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
It is Jesus himself who will later identify himself as TRUE ISRAEL the true servant of God.
d. Isaiah 53:10-11 - Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
The whole of Isaiah 53 speaks of the SUFFERING SERVANT of the Lord who comes to make atonement for his people.
II. Evidence in Jesus’ Statements
a. Luke 2:46-49 - After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
b. John 6:38 - For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
c. John 12:27-28a - “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
d. John 17:4-5 - “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
All of these passages make clear that Jesus has a STRONG SENSE OF MISSION. There is a work that he has been given to do, there is a purpose and an HOUR for which he has come forth, he is not acting INDEPENDENTLY, BUT ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER.
How does Jesus know what he has come to do? We read no verse in the New Testament of God giving direction to Jesus.
When was this MISSION established?
e. Matthew 26:39, 42 - And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”
There is no doubt that Jesus comes to earth with a mission to fulfil. The only question is WHEN his work is established. Is this a CONTINGENCY PLAN come up after creation because Plan ‘A’ failed? Not at all.
III. Evidence in the Apostle’s Writings
a. Galatians 4:4-5 - But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
b. 1 Peter 1:20 - …[Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you…
c. Ephesians 1:4; 3:8-11 - …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord…
d. 2 Timothy 1:9 - …who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began…
All of these passages are pointing to the same thing.
…before the foundation of the world…
…before the foundation of the world…
…the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God…
…the eternal purpose that was realized in Christ… (not plan ‘b’)
…his own purpose and grace before the ages began…
The message of the scripture is that there is a plan, a purpose, a story that is older than our oldest memory. That there is an agreement between the godhead that was established before the world was made.
Well does the poem declare it:
Before the night he was betrayed,
The Lord of glory died;
Indeed before the world was made,
The Lamb was crucified.
Conclusion:
If this is true, if in fact there is a covenant that precedes creation, this raises a question; and the answer to that question answers a number of other questions.
The question (is this not your question) is this:
If God knew before the first ATOM was called into being that the result of this act would be the fall of man and sin which would only be redeemed at the cost of the life of God the Son. Why did he do it?
I offer two answers, one that speaks to his chief end, the other that speaks to the question of suffering.
The CHIEF END OF GOD is the display of his own glory. The end of creation is not the redemption of man, that is AN end, but it is subordinate to his chief end. There was an end that could only be accomplished in this way - the beauty, the comprehensive display and manifestation of God’s glory could not be displayed apart from creation, fall, redemption and glorification.
“Thus it is necessary, that God’s awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God’s glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all…”. Jonathan Edwards, Concerning the Divine Decrees, The Works of J.E. Vol 2, p. 528
The second answer also offered in the voice of Jonathan Edwards speaks to whether it was MORAL or ETHICAL to make a world knowing the suffering that would come forth:
“It is impossible for an infinitely wise and good being to do otherwise, than to choose what he sees on the whole to be best. And certainly reason requires us to suppose, that of all possible events with respect to sin, and the conversion and salvation of particular persons, it is better that one of those possible and opposite events should come to pass than another; and therefore, an infinitely wise and good being must choose accordingly. What God permits, he decrees to permit.” Jonathan Edwards, Concerning the Divine Decrees, The Works of J.E. Vol 2, p. 537
Put in simple and modern language, Jonathan Edwards is stating that since God is INFINITE he knows the outcome of every possible choice; since God is WISE he knows out of all possible worlds (including no world at all) which will produce the highest and best possible end; since God is GOOD it is impossible for him to choose anything but the very best.
Therefore, in the time before time; knowing the outcome of his act; God, who is INFINITE, and WISE, and GOOD established a covenant with his Son for the creating, redeeming and blessing of the world for the display of his glory.
This is why when Adam and Eve fail in the garden, their failure is not met with immediate death - but rather with the mysterious words of the PROTOEUANGELION - the serpent shall strike the heel of the seed of the woman, but he shall strike its head.
This is why God is able to make covenants with sinful and flawed men like Abraham, Moses and David - because there is already a covenant in play which STANDS SURETY FOR ALL.
The Messiah is coming… and the Messiah is none other than God made flesh.