In-Office

“O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.”

John Wade (1743), translated from Latin to English by Frederick Oakeley (1841)

We are coming to the end of the first week of Advent. The Church is singing her seasonal songs celebrating the incarnation of the Son of God. As we invite one another to “adore…Christ the Lord,” we would do well to love Him with our minds as well as with our hearts. Let’s consider the title “Christ.”

It’s not Jesus’ last name. It’s His title. It means “anointed,” and starts in the Old Testament with the word we transliterate “Messiah” (מָשִׁיחַ in the Hebrew). “Christ” (an English word transliterated from the Greek Χριστός) and “Messiah” both mean “anointed.”

When we first encounter the word “Messiah” in the Bible, it is referring to the priests of old covenant Israel (Leviticus 4:3,5,16; 6:22). The priests represented a covenant people in their sins before a holy God, offering sacrifices and facilitating the offering of sacrifices so that the people could be before the LORD. The priests were to “make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses” (Leviticus 10:10,11; see also Deuteronomy 24:8; 33:10; 2 Chronicles 17:9; 30:22; Nehemiah 8:2; Malachi 2:7). They, in a way similar to the prophets, represented the God of truth to the covenant people (who, if God did not reveal truth to them, would be just as blind to it as the unbelieving nations). The priests, though exempt from the military census, at times led the people of God into battle (as the priestly singers of 2 Chronicles 20:21, who were probably of the priestly tribe of Levite, see 1 Chronicles 6:31,32; 15:16-21; 16:4-6,41,42; 25:1-7; 2 Chronicles 7:6). We might say that the Levitical priesthood served in an embryonic form of the office of Messiah, or anointed one.

Something amazing happens at the end of the period of the Judges. A woman deep in grief over her barrenness appeals to the LORD and is given a son. After weaning the boy, Hannah brings little Samuel to the chief priest Eli and leaves him there to be raised serving the LORD. Hannah prays a prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 which served as a forerunner to Mary’s own Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Like Mary’s prayer, Hannah’s is primarily concerned with God’s character and His saving purposes for His people (neither Mary nor Hannah emote about themselves even though God has miraculously given them both a son…it’s almost as if God is more important to them than their own personal circumstances…imagine!).

At the end of Hannah’s prayer, she is used as a prophetess to foretell of a work of God yet to come:

“Hannah prayed and said,

‘…those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed [מְשִׁיחֹֽו, from מָשִׁיחַ]’” (1 Samuel 2:1,10).

The people have yet to ask for “a king for us to judge us like all the nations,” who would “go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:5,20). This request, a rejection of God’s Kingship akin to idolatry (8:7,8), will be granted by the LORD in His anger (Hosea 13:11). The LORD will use the covenant people’s desire to be like all the nations to establish the office of Messiah/Christ/Anointed One, ultimately leading to the final, perfect, and forever office-Holder, Jesus of Nazareth, eternal Son of God. But none of this has happened yet. Hannah, the humble, God-seeking mother utters this Christ-prophecy before going home to eventually bear five children and disappear quietly from the narrative. Remember, “Messiah” as a descriptor has only been used of priests. Hannah, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, unveils a new chapter in Israel’s history: Christ the King.

Later, “…a man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “…I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed [מְשִׁיחִי, from מָשִׁיחַ] always”’” (1 Samuel 2:27,35). Not only will God establish the office of “Christ the King,” but those who were previously described by the term “Messiah” (anointed), will submit to this new office-holder under the old covenant.

David’s name had first been revealed in the genealogies at the end of Ruth (4:17,22). In 1 Samuel, however, it doesn’t come until the young man is anointed to the office of Messiah by Samuel.

“…Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed [וַיִּמְשַׁח, from מָשַׁח] him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David [דָּוִד, or “beloved”] from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13).

Compare this with another, later anointing of the final Son of David to the office of Messiah:

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased’” (Matthew 3:16,17).

Both passages show us the beloved of God undergoes an outward rite which represents the invisible reality of the imparting of the Holy Spirit and the instillation into the office of Messiah/Christ.

1 Samuel leads us to wrestle with several theological issues, like the LORD, Who doesn’t change (1 Samuel 15:29), change concerning Saul (1 Samuel 15:10). Or His use of evil spirits for His purposes (1 Samuel 16:14; see also Judges 9:23; 1 Samuel 18:10; 19:9; 1 Kings 22:22; Psalm 78:49). Or the question, “can believers lose their salvation and have the Holy Spirit taken away from them?”

“…the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward…now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:13,14). David, after having committed adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah the Hittite killed in battle, confessed his sin to the LORD and begged, “do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). When we read this and ask, “can Christians lose the Holy Spirit?” we are making a category fallacy and showing that we need to understand how we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

First, the category fallacy. The imparting of the Holy Spirit is that which is represented by the anointing with oil (remember that the title Messiah/Christ means “anointed”), making the office-holder the Prophet, Priest, and King of God over His covenant people. When Saul disobeyed the LORD, he was rejected from the office of Messiah/Christ. With that rejection the anointing of the office of Anointed One (Messiah/Christ) was removed from him – the Holy Spirit. Since David was the one chosen of God to hold this office, the Holy Spirit was given to him. This removing and giving of the Holy Spirit doesn’t belong to the category “The Spirit’s Indwelling of Christians.” It belongs to the category “The Office of Messiah/Christ.” In other words, 1 Samuel 16:13,14 and Psalm 51:11 don’t give us biblical data concerning the Holy Spirit and Christians, but contribute to our understanding of the title and office of Messiah/Christ. The two categories (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the title/office of Messiah/Christ) are connected, however.

Second, we need to remind ourselves how Christians are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, is publicly installed to the office of Messiah/Christ (the Anointed One) at His baptism (for other verses on Jesus’ anointing, see Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; Hebrews 1:9). He is the One Who is the Prophet, Priest, and King to God’s covenant people. Unlike Saul, who was rejected from the office because of disobedience, and unlike David, who could not continue in the office because of his death, Jesus continues in the office of Messiah/Christ forever because of His perfect obedience and unending life. He is the final, perfect, and eternal Holder of the office of Messiah/Christ. The Holy Spirit is forever imparted to the One Whom He finally anointed to this office: Jesus.

How, then, do we receive the Holy Spirit? Believers receive the Holy Spirit by virtue of their faith-union with Christ, the One eternally anointed by the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit because we are united to Jesus.

“Now He Who establishes us with you in Christ [Χριστὸν, from Χριστός ] and anointed [χρίσας, from χρίω] us is God, Who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge” (2 Corinthians 1:21,22, New American Standard Bible).

“Remember that God has established our relationship with you in the Anointed One, and He has anointed and commissioned us for this special mission. He has marked us with His seal and placed His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee, a down payment of the things to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21,22, the Voice).

Notice, too, the Trinitarian nature of the God Who is one in these verses: God (the Father, see 1:2,3; 11:31) establishes us in the Son (Messiah/Christ/Anointed One) and gives us the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The only way we can lose the Holy Spirit is if Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son of God, is rejected from the office of Messiah/Christ/Anointed One. This cannot happen, for Jesus’ place as God’s Messiah/Christ/Anointed One is one of His unchanging decree.

“Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed [מְשִׁיחֹֽו, from מָשִׁיחַ], saying,
‘Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!’

[Proclamation of the Father]

He Who sits in the heavens laughs,
The LORD scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
‘But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.’

[Confession of the Son]

‘I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to Me, “You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware”’” (Psalm 2:1-9).[1]

The LORD’s Anointed (Messiah/Christ) is His “King,” decreed to be “Son” (used in a royal/sovereign sense instead of generational, as in Psalm 89:27).

God’s promise to the Messiah/Christ/Anointed One is an aspect of His covenant through David:

“Great deliverance giveth He to His king; and sheweth mercy to His anointed [לִמְשִׁיחֹו, from מָשִׁיחַ], to David, and to his seed for evermore” (Psalm 18:50, King James Version). Paul teaches us that “seed” (singular) in the Old Testament promises is a reference to “Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

Because Jesus is decreed by the Father to be Messiah/Christ/Anointed One forever, those united to the Christ by faith are eternally indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. All that we eternally and blessedly have, including the Personal Presence of God the Holy Spirit, comes to us through the mediation of Jesus of Nazareth, eternal Son of God and fully human, the perfect and final Holder of the office called Messiah/Christ/Anointed One. Praise and adore Him!

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.”

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[1] My youngest daughter read this Psalm to us last night during family worship. As I pointed out to her, Psalm 1 begins and Psalm 2 ends with beatitude. “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1,2). “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psalm 2:12). These “blessed book-ends” bring these two Psalms together, I believe, as the keys to understanding the governing themes of the entire Psalter.

Sing to the King

“For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, in Your strength the King will be glad,
And in Your salvation how greatly He will rejoice!
You have given Him His heart’s desire,
And You have not withheld the request of His lips. Selah.

For You meet Him with the blessings of good things;
You set a crown of fine gold on His head.
He asked life of You,
You gave it to Him,
Length of days forever and ever.

His glory is great through Your salvation,
Splendor and majesty You place upon Him.
For You make Him most blessed forever;
You make Him joyful with gladness in Your presence.

For the King trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness of the Most High He will not be shaken.
Your hand will find out all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate You.
You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath,
And fire will devour them.
Their offspring You will destroy from the earth,
And their descendants from among the sons of men.
Though they intended evil against You
And devised a plot,
They will not succeed [Psalm 2:1-3; Revelation 16:13-16].
For You will make them turn their back;
You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.
Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
We will sing and praise Your power” (Psalm 21).

This is a song of Jesus, Who is the Christ, God’s “Anointed,” His “installed King upon Zion,” (Psalm 2:2,6), His Son.

When the Lamb breaks the first of the seven seals, we see “a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). Some commentators will say this is “antichrist” (a word which does not occur in Revelation, and does not occur in this context in Matthew 24:24//Mark 13:22; 1 John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7), but there is no indication that this figure is “in place of” (the Greek prefix/preposition “anti,” ἀντί, means “in the place of,” not “opposite” or “against”) the Lamb. I have considered the possibility for some time that these horsemen represent the Lamb Himself, being different pictures of His work in the judgment. After all, it is “the Revelation [singular] of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). He is clearly identified in the only other “white horse” vision of the book: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He Who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’” (Revelation 19:11-16).

He is the bowman King of Habakkuk 3:9a, Psalm 21:12, and Revelation 6:2, and we should rejoice in His reign, which is a march toward the conquering of all His enemies.[1] “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25,26).

David, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saw the Seed that fulfilled God’s covenant with him (1 Chronicles 17:11,12; Psalm 89:4,20-29,36; 132:11; Isaiah 9:7; Jeremiah 33:17,21,26; Ezekiel 37:24,25; Luke 1:32,33). David’s name is invoked on the first (Matthew 1:1,6,17) and last (Revelation 22:16) pages of the New Testament, and near the beginning (Romans 1:3) and end of Paul’s ministry (2 Timothy 2:8). His Son “according to the flesh,” Jesus Christ, is the King we need, the King the nations fear, the King the spiritually confused seek among men, and the King Who reigns over all things now and forever.

Our response to this Psalm must be to join in its song, lifting up our voices as the Church to “sing and praise” His “power.” He is the King. Our response to this Psalm must be obedience to Him in all He has commanded, and a passion to teach others to obey Him (Matthew 28:18-20) in love for Him (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9; 11:1,22; 30:16; Joshua 22:5; Nehemiah 1:5; Psalm 119:167; Daniel 9:4; John 14:15,21,23,24; 15:10; 1 John 5:3).[2] He is the King. Our response to this Psalm should be a peaceful rest to those who sing it by faith, for no one will oppose this King when the time comes.

He is the King. His greatest act was not the pulling of the bowstring, but the saving of the elect from among His enemies – us. The sin that condemns eternally is defined by His Law (1 John 3:4). “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” and “much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). Lawless enemies have been reconciled to God, made right before Him by the righteousness of Another, and are now adoring citizens of His eternal Kingdom. He has gifted us in this world to grow in our faith-union with Him, using the metaphor of a conquering King absolutely unlike those of this world, giving instead of taking (Ephesians 4:7-11 quotes Psalm 68:18). Gather as the Church, marveling in this King and what He’s doing in your midst. Such amazing grace!

He is the King, and this is His Song.

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[1] “To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them; uniting them to Himself by His Spirit, revealing unto them, in and by His Word, the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all their enemies by His almighty power and wisdom, in such manner and ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable dispensation; and all of free and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them to procure it” (1689 Baptist Confession, 8.8).

[2] Worship in Him in this truth. Read this post out loud. Take time to look up every passage and read it aloud, too. Give voice to His written Word as part of Your adoration of the King.

Daily Reading, Biblical Theology, and Spirit-Given Exhortation

January 29. I read Psalm 29,59,89,149.^[1] The apostle Paul quotes from Psalm 89 in his preaching of the Gospel. God’s covenant with David is actually a covenant with David’s Seed “according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3; 9:5). When we follow the apostles (who were uniquely inspired by the Holy Spirit) in “trying to persuade…concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets” (Acts 28:23) we are walking a well-trod and ancient path. When we do this with fellow believers, we gift them with a whole Bible. Not just the four Gospels or the New Testament, but a whole Christian Bible. I rejoiced early yesterday morning to hear a fellow Bible teacher in this little town tell me the biblical maturity he’d seen in students who were beginning to grasp a whole-Bible Christian theology. Praise the Lord, and may the next generation of the Church know, preach, and obey the whole Book far more than us!

The covenants are the theological, God-ordained “glue” that holds the Old and New Testament together as the testimony of Jesus Christ. “All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, Who is Himself the focus of divine revelation” (Baptist Faith & Message 2000, I).

“I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him

With Whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.

The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.

My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.

I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.

He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’

I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.

My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.

So I will establish his descendants [lit., “Seed”] forever
And his throne as the days of heaven” (Psalm 89:20-29).

Paul quotes this passage in his “word of exhortation” to the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch.[2]

“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance - all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus…brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus…David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He Whom God raised did not undergo decay. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” (Acts 13:16-38).

Sunrise almost 3 weeks ago. The mountain (Cookes Peak) goes from shadow
to detailed definition in the full daylight (especially just before sunset). This is how
progressive revelation functions from the Old to New Testament.

God “found” David, and through the ever-living and ever-reigning Seed of David “forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” Repent and believe in this Davidic King unto forgiveness and blissful eternal life before His Father.

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[1] I try to read the Psalms daily in an x, x+30 pattern. Psalm 119 should have been in today’s line-up, but I save it for the 31^st of the month and read it alone.

[2] Notice that this “exhortation” is not what we would call “practical” these days. It is pure biblical/covenantal theology. “Exhortation” is a work of the Holy Spirit, and it leads to the “increase” of the church (Acts 9:31). It causes joy (Acts 15:31). Remember Romans 15:4,5. This is the reason God gave the New Testament Church the gift of the Old Testament. This should be the substance of the Spirit-given prophecy in the Church (1 Corinthians 14:3).

Christ the Rock

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). This morning in Thursday Theology we followed the apostle Paul from here to Exodus 17 and worshiped in the Word, seeing Christ in the rock of Horeb. CLICK HERE to take a listen.

Rooted in God in Eternity

I'm currently reading Covenant Theology: a Baptist Distinctive (Solid Ground, 2013) - a late Christmas gift from my parents. It's short (161 pgs.) but makes the most of every page - a good review with thought-provoking ideas throughout (especially on the points of contact between Reformed Baptist theology and Calvinistic dispensationalists and Reformed paedobaptists). This does not mean that I'm in total agreement with the various contributors' efforts, though.

As I've been reading and teaching Covenant Theology, my conviction has grown that what we call the Covenant of Grace needs to be more consistently and purposefully described as an outworking of the eternal Covenant of Redemption between the Persons of the one true God (the Trinity).

For example, Earl Blackburn, commenting on Ephesians 2:12, traces all the biblical covenants back to a single biblical promise. He then comments in a footnote: "The promise, of course, being the one made to Adam in Genesis 3:15" (pg. 49, footnote 51). When we actually read Genesis 3:15, though, we see that Adam is not the one being addressed; the serpent is the recipient of this pronouncement, which is exactly what it is. Genesis 3:15 is not "the promise...being...made," but is the promise being announced in history. The promise had already been made, and it was not to the serpent, Eve, or Adam. The promise had been made in eternity by the Father to the Son. It was now being revealed as the single theme of all of Scripture - and the single purpose of all human history, in fact. The covenant of grace, as it is announced in Genesis 3:15, is not a promise given to Adam (or the serpent or Eve), but a revealing of a promise made in eternity from the Father to the Son. Fred Malone makes this point later: "...Scripture...records the progressive unfolding of God's Covenant of Grace announced [not a promise made to Adam, Eve, or the serpent] in Genesis 3:15, which was consummated in Jesus Christ and His New Covenant fulfillment" (pg. 75). This brings me to a point I'd like to make about the so-called "eternal covenant of redemption" and the "covenant of grace."

It seems to me that there's a lot commended to the idea that the eternal covenant between the Father and Son (and the Spirit Who applies it to the Father's elect in history) is actually the covenant of grace, and the application of it in human history on the pages of Scripture is the realization of that same covenant (not a separately-named covenant).

My business cards contain the following passage: “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,  Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,  but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher” (2 Timothy 1:8-11). God's eternal covenant is the covenant of grace, which "has now been revealed" in human history. I don't  think we gain much by separating the eternal and temporal covenants and giving them separate titles (in fact, I believe we hide the root of it all by doing this!).

It's often said that the covenant of grace is made between God and His elect, but in making the temporal covenant of grace a revealing of the eternal covenant, we see that the actual members of the covenant are the Father and Son, and the elect are the promised of the Father to the Son in their covenant (John 6:39; 10:29; 17:2). I'm not trying to diminish the revelation, announcement, and carrying-out of this eternal covenant in history (a la John Gill's doctrine of eternal redemption), but trying to ground what happens in history in the intra-Trinitarian relationship from all eternity.

Just a thought. I love Covenant Theology, and find teaching it to be an act of worship with my whole being (and further see others worshiping through it in the Word and Spirit as they discover its simple-yet-endlessly-inexhaustible majesty). Still, I think taking this simplifying step (one not at all original to me - just sharing where I am on this) would help us naturally move from revelation history to communion with God in Covenant Theology - worship in the Word and Spirit through the Son to the glory of the Father. For this we have been made.

* * * * * * *

“This covenant is revealed through the Gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by further steps until the full revelation of it became complete in the New Testament. The covenant of salvation rests upon an eternal covenant transaction between the Father and the Son about the redemption of the elect” (London Confession of Faith 1689, 7.3).