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Protestant Reformed Theological Journal Is Published by 116 Smidt, Corwin Volume 40 • April 2007 • Number 2 • 40 Volume in this issue: Editor’s Notes 1 The Covenant with Noah: Common Grace or Cosmic Grace? 2 Ronald L. Cammenga The Relationship of God’s Kingdom to His Covenant 26 Russell J. Dykstra Breaking the Everlasting Covenant of Grace 58 Barrett L. Gritters A Review Article 83 David J. Engelsma P R O T E S T A N T R E F O R M E D Book Reviews 96 T H E O L O G I C A L S E M I N A R Y 4949 Ivanrest Avenue Wyoming, Michigan 49418-9142 ISSN 1070-8138 Volume 40 • April 2007 • Number 1 PROTESTANT REFORMED Book Reviews THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL 83 Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 3: Sin and Salvation in Christ 131 Engelsma, David. Trinity and Covenant: Published twice annually by the faculty of the Protestant Re- God As Holy Family formed Theological Seminary: 139 Golding, Peter. Covenant Theology: The Key of Theology Ronald L. Cammenga, Editor ([email protected]) in Reformed Thought and Tradition Russell J. Dykstra, Book Review Editor ([email protected]) 128 Glover, Peter. The Virtual Church David J. Engelsma ([email protected]) and How to Avoid It: Barrett L. Gritters ([email protected]) The Crisis of De-formation and the Need for Re-formation in the 21st Century 125 Horton, Michael. God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology 119 Instone-Brewer, David. Divorce and Remarriage ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context 108 Olson, Roger. Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities 102 Riggs, John. Baptism in the Reformed Tradition: An Historical and Practical Theology The Protestant Reformed Theological Journal is published by 116 Smidt, Corwin. Divided by a Common Heritage: the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary twice each year, The Christian Reformed Church and the in April and November, and mailed to subscribers free of charge. Reformed Church in America Those who wish to receive the Journal should write the editor, at at the Beginning of the New Millennium the seminary address. Those who wish to reprint an article ap- 105 Venema, Cornelis. Getting the Gospel Right: pearing in the Journal should secure the permission of the editor. Assessing the Reformation and New Perspectives on Paul Books for review should be sent to the book review editor, also 96 Vos, J.G. Genesis at the address of the school. Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary 4949 Ivanrest Avenue Grandville, MI 49418 USA Editor’s Notes This issue of the Journal is the second of two issues devoted to the doctrine of God’s covenant of grace. In this issue Prof. Russell Dykstra treats the vital relationship between the covenant and the kingdom. Prof. Barrett Gritters takes up the matter of covenant breaking and covenant breakers. And the undersigned considers God’s covenant with Noah, evaluating the view that the Noahic covenant was a covenant of common grace. (Rev. Angus Stewart’s survey and analysis of John Calvin’s covenant theol- ogy, which he started in the previous issue, will be continued in our November 2007 issue.) The doctrine of God’s covenant is not just one doctrine among many other doctrines of equal importance in Scripture. But the doctrine of the covenant is the doctrine of Scripture, the central doctrine around which all the other doctrines are arranged, out of which they arise, and on which they are dependent. The Reformed faith has recognized this. For this reason, the doctrine of the cov- enant, already from the time of the Reformation, has been the distinguishing doctrine of Reformed theology. More than any other doctrine, the doctrine of the covenant has defined the Reformed faith. At the same time, from the very beginning the doctrine of the covenant has been controversial. It has been a matter of contro- versy with those outside the Reformed faith who denied it and attacked it. But it has also been a matter of controversy among the Reformed themselves. The various controversies over the covenant within the Reformed churches have been highlighted in the articles appearing in this issue and in the preceding issue of the Journal. Our prayer is that our readership will be profited by this issue of the Journal. It is our hope that you will be informed regarding old and new attacks on the biblical truth of the covenant. It is our added hope that you will be strengthened in your resolve to main- tain the truth of the covenant, for the glory of the God of the cov- enant. R.L.C. Protestant Reformed Theological Journal The Covenant with Noah: Common Grace or Cosmic Grace? Ronald L. Cammenga Introduction In the progressive revelation of the truth concerning the cov- enant, the history of God’s establishment of the covenant with Noah is of special significance. The establishment of the cov- enant with Noah is not the first establishment of the covenant by God. The covenant was first established when God spoke the “Mother Promise” in Genesis 3:15. God’s putting enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent implied the establishment of friendship between Himself and the seed of the woman. That is the covenant, the relationship of love expressed in friendship and fellowship between Himself and His people in Christ—the seed of the woman. The very first revelation of the promise of the gospel is couched in covenantal language and pro- claims the salvation that is the covenant. Although God’s establishment of the covenant with Noah is not the first establishment of the covenant, there are a number of “firsts” connected with the Noahic covenant, as recorded in Gen- esis 6:18 and Genesis 9:8-17. For one thing, this is the first time that the term “covenant” (tyriB]) appears on the pages of Holy Scrip- ture. In Genesis 6:18, after announcing the destruction of all flesh and commanding Noah to build the ark, God’s word to Noah was, “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.” In distinction from the wicked world that would per- ish under God’s just judgment, God had established His covenant with Noah. That God had established His covenant with Noah was both the explanation for and the assurance to Noah that he and his family would not perish in the impending deluge. The covenant and their place in the covenant was the assurance from the God of their salvation, as the apostle Peter expressly states in 2 Vol. 40, No. 2 Covenant with Noah I Peter 3:20. God’s establishment of His covenant with Noah prior to the Flood was reaffirmed by God after Noah and his family left the ark and set foot in the new world. That reaffirma- tion of the covenant is recorded in Genesis 9:8-17. Besides the first express mention of the covenant, the his- tory of Noah is also significant for the first use of the covenant formula, “I will establish my covenant.”1 From the very first use of the term “covenant,” the language used by God for the covenant’s establishment was not “Let us establish a covenant,” as though the covenant were a pact or mutual agreement between God and man. But the divine formula is “I will establish my covenant.” Accompanying the first use of the term “covenant” is the insistence by God that the covenant is established sover- eignly and unilaterally. A third “first” worth pointing out is that it is in connection with the revelation of God’s covenant with Noah that for the first time the word “grace” (@je) appears on the pages of Holy Scripture. Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Striking it is that the first use of the term “covenant” occurs in conjunction with the first use of the term “grace.” Now clearly God’s covenant promise to our first parents was a cov- enant and promise of grace. Of that they were keenly aware. Fallen mankind did not deserve deliverance from the serpent, whose friendship they had chosen over against God. God’s grace was typified in His killing of the animals and clothing Adam and Eve with their skins. But it is in connection with God’s estab- lishment of the covenant with Noah that Scripture for the first time makes explicit mention of God’s grace. As the history of the Flood makes abundantly clear, God’s covenant and the sal- vation of that covenant are a gracious covenant and a gracious salvation. Tragically, the great significance of God’s covenant with Noah is often slighted. This is due to the fact that the Noahic covenant is generally construed as a covenant of common grace. 1. This language occurs in Genesis 6:18, as well as Genesis 9:9, 11, 17. April 2007 3 Protestant Reformed Theological Journal About this covenant of common grace it is said that it is a cov- enant that includes all men, elect and reprobate alike—as is the nature of common grace. The blessings of this covenant are only temporal blessings, not any spiritual blessings of salvation. This covenant is not a covenant established in the blood of the Media- tor and Head of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ, but with Noah as the head and father of the human race. The blessings of this covenant being only temporal blessings, the nature of this cov- enant is that it is only temporary, a covenant that concerns only life in this present world.
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