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Copyright © 2019 Carol Man Fen Chen All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. A HISTORICAL, BIBLICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF COVENANTS: UNCONDITIONALITY AND CONDITIONALITY IN RELATION TO JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Carol Man Fen Chen December 2019 APPROVAL SHEET A HISTORICAL, BIBLICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF COVENANTS: UNCONDITIONALITY AND CONDITIONALITY IN RELATION TO JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION Carol Man Fen Chen Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Stephen J. Wellum (Chair) __________________________________________ Gregg R. Allison __________________________________________ Michael A. G. Haykin Date______________________________ To my parents, with love and gratitude. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE ......................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 Thesis ..................................................................................................................9 Background .......................................................................................................11 Methodology .....................................................................................................18 Chapter Summaries ...........................................................................................20 2. THE STATE OF CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................24 Historical Challenges ........................................................................................27 Contemporary Challenges .................................................................................33 Contemporary Responses to the Challenges .....................................................37 3. JOHN CALVIN'S DOCTRINE OF TWOFOLD GRACE OF GOD IN COVENANT THEOLOGY ............................................................................53 John Calvin's Doctrine of Justification .............................................................53 Union with Christ (unio cum Christo) ..............................................................54 Union with Christ and Duplex Gratia ..............................................................57 Justification: The First Benefit of Duplex Gratia .............................................59 Sanctification: The Second Benefit of Duplex Gratia ......................................65 The Relation of Duplex Gratia ........................................................................70 John Calvin and Covenant Theology ...............................................................78 Mutuality and Conditionality of the Covenant .................................................87 iv Chapter Page Covenant and Dual Covenantal Benefit: Justification and Sanctification ........95 Unconditional and Conditional Covenant in Respect to Dual Benefits .........104 Conclusion ......................................................................................................106 4. POST-REFORMATION DEVELOPMENT OF COVENANT THEOLOGY .......................................................................................................109 Unity and Continuity of Covenantal Thought from Calvin to Reformed Orthodoxy ..........................................................................109 Covenant Theology: The Covenant of Redemption, Works, and Grace ..................................................................................125 The Nature of the Covenants: Unilateral and Bilateral ...................................139 Covenantal Conditions ....................................................................................150 Unity of Law and Grace in the Covenants .....................................................159 Union and Communion in Covenant of Grace ...............................................174 Covenant and Ordo Salutis: Justification and Sanctification .........................184 Justification and Sanctification in Union with Christ ....................................197 Conclusion ......................................................................................................206 5. BIBLICAL COVENANTS IN OLD TESTAMENT: UNCONDITIONALITY AND CONDITIONALITY .......................................208 The Unity of Scripture: A Covenantal Framework ........................................208 The Nature of the Covenant ...........................................................................212 Covenant Categorization: Unilateral and Bilateral ........................................218 Biblical Covenants: Unconditionality and Conditionality .............................224 Divine and Human Agency in Covenant Obedience ......................................250 Conclusion ......................................................................................................255 6. COVENANT OBEDIENCE IN THE NEW COVENANT ...............................257 Newness of the New Covenant ......................................................................257 v Chapter Page The Demand of Covenant Obedience in the New Covenant Obedience .....................................................................258 Union with Christ and the New Covenant .....................................................262 Union with Christ in Paul ................................................................................270 Union with Christ: Gospel of John .................................................................280 Indicative Implies Imperative .........................................................................289 Justification and Sanctification in Christ .......................................................293 The New Covenant: Unconditional and Conditional ......................................309 Conclusion .....................................................................................................315 7. THEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS .........................................................................317 Imputation of Christ's Righteousness .............................................................318 Objective and Subjective: Christ for Us and Christ in Us ..............................322 Confounding Justification and Sanctification .................................................325 Faith and Works ..............................................................................................327 Law and Gospel: Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace .......................331 The Whole Gospel and Original Sin: Guilt and Corruption ..........................337 Unilateral and Bilateral Covenants .................................................................341 Covenant Conditions .......................................................................................344 Unconditional and Conditional Covenant: Justification and Sanctification in union with Christ ..................................................347 Conclusion ......................................................................................................350 8. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................352 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 356 vi PREFACE It is my pleasure and privilege to write on covenant theology, a topic of my interest, for my dissertation. I am indebted to those who first introduced me to the tradition of Reformed theology. They have played an indispensable role in opening my mind and heart to appreciate theology in general and Reformed theology in particular. I give thanks to Dr. Samuel Ling for introducing me to covenant theology, invaluable Puritan literature, and J. I. Packer’s writings. I also give thanks to Dr. Stephen Tong because of his form of “reason on fire” teaching and preaching, I have learned the richness of Christian faith that does not deny the function of human reason. I give further thanks to Dr. Stephen Chan for his style of rhetorical teaching that has stimulated and shaped my mind for critical thinking. I am thankful to my former seminary professors at Reformed Theological Seminary. They have continued to broaden and shape my scope of theological understanding. I am especially grateful to my doctoral supervisor, Dr. Stephen Wellum, for his insightful lectures and assistance. I appreciate his knowledge in this area and his helpful feedback and comments. I am also thankful to the two other members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Gregg Allison and Dr. Michael Haykin. In addition, my gratitude extends to Dr. Fred G. Zaspel for his willingness to be my external reader. I am thankful to Swee Choo Tseng for her friendship, prayer, and support. She understands my journey because she is also on this path of seeking to serve the Lord. vii I am also grateful for my father, Rong Xiang. Though uneducated, he loves his family according
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