Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Covenant of Grace: Questions and Answers

What is the covenant of grace according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the covenant of grace is "that arrangement between the triune God and his people, whereby God carries out his eternal purpose and decree of redemption by promising his friendship. Hence he promises full and free salvation to his people upon the basis of the vicarious atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of the covenant and his people accept this salvation by faith." It is God's way of revealing His purpose to save mankind from their guilt and pollution following the fall, and it is fundamentally about God promising to be "a God unto men."

How does the covenant of grace differ from the covenant of works?

The covenant of works was God's original agreement with Adam, where Adam's inheritance of God's promise was dependent entirely upon his works and what he did. When Adam failed in the Garden of Eden, this covenant was broken. In contrast, the covenant of grace is not dependent on human works but on God's grace. While it does have conditions (faith and response from humans), it is God Himself who provides what is necessary for humans to fulfill these conditions. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones states, "God has also told us in the covenant of grace that he himself is going to do something which makes it possible for us to derive these benefits."

What is the main promise God makes in the covenant of grace?

The central promise in the covenant of grace is that God would "be a God unto men." As Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes, "The supreme blessing, therefore, the ultimate blessing, the blessing of blessings, is that God is my God and that I have a right to say my God." This fundamental promise appears repeatedly throughout Scripture, including in Jeremiah 31 and 32, Ezekiel 34 and 36, 2 Corinthians 6, Hebrews 8:10, and Revelation 21:3. Everything else in salvation, including justification, forgiveness, adoption, and eternal life, is implicit in this primary promise.

When did the covenant of grace first appear in the Bible?

The covenant of grace first appears in Genesis 3:15, what theologians call the "Protevangel" (first gospel). Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes this verse as containing "the whole of the gospel... in this almost cryptic form, in this very immature form." This verse announces God's intention to put enmity between the serpent and the woman and between their respective seeds, culminating in the promise that the seed of the woman (ultimately Christ) would bruise the serpent's head. This represents the first announcement of salvation, though it wasn't yet called a covenant explicitly.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones view the relationship between the Law given at Sinai and the covenant of grace?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly emphasizes that the giving of the Law at Sinai does not represent a return to a covenant of works or a new way of salvation. He states, "The giving of the law does not mean in any sense whatsoever that God is establishing a covenant of works with men again." Instead, the Law served two primary purposes: first, "to increase the consciousness of sin" (Romans 5:20), and second, to be "our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). The Law was never meant to interfere with or replace the covenant of grace but to show people their utter need for it.

What are the two dispensations or administrations of the covenant of grace?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that there is only one covenant of grace, but it has been administered in two main different ways: the Old Testament administration and the New Testament administration. The Old Testament administration included the promise to Adam in Genesis 3:15, the covenant with Noah, the covenant with Abraham, and the Sinaitic covenant through Moses. The New Testament administration is how God has "revealed and perfected and re-ratified and fulfilled the promise and all that is contained in the covenant of grace in and through his son, our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ."

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe Christians should study the Old Testament?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that Christians should study the Old Testament because it contains the same fundamental truths as the New Testament. The gospel doesn't begin with Matthew 1:1 but with Genesis 3:15. He states, "The Old Testament, the New Testament; the old administration of the covenant of grace, the new administration of the same covenant of grace, the marvelous plan of God unfolded." Christians who dismiss the Old Testament as unnecessary have failed to see this great unity in God's plan of redemption. He encourages believers to "go to our Old Testament, look for the gospel in it. You will find it there almost everywhere in a most amazing and astounding manner."

How does the covenant with Abraham relate to the overall covenant of grace?

The covenant with Abraham represents the first explicit statement of God's redemptive purposes in covenant form. Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that in this covenant, we see the beginning of a kind of church—a separation between God's people and the world. The covenant emphasized Abraham's faith and response, and promised spiritual blessings that would eventually extend to all nations. Abraham was "justified by his faith" and became "the father of all the faithful and the father of all believers." This covenant is described as "the great, explicit original promise which God made," and is referred to frequently throughout the rest of Scripture, remaining fundamental to understanding God's redemptive plan.