Book Review : What Is Covenant Theology?

By James Jeffery

My first encounter with covenant theology was back in 2019 when I began seriously wrestling with the issue of infant baptism. I soon realised that the legitimacy or illegitimacy of infant baptism is not a solitary theological issue. Rather, it is the tip of the iceberg that reveals how someone understands Scripture as a whole. The real question is not whether infants should be baptised, but whether God’s people have always related to Him by means of the covenant of grace.

At 125 pages long, What is Covenant Theology: Tracing God’s Promises through the Son, the Seed, and the Sacraments is an accessible and practical, tracing the relationship between God and His people from Genesis to Revelation. It is a much-needed corrective in the current day and age where dispensational theology (1) dominates the Christian landscape.

McGraw summarises the crux of his book in the introduction:

“Covenant theology is a “big picture” issue, describing the relationship between God and his people throughout the ages…It shows us how to see the unity of the Bible’s message, how to read the whole Bible, how to know God, and how to live.” (p. 3)

What is Covenant Theology covers the fundamentals of covenant theology in a succinct and yet thorough way. From the ‘Contents’ page, McGraw’s goal is not merely to see minds changed, but Christian lives transformed. McGraw is convinced that a robust understanding of covenant theology changes the way we read Scripture, the way we live, and the way we relate to the Triune God. 
McGraw marvels at the way a proper understanding of covenant theology draws us to magnify God’s glory:

“Whether or not we realize it, we come to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit (Eph. 2:18). Salvation is about the glory of the triune God, and covenant theology is the vehicle through which God reveals himself and his saving message…The gospel is about God, and the more fully we grasp the gospel, the more clearly we see God.” (pp. 5-6)

This is much needed in our contemporary, self-centred culture, where testimonies have become more about us than about Christ and His work. McGraw challenges readers by suggesting that many modern testimonies are indistinguishable from those given by members of Alcoholics Anonymous regarding how they got free from grog. Covenant theology solves this conundrum by refocusing our attention on the Triune God, His attributes, and His gospel. When we do this, testimonies become far less about us, and far more about the God who saves.

McGraw emphasises that covenant theology is not a foreign system that is imported onto the pages of Scripture. Rather, it describes the relation of God to man as He has revealed Himself in His Word. From Genesis to Revelation, God relates to humanity by means of covenant. The wickedness of the Fall consists in Adam’s breaking of the covenant God made with him a chapter earlier. The covenant of grace (proto-euangellion) is promised in the very same chapter that the curses are outlined (Genesis 3:15). The rest of Scripture consists of the unravelling of this same covenant of grace, in greater and greater glory.

Jesus redeemed us from the curses of the covenant by fulfilling every covenantal obligation, and suffering the penalty we deserved for our sin. Our assurance of salvation until Christ returns rests not on our faithfulness to Christ, but His faithfulness to us.

On a personal level, I used to struggle with assurance of salvation as a Christian. I was unsure whether my fruit (or lack of) was sufficient evidence of regeneration, and therefore was in perpetual doubt regarding whether God was my Father. While I still have my doubts at times, covenant theology recalibrated my focus from myself to the God who saves. With Luther, I now cry:

“When I look at myself, I don’t see how I can be saved. But when I look at Jesus, I don’t see how I can be lost.” 

Only when we rest upon the covenant faithfulness of God can we be empowered to single-mindedly live for our Redeemer. He is the One who provides us with everything we need to live the Christian life. Covenant theology liberated me from introspection, as I became less focused on proving my faith through my works, redirecting my attention to God’s covenant faithfulness to me before the foundation of the world.  

In the penultimate chapter ‘Covenant Theology and the Christian Life,’ McGraw illustrates how a proper grasp of this doctrine is crucial for the way we understand everything in the Christian life. Only when we understand the glory of the covenantal relationship between the persons of the Triune Godhead can we appreciate the nature of the church as the seed of the Son. Grasping this, we see that Jesus ‘plants, waters, and nourishes [His church] through word and sacrament.” (7). Thus, the sacraments are not primarily to be understood as a declaration of our faith, but of God’s faithfulness in the gospel of Jesus Christ, to be received by faith.

Far from being a merely intellectual matter, McGraw shows how covenant theology translates into godly living.  Covenant theology also transforms how we understand marriage, parenting, our involvement in the local church, and spiritual disciplines. These are not peripheral to the Christian life, but rather are the contexts and means of grace God has provided to nourish us in our faith. 
 
Finally, the chapter I appreciated the most was ‘Questions and Answers About Covenant Theology.” McGraw spends 32 pages (the longest chapter in the book) answering commonly asked questions and providing simple and straightforward answers. Personally, I believe this chapter is worth the price of the book, as it contains many nuggets of gold which I hope to revisit in the future
Five questions at the end of each chapter – good for homeschooling, introductory seminary class, working through with kids. 

The Bottom Line

What is Covenant Theology is a book every Christian should own. It is accessible for new believers and edifying for those who have walked with Christ for years. The five discussion questions at the end of each chapter make it a suitable resource for home-schooling, Bible study groups, and Christian classrooms.

My hope is that this book will make Reformed theology accessible for a new generation of believers, introducing the covenant character, promises, and faithfulness of God through His Word. My only wish is that the book was published earlier. It would have saved me a lot of time, energy, and conversations in my wrestling with hermeneutics and the storyline of the Bible!

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(1) McGraw writes, “Dispensational premillennialism…is incompatible with covenant theology because it divides Israel and the church in a way that displaces the unity of the covenant of grace, largely relegating the old covenant to Israel and the new covenant to the church.” (p. 103)