**Origination** Someone once quipped that ***Abraham was a Gentile before He was a Jew!*** By that it was a reference to the literature that Abraham lived with his ancestors in Ur of the Chaldees. That was his native land. (Genesis 11:31, 15:7, Nehemiah 9:7) Either because of economic necessity or looming military invasion by the Assyrians, the whole clan of Abraham's ancestors moved up north in the upper Fertile Crescent to Haran. This was in the land of the Hittites, and the city was an commercial center for caravans moving across the Tiger-Euphrates valleys. So it was said by one of the prophets, "Your mother was a Hittite." (Ezekiel 16:3-4) Then Abraham moved down the western part of the Fertile Crescent into the land of the many Canaanite tribes, and became a traveling nomad there. >Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land I will show you...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3) Because of this origination, it would be proper to say that Abram (Abraham) was indeed a Gentile---according to the broad definition applied to non-Jews in the world. He was an *ethnic* as the Bible uses the term. And so there was no difference between the humanity of Abraham's family and any other people. **Promise to Man** It was to this man that God spoke the ***promise of the Seed***. And it was a ***promise that engulfed all of humanity***, not just one race. Of course, Abraham needed a place to live, but the book of Hebrews explained that the *real destination of living* was a ***spiritual city, whose builder and maker was God.*** >By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange land...for he looked for a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God.
...They that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:9-17) **Since This is So** Since Abraham is of Gentile stock...since the promise of blessing was to the whole world...since the main goal is a "spiritual city" (spiritual realities)...would this not be sufficient reason, to not only interpret the Scriptures as a message for Equality of all Races, but be a basis to resolve the messy situation of Racism in the minds---and hearts---of people around the world? After all, is it not written: >For God so loved the world, that He gave... (John 3:16) >There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond or free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:28-29) >For He is our peace who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us. (Ephesians 2:14) Could not the preaching and proclamation of the ancient promise to Abraham---without all the later Jewish legal trappings and rites and traditional customs---be a starting point, a rallying call, for racial reconciliation? For peace on earth and good will to men? All Gentiles (ethnics), Abraham and everyone else, are the same flesh and blood people...whom God loves. (Acts 17:26)

I found this interesting partial quote from today’s Morning & Evening devotional by Charles Spurgeon. It’s about the “Covenant of Grace”: >Jesus is the representative head of His people. In Adam every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and representative of the race when considered under the law of works; so under the law of grace, every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since He is the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new covenant of love. Then I found this interesting snippet which, speaking of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, the Mediator, suggests that from eternity the covenant settlements of grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure forever. My curiosity has been piqued. Is the expression “covenant of grace” about the Abrahamic covenant established by God? Or is it about the “New Covenant” introduced by Jesus? Is this “an everlasting covenant”? I invite answers from Protestants on this topic, mainly because Spurgeon was a Baptist minister. I would appreciate a short overview (links to articles would suffice) of all the covenants established by God and whether any of them are everlasting. Edit: As suggested, this question is about Covenant Theology

Sometimes I'm not clear why a systematic theologian doesn't simply adopt the Biblical term "New Covenant" but using terms like "Covenant of Grace". What is the reasoning behind it? In the [ESV translation](https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=new+covenant&version=ESV) the term "New Covenant" appears in a variety of contexts: Jer 31:31, Luke 22:20, 1 Cor 11:25, 2 Cor 3:6, Heb 8:8, Heb 8:13, Heb 9:15, Heb 12:24. Doesn't the usage and contexts created by Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul, and author of Hebrews **sufficient** to justify the use of "New Covenant" as a systematic theology category, making the systematic theology more Biblical? If a systematic theology uses the category "Covenant of Grace" how does it integrate the Biblical term "New Covenant" into its theology and how does the theology contrast it with "Covenant of Grace"? ### Preliminary research - Examples systematic theologians using "Covenant of Grace": see [Mr. Bultitude's answer](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/37001/10672) to the question "What is the origin of the Covenant of Grace?". Although the answer shows that the origin was in the Calvinistic tradition, the answer does not explicitly explain why the need to organize their theologies around an *additional* but artificial concept "Covenant of Grace". - Clue from [Nathaniel's answer](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/54931/10672) to the question "According to Reformed theology, when did the New Covenant start?" since the answer is framed in terms of "Covenant of Grace".

In Covenant Theology the [**Covenant of Grace**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_theology#Covenant_of_grace) refers to an overarching theological covenant which God made on the basis of grace. The various Biblical covenants such as Abraham's, the Mosaic/Deuteronomic, and David's are considered to be expressions, administrations, or even (ironically) dispensations of the single original Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Grace is timeless, an eternal agreement that God will graciously save his people, on the basis of which God made other specific covenants like Abraham's etc. 1. Who first developed this concept of the Covenant of Grace? 2. Were the other two metacovenants of Covenant Theology, the Covenants of Redemption and Works, developed at the same time? 3. Are there any substantial differences from how the Covenant of Grace was first conceptualised compared to how it is understood now?

In Covenant Theology, the Covenant of Grace is a singular overarching covenant God makes with his people. The various Biblical covenants are understood to be expressions or administrations of this singular Covenant of Grace. Here's what the Westminster Confession says about the Covenant of Grace: > Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein He freely offers **unto sinners** life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life His Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe. > > This covenant of grace is frequently set forth in scripture by the name of a testament, in reference to the death of Jesus Christ the Testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all things belonging to it, therein bequeathed. > > This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the Gospel: under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all foresignifying Christ to come; which were, for that time, sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation; and is called the Old Testament. (WCF 7.3–5) Here's what Horton says: > Like the covenant of creation, this covenant is made between God and **human partners**—in this case, fallen Adam, Seth, Abraham, and David. It is in this covenant that provisions are made for offenders, based on another's fulfillment of the legal covenant on their behalf. (*Introducing Covenant Theology*, p105) So the Covenant of Grace is between God and all of his people, anyone who will receive in repentance the offer of free grace and turn to God in faith. But the parties of the Noahic covenant appear to be different, not just humans, but all life of the earth: > Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, **and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.** I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you **and every living creature that is with you,** for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you **and every living creature of all flesh.** And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God **and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth**.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me **and all flesh that is on the earth**.” (Gen 9:8–17, ESV) My reading of this passage is that the Noahic covenant is a unique one, when God bound himself to a covenant not just with people, but with his animal creations as well. Let no one say God does not love his animals! How do Covenant Theologians explain the Noahic covenant? If all the Biblical covenants are administrations of the Covenant of Grace, how do they account for the different covenant parties? Surely they would not say that the non-human animals are part of the CoG; Jesus did not die for the sins of animals. Do Covenant Theologians say that the Noahic covenant is really only with humans, that the parties are God and humanity with animals being non-party beneficiaries, despite God five times saying that it was with "every living creature" or "all flesh"?