by Douglas Goodin
What is New Covenant Theology?
First, I should point out that New Covenant Theology is not new Covenant Theology. Although we have many things in common with Covenant Theologians—doctrines such as the sovereignty of God, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, etc.—our differences fall at the very core of the two systems. Thus, it is not a newer version of the Covenant administration of theology.
New Covenant Theology is basically a biblical-theological understanding of the purpose of Scripture, an explanation of its primary theme, a way of describing how the Bible itself puts together its various parts. It is an attempt to answer the question, “What is the message of the Bible, and how are we to make sense of its dynamic characters, its captivating narratives, and its diverse instructions?” It is what theologians would call a hermeneutic—a set of principles for interpreting the Bible. For those who are familiar with other theological systems, New Covenant Theology (NCT) is best understood by showing its differences with Covenant Theology (CT) and Dispensational Theology (DT).
I would like to state at the outset that adherents to NCT do not question the integrity or motives of those who hold to CT and DT. We do not doubt their love for, and commitment to, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. However, we do believe that each adopts premises that lead to erroneous conclusions concerning God’s Word, and that these wrong conclusions have a significant impact on the Christian’s life, beliefs, and practices. Therefore, though our burden is not to tear down those who accept CT and DT, we must necessarily point out where we believe those systems of theology err. We desire to do so humbly and for the purpose of edification, not contention.
Simplistic overview of CT, DT, and NCT
Covenant Theology (CT)
According to CT, the basic message of the Bible is God’s dealings with man through covenant (see Westminster Confession of Faith [WCF] Section VII, 1). CT assumes two covenants between God and man: The Covenant of Works and The Covenant of Grace. Eternal life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience (WCF Section VII, 2). This is The Covenant of Works. If Adam had kept this covenant for the (unspecified) probationary period, he would have received eternal life from God. Unfortunately, he did not keep the Covenant of Works, and the consequence of his failure was that the entire cosmos—especially Adam and his offspring—are liable to the judgment of God.
The Covenant of Grace is explained like this:
“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.”
—WCF [Sect. VII, 3]
Adam had irreparably fractured the Covenant of Works when he ate the fruit, so that for him or his children to receive eternal life would require a special act of grace by God. Fortunately, God willingly granted mankind another means of eternal life—The Covenant of Grace. Now, rather than having to “work” for eternal life by obeying God’s commandments, men may believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life. From Genesis 3 through the end of Revelation, the Bible’s primary message is the outworking of the Covenant of Grace.
Admittedly, there is much more to CT, but this gets to the heart of the issues that separate CT from the other two.
Dispensational Theology (DT)
According to DT, the basic message of the Bible is God’s dealings with man throughout dispensations:
“Dispensationalism believes that God has planned a succession of different dispensations throughout history, both past, present, and future...Understanding these dispensations, these different relationships God has had and will have with humanity, is crucial for comprehending the teaching and message of the Bible.”
—Craig A. Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism
Dispensationalists disagree over how many dispensations have occurred or will occur, but they all agree that some dispensations are past, one is present, and at least one is future. The present dispensation is the dispensation of grace—the church age. The future dispensation includes a literal 1,000-year kingdom for Israel on earth with Jesus ruling from Jerusalem. Some see the eternal state as another dispensation after the millennium.
Of major importance to DT’s distinctives is the belief that the Jewish dispensation has been suspended since the death of Christ, but will be resumed at the end of the church age. This is the wind that fills the “pre-tribulational rapture” sails. Jesus will return and secretly remove His Bride, thus sparing her from the intense suffering of the Great Tribulation. After this “rapture,” God will finish His plan for Israel, keep His covenant promises of blessing, and exalt the Jews to world dominance.
As with CT, this barely scratches the surface of DT, but if one grasps their basic doctrine of successive dispensations, their sharp distinction between Israel and the Church, and their expectation that Christ will rapture the Church before completing the Jewish dispensation, then he will be in position to understand the basic differences between systems.
New Covenant Theology (NCT)
According to NCT, the basic message of the Bible is Jesus Christ:
“[U]nderstanding [Christ’s] place in Scripture is the key to the true unity of the Scriptures. Christ is the keystone of our salvation as well as being the key and keystone of all Scripture.”
—John G. Reisinger, Abraham’s Four Seeds
NCT agrees with CT that the concept of covenant is significant in the Bible, and it agrees that the story of the Scripture progresses in distinct dispensations. But, we believe that Christ is the central motif. Thus, we see the Bible not as the unfolding plan of God’s Covenant of Grace with man, nor as a series of attempts by God to relate to man. Rather, we view the Bible as the story of Jesus Christ. Everything in the Old Testament prefigured and prepared for the coming of God’s Son into the world, and everything in the New Testament reveals Jesus as the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. He is all in all.
Key Differences (Very Broadly Speaking)
By reading the Bible through a Covenant-of-Grace-centered lens, CT is compelled to find radical continuity from one covenant to the next, even where the Bible itself teaches radical discontinuity. Therefore, the covenants are essentially the same, the Law is essentially the same, the Spirit’s work is essentially the same, and the people of God are essentially the same, throughout the entire Bible. To take one quick example of the consequence of this view, since the Law requires Sabbath-keeping of the Jews, it must also have required it of Adam, Noah, and Abraham (which presupposes that they knew the Ten Commandments), and it must require it of us (except somewhere along the line the Law changed from the seventh day to the first day). There is no room in CT for a truly new covenant, a new commandment, a new work of the Holy Spirit, or a new creature.
By reading the Bible through a dispensation-centered lens, DT is compelled to find radical dis-continuity from one covenant to the next, even where the Bible itself teaches radical continuity. Therefore, the covenants are essentially different, the Law is essentially different, etc. One consequence of this view is that when the New Testament Scriptures teach that there are promise/fulfillment and typological relationships between characters/events in the OT and characters/events in the NT, Dispensationalists are forced to see them as unrelated. John the Baptist cannot be “Elijah,” Jesus cannot be “David,” and the Church cannot be “Israel,” even if the Bible says that they are.
By reading the Bible through a Christ-centered lens, NCT is free to let the Bible express where there is radical continuity and where there is radical discontinuity. If the Scripture teaches that the covenants with Abraham, Israel, and David are radically different, our presuppositions do not require us to force them together. If the Scripture teaches that there is a common thread running through each of them which foreshadows and culminates in the (radically new) New Covenant of Christ, we can wholeheartedly avow and teach their inter-relationships.
The bottom line is this. Jesus and the NT repeatedly teach that the Moses wrote about Christ, that the Law and the Prophets point to Christ, that all things are for Christ, that the consummation of the ages have come with Christ, and that Christ is the all in all. NCT is the hermeneutical pursuit which most faithfully agrees with the Bible’s view of itself.