The Everlasting Covenant Fulfilled In Time
Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain… Heb. 11:4 which was a type and shadow of the Mediatorial and imputational work of Jesus Christ. A continuing theme beginning in Gen. 3:15 and immediately following when the LORD God clothed his parents with coats of animal skin.
Surely the same honor would be bestowed upon Noah who found grace in the eyes of the LORD, and is said to have walked with God, another illustration we find, both, before and after the fulness of time, indicating a significant work upon his heart and the LORD spoke to him directly; for he heeded the voice of the LORD in obedience which comes only through a supernatural work of God. As such he was a preacher of righteousness 2 Peter 2:5. He could only have preached the gospel to be referenced in this way. And then Peter tells us of another type/antitype connection between Noah, the flood, and baptism with the resurrection of Jesus Christ 1 Peter 3:21. Moreover, following upon his deliverance he built an altar and worshipped, offering clean sacrifices, a picture of the One who would come and according to the pattern established in these early chapters of Genesis. Thus, as John Gill has stated concerning the Noahic Covenant: “Likewise the rainbow, the token of the covenant; which, though not the covenant of grace, yet of kindness and preservation, was an emblem of peace and reconciliation by Christ, the mediator of the covenant of grace; and may assure of the everlasting love of God to his people, and of the immoveableness of the covenant of his peace with them.”
Then there is Abraham, whom we are told saw the Lord Jesus when He appeared to him, with Moses (Gen. 22:15-18) and John (John 8:54-59) testifying of this reality when Abraham obeyed from the heart and was ready and willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, upon the command of and altar to the LORD. Indeed, more types and shadows.
Thus, Abraham, whom Paul says the Gospel was preached to him (Gal. 3:8) also likely preached the same Gospel to others knowing and believing that all the nations through his seed would be blessed. For he even left Ur of the Chaldeans, the worship of false gods there, and was brought to the land of Canaan by the LORD for these reasons (Joshua 24:1-5).
In all 3 examples, we see the Everlasting Covenant, the Covenant of Peace, aka the Covenant of Redemption/Grace being fulfilled in time. There was no interim period in which they had to wait to proclaim this message. It is NOT in the background as if irrelevant and insignificant but is the central and driving motif of the whole counsel of God. It was real and evident in and to them and thus could be communicated to others.
And so, we see this to be the case as recorded in Hebrews 11, but also throughout the whole Old Covenant. God stamped His electing love and favor upon those He covenanted to buy back from the slave market of sin and make alive by His own sanctifying power so that He loses none. And so, we must acknowledge the three branches of the Gospel, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, without which there is no Gospel. Any message not focusing on the Triune God in the plan of redemption is deficient of the biblical motif and focus.
Robert Gilmore is a Strict and Particular Baptist preacher. He resides in Blountville, Tennessee, serving the Lord in various capacities. He is widely read on historic and modern theology, engaging with believers on social platforms and other mediums.
