Sermon #115             Series: Isaiah

 

Title:      Christ's Covenant Commission

 

Text:      Isaiah 42:5-9

 

Subject:      The Covenant of Grace

 

Date:      Sunday Evening- May 3, 1992

 

Introduction:

 

 “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord speaketh.  “Thus saith God the Lord, he that created… “Those words are found in Isaiah 42:5-9.  That will be our text tonight.  In the opening verses of this chapter the Lord God calls for us to behold his elect Servant, whom he has from eternity appointed to the work of redeeming and saving his people, the One in whom his soul delights.  The One of whom he speaks is the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 12:15-21).  In these first four verses the Lord God tells us four things about Christ as his Servant-

 

  1. He will bring righteousness to the Gentiles (v. 1).
  2. He will be a meek, voluntary Servant to the will of God (v. 2).
  3. He will be a tender, compassionate Savior (v. 3).
  4. He will be effectual in all his work- “He shall not fail!” (v. 4).

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is an appointed Savior, a qualified Savior, a willing Savoir, and an able, effectual, almighty Savior.  “He shall not fail!”

 

That revelation is enough to flood our hearts with joy, praise, thanksgiving and adoration.  What a great Savior!  What a great salvation!  But in our text tonight we overhear the Almighty Jehovah, the eternal Father addressing his co-equal, co-eternal Son.  The subject being discussed is the work of Christ as our covenant Surety.  Ineffable mystery!  What a stupendous privilege!  You and I are here admitted into the council chamber of the Most High.

 

Surely, if Moses was commanded to put off his shoes before the presence of God in the bush, we must bow with profound reverence as we listen to the God of heaven giving his commission to his only dear Son regarding the redemption and salvation of his people.

 

When we start to talk about the covenant of grace, some people close their minds, thinking that we are intruding into hidden, speculative points of theology that we are intruding into hidden, speculative points of theology which are of no interest to them.  I hope none of you think like that.  What can be more interesting or edifying than contemplating the covenant offices and work of Christ and his ability to perform them?  Would a blind man have no interest in one who could give him sight?  Would a helpless, condemned prisoner have no interest in one who has the right and power to pardon him and set him free?  Certainly not.  How much more is that once blind man interested in knowing about his sight giver, and that freed prisoner in knowing about his great liberator?

 

All our hope of life and grace arise from the covenant of redemption and grace and Christ’s fulfilment of that blessed covenant.  Let us then acquaint ourselves with that covenant.  Let us consider the contracting parties of the covenant and their solemn engagements for our souls.  Let us lay hold of that covenant, revealed and fulfilled by Christ, and say with David, “this is all my salvation and all my desire.”

 

Preposition:  There is an everlasting covenant of grace by which the Triune God arranged and secured the salvation of his people form eternity.

 

 

Divisions:  In our text, Isaiah 42:5-9, the Lord God himself answers every question we might ask about the everlasting covenant of grace.

 

  1. Who made this covenant? (v. 5).
  2. For whom was this covenant made?  (vv. 6-7).
  3. What was Christ commissioned to do in the covenant?  (vv. 6-7).
  4. Why does God save sinners the way he does, by covenant grace? (v. 8)
  5. What assurance do we have that the Lord God will fulfil and perform everything promised in the covenant (v. 9).

 

I.  Who Made This Covenant?

 

In verse 5 the Lord God makes himself known by several royal titles which distinguish him from the gods of man’s making.  “Thus saith God the Lord.”  And who art thou Lord?  He is the Fountain of all being and the fountain of all power!

 

A.     He created the heavens and stretched them out.  He sustained them!

B.     He created the earth and all that comes of it.  He rules it!

C.     He gives the breath of life to all people.

D.     He gives the spirit to them that walk therein.

 

 

II.  For Whom Was This Covenant Made?

 

Verses 5 and 6 are the words of God the Father to his Son in the covenant of grace.  But in these words we see a description of the people for whom the covenant was made, the people for whom all the blessings and benefits of the covenant were designed.

 

A.  “The People”-

 

The people of God’s love, choice and purpose (Rom. 8:29-30).  (John 6:37-39; 10:16).

 

B.  The People who are Blind and Sit in Darkness.

 

Fallen, Depraved, and Lost!

 

 

C.  Prisoners.

 

Condemned, Bound Under the Just Sentence of death.

 

 

In a word, the people God has chosen to save, for whom God made the covenant, the people whom Christ came to save are men and women utterly lost, condemned, helpless and hopeless by nature.

 

 

III.  What was Christ Commissioned To Do In The Covenant of Grace?

 

Though our Lord Jesus Christ is God, equal with the Father, as a Man he acts as Jehovah’s Servant (Phil. 2:5-8), voluntarily assuming all responsibility as our Representative, Surety and Mediator in the Covenant of grace (Isa. 50: 5-7); John 10:16-18; Heb.  10:5-14).

 

A.  As Our Surety and Mediator in the Covenant of Grace the Son of God received a Commission from His Father.

 

The first covenant which was revealed was the covenant God made with Adam.  That covenant was quickly broken.  But there was a covenant made in anticipation of Adam’s fall.  That is the covenant we are talking about now-  The Covenant of Grace.  This covenant was made for us.  But it was made with Christ, our Covenant Head and Representative.

 

1.  Christ was commissioned to undertake the work of salvation for his people (John 10:16-18).

 

The terms of the covenant were simple- The Son of God must make his soul an offering for sin and God the Father would give him the people he purchased for his reward (Isa. 53: 10-12; John 17).

 

Christ our Surety agreed to:

 

 

When God the Father said, “I will give thee for a covenant of the people,” he was saying, “My Son, you alone can do this work, you alone can meet the conditions of the covenant, and the only way fallen men can receive the blessings and benefits of this covenant is in you.”  We cannot obtain any covenant blessing except by laying hold of Christ by faith.  Christ is the covenant-God.  Christ and you get all the covenant blessings!

 

2.  Christ, being our Surety, became responsible to effectually save his people. (Heb. 8:6; 7:22).

 

The bringing of light and liberty to his people is Christ’s work and his responsibility.

 

A.     Christ brings light and opens the blind eyes!

 

 

B.     Christ brings liberty to the captives.

 

 

Illus:  Peter- Acts 12:4-10

 

Note:  “Salvation is of the Lord!”  He planned it.  He performed it!

 

C.     Christ’s covenant engagements are sure.

 

We are assured that “he shall not fail” to perform his covenant engagements by the fact that all the Godhead is engaged to bring it to pass.

 

1.  God the Father called his Son to the work and assisted him in it.  “In Righteousness” 

 

2.  God the Son performs the work of Grace.

 

3.  God, by his Holy Spirit, gives Christ for a covenant to the people.

 

            Illus:  The Seal and the Earnest (Eph. 1:13-14).

 

IV.  Why Does God Save Sinners The Way He Does?

 

He saves by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that “no flesh should glory in his presence” (v. 8).

 

 

V.  What Assurance Do We Have That The Lord God Will Perform Everything Promised In The Covenant?  (v. 9).

 

A.  His Past Performance.

B.  His Everlasting Faithfulness and Immutability.

D.     His Gospel Revelations-“New Things Do I Declare!”