A Covenant of Life
by Steve Wilkins
"When God had created man he entered into a covenant of life with him."
So begins the Westminster Shorter Catechism answer to Question # 12, "What
special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein
he was created?" This answer reflects the Scripture's teaching that
the covenant is basic to all of life. It governs and defines life for man.
It tells man who he is and why he is here. It explains the meaning of his
existence (he is to respond to the lovingkindness of God by glorifying Him
and enjoying Him forever). Man has no meaning apart from his Creator. He
cannot understand himself or life in general except in terms of his relationship
with the One who made him. That relationship is called covenant.
Just as God gives us life in creating us, so He lays out the boundaries
of life by revealing Himself and His purposes to us. Man lives by every
word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4; Deut. 8:3). That
is, Life is defined by God's covenant-Word. Apart from His Word, there is
no life, only death. We find fulfillment by becoming what God created us
to be. As God's image-bearers, we are given a three-fold definition:
Men are, first and foremost, to be COVENANT PRIESTS. Our first purpose is
to glorify the One who created us by learning of Him and returning to Him
the praise and adoration He is due. We will never be what we were intended
to be unless we are willing to recognize our Creator as God, and refuse
all temptation to view ourselves as god. If man is not a worshipper, a lover
of God, he is not truly man.
Secondly, the covenant defines men as COVENANT HEADS. As God's representatives
in creation, men are to exercise headship under Him. In this role, we are
given wives to love and lead and with which to multiply and increase by
the blessing of God.
Thirdly, the covenant defines men as COVENANT KINGS. As God's vice-regents,
we are entrusted with God's creation to subdue it and take dominion over
it in God's name and according to His Word. Man is therefore defined by
his labor.
This three-fold definition lays out the covenant structure of life. God
in mercy gives us a gracious purpose and we are obligated to fulfill the
responsibilities inherent in each of these areas of life.
We are first to be faithful worshippers, joining ourselves to congregations
of the faithful. Out of gratitude to God, we worship Him, honoring His covenant
Sabbath (the Lord's Day), resting from our labors and resting in His work
for us. Because God has accomplished our redemption, we are able to rest
in His salvation. Because He never ceases to work (upholding us and all
things, blessing our labors, providing, protecting, etc.) we are able to
rest. Worship on the Lord's Day serves as a weekly covenant-renewal. We
are reminded of His grace and of our responsibility gratefully to honor
Him.
Worship is central to all of life. Until I cease to worship myself, I cannot
serve others. Until I cease to love myself supremely, I cannot love others.
Thus, a central ingredient for a happy marriage is faithful worship. If
a husband and wife are truly loving God supremely, they will love one another
sincerely. When a man is faithful to God's covenant, he will be faithful
to his covenant with his wife. Such a man makes it easy for his wife to
fulfill her covenant obligations to him. She gladly submits to his authority.
She rejoices to follow his lead.
Further, worship equips us to labor. As we are fed the Word of God in worship,
we are "thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (II Timothy
3:17). Thus, the faithful worshipper is a faithful laborer. The man desires
to honor the Lord by the faithful exercise of his gifts in a holy calling.
The woman gladly gives herself sacrificially to the covenant calling of
wife and mother, recognizing her children as gifts from God's lovingkindness.
The labor God gives is blessed precisely because the faithful covenant-keeper
realizes that all godly labor brings honor to Christ and furthers His glorious
covenant kingdom. Covenant-keeping man avoids the "rat race" because
he is no longer a self-serving rat in the first place!
By contrast, the covenant-breaker only succeeds in destroying himself and
those around him. He refuses to worship and thus, increases in insufferable
selfishness. Since he does not love the Lord with all his heart, he loves
himself supremely. This affects both marriage as well as labor.
Covenant-breakers are disabled from loving their mates. He cannot love his
wife as Christ loves the Church. His own ease and comfort come before all
else. Her own sense of security and well-being are far more important than
honoring her husband. Like Adam and Eve after the Fall, covenant-breakers
turn on each other to preserve their own best interests.
Covenant-breakers are unable to work to God's glory. His refusal to rest
in the Lord makes him a "work-a-holic." Her slavery to self disables
her from enjoying the "holy drugery" of homemaking. "Work"
becomes a four-letter word. Rather than being a blessing, life is a burden.
Everything "kills" nothing makes alive. So it is as Wisdom remarks,
"All those who hate Me love death" (Prov. 8:36). Life is found
only when we live faithfully within the bounds of God's covenant. There
alone is pleasantness and peace. There alone is glory and grace. There alone
is the smile and blessing of God. There alone is life.