# John Colquhoun on the covenant of grace from Adam to Noah



## Reformed Covenanter (Aug 7, 2020)

Various distinct _periods_ of the Old Testament dispensation, are observable. The _first_ period extended from Adam to Noah; in which, the covenant of grace was embraced by faith, and sealed by sacrifices offered up in faith. The death of Messiah, the just One, was prefigured by that of Abel, who was slain by his brother; and his ascension into heaven, was foreshown by the translation of Enoch thither.

The second was from Noah to Abraham. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. By him Christ preached to those spirits which are now in prison. He was also “an heir of the righteousness which is by faith;” was as it were, the head of a new world; and so, was an illustrious type of Him, who as last Adam, “is the head of the church.” A sacrifice of a sweet savour to Jehovah, typical of the sacrifice of Christ, was offered by him. Upon his offering of that sacrifice, a gracious covenant was divinely established with him and his sons and was sealed with the rainbow. ...

For the reference, see John Colquhoun on the covenant of grace from Adam to Noah.

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## JTB.SDG (Aug 7, 2020)

I believe Kuyper did a lot of good for the church, but he also did a lot of harm when he took Genesis 6-9 out of the realm of the Covenant of Grace and designated it something entirely different. Colquhoun is right on point.

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## Don Kistler (Aug 7, 2020)

Since there is a new reprint of this great book, why don't you reference it instead of a 200 year old edition?


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## Reformed Covenanter (Aug 7, 2020)

Don Kistler said:


> Since there is a new reprint of this great book, why don't you reference it instead of a 200 year old edition?



I cite the early edition for various reasons:

a) Where possible, I prefer to cite an original source rather than a modern reprint.

b) I have very limited finances and shelf-space.

c) I do not own a hard copy of either the original edition or the modern reprint, but, instead, I am reading it online.

I hope my references inspire some people to purchase the modern reprint but I do not have a copy myself nor am I likely to acquire one in the near future.

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## Reformed Covenanter (Aug 7, 2020)

For some reason, I omitted the word "periods" in the first sentence. I think it did not copy properly and I did not notice it until now.


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## Reformed Covenanter (Aug 7, 2020)

JTB.SDG said:


> I believe Kuyper did a lot of good for the church, but he also did a lot of harm when he took Genesis 6-9 out of the realm of the Covenant of Grace and designated it something entirely different. Colquhoun is right on point.



I think that is a very shrewd observation, Jon. While I disagree with the Protestant Reformed Churches on several issues, they are correct to call Abraham Kuyper out on this point.

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## Jeri Tanner (Aug 7, 2020)

JTB.SDG said:


> I believe Kuyper did a lot of good for the church, but he also did a lot of harm when he took Genesis 6-9 out of the realm of the Covenant of Grace and designated it something entirely different. Colquhoun is right on point.


Could you briefly comment on what Kuyper did with these passages? It just so happens I’m researching various things Kuyperian.


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## JTB.SDG (Aug 8, 2020)

Jeri, he emphatically asserted that the covenant in Genesis 9 was not at all a covenant of grace but a common grace covenant. He abstracted the covenant of Genesis 9 from the natural context of Genesis 6 and concluded that the covenant with Noah was a universal covenant made with all mankind and had as its goal strictly the preservation of the natural order. 

Of course, we wouldn't deny the elements of preservation. But we whereas we would say: Yes but it's more than just that; he would emphatically deny there are any elements of (basically) the gospel in the covenant with Noah.

For more information and quotes directly from Kuyper himself, see Section III and footnotes of this document: https://f5b3affa-3815-4a9f-8ecc-bd3...d2a4fe60ba43e58b5798f101b881c3.pdf?index=true

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## Stephen L Smith (Aug 8, 2020)

Jeri Tanner said:


> I’m researching various things Kuyperian.


You might be interested in Bavinck's "Saved by Grace: The Holy Spirit's Work in Calling and Regeneration". He deals with a number of aspects of Kuyper's theology. I found it very balanced. Though he does not deal with the Genesis 6-9 issue raised above.


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## Reformed Covenanter (Aug 17, 2020)

Jonathan Edwards took the same view as John Colquhoun did on this subject.


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