Westminster Project 7.5 - 6

5. This covenant was differently administered in the time of the Law and in the time of the Gospel. Under the Law, it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the Jewish people, all signifying in advance the Christ to come. These were sufficient and effective for that time, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins and eternal salvation. This is called the Old Testament. 

6. Under the Gospel, when Christ, the substance, was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Although these are fewer in number, and are administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, yet in them the covenant is shown forth in more fullness, evidence, and spiritual effectiveness to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles. It is called the New Testament. Therefore there are not two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same covenant, under different dispensations. 
(WCF 7.5-6)

It is often asked: Before Jesus came on the scene, how were people saved? The final points of the seventh chapter of the Confession aim to clarify this very question. Spoiler alert: there is only one covenant, and salvation has always been by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Let me explain.

As we've seen over the past few weeks, God made agreements with His creatures called covenants. A covenant is like a contract between two parties—but unlike a human contract, this was not an agreement between equals. These were covenants between Almighty God and sinful humanity. By its very nature, then, it was an act of grace that God condescended to make such covenants with us (which is where we get the name the covenant of grace).

God did this because He loves His people and desired a relationship with us through His Son, Jesus Christ. However, as the Confession states, before Christ came, this same covenant was administered differently during the time of the Law.
What’s fascinating about the covenant of grace in the old dispensation (what we call the Old Testament) is the progressive revelation of its nature—and the direction in which God was moving. After the Fall, God spoke to Noah about judgment on sin, to Abraham about a seed, a nation, and the role of faith; to Moses about sacrifice, redemption, and priesthood; and to David about the coming Messiah.

As the Confession says: Under the Law, the covenant of grace was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the Jewish people—all signifying in advance the Christ to come.

To put it simply: before God the Son took on flesh, God gave His people “things in the dark” to point them to what Jesus would accomplish for them. Though these “types” were not complete in themselves, they revealed enough of Christ—and were sufficient and effective for that time, through the work of the Spirit—to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins and eternal salvation (see Hebrews 8–10).

We no longer live under the old way of understanding the covenant of grace. We live in the new, under the Gospel, when Christ—the substance—was revealed. This means we no longer “feel our way around in the dark” through shadows and types, but instead clearly see what God has given us in Jesus, and what He accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection.

Yet, like in the old, we still have means to nurture our faith. These are called ordinances—namely, the preaching of the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. These ordinances remind us of, and apply, the benefits of the Gospel, building our trust in Christ when received by faith.

The Confession concludes by acknowledging that, although these new ordinances are fewer in number and administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, they reveal the covenant in greater fullness, clarity, and spiritual power—to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles.

So while we now have fewer signs, what we have is so much better. All peoples now live in the light and hope of the Gospel. What God promised and prefigured in the old, He fulfilled in Christ. We now live in the new covenant—awaiting, and knowing with full confidence, that whatever our God promises, He is able to fulfill.