The children of believing parents, at least their next and immediate seed, even of us Gentiles now under the Gospel, are included by God within the covenant of Grace, as well as Abraham’s or David’s seed within that covenant of theirs.
Thomas Goodwin | The Works of Thomas Goodwin, Vol 9.
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Mike Brown
Mike Brown is pastor of Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia, Milan, Italy. Prior to serving in Italy he was pastor of Christ Reformed Church, Santee, CA. He is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California, a veteran of the United States Army, and author of Christ and the Condition: The Covenant Theology of Samuel Petto (1624–1711) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012) and co-author (with Zach Keele) of Sacred Bond : Covenant Theology Explored (Grandville, MI: Reformation Fellowship, 2017).
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Were Ishmael, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah “within” Abraham’s covenant? When Abraham pleaded that Ishmael might live before God, didn’t God say no, and that he would establosh his covenant only with Isaac? Did Goodwin mean only the children of Abraham through Isaac?
What is the name of the first son whom he circumcised?
Ishmael was the first son circumcised, and yet God said he would not establish his covenant with Ishmael. God then told Abraham that for the sake of his request, Ishmael would be specially blessed with a great posterity. If Ishmael were indeed within the covenant with Abraham, like Isaac, what were the point of this exchange?
Presumably the other sons also bore the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham, like Ishmael, Isaac, and all other men in Abraham’s house, but he sent them all and Ishmael away to other lands rather than keep them together as one covenant people. Doesn’t this make it seem that among Abraham’s children, God’s covenant promise to make a people for himself was established only in the elect seed, Isaac?
Ishmael was included in the external administration of the covenant of grace. The line of the Messiah would not come through Ishmael and it would seem that he did not receive the benefits of the covenant of grace but he was nevertheless included in the external administration. Only those who also have an internal relation to the covenant of grace receive its benefits (i.e., Christ and his benefits). So it has always been, so it is now.
Resources On The Internal/External Distinction In The Covenant Of Grace