What Is 1689 Federalism?
1. Definition of 1689 Federalism
1689 Federalism is a Baptist expression of covenant theology rooted in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689). It agrees with Reformed theology on the importance of God’s covenants but differs in how it understands their unfolding. In this view:
The covenant of works was made with Adam.
The covenant of grace was promised after the fall.
The Old Testament covenants reveal but do not themselves establish the covenant of grace.
The covenant of grace is formally inaugurated only in the New Covenant through Christ’s death and resurrection.
This structure provides Baptists with a way to affirm continuity with historic Reformed thought while maintaining distinctions in how the Bible’s covenants are understood.
2. The Covenant of Works
Like most Reformed traditions, 1689 Federalism begins with the covenant of works.
God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16–17).
Life was promised for obedience; death was threatened for disobedience.
Adam stood as the federal head of humanity, representing all his descendants (Romans 5:12–19).
When Adam sinned, he broke the covenant of works, plunging all humanity into sin and death. This sets the stage for the promise of redemption in the covenant of grace.
3. The Covenant of Grace
The covenant of grace is God’s promise of salvation through Jesus Christ. 1689 Federalism makes an important distinction:
Promised in the Old Testament: through types, shadows, and promises (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53).
Established only in the New Covenant: through Christ’s blood (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15).
This differs from other Reformed traditions, which often teach that the covenant of grace existed in substance throughout both Old and New Testaments. In Baptist thought, Old Testament believers were saved by grace through faith in the promised Messiah, but they did not yet live under the covenant of grace itself.
4. The Old Testament Covenants
1689 Federalism carefully distinguishes the Old Testament covenants.
Noahic covenant – a covenant of preservation, ensuring stability in creation (Genesis 9:8–17).
Abrahamic covenant – revealed God’s promise of blessing to the nations, ultimately fulfilled in Christ (Galatians 3:16).
Mosaic covenant – a covenant of law, exposing sin and pointing to Christ (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:24).
Davidic covenant – promised a king from David’s line, fulfilled in Jesus (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Acts 13:23).
In this framework, these covenants progressively reveal the covenant of grace but are not themselves the covenant of grace. Only the New Covenant is that reality in full.
5. The New Covenant as Fulfillment
1689 Federalism emphasizes that the New Covenant is the formal establishment of the covenant of grace.
Instituted in Christ’s blood (Luke 22:20).
Mediated by a better priest (Hebrews 8:6).
Secured by perfect obedience and sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12).
Unlike the Mosaic covenant, the New Covenant cannot be broken (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Its members are those who have been born again and united to Christ by faith. This conviction underlies the Baptist emphasis on a regenerate church membership—only believers belong to the covenant community.
6. Key Distinctions from Other Views
1689 Federalism sets itself apart from other approaches to covenant theology:
Against Westminster covenant theology – it rejects the idea that the covenant of grace was substantially present in the Old Testament covenants. Instead, those covenants revealed the promise but did not yet establish it.
Against dispensationalism – it rejects the sharp division between Israel and the church. The church is the fulfillment of God’s promises, not a parenthesis in His plan (Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:14–16).
Against new covenant theology – while sharing some similarities, 1689 Federalism insists on a covenantal continuity that roots the New Covenant in God’s eternal plan of redemption.
This approach allows Baptists to affirm both the unity of Scripture and the uniqueness of the New Covenant.
7. The Gospel in 1689 Federalism
At its core, 1689 Federalism is not simply a framework for reading covenants but a way of understanding the Gospel itself.
Christ fulfills the covenant of works by His perfect obedience (Romans 5:19).
He secures the covenant of grace by His death and resurrection (Hebrews 9:15).
He reigns as the Davidic King, providing eternal life for His people (Acts 2:30–36).
The Gospel announces that in Christ the promises of God find their “Yes and Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). This covenantal reading enlarges the Gospel: believers are not saved by entering into multiple covenants but by belonging to Christ, who is Himself the mediator of the New Covenant.
Conclusion
1689 Federalism is a Baptist expression of covenant theology that emphasizes the covenant of works with Adam, the progressive revelation of the covenant of grace, and the establishment of that covenant only in the New Covenant through Christ.
By distinguishing the Old Testament covenants from the covenant of grace, this view upholds both the unity and progression of God’s plan. It resists both the over-continuity of some Reformed views and the fragmentation of dispensationalism, presenting a Christ-centered framework in which Jesus fulfills all of God’s promises.
Through this lens, the Gospel is magnified: Christ obeyed where Adam failed, inaugurated the covenant of grace, and reigns as King over His people until the end of the age.
Bible Verses about Federalism
Genesis 2:16–17 – “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
Hosea 6:7 – “But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.”
Romans 5:18–19 – “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Genesis 9:12–13 – “And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.’”
Genesis 12:2–3 – “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
2 Samuel 7:12–13 – “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Jeremiah 31:31–32 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.”
Luke 22:20 – “And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”
Hebrews 8:6 – “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 – “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”
