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Eternal Election and the Accepted Sacrifice: The Security of the Elect in the Eternal Covenant

Eternal Election and the Accepted Sacrifice: The Security of the Elect in the Eternal Covenant

“The Sacrifice Has Been Accepted.” —Charles Spurgeon, The Promises of God

🩸 The Father’s Pleasure in the Son’s Sacrifice

The foundation of eternal election rests not in the merit of the elect but in the eternal pleasure of the Father in the Son. Spurgeon’s declaration—“The Sacrifice Has Been Accepted”—is not a sentimental affirmation but a theological cornerstone. The Father’s acceptance of Christ’s offering means wrath has been satisfied, justice upheld, and mercy unleashed.

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, ESV)

If the Father is eternally pleased with the Son, then the covenant sealed in His blood is not provisional. It is eternal, immutable, and irrevocable.

📜 The Eternal Covenant and Its Promises

The New Testament affirms the eternal nature of the covenant:

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good…” (Hebrews 13:20–21, ESV)

This covenant is not merely a legal arrangement—it is a relational bond secured by divine oath and sealed in Christ’s blood. The promises within this covenant are not subject to human failure but are guaranteed by divine fidelity:

“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.” (2 Corinthians 1:20, ESV)

🔥 Propitiation and the Wrath of God

Christ is called the hilasmos (ἱλασμός)—the propitiation:

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2, MOUNCE)

This does not imply universal salvation, but it does affirm that the wrath of God has been appeased in Christ. If wrath is satisfied, then condemnation cannot remain for those in covenant union with Christ:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, ESV)

To condemn those in covenant would be to deny the efficacy of the sacrifice and the integrity of the covenant. But Scripture affirms the opposite:

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33, ESV)

🌱 Escaping Corruption Through Eternal Promises

Peter connects divine promises to sanctification and escape from worldly corruption:

“He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world…” (2 Peter 1:4, ESV)

These promises are not temporary lifelines but eternal anchors. They are granted to the elect, who are chosen “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4, ESV), and they are secured by the Spirit who is the “guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14, ESV).

🛡️ Why Call It Eternal?

To call the testament eternal is to affirm its divine origin and unbreakable nature. If it were not eternal, it would be subject to decay, revocation, or failure. But Scripture insists:

“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29, ESV)

“This is the covenant that I will make… I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts… I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:10–12, ESV)

✝️ Conclusion: The Elect Are Secure

The elect are not secure because they are morally superior or spiritually consistent. They are secure because the Father has accepted the sacrifice of the Son. The effectual promises that come in Christ have been applied to the elect. 

“you also in him [Christ] having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in him also believing, were sealed of the promised Holy Spirit, who exists the guarantor of our inheritance to the extent redemption of his possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Romans 11:29)

The eternal covenant, sealed in Spirit and blood, guarantees that those in Christ are beyond condemnation. The promises of God are “Yes and Amen” in Him, and through them, the elect escape corruption and partake of divine life.

To question the permanence of this covenant is to question the sufficiency of Christ’s blood and the integrity of the Father’s will and good pleasure. But Scripture, Spurgeon, and the Spirit testify: The Sacrifice Has Been Accepted.


Going Deeper

Genesis 17:7 names God’s covenant with Abraham “everlasting,” providing the language and theological basis to argue that divine commitments to a covenant people are meant to endure across generations and find their climactic fulfillment in Christ. Genesis 9:12–17 extends that permanence to creation with the Noahic “everlasting covenant,” while Psalm 89:28–37 and Isaiah 55:3 connect the Davidic promises and “sure mercies of David” to messianic continuity, together forming the Old Testament backdrop for an eternal, unfolding covenantal plan. Jeremiah 31:31–34 announces the promised new covenant in which God will write his law on hearts and remember sins no more, framing the internal and permanent character of the covenant realized in Christ.

Hebrews 13:20 explicitly ties Christ’s redemptive work to “the blood of the eternal covenant,” which allows you to state that the atoning death of the Son functions as the ratifying center of an everlasting covenant. Hebrews 9:11–15 portrays Christ as the superior mediator whose once-for-all sacrifice secures cleansing and an eternal inheritance for those united to him, and Hebrews 10:14–18 declares that one perfecting sacrifice accomplishes finality in forgiveness, showing the settled and irreversible nature of God’s forgiveness in Christ.

1 John 2:2 presents Christ as propitiation for sins with a scope described broadly while also allowing a distinction between universal sufficiency and covenantal, effectual application; Romans 3:24–26 shows that God presented Christ as a propitiation to display both divine justice and mercy satisfied in the atoning work of the Son. 1 John 4:10 highlights the sending of the Son as a loving, propitiatory act that accomplishes real atonement for sinners, and John 1:29 gives the vivid Johannine image of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, grounding the claim that the sacrifice is sufficient and intended to remove sin decisively.

Ephesians 1:3–11 situates election, predestination, and the distribution of blessing “in Christ,” allowing you to frame election as God’s covenantal work from before the foundation of the world centered on the Messiah. Romans 8:28–33 traces assurance from foreknowledge through predestination to justification, ending with the rhetorical protection that no just charge can be brought against God’s elect, and 2 Timothy 1:8–9 emphasizes that salvation flows from God’s purpose and grace given before time began. Acts 13:48 and 1 Thessalonians 1:4 provide narrative and pastoral notes that link divine appointment to historical faith and apostolic affirmation of God’s choice.

2 Corinthians 1:20 states that all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ and that through him we utter our Amen, furnishing the theological hinge for asserting that God’s promises are consummated and reliable in the Mediator. Galatians 3:16–18 identifies the promised “seed” as Christ so that the Abrahamic promises receive their definitive meaning in him and pass to those who are united with him; together these texts support the claim that the new covenant’s promises are final and certain.

Romans 8:1–4 links union with Christ to the definitive declaration that there is no condemnation for those in him, while Romans 8:29–39 unfolds the unbreakable chain from foreknowledge to glorification, arguing that nothing can separate the elect from God’s love in Christ. John 10:27–29 affirms the Good Shepherd’s promise that no one can snatch the sheep from the Father’s hand, and Hebrews 10 suggests that even if they did they fall back into the hands of a living God. Hebrews 7:22 describes Christ as the guarantor of a better covenant, these support covenantal preservation and the security of those for whom the sacrifice effects its design.

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