Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 25:1 (Spring 2021)
Article: John Gill And The Continuing Baptist Affirmation Of The Eternal Covenant
Author: Daniel D. Scheiderer

SBJT 25:1 (Spring 2021) p. 65

John Gill And The Continuing Baptist Affirmation Of The Eternal Covenant

Daniel D. Scheiderer

Daniel D. Scheiderer is Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He earned his MDiv from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky and is a PhD candidate (ABD) in Systematic Theology at Southern Seminary. Daniel is the author of Still Confessing: An Exposition of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Founders, 2020), and he has written articles for Puritan Reformed Journal and Westminster Theological Journal. Daniel is currently writing his dissertation on the covenant of redemption, or the pactum salutis. He is married to Patsy and has four children: Analise, Malia, Daniel Jr., and John.

This article uses John Gill as a primary example of the theological rigor with which the doctrine of the everlasting covenant was expounded and defended by Baptists. The article presents the doctrine of the everlasting covenant in Gill’s three major works: A Body of Divinity,1 The Cause of God and Truth,2 and his commentaries.3 Presenting the doctrine this way allows the reader to see how Gill stated the doctrine on its own, and then how he used it in theological discourse and biblical exposition.4 After looking at Gill’s exposition and integration of the doctrine of the everlasting covenant, the article then offers a demonstration of subsequent Baptists affirming this doctrine. Though it may be uncommon to see much incorporation of the everlasting covenant in Baptist works today, Gill, his predecessors, and his successors all gave due attention to this weighty doctrine.

SBJT 25:1 (Spring 2021) p. 66

John Gill’s Works

In the following pages, I survey the three major works Gill produced: A Body of Divinity, The Cause of God and Truth, and his commentaries.

A Body Of Divinity

John Gill’s articulation of the covenant of grace occupies considerable space in his A Body of Divinity. Due to three key facts, it would far extend the constraints of this article to comprehensively define how Gill makes use of this doctrine. First, Gill follows Benjamin Keach in arguing for one covenant of grace made in eternity. Thus, while many theologians would distinguish as the covenant of redemption from the covenant of grace, Gill includes in his exposition of the covenant of grace. Second, Gill believes the covenant of grace was manifested in time, beginning in