Shorter Catechism Q. 20. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? A. God having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a redeemer.
Commentary: Mankind’s fall into sin and misery did not take God by surprise. He knew it would happen, and before it happened, indeed “from all eternity,” he had planned a way of salvation, which he then executed in history. There are several things to note about this.
First, God decided on his own to plan a way of salvation. He didn’t do it because of something about us or because of something we would do in the future. He didn’t do it because he would be lonely without us or to get back at the devil. He did it because he wanted to do it: “out of his mere good pleasure.”
Second, God chose to save “some to everlasting life.” This is the doctrine of election. Although salvation is freely and sincerely offered to all who hear the gospel, only the elect will receive eternal life. God’s plan wasn’t merely to make salvation possible, but to save a people for himself. The will of the Father in sending the Son is that the Son should lose nothing of all that the Father had given to him but raise them up on the last day (John 6:39).
Third, the plan of salvation has been called the covenant of redemption, which refers to the covenant between the three persons of the Trinity. According to this covenant, the Father sends the Son to accomplish salvation, the Son comes down from heaven to accomplish salvation, and the Father and the Son send the Spirit to apply salvation.
Fourth, the plan was to rescue the elect by a redeemer. Since we had fallen into an estate of sin and misery, we needed to be “delivered” or rescued from that estate and brought “into an estate of salvation.” Even as Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt and brought to the Promised Land, so God’s plan was to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness and bring us to the kingdom of God. How would God do this? He would do it be a redeemer.
Fifth, God executed the plan by making a covenant of grace. Before the fall, God made the covenant of life with Adam and his posterity. After the fall, God made a different covenant, a covenant of grace, whereby he would execute his plan to save his people from their sins by a redeemer.