How is the grace of God manifested in the second covenant?
The grace of God is manifested in the second covenant, in that he freely provideth and offereth to sinners a Mediator,1 and life and salvation by him;2 and requiring faith as the condition to interest them in him, promiseth and giveth his Holy Spirit 3 to all his elect, to work in them that faith,4 with all other saving graces;5 and to enable them unto all holy obedience,5 as the evidence of the truth of their faith 6 and thankfulness to God,7 and as the way which he hath appointed them to salvation.8
Scripture proofs
The Westminster Assembly's proof texts (KJV). The bracketed numbers in the answer above mark the clause each set of references supports; expand a row to read the verses.
1 Gen. 3:15; Isa. 42:6; John 6:27
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
2 1 John 5:11–12
1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
3 John 1:12; John 3:16
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
4 Prov. 1:23
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
5 2 Cor. 4:13
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
6 Gal. 5:22–23
Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal. 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
7 Ezek. 36:27
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
8 James 2:18, 22
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
This doctrine across the Standards
Where the Confession and the Westminster Shorter Catechism treat the same matter, so the question can be studied alongside its parallel statements.
In the Westminster Confession
VII.3 Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to …
Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace: wherein he freely offered unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe.
→ VII.3 · Of God's Covenant with ManVII.4 This covenant of grace is frequently set forth in the Scripture by the name of a testament, in …
This covenant of grace is frequently set forth in the Scripture by the name of a testament, in reference to the death of Jesus Christ the testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all things belonging to it, therein bequeathed.
→ VII.4 · Of God's Covenant with ManVII.5 This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law and in the time of the gospel: …
This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law and in the time of the gospel: under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore-signifying Christ to come, which were for that time sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins and eternal salvation; and is called the Old Testament.
→ VII.5 · Of God's Covenant with ManVII.6 Under the gospel, when Christ the substance was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are …
Under the gospel, when Christ the substance was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; which, though fewer in number, and administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, yet in them it is held forth in more fulness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is called the New Testament. There are not, therefore, two covenants of grace differing in substance, but one and the same under various dispensations.
→ VII.6 · Of God's Covenant with ManXVII.2 This perseverance of the saints depends, not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the …
This perseverance of the saints depends, not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
→ XVII.2 · Of the Perseverance of the SaintsXXVII.1 Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ …
Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ and his benefits, and to confirm our interest in him: as also to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.
→ XXVII.1 · Of the SacramentsXXVIII.1 Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission …
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life: which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in his Church until the end of the world.
→ XXVIII.1 · Of BaptismIn the Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q.20 Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
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.
→ Open Q.20