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The Covenant of Works in Reformed Theology and Eschatology

The Covenant of Works is a theological concept, particularly prominent in Reformed theology, that describes God's initial agreement with Adam in the Garden of Eden. This covenant stipulated that perfect obedience to God's command was the condition for continued life and blessing, distinguishing it from the later Covenant of Grace [1].

According to this understanding, God entered into a covenant with Adam as the representative of all humanity. The condition for Adam and his descendants to maintain their blessed state was complete and unwavering obedience [1]. John Calvin, a foundational figure in Reformed thought, frequently referenced Genesis in his commentaries, including passages related to creation and the early human condition, which form the biblical backdrop for this covenantal idea [4, 5]. Charles Hodge, an Old Princeton theologian, further elaborates on the nature of a covenant as an agreement between parties with stipulated work and promised reward, applying this framework to the relationship between the Father and the Son, and by extension, to God's dealings with humanity [9].

The failure of Adam to uphold the Covenant of Works, through disobedience, resulted in the fall of humanity. This event necessitated a different covenant for salvation, known as the Covenant of Grace. The New Testament, particularly in passages like Luke 22:20, refers to a "New Covenant," which is understood as superseding the "old covenant of works" [2]. The book of Hebrews extensively develops this idea, quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34 to establish the superiority of the new covenant over the first covenant made at Sinai. The first covenant, according to the author of Hebrews, was not "faultless" and did not resolve human weaknesses, thus paving the way for the Son's superior offering under the new covenant [3].

Augustine, a key patristic theologian, also discussed the concept of a new covenant, noting the prophecy in Jeremiah that God would "consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers" [7]. This new covenant was established because the people "continued not in my covenant" [7]. The Targum Jonathan, a Jewish interpretive tradition, similarly highlights the Lord's promise to "make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" [6].

While the Covenant of Works is a cornerstone of Reformed theology, other traditions approach the concept of covenants differently. Lutheran theology, for instance, emphasizes God's grace and the role of faith, as seen in Luther's Small Catechism [10]. The Catholic Church, while recognizing the historical covenants, frames its understanding of salvation through a different theological lens, as evidenced in the Catechism of the Catholic Church [11]. The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, a foundational document for Anglicanism, discusses the Old Testament and the nature of works before justification, reflecting a nuanced position on the relationship between law, works, and grace [8, 12].

The distinction between the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace is crucial in Reformed eschatology, as it frames the understanding of salvation history and God's redemptive plan. The "old broken covenant of works" is seen as being succeeded by the "ever fresh, flourishing, and excellent" Covenant of Grace, which is dispensed more clearly and powerfully under the gospel [2]. This theological framework helps to explain the necessity of Christ's atoning work and the nature of salvation by grace through faith.

Sources

  1. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Works, Covenant of — Entered into by God with Adam as the representative of the human race (comp. Gen. 9:11, 12; 17:1-21), so styled because perfect obedience was its condition, thus distinguishing it from the covenant of grace. (See COVENANT OF [672]WORKS.)”
  2. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: New Testament — (Luke 22:20), rather "New Covenant," in contrast to the old covenant of works, which is superseded. "The covenant of grace is called new; it succeeds to the old broken covenant of works. It is ever fresh, flourishing, and excellent; and under the gospel it is dispensed in a more clear, spiritual, extensive, and powerful manner than of old" (Brown of Haddington). Hence is derived the name given to the latter portion of the Bible. (See [438]TESTAMENT.)”
  3. Hebrews (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Hebrews 8:7: 8:7-13 The author quotes Jer 31:31-34, an Old Testament prophecy concerning the new covenant that includes a number of striking promises. Establishing the superiority of the new covenant lays a foundation for the argument in Heb 9:1–10:18 that the Son’s offering under the new covenant was superior to the offerings of the old covenant. 8:7 The first covenant, made at Sinai, was not faultless. It was not the end of God’s plan, because it didn’t solve human weaknesses (see 7:11-28; 8:9).”
  4. CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah, Vol. 2, section 53.1: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:1 1:27 1:27 3:17 3:17 3:18 4:11 4:13 4:14 6:5 7:11 8:1 10:4 10:11 11:29 11:31 11:31 12:1 12:1 12:17 14:6 14:16 15:1 17:7 17:7 19:24 19:37 20:2 20:8 20:14 21:2 21:5 25:1 25:14 25:14 27:38 27:38 32:3 32:10 32:12 36:8 36:9 Exodus 3:8 7:13 8:15 13:3 13:5 13:8 13:14 13:17 14:14 14:21 14:22 15:10 17 18:21 19:5 19:6 19:6 19:6 19:6 20:1 20:2 20:24 20:25 23:32 27:1 29:45 33:3 34:6 34:6 34:15 34:30 Leviticus 19:9 19:10 26:3-13 26:8 26:12 26:12 26:16 Numbers 3:1-4:49 10:36 12:6 13:22 23:19 24:13 30:3 32:34 Deutero”
  5. CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 28.1: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:1-6 1:1-31 1:2 1:28 1:29-30 2:1 2:1-25 2:15 2:19 3:1 3:1-24 3:7 3:16 4:1 4:1-26 4:7 5:1 5:1-32 6:1 6:1-22 6:11-16 7:1-24 7:11 8:1-22 9:1 9:1 9:1-29 9:2 9:24 10 10:1 10:1 10:1-32 10:21 11:1 11:1 11:1-32 11:28 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:1-20 12:4 12:4 12:6 13:1 13:1-20 14:1-24 15:1-21 15:7 16:1-16 16:2 16:8 17:1 17:1 17:1 17:1 17:1-27 18:1 18:1 18:1-33 18:19 19:1-38 20:1 20:1 20:1-18 21:1-34 21:15 22:1-24 22:18 23:1-20 24:31 25:1 25:13-16 35:7 48:1 Exodus 6:3 12:40 Leviticus 7:18 17:4 18:25 Numbers 6:2”
  6. Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on Jeremiah 31:31: "On this day, says the Lord, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."”
  7. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 33.--THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH CONCERNING THE NEW TESTAMENT.: Observe this also in that testimony which was given by the prophet on this subject in the clearest way: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Because they continued not in my covenant, I also have rejected them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the cov”
  8. Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), 7.Of the Old Testament.: 7.Of the Old Testament.”
  9. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 72: a much wider foundation. When one person assigns a stipulated work to another person with the promise of a reward upon the condition of the performance of that work, there is a covenant. Nothing can be plainer than that all this is true in relation to the Father and the Son. The Father gave the Son a work to do; He sent Him into the world to perform it, and promised Him a great reward when the work was accomplished. Such is the constant representation of the Scriptures. We have, therefore, the contracting parties, the promise, and the con”
  10. Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran) “Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran, 1529), 8. 8How many Gods are there?: 8. 8How many Gods are there?”
  11. Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catholic) “Catechism of the Catholic Church, 3. the anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view (part 2): 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. The New Testament: the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of St. Paul to the Romans, ”
  12. Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), XIII. Of Works before Justification: XIII. Of Works before Justification”
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