The covenant of works : the origins, development, and reception of the doctrine /

The "covenant of works" is not a widely known or used theological construct today. Fesko (Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi) argues it has patristic roots and was an important feature of early modern Reformed theology. Simply stated, God made a covenant with Adam. Adam was to obey God's command and not eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge. If Adam obeyed, there would be "eschatological life for him and his offspring" (p. 1). Disobedience would bring death for Adam and his progeny. The stakes were high because Adam was a "public person," a "federal head" of the human race (p. 1). Fesko traces this doctrine through theologians from the Reformation to James Ussher (1581--1656), the Westminster Standards (drawn up in the mid-17th century), and into the 20th century. Fesko argues that critics, under the influence of the Enlightenment, ceased to use important Reformed theological principles. Karl Barth, in the 20th century, rejected such principles as introducing anthropocentrism and being insufficiently Christological. It was, Barth believed, tantamount to "injecting Pelagianism" (p. 189) into covenant theology, and it promoted legalism. Countering this, Fesko argues the early Reformed theology based the doctrine on solid exegesis, that there were variations within Reformed understandings, and it was based on God's love for creation. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Donald K. McKim, formerly, Memphis Theological Seminary