The Covenant of Works: The Origins, Development, and Reception of the Doctrine

by J V Fesko

The doctrine of "the covenant of works" arose to prominence in the late sixteenth century and quickly became a regular feature in Reformed thought. Theologians believed that when God first created man he made a covenant with all Adam had to do was obey God's command to not eat from the tree of knowledge and obey God's command to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth. The reward for Adam's obedience was eternal life for him and his offspring. The consequences of his disobedience were God would visit death upon Adam and his descendants. In the covenant of works, Adam was not merely an individual but served as a public person, the federal head of the human race.The Covenant of Works explores the origins of the doctrine of God's covenant with Adam and traces it back to the inter-testamental period, through the patristic and middle ages, and to the Reformation. The doctrine has an ancient pedigree and was not solely advocated by Reformed theologians. The book traces the doctrine's development in the seventeenth century and its reception in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Fesko explores the reasons why the doctrine came to be rejected by some, even in the Reformed tradition, arguing that interpretive methods influenced by Enlightenment thought caused theologians to question the doctrine's scriptural legitimacy.

Genres: Theology, Christian

322 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 14, 2020

Reviews

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5)

An excellent historical introduction to the Covenant of Works.

Fesko tells the story of the Doctrine through key figures throughout the doctrines’s reception.

At times Fesko’s bias bleeds through in his descriptions of people who deny the doctrine or want to reformulate it. But, this is a minor qualm.

Overall this book is an excellent piece of scholarship on the Covenant of Works.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fesko has provided a very careful discussion of the development of the doctrine of the Covenant of Works.
The scope is as folllows:
1. Reformation – citing precedents in Aquinas and other medieval and Reformation and contemporary Roman Catholic theologians.
2. Robert Rollock: a Scottish theologian who developped the idea of the covenant headship of Adam.
3. Arminius – stresses the covenant of works,
4. James Ussher
5. Cameron and Leigh affirm a threefold model of: Adam, Moses, and Christ. The Mosaic Cov is a third covenant .
6. Westminster Confession – explores the different attendees and that way variants were included in the WCF. Notably, the discussion is whether the reward of Adam’s faithful obedience was the extension of natural life or of eternal life. A pivotal passage is 1 Cor. 15 and Paul’s natural – spiritual view of the resurrection.
7. Helvetica – covers Turretin etc..
8. Thomas Boston.
9. John Colquhoun: in the 19th century we see gthe move to exegetical work but unmoored from doctrinal and historical understandings.
10. 20th Century: starting with Barth, this chapter unfolds how the shift to exegetical over doctrinal and historical fed a dissatisfaction with the CoW doctrine. There are discussions of Barth, Mrray, Hoeksema etc.

Questions to to consider:
1. What is a Covenant?
2. The status of the prohibition?
3. The status of the promise held out - natural or eternal life?
4. Adamic Headship
5. Adamic v Mosaic
7. Twofold (Old v New) as in CoW v. CoG models.

[Clifton Rankin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. J. V. Fesko, Harriet Barbour Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, is a noted scholar and author, who has written “The Covenant of Works: Origins, Development, and Reception.” The author traces the doctrine of God’s covenant with Adam from the Patristic Fathers to the twentieth seminary. While it is probably a bit too technical for the layman, it is well-researched, well-annotated, and well-written, and provides an exhaustive knowledge of this great truth of Scripture. I’m not sure why it was so expensive (that’s why I didn’t read it sooner), but I’m glad I bit the bullet and bought it. It is only 324 pages, but you can’t read it while the ball game is on, or your wife is talking to you (at least I couldn’t). Excellent work as is all that Dr. Fesko writes.

[Jonah Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Alex]

Read various chapters.