covenant of works

The covenant of works affirms the principle of justice in regard to the work of the Messiah and is, therefore, crucial to understanding the redemptive work of the Messiah. The covenant of works was not built upon a very firm basis; and therefore must needs leave men full of fears and doubts. A third covenant is sometimes mentioned; namely, the covenant of redemption (CR). The covenant of circumcision was a covenant of works for Abraham's physical descendants intended to set them apart as the people from whom the promised seed of the woman would be born. God’s covenant was established in the very act of creation and not mechanically added to Adam’s relationship to God. In fact you can make a case that Christ has to do much more than Adam was asked to do. A. Hodge, Thornwell, and Dabney, among others, fully treated the doctrine of the covenant of works in their theological works. The old covenant made salvation known through typology, though the types are distinct from the antitype. We will discuss these covenants in turn. The doctrine has an ancient pedigree and was not solely advocated by Reformed theologians. 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 covenant of works rested upon the strength of man's inherent righteousness; which though in innocence was perfect, yet was subject to change. 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 him: 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 doctrine has an ancient pedigree and was not solely advocated by Reformed theologians. It was a covenant that was graciously established and not in any sense merited. 13 In America, Presbyterian scholars Charles and A. Mark W. Karlberg notes the current debates in Reformed theology concerning the covenant of works and the importance of the justice principle in the covenant of works: Understanding this truth, we can set aside the unbiblical doctrine of a covenant of works. And clearly there is just as strong a bilateral element to Christ’s work on our behalf as there is in Adam. Adam was created holy, but mutable; having a power to stand and a power to fall. Now that we have briefly introduced the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, it is extremely important to distinguish them in order that we don’t confuse the law and the gospel. The Covenant of Works is related to the Covenant of Redemption in that it sets the stage for the work that the Son undertook to accomplish, and gives the terms of what he would have to do in the pursuance of the redemption that he had covenanted with the Father to provide for his people. Covenant Theology defines two overriding covenants: the covenant of works (CW) and the covenant of grace (CG). The importance of the Covenant of Works and the bilateral aspects of that come to play in Christ’s work on our behalf in the Covenant of Grace. ‘The sanctions of the covenant of works are revealed in nature, hard-wired into creation itself.’ ‘Keep in mind that the covenant of works was a covenant imposing personal obligation upon Adam.’ ‘So the doctrine of the covenant of works is not necessarily founded on the metaphor of God as an employer.’ Now, as to a covenant of works, Strong offers a helpfully concise definition: “that which teaches us justification and life by doing” (Strong, Discourse, 90). 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 covenant of works, even if it originates “by some voluntary condescension on God’s part” is a conditional covenant. 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