A Comprehensive Exploration of the Biblical Covenants This book forms an overview of the biblical teaching on covenant as well as the practical significance of covenant for the Christian life. A host of 26 scholars shows how covenant is not only clearly taught from Scripture, but also that it lays the foundation for other key doctrines of salvation. The contributors, who engage variously in biblical, systematic, and historical theology, present covenant theology not as a theological abstract imposed on the Bible but as a doctrine that is organically presented throughout the biblical narrative. As students, pastors, and church leaders come to see the centrality of covenant to the Christian faith, the more the church will be strengthened with faith in the covenant-keeping God and encouraged in their understanding of the joy of covenant life.
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 reward for Adam's obedience was profound: eternal life for him and his offspring. The consequences of his disobedience were dire: 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.
"The Mystery of Christ is well-written, displays ample knowledge of issues discussed concerning covenant theology by Baptists and paedobaptists, grounds its arguments in scriptural exegesis and theology, recovers old arguments for a new day, presents a cohesive map of the covenants of Scripture, and exalts our Lord Jesus Christ, the last Adam, throughout." -- from cover review by Richard C. Barcellos
The doctrine of the pactum salutis (covenant of redemption) offers the idea of a covenant between the very persons of the Trinity for the redemption of humanity. The doctrine received most of its attention in seventeenth-century Reformed theology, and has been criticized and almost totally forgotten in dogmatics since the eighteenth century. Most recent Reformed dogmatics tend to ignore the doctrine or disparage it from biblical, trinitarian, christological, pneumatological, and soteriological perspectives-namely, the doctrine lacks scriptural basis; it is tritheistic; it leads to subordination of the Son; it omits the role of the Holy Spirit; and it applies a deterministic idea for the Christian life. The theologies of Witsius, Owen, Dickson, Goodwin, and Cocceius portray a very robust form of the doctrine. Witsius argues with the help of a peculiar methodology of cross-referencing and collation of related scriptural texts that the doctrine is firmly based on biblical exegesis that was passed on from the patristic era. The doctrine formulated by Owen endorses the doctrines of inseparable operations and terminus operationis so as to give deep insight into the Trinity. In Dickson's doctrine, the Son's voluntary consent and obedience to the will of the Father are highly emphasized. Likewise, Goodwin's depiction of the Holy Spirit secures the divinity of the Spirit as well as his indispensable role for the transaction and accomplishment of the pactum. The doctrine in the theology of Cocceius sheds much light on the vibrant dynamic of the Christian life in accordance with the ordo salutis. The doctrine of the pactum salutis of the five Reformed theologians clearly shows that the doctrine is both promised and promising for theology and the life of faith.
The Old Testament is more than a religious history of the nation of Israel. It is more than a portrait gallery of heroes of the faith. It is even more than a theological and prophetic backdrop to the New Testament. Beyond these, the Old Testament is inspired revelation of the very nature, character, and works of God. As renowned Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke writes in the preface of this book, the Old Testament’s every sentence is “fraught with theology, worthy of reflection.” This book is the result of decades of reflection informed by an extensive knowledge of the Hebrew language, the best of critical scholarship, a deep understanding of both the content and spirit of the Old Testament, and a thoroughly evangelical conviction. Taking a narrative, chronological approach to the text, Waltke employs rhetorical criticism to illuminate the theologies of the biblical narrators. Through careful study, he shows that the unifying theme of the Old Testament is the “breaking in of the kingdom of God.” This theme helps the reader better understand not only the Old Testament, but also the New Testament, the continuity of the entire Bible, and ultimately, God himself.
Merrill has extensively updated this popular-level Old Testament history to discuss updates in archaeology and textual understanding. It is also more current as a defense of the Bible's accuracy.
Reformed churches have always been interested in the covenant idea, first the covenant of grace in Christ, but also a covenant with Adam before sin, commonly called the covenant of works. But what the covenant of works really meant in the 17th century, when it became standard orthodoxy, is often very poorly understood today. That ignorance has contributed to modifications which are not always for the better.
The covenant of redemption (pactum salutis), the eternal intra-trinitarian covenant, was a common staple within Early Modern Reformed theology, yet there are very few historical works that examine this doctrine. J. V. Fesko's study, The Covenant of Redemption: Origins, Development, and Reception, seeks to address this lacuna.In the contemporary period the covenant of redemption has been derided as speculative, mythological, a declension from trinitarianism, or erroneously derived from one or two biblical proof-texts. Yet seldom have critics carefully engaged the primary sources to examine the different formulations, supporting exegesis, and ways in which the doctrine was employed.Far from speculation, sub-trinitarian, or a cold business transaction, proponents of the covenant of redemption constructed this doctrine based upon a web of interconnected biblical texts and were very sensitive to maintaining a robust doctrine of the trinity, as they employed this doctrine as a bulwark against the anti-trinitarian claims of Socinian theologians. Proponents of the doctrine also saw this pre-temporal covenant as the embodiment of intra-trinitarian love that overflows unto those chosen in Christ for their salvation and ultimate fellowship with the triune God.John V. Fesko explores the historical origins of the doctrine and then surveys its development in the seventeenth- through nineteenth-centuries, examining key advocates of the doctrine including, David Dickson, Herman Witsius, Johannes Cocceius, Francis Turretin, Patrick Gillespie, John Gill, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, and A. A. Hodge. He then examines the contemporary reception of the doctrine in the twentieth century with a survey of the doctrine's critics, including Karl Barth, Herman Hoeksema, Klaas Schilder, and John Murray. After exploring the claims of the critics, the study moves to examine the views of twentieth-century proponents, including Geerhardus Vos, Herman Bavinck, Abraham Kuyper, Louis Berkhof, and G. C. Berkouwer.
