This book explores the origins and development of one of the most significant doctrines of Reformation theology. The innovative ways in which the Zurich reformer Huldrych Zwingli and his successor Heinrich Bullinger thought about the relationship between the Old and New Testaments left an indelible mark on the Reformed tradition in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Distinctively, Zwingli and Bullinger emphasized the continuity of both testaments and spoke of a single covenant between God and humanity. This would become one of the defining teachings of Reformed Christianity. This book follows the development of their "covenant theology" in the Reformation and argues for its adoption by John Calvin in Geneva and the German theologians of the post-Reformation era.

"The book surveys the origins of the doctrine of the covenant of works. The doctrine originates in the patristic era and fully flowers in the sixteenth century among Reformed theologians. The doctrine develops from a web of biblical texts and becomes codified in confessions of the seventeenth century. But in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, support for the doctrine began to wane until Reformed theologians in the twentieth century outright rejected it. There were, however, theologians who continued to promote the doctrine because they continued to use the same interpretive methods as earlier proponents of the doctrine"--

Covenant: A Vital Element of Reformed Theology provides a multi-disciplinary reflection on the theme of the covenant, from historical, biblical-theological and systematic-theological perspectives. The interaction between exegesis and dogmatics in the volume reveals the potential and relevance of this biblical motif. It proves to be vital in building bridges between God’s revelation in the past and the actual question of how to live with him today.

"Perkins is an expert in his field and very much a pastor. ... You will not be disappointed." —From the foreword by Ligon Duncan See Christ and his work more clearly. Learn the biblical basis for the Reformed confessions. Understand the role of grace and works in your salvation. Covenant shapes our life with God. In Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction, Harrison Perkins shows how Christ and his work are the heart of that covenant relationship. Since God lives in covenant with his redeemed people, covenant theology provides a framework for Christians to grow in their life with God, to read the Bible, and to love the church.