Covenant theology or, as it was more often referred to in the past, Federal theology (from the Latin word foedus meaning 'covenant') is a system of theology whose basic tenet is that God had made a covenant with Adam (Gen 2:16-17, understood as a covenant of works) which—as the representative of the human race—he failed to keep and thus lost the blessing of eternal life; Christ, as the representative of a new covenant (the covenant of grace) and as the second Adam, however, accomplished what the first Adam failed to do, and thus brought salvation and redemption for all those he represented, i.e., the elect of God.
The covenant received a great deal of importance in the theological thinking of the early Reformers and the seed of Federal theology seemed to have planted by John Calvin though how much Calvin actually contributed to it—such as it defined above—remains a matter of some debate. The theology was given its name for the first time in 1565 (Calvin had died the year before). The theology quickly gained acceptance and achieved "confessional status" when it was adopted as by the Westminster Confession, which was adopted as the confessional standard of the Church of Scotland. The theology has undergone further developments as tensions arose between the varying emphasis different proponents placed on different aspects of the theology. A particularly significant debate raged on for a while within the Westminster Theological Seminary between John Murray and his student-turned-collegue Meredith Kline. A most interesting take was recently given by A. T. B. McGowan who suggests viewing the system as 'headship theology' instead.
Further Reading:
A. T. B. McGowan, "In Defence of 'Headship Theology,'" in The God of Covenant. Biblical, theological and centemporary perspectives, ed. by Jamie A. Grant and Alistair I. Wilson. (Leicester: Apollos, 2005), 178-199. A very useful introductory essay to the subject.
R. T. Kendall, Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649. Carlisle: Paternoster, 1997.
D. A. Weir, The Origins of the Federal Theology in Sixteenth-Century Reformation Thought. Oxform: Clarendon, 1990.
Peter A. Lillback, The Binding of God: Calvin's Role in the Development of Covenant Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
Mark Karlberg, The Changing of the Guard: Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Unicoi, T: Trinity Foundation, 2001.
Mark Karberg, Covenant Theology in Reformed Perspective. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2000.
Meredith Kline, By Oath Consigned. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968.
John Murray, The Covenant of Grace: A Biblico-Theological Study. London: Tyndale Press, 1954.
Online-Resources:
Covernent Theology with Dr Stephen Myers. Reformed Theological Seminary. N Podcasts (22 episodes).
☰ Andrew T.B. McGowan, "Federal Theology as a Theology of Grace," Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 2 (1984): 41-50.
☰ David B. McWilliams, "The Covenant Theology of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Recent Criticism," Westminster Theological Journal 53 (1991):109-124.
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