In what sense did Jesus fulfill the covenant of works? He is clearly the last Adam (Rom 6), and reverses the work of the first Adam. But unless we assume that Torah is a straightforward republication of the covenant of works, then any claims about Jesus fulfilling the covenant of works has to be qualified by the fact that he comes into an Israel under Torah. And if the Torah is a dispensation of the covenant of grace, then Jesus comes to fulfill the terms of the covenant of grace. Besides: Does the covenant of works have any provisions for redemptive sacrifice? In Eden before the fall, does God give Adam the hope of salvation from death if he should break covenant? It would appear not: Dying you shall die. The possibility of substitutionary atonement comes with the covenant of grace that is formed with Adam after the fall when the Lord sacrifices for Adam and covers him. So, if Jesus fulfilled the covenant of works, he fulfilled a modified form of that covenant.
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