A wonderful quotation from Luther’s late commentary on Genesis. He notes that law exists already in Eden, but he also makes it clear that this does not make the Edenic situation a “covenant of works”: “And so when Adam had been created in such a way that he was, so to speak, drunk with joy towards God, and rejoiced also in all other creatures, then a new tree was created for the distinction of good and evil, so that Adam might have a definite sign of worship and reverence towards God.” Three things: First, that “drunk with joy towards God” is unsurpassable. Second, that law here functions to order Adam’s life of joy in God, not as a means for attaining that life of joy. Third, that the goal and purpose of the law is worship towards God.
