Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ

Nehemiah Coxe & John Owen

– Edited by James Renihan, Ronald Miller, Francisco Orozco

– Appendix by Richard Barcellos

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Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ | Nehemiah Coxe & John Owen | 20th Anniversary Edition

Over three centuries after its initial publication, Nehemiah Coxe’s seminal work A Discourse of the Covenants remains as vital as ever in
understanding Baptist Covenant Theology. Paired with John Owen’s Exposition of Hebrews 8:6-13, this twentieth anniversary edition of Covenant Theology from Adam to Christ features updated content and indices. With this new edition, Coxe’s pivotal insights continue to reshape and reclaim the Particular Baptist perspective on Covenant Theology, ensuring its lasting influence for generations to come. Edited by James Renihan and others, it offers updated content, indices, and scholarly insight into 1689 Federalism—a historic Particular Baptist perspective on the covenants of Scripture.

Printed and Sewn to the Highest Quality in the United Kingdom

Covenant Theology From Adam to Christ is printed on Swedish-milled paper, section-sewn onto the finest Wibalin (est 1892) boards, and assembled in Cornwall, Great Britain. This volume is printed to the same specification as Nehemiah Coxe’s “Vindiciae Veritatis” / “A Vindication of the Truth” and together they make up the first two books of the Works of Nehemiah Coxe, published by Broken Wharfe.

In most of the material that has been reprinted over the last half-century, Covenant Theology has been presented as if it necessarily implied the doctrine and practice of infant baptism. We could fill much space here simply listing the books that have taken this position. Many of us, however, have been unconvinced of this stipulation, believing that it is an unnecessary consequence of theological reasoning. We believe that it is very possible, even requisite, to formulate an exegetically based Covenant Theology that upholds the centrality and continuity of God’s plan of redemption through the ages without falling into the deduction that infant baptism must attend that doctrine. Sadly, there have been few works available that have wrestled with these issues at a profound exegetical and theological level. The books written from a paedobaptist perspective are often dismissive of the credobaptist (i.e., believer’s baptism) point of view, and those defending believer’s baptism have often failed to give sufficient effort to presenting a full-blown covenantal system. The end result is that paedobaptists have seldom, if ever, considered the possibility of a covenantal credobaptist position, and many Baptists are simply ignorant of the centrality of the covenant and its usefulness in defending their own beliefs. This book is an attempt to begin to rectify this deficiency.

This volume is an absolute must for those seeking to understand the foundations and connections of Baptist Covenant Theology, and for any desiring to understand the full range of covenant theological thought in general. The combination of Coxe and Owen together is a merger of theological friends, and a true resource for the pilgrim seeking to grow in understanding how to put the Bible together. I have returned time and time again to this volume and have found it to be a treasure trove of theological and biblical study. This work has been instrumental in my thinking and development in understanding the covenants and I am very excited to see its twentieth anniversary edition published. I highly recommend it!

Early in the life of Particular Baptists, Nehemiah Coxe gave voice to Baptist Covenantal Theology, showing how it embraced a theology of the covenants—with the profundity of John Owen—and the critical points at which Baptists presented a more consistent grasp of the covenants. This work presents both Owen and Coxe as teachers and theologians of the beauties and biblical fullness of God’s operations of saving grace in his eternal purpose to redeem a people from merited condemnation to gracious justification and full salvation. The reader will grow in gratitude, spiritual discernment, and clarity of presentation of biblical truth.

The research done into 1689 Federalism and Reformed Baptist Covenant Theology in the last few decades has changed the discussion of Covenant Theology among Reformed Baptists. This “revolution” was begun in no small part by the publication of Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ by Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen. The reader will be benefitted not only by the book, but also by the editorial work of my dear friends Ron Miller, James Renihan, and Francisco Orozco. It is good that Broken Wharfe has placed it back into print. May God continue to deepen our understanding of this vital aspect of the Bible’s theology through it.

Ever since the recovery of Reformed theology from the late 1950s and early 1960s, it has been argued that the paedobaptist theologians of this broad tradition were superior in their intellectual ability and depth of thought than their Baptist co-religionists. Sadly, many Baptists in the past sixty years have aided and abetted this error by encouraging the reprinting of primarily paedobaptist works. Thankfully, the tide has turned, and a number of Baptist thinkers in this stream of thought are now seen to be as gifted (and as significant) as their paedobaptist brethren. One of the earliest Baptist authors whose work merits serious attention is Nehemiah Coxe, the seventeenth-century English Baptist. This new edition of his work on the covenant, which twins him with the Congregationalist giant, John Owen, reveals his rich understanding of what is fundamental to our salvation. Highly recommended!

Covenant Theology has long been “The most commodious mode of presenting the corpus of Reformed doctrine.” (B.B. Warfield). As such, the form of Covenant Theology adopted will govern how the Bible is read and understood. If it is a Presbyterian and paedobaptist “mode” (as Warfield), the student of Scripture will read every passage through that lens. How vital, then, that the Congregational (John Owen) and credobaptist (Nehemiah Coxe) “mode” should be presented afresh as the “most commodious” Covenant Theology. After centuries of neglect following their original publication, a new generation was allowed to take up this most biblical lens in 2005 and read the Scriptures with fresh clarity. The impact has been felt over the past 20 years in a revival of interest in confessional Baptist theology and ecclesiology. We trust that, through this new edition, an ever-wider readership will embrace a biblical Covenant Theology for themselves, being persuaded by these fathers in our faith.

In the seventeenth century, God raised up two titans of biblical scholarship, John Owen and Nehemiah Coxe, to bring much-needed clarity to Covenant Theology. Among their significant contributions was a fresh appreciation of the newness of the New Covenant and clarification of the twofold nature of the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision, typifying gospel grace. They navigated the prevailing tangle in the Reformed tradition of their time—marked by an excessive emphasis on the continuity between the Old and New Testaments and insufficient recognition of their discontinuity. Diligently and patiently, Owen and Coxe wove a profound theological tapestry displaying beautiful and sound doctrine. The consistent application of these truths led to the rejection of infant baptism and the restoration of apostolic believers’ baptism alongside a believers-only church membership. These doctrinal convictions eventually found formal expression in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. This delightful twentieth anniversary republication of two essential historical texts offers readers the opportunity to engage with these foundational biblical expositions in their original clarity and vigour. For Baptists today, these works stand as compelling scriptural evidence for our distinctive ecclesiology. They have my highest recommendation.

Many works on Baptist Covenant Theology have been published in the past twenty years, but none more significant than this Coxe-Owen volume. This book really initiated the recovery and reappropriation of the Particular Baptist understanding of federal theology. The claim that John Owen, though a paedobaptist, held a view of Covenant Theology consistent with a credobaptist federalism has not been disproved. Readers will see for themselves the validity of this assertion by reading the treatises contained in this book together with the introductions and appendices.

The rediscovery of Covenant Theology is a blessing to the people of God. Observants soon discover, however, that there are distinctions and varieties even among the otherwise like-minded covenantalists. Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ is significant as it reintroduces the insights of noteworthy seventeenth-century Particular Baptist Nehemiah Coxe into the discussions. Whether one agrees or disagrees with all Coxe’s formulations, his historical contributions are important. This volume’s brief biography of Nehemiah Coxe by James Renihan and appendix by Richard Barcellos (“John Owen and New Covenant Theology”) are great accompaniments. Thank you, Broken Wharfe, for making this volume available!

I am delighted that this volume combining the work of Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen is being reprinted in a second edition. I have been grappling with Covenant Theology since I was an undergraduate in the 1950s. As a student I found myself in frequent discussions with fellow students who were paedobaptists, who claimed that Baptists did not believe in the covenant of grace. My friends defended their position by appeals to the Abrahamic covenant. It took me a long time to grasp that the covenant with Abraham was twofold and the birth of Isaac was a pledge of the future birth of the seed of the woman who would bruise the serpent’s head. When the promised seed accomplished his mission the Old Covenant would give way to the New into which entrance was gained by the new birth not by physical descent. This is the argument of this volume. We owe a great debt to our American brethren their work uncovering the history of Baptist Covenant Theology of which this work is a fundamental text. It should be studied alongside the Confession of 1689 and the Catechism of 1693.

The reappearance of this book twenty years ago providentially paved the way for those who desired a more biblically sensitive Covenant Theology than those offered by dispensationalism, New Covenant Theology, or traditional paedobaptist Covenant Theology as each was vying for evangelical acceptance. Now, after twenty years of greater development in the field of biblical theology, the growth of the retrieval movement, and the ever-expanding community of Baptists who embrace the Second London Confession, it is appropriate that this seminal work be republished so that it might continue to fund robust Baptist Covenant Theology that is sensitive to Scripture, faithful to the Reformed and Baptist tradition, and illuminating for our understanding of the confessional Baptist heritage. Both richly biblical and precisely theological, Coxe has continued to prove a sure guide in this beautiful yet technical field of Christian inquiry. May this republication bear greater fruit than it already has in these twenty years.

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What is Covenant Theology?

Covenant Theology is a Reformed approach to understanding how God relates to humanity through a series of covenants that unfold the story of redemption in Scripture. It views the Bible not as a collection of disconnected events, but as one unified plan centered on God’s gracious covenantal dealings with His people.

In this framework, God made a covenant of works with Adam in the beginning, promising life for obedience and death for disobedience. After the fall, God revealed His purpose of salvation in the promise of the covenant of grace (Gen. 3:15), which is progressively revealed throughout the Old Covenant and established in the New Covenant in Christ.

Covenant Theology emphasizes the unity of God’s redemptive plan across all of Scripture and highlights Christ as the mediator and fulfillment of every promise. Within the Confessional Baptist tradition, this understanding is often expressed through what is known as 1689 Federalism, a perspective rooted in the writing of Nehemiah Coxe and his use of John Owen. Coxe was likely the editor of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689).

Why is "Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ" significant?

This book unites Nehemiah Coxe’s A Discourse of the Covenants* and John Owen’s Exposition of Hebrews 8:6–13*—two of the most important 17th-century works pertaining to Particular Baptist covenant theology. Their combined insights lay the foundation for modern Baptist Covenant Theology, offering readers a rich, exegetical approach to understanding God’s covenants and their fulfillment in Christ.

Who were Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen?

Nehemiah Coxe (d. 1689) and John Owen (d. 1683) were influential theologians in seventeenth-century England, whose writings continue to shape Baptist and Reformed thought.

Coxe was a Particular Baptist pastor and theologian closely associated with the churches that produced the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/89). It is highly likely he edited the document. His work, A Discourse of the Covenants, offers a distinctly Baptist perspective on Covenant Theology, emphasizing the new and unique nature of the New Covenant in Christ. Coxe limited his writing in A Discourse of the Covenants to the Covenant of Works, the Noahic Covenant, and the Abrahamic Covenant, as he considered Owen’s work on the New Covenant so excellent and thorough, there was little need for him to write upon it afresh. This is why we have placed the writings of Coxe and Owen together in one-volume.

Owen was one of the most respected Puritan-Reformed scholars in his day. His Exposition of Hebrews 8:6–13 explores the superiority of the New Covenant, highlighting Christ’s role as its perfect mediator and priest.

Together, Coxe and Owen provide a complementary and enduring foundation for understanding Covenant Theology from Adam to Christ, combining deep biblical scholarship with heartfelt devotion to the gospel.

Additional information

Weight	.737 kg
Dimensions	23.6 × 15.8 × 2.65 cm
Series	Nehemiah Coxe Series : Vol. 2
Publisher	Broken Wharfe
Binding	Smyth Sewn
Cover	Hardback
Language	English
Condition	New