Does the Law Drive Us to Christ, Even in Eden?
The Holy Spirit writes:  “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” 1 Corinthians 15:56
In his new book focusing on this verse, Chris Vlachos writes:
“Now if the Eden account was indeed the source of the Apostle’s catalytic notion of the law, and he considered the law-problematic to be primeval, it would seem to follow that the fundamental problem which the law posed for Paul would not have been its ‘legalistic misuse;’ Eve was enticed to trangress the law, not fulfill it. Â Nor would it have been its abuse as a Jewish ‘identity marker;’ the law problematic predated the Patriarchs. Â Neither would the problematic be attributed to the ‘compromise of Judaism’s gracious framework;’ a law problematic existed long before the collapse. Â Nor would Paul’s polemic against the law have been solely due to ‘human inability;’ the law’s catalytic operation was set in motion prior to the Fall and before humanity’s consequent plunge into depravity . . . Paul’s notion of the catalytic operation of the law did not debut in his corpus on a polemical stage but quietly emerged as a theological contruct amidst an edenic environment . . . Even in Paradise law did not promote life . . . .” Â (emphasis his)
(From Chris A. Vlachos, The Law and the Knowledge of Good and Evil, The Edenic Background of the Catalytic Operation of the Law in Paul (Eugene: Â Pickwick, 2009), 227-228, 231.)
I’m not sure I agree with all of this, but this I know! Â Thankfully, Jesus obeyed the law and bore its horrible curse in our place! And because of His finished work, the law is now our delight! Â (Psalm 119)
About Post Author
Joseph,
I think that Vlachos book is very good and has many very helpful points of exegesis, however, I am not sure I agree with him on this. When Paul says, “the law that was meant to give life I found to bring death” it would seem that he is referring to the law as given to Adam in Eden. It was meant to give life. Adam, in the covenant of works, was the sinless representative who could have (apart from the eternal decree of course) merited life by His obedience. Christ, as the incarnate Son of God, does not come into view until Gen. 3:15, immediately after the fall. The law was not “weak through the flesh” in pre-lapsarian Eden. It became weak through the flesh on account of sin. That being said, There is a Law/Gospel distinction in regard to the Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Works is represented by Law. The Covenant of Grace is represented by Gospel. So, if Vlachos is suggesting that the broken law in Eden now serves as a school master to bring us to the Christ promised in Gen. 3:15 then I would agree. But I am not sure what he is saying precisely.