CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY COVENANT IN CONFLICT: THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE CHURCH COVENANT BETWEEN SAMUEL RUTHERFORD AND THOMAS HOOKER A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY SANG HYUCK AHN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN MAY 2011 CALVIN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 3233 Burton SE • Grand Rapids, Michigan. 49546-4301 800388-6034 Jax: 616957-8621 [email protected] www.calvinserninary.edu This dissertation entitled COVENANT IN CONFLICT: THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE CHURCH COVENANT BETWEEN SAMUEL RUTHERFORD AND THOMAS HOOKER written by SANG HYUCK AHN and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been accepted by the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary upon the recommendation ofthe undersigned readers: Carl R Trueman, Ph.D. David M. Rylaarsda h.D. Date Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs Copyright © 2011 by Sang Hyuck Ahn All rights reserved To my Lord, the Head of the Church Soli Deo Gloria! CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix ABSTRACT xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 I. Statement of the Thesis 1 II. Statement of the Problem 2 III. Survey of Scholarship 6 IV. Sources and Outline 10 CHAPTER 2. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE RUTHERFORD-HOOKER DISPUTE ABOUT CHURCH COVENANT 15 I. The Church Covenant in New England 15 1. Definitions 15 1) Church Covenant as a Document 15 2) Church Covenant as a Ceremony 20 3) Church Covenant as a Doctrine 22 2. Secondary Scholarship on the Church Covenant 24 II. Thomas Hooker and New England Congregationalism 31 1. A Short Biography 31 2. Thomas Hooker’s Life and His Congregationalism 33 1) The England Period, 1586-1630 33 2) The Holland Period, 1630-1633: Paget, Forbes, and Ames 34 3) The New England Period, 1633-1647 37 III. Samuel Rutherford and Scottish Presbyterianism 38 1. A Short Biography 38 2. Samuel Rutherford’s Life and His Presbyterianism 41 1) The Early Period, 1600-1626: “Student and Professor” 41 2) The Anwoth & Exile Period, 1627-1638: “The Pastor & Prisoner” 42 3) The National Covenanting Period, 1638-1643: “The Reformer” 44 iv 4) The Westminster Assembly Period, 1643-1647: “The Apologist” 47 5) The Later Years at St. Andrews, 1648-1661: “The Protester” 49 IV. The Polemical Context of the Rutherford-Hooker Dispute 53 1. The Early Controversy, 1630-1643 54 2. During & After the Westminster Assembly, 1643-1658 59 3. Conclusion 64 CHAPTER 3. THE COVENANT THEOLOGY OF SAMUEL RUTHERFORD 67 I. Introduction 67 II. Is Samuel Rutherford a Covenant Theologian? 68 1. The Kim-Richard Debate 68 2. A Critical Reading of Kim’s Argument 69 III. Samuel Rutherford and the Biblical Doctrine of Covenant 75 1. Rutherford in the Polemical Context 76 2. Rutherford and the Covenant of Works 80 1) Making Covenant with Adam 81 2) The Promise of Life 82 3) Death Threatening 82 3. Rutherford and the Covenant of Grace 84 1) The Abrahamic Covenant 84 2) The Mosaic Covenant 85 3) Evangelical Obedience under the New Covenant 88 4. Rutherford and the Covenant of Redemption 91 1) Rutherford’s 13 Arguments 93 2) The Ground of the Covenant of Grace 96 3) The Practical Implications 98 IV. Conclusion: The Ecclesiastical Implications 101 CHAPTER 4. THE COVENANT THEOLOGY OF THOMAS HOOKER 105 I. Introduction 105 II. Thomas Hooker and New England Covenant Theology 106 v 1. Survey of Scholarship 106 1) Perry Miller’s Thesis 106 2) Critics of Miller’s Thesis 107 3) Is Covenant Essential to Hooker’s Theology? 110 2. Hooker and the Covenant of Works 113 1) Making Covenant with Adam 113 2) The Unique State of Adam 114 3. Hooker and the Covenant of Grace 118 1) Definitions & Distinctions 118 2) The Abrahamic Covenant 122 3) The Mosaic Covenant 124 4) The New Covenant 128 4. Hooker and the Covenant of Redemption 131 III. The Ecclesiastical Implications of Hooker’s Covenant Theology 134 1. Infant Baptism and National Church 135 2. Church Covenant 138 IV. Conclusion 140 CHAPTER 5. THE RUTHERFORD-HOOKER DISPUTE (1): THE NATURE OF THE VISIBLE CHURCH AND THE CHURCH COVENANT 142 I. Introduction 142 II. The Nature of the Visible Church 143 1. Visible Saints 143 1) Edmund Morgan’s Visible Saints 143 2) Hooker’s Visible Saints 146 2. Judgement of Charity 149 1) Rutherford’s Criticism 149 2) Hooker’s Answers 152 III. Samuel Rutherford's Criticism of the Church Covenant 157 1. The Church Covenant as a “Scriptureless Imagination” 157 2. Other Problems of Hooker’s Church Covenant 162 vi 3. The Sufficiency of the Covenant of Grace 165 IV. Thomas Hooker's Defense of the Church Covenant 166 1. The Church Covenant for Congregational Church 166 2. The Church Covenant for Other Forms of Church Government 169 3. The Scriptural Grounds for the Church Covenant 172 V. Conclusion: Summary and Evaluation. 177 CHAPTER 6. THE RUTHERFORD-HOOKER DISPUTE (2): THE CHURCH COVENANT AND THE POWER OF THE KEYS 182 I. Introduction 182 II. The Power of the Keys 185 1. Thomas Hooker and the Power of the Keys 185 2. Samuel Rutherford and the Power of the Keys 192 3. Evaluations 201 III. The Church Covenant and the Sacraments 205 1. A Disputed Point 205 2. The Church Covenant 209 1) Church Covenant as the Foundation for the Sacraments 209 2) Samuel Rutherford’s Criticism 211 3. Evaluation 215 IV. The Church Covenant and Church Discipline 217 1. A Disputed Point: The Fraternity’s Power of Judgment 217 1) Hooker’s Principle of Church Discipline 217 2) Rutherford’s Criticisms 219 2. Evaluation 224 V. Conclusion 227 VII. CHAPTER 7. THE LEGACY 232 1. Rutherford’s Presbyterianism and the National Church 236 2. Hooker’s Congregationalism after the Debate 242 3. Concluding Remarks 252 vii THESES 255 BIBLIOGRAPHY 258 viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have always been fascinated by the richness of covenant theology, which ultimately led me to a question: “What are the practical implications of covenant theology for the church?” Many scholars of the past and present opened my eyes to the ecclesiastical implications of the covenant. My early view of covenant was influenced by Perry Miller and other historians who taught me at Yonsei University, Seoul National University and Yale Divinity School. They tended to focus on the socio-political implications of it. I was most impressed by a whole new breadth and depth of the biblical doctrine of covenant through the help of a number of excellent Reformed scholars who taught me at Hapdong Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary and Calvin Theological Seminary. I am especially thankful for Prof. Myung H. Kim, Young J. Kim, Doug K. Oh, Sung S. Kim, Joo J. Seong, Carl R. Trueman, and Richard A. Muller. Particularly, it was Dr. Muller, with his intimate knowledge of the Reformation and Post- Reformation periods, scholastic distinctions, theological method and an enormous amount of encouragement and guidance, who made it possible for me to swim through a sea of the seventeenth-century documents. I am very grateful to Dr. Ronald J. Feenstra, Lyle D. Bierma, John Cooper and Calvin van Reken who have taught and mentored me at Calvin Theological Seminary. Also, I thank Mrs. Ina DeMoor for her kindness and work for me. I have not done my study without the help and support of many people and churches both in South Korea and America. I thank Hwapyung church, Nampo church, Pyungwha church, Hahn-In church, and my alma mater Hapdong Theological Seminary for their support. Also, I am very grateful to Deacon Woongi & Soonam Kim, Donghun ix and Soomi Han for their financial support as well as continuing prayer throughout my graduate studies. I particularly thank Rev. Dr. Hyunsoo Shin, my mentor, for always supporting me both academically and personally. Most of all, my parents in South Korea for their wholehearted and continuing support, prayer, and love. Particularly, my father and mother have been wonderful models as good, faithful, and sincere Christians for me. They have always been very caring and giving and self-sacrificing for me and my family. Finally, my deepest thanks and appreciation go to my beloved wife and to my children, who have always been my greatest joy. x ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the mid-seventeenth-century controversy over the church government between Samuel Rutherford (Presbyterian) and Thomas Hooker (Congregationalist) focusing on its theological underpinnings. The church covenant played a significant role: For Hooker, it constitutes the theological and logical foundation of his systematic defense of the New England Way—particularly in the issues of the nature of the visible church, church membership, the power of the keys, sacraments, and church discipline. Rutherford considers the church covenant as a human invention because it is unknown to Scripture. In reply, Hooker argues both that the concept of church covenant is warranted by God’s word, and also that Rutherford’s Presbyterianism is neither biblical nor true to the Reformation. Their differing views of the church covenant are closely interconnected with each man’s covenant theology. Hooker emphasized the dispensational administration of the biblical covenant, by which he justifies church covenant as the basis of the congregational polity which belongs to the final stage in God’s dispensation of the covenants. Rutherford stresses the unchanging substance of the covenant of grace, which is based on the atemporal covenant of redemption. He argued that given the sufficiency of the covenant of grace, there must be no more dispensation of the covenant beyond the covenant of grace. Rutherford tends to identify Hooker’s church covenant with an inward covenant in line with the Separatists’ ecclesiology. Hooker insists that it is an outward covenant, which belongs to a visible church only.