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Patrick's answer is correct. We do not know for certain if Adam kept the Sabbath before the Fall, but we do know that he was bound to do so. The question revolves around when the Fall occurred.
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If Adam did not keep the Sabbath, and was not an imitator of God (Eph. 5:1) in this moral respect simply based on the pattern set before him by God, then he fell before being tempted in the garden, which is an impossibility based on the record we have of the fall in Genesis 3, and subsequent passages in the NT that describe when Adam fell.
The Sabbath was a creation sacrament.
In the Covenant of Works there were sacraments. They are visible proclamations of the covenant. Daily Adam beholds the sacrament with his eyes, and remembers the promises given to him, and the threats. They are there to strengthen our faith in God's promises, and to confirm our faith (Heb. 6:17-18). They are also a foretaste of eternal blessings. Those eternal blessings will be without outward signs and simply grasp the thing itself signified in these lesser objects at that time, but now we must use them to strengthen faith for they remind us of our duty to God. They help us remember how one is bound to his covenant-God, and they bridle and restrain him in a certain degree from sin. The sacraments of the covenant of works are Paradise, the tree of life, the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the Sabbath.
The sacrament of Paradise was the Garden of Paradise. It was a garden planted by God, given to man as steward to take care of it. Paradise signified heaven. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Gen 3:10, Rev. 22:1; Gen 2:12; Rev. 21:27). Paradise reminded Adam to be active. It was the pledge of heaven, and Adam was to cultivate that place continually. He was to keep the sanctuary of God pure and holy, so that God could come and "metaphorically - eat of its fruits" with Adam in fellowship (Song 4:16).
The sacrament of the tree of life signified the Son of God who is the source of life in all covenants. It was the sign of the covenant promise of eternal life. Adam was cut off from the sign when cast out of the garden. Being cut off from the tree demonstrated the need of a Mediator to bring them back to the tree. It was a holy example - for "the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30)."
The sacrament of the tree of knowledge of good and evil signified the promise of the covenant and the curse of the covenant. It stood as a memorial of our duty towards God. Adam should desire the chief good - who is God. Man should not go after that which is simply pleasing to the body. God's rule is the supreme authority before man, which Adam should have followed as signified by the tree. Had Adam obeyed, he would upon his trial have come to the knowledge and sense of his good to which he was called, and had a natural desire after, even "eternal life and consummate happiness."
The last sacrament of the Covenant of Works is the Sabbath that began at Creation (Genesis 2:2-3). The first day was the day blessed - the first day after six days of work. As a creation sacrament, it is binding upon all men for all time. It is binding simply on the basis of imitating God. Adam entered into the Sabbath rest upon completion of his creation. The first day Adam enjoyed was the Sabbath rest.
God rejoiced over His work. He ceased from creating anything new and contemplated his creation. He rejoiced over what was worthy of His labor - which is consistent with the character of His goodness. This set a pattern which man is to copy. Adam was engaged on the first day of his creation to contemplate the Creator - resting and contemplating to abstain from every sin. On this day of rest God blessed man.
The Sabbath is set as a sacrament. God's resting signified His far more glorious rest for men in heaven (Heb. 4:10) Men enter this rest through the work of Christ which points to the mystical signification of the Sabbath and heaven. God's resting signified man's eternal rest in God after his probation.
I say this in all humility, if we mess up understanding the CoW, then the rest of our theology will go straight down the drain. All subsequent ideas rest on the reality of this Law Covenant, and its appendages. Without dealing with this in a resposible manner, the rest of what we understand will be severely twisted and deformed. And ALL covenatnal misconceptions and mistakes rest in a twisted view of the Law Covenant and the Fall from that Covenant of Works - that goes for all forms of Dispensationalism, including New Covenant Theology.
[Edited on 5-2-2004 by webmaster]
