Westminster Project 7.2
2. The first covenant made with mankind was a covenant of works, in which life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, on condition of perfect and personal obedience.
(WCF 7.2)
Inherent to the human condition is a “pull” to do the right thing. Many have argued throughout history that this internal pull is nothing more than an evolutionary process, where people learn from their mistakes and, through nurture, come to understand right from wrong. The Christian worldview certainly acknowledges the role of nurture but also asserts that our nature plays a part in this pull. We argue this is true based on what the confession summarizes in our Bibles: humanity was created in the image of God, with His law clearly written on our hearts so that we might walk in accordance with His will within the structure of covenant.
First, the confession states that “The first covenant made with mankind was a covenant of works.” So, what is a covenant of works? Simply put, it was a type of contract between God and Adam, in which Almighty God condescended to His son to enter into a working relationship with him. This is in no way an agreement between equals (as stated in WCF 7.1), but a picture of the Creator meeting His creature on His terms. To put it simply, God freely chose to come and set terms and conditions with us so that we could have a fruitful and living relationship with Him within what we call a covenant.
Interestingly, the word “covenant” is not used in Genesis 1–2, but all the hallmarks are present. God comes to man (Gen 2:7, 3:8), God speaks to man (Gen 1:28–30), God gives conditions for blessing (Gen 2:16, 3:22–24) and outlines what will bring a curse (Gen 2:17)—all completely consistent with how God makes covenants with His creatures throughout the rest of the Old Testament (see Gen 12, 15 and Ex 19–20, for example). We might also point out that the prophet Hosea clearly saw this as covenantal in nature, saying about rebellious Israel, “like Adam they transgressed the covenant” (Hos 6:7, ESV).
God expects perfect obedience from His creatures, and we are to do this by living perfectly according to His law (Rom 10:5, Gal 3:12). The confession goes on to state, “life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, on condition of perfect and personal obedience.” Believe it or not, in one sense, this was not entirely impossible for our first parents. When they were in a state of innocence (before the Fall), they were able to walk with God in perfect harmony by loving God with all their heart and their neighbor as themselves (see Matt 22:36–40).
Tragically, though this was within their ability, Adam and Eve failed in both areas. God told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As Eve was tempted by Satan himself, Adam stood by and watched his wife come under his influence and power of persuasion. She, in turn, gave Adam the forbidden fruit, leading to their posterity’s nature being totally invaded by sin (Gen 3:1–5, 17; cf. 2 Cor 11:3a; 1 Tim 2:14). In that moment, there was no love for God or for one another; both the law and the covenant of works were abandoned.
The big picture of the Bible is that the covenant of works could never be fulfilled by anyone belonging to Adam’s heritage, as all humanity was sentenced to death at that moment (Gen 2:17, 3:19b, Rom 5:12). That was until, by God’s grace alone, the second Adam—God’s Son—took on flesh and came to dwell among us. He kept the law perfectly, never once forgetting His Heavenly Father, nor failing to love His neighbors perfectly. We see this not just in moments but in all that Jesus Christ thought, said, and did—to the point that He gave His life for the fallen children of Adam and Eve, redeeming that which was totally and utterly destroyed (Jn 3:16, Gal 3:13).