Westminster Project 7.3

3. Because the man, by his fall, made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second covenant, commonly called the covenant of grace, in which he freely offers to sinners life and salvation through Jesus Christ, requiring them to have faith in him so that they may be saved, and promises to give to all those that are ordained to eternal life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe. 
(WCF 7.3)

For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the nature of the covenant God made with humanity—beginning with Adam, the father of all mankind and the root of the whole human tree. God made a covenant of works with him, in which he—alongside Eve—was to follow God’s commands and stipulations perfectly in order to maintain a living relationship with the Creator. Adam and Eve failed, and the curse of death was pronounced upon them. They did not physically die immediately, but spiritually they were cut off from eternal life and from the covenantal blessings of God.

Genesis then moves through a series of stories and genealogies—not of people thriving as originally intended, but of people dying. We are meant to feel the weight of sin’s curse as we witness humanity unraveling, spiraling toward destruction. If it were left up to us, this would be the end of the story. Humanity is incapable of lifting itself out of spiritual death or restoring right relationship with God. As the confession puts it, by his fall, man made himself incapable of life by that covenant.

This is why God had to intervene. What was established with our first parents could never be fulfilled by anyone born from Adam’s line. Yet, because of His undeserved mercy and love, the Lord was pleased to establish a second covenant, commonly called the covenant of grace. This is what grace means—undeserved mercy and love—and the confession names it accordingly. Humanity was lost, piling sin upon sin (Gen 6:5–6), but in His divine, unmerited favor, God sought out what was lost and made another covenant—this time with sinful people.

Now, to go a little deeper: if covenantal blessing comes through perfect obedience (Gen 2–3; Rom 3:2; Gal 3:21), was God setting us up for failure? The answer lies in Jesus Christ. As far back as Genesis 3, God promised to send a rescuer (Gen 3:15). This promise develops throughout Scripture: there would be a seed (Gen 28:14), a sacrifice (Gen 22:8), a priest (Psalm 110:4), and a king (2 Sam 7) who would bless His people. None of the individuals with whom God graciously made covenants kept the terms fully. Yet as we turn to the pages of the New Testament, it becomes clear that these covenants were pointing beyond themselves—to the One in whom God freely offers life and salvation to sinners: Jesus Christ.

How is God able to save us through Jesus? Because He alone is the perfect covenant keeper (Gal 3:16; 2 Cor 5:21). All the blessings of covenant faithfulness were granted to Him (Mark 14:24), and through faith in Him, we are cut out of the tree of Adam and grafted into the vine of Christ—transferred from eternal ruin to eternal life (John 15; Rom 11:11–31).

Faith is the instrument God uses to make salvation a reality in our lives. Yet even faith itself is a gift from God, granted to those He chose from before the foundation of the world. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in our innermost being. As the confession sums it up: God promises to give to all those ordained to eternal life His Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe (Eph 2:1–10).