A Chart On The Covenant Between God And Adam Known

A Chart on the Covenant Between God and Adam known as

What is a “covenant?” "A covenant of God with man, is an agreement between God and man, about the way of obtaining consummate happiness; including a threatening of eternal destruction, with which the contemner of the happiness, offered in that way, is to be punished." Herman Witsius, The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man.

The Covenant of Works ?God created Adam and placed him in the midst of the garden (Genesis 1:26-28). God entered into a covenant with Adam, and instructed him to tend the garden. The Adamic Covenant, better known as the Covenant of Works, is a covenant based on the promise of eternal life. ?God manifests Himself as supreme Lawgiver and chief Good desiring to make man a partaker of His eternal happiness. ?In this covenant is: 1) the prescription of the conditions for obtaining the promise, 2) the penal sanction against transgressors of the conditions of the covenant, and 3) the requirement of the complete sanctification of the parties involved in the covenant. If man does not uphold this covenant, God threatens punishment. The substance of the Law and its relation to the Covenant of Works is “Do this and live…” ?In the Covenant of Works Adam obtains the promise by merit. It is not simply a “sustaining of life” but a reward based on performance.

?In the Covenant of Works Adam was the sole representative of all his progeny - there is no mediator (Hosea 6:7; Rom. 5:12). ?The contracting parties of the Covenant of Works are God and man (God and Adam). Adam sustained a two-fold relationship both as man and as a representative. As a man he was a rational creature, under the law of God, innocent, created after the divine image and endued with sufficient powers to fulfill all righteousness. As a representative he was the head and root of mankind (Rom. 5:12-13).

Adam created and placed in the Garden. Covenant With Creation Genesis 1

Cultural Mandate Enacted: dominion over the whole earth. Gen. 2:26ff

?The Promise: The covenant with Adam was not established without promises (i.e. eternal life). God prohibited Adam from eating of the tree because something ultimately good would occur from his obedience. The very act of threatening infers a promise. God promised Adam eternal life, that is, the most perfect fruition of Himself forever, after finishing the course of his obedience. ?Christ actually fulfilled what Adam failed to do. Jesus did what the law could not do because man sinned (Rom. 8:3). Had it not been for sin, that law would have brought men to eternal life (Rom 7:10). Jesus procured eternal life, therefore it was promised to man from the beginning. The Law itself was ordained to life (Gal. 3:21). Christ, the second Adam, earned eternal life for His people. ?It is critical to have promises in a “covenant” for if there was no reward, what kind of covenant would it have been? God rewards those who diligently seek Him. ?It is not sure whether Paradise would have been “made heaven,” however, Adam would have received a greater reward, and a greater manifestation of God’s character to him in keeping covenant with God.

?Adam was bound by the Law Covenant in the Covenant of Works, to sustain the image he had been created in. The Law of the Covenant of Works is twofold; 1) As it is the law of nature implanted in Adam, the rule of good and evil, inscribed by God on man's conscience at his creation, and therefore binding upon him by divine authority; 2) The symbolic law concerning the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:26-17). The Law, with respect to God, was used to try and test man's obedience (2 Chron. 32:31). With respect to man, it was a probatory law with reward of eternal life and punishment of eternal death—for true happiness is obtained by obedience (1 Timothy 1:5). The Law requires perfect external and internal obedience. ?The universal precepts of the Law are founded upon the nature of God, that is, the expression of His character. ?A perfect three-fold keeping of the law was required: 1) Of parts with respect to subject and object: The whole man, body and soul, had to keep the whole law (Psalm 37:30). 2) Of degrees: Man had to keep the law with all diligence and heart (Matthew 22:37; Deut. 6:5-6). 3) Of perseverance: Man had to persevere in keeping the law without fault (Deut 27:26).

The Covenant of Works The Covenant of Redemption The LAW

?Punishment for sin is in accord with God's authority and justice, and is joined to these words, “dying, thou shalt die (Gen. 2:17).” What is death? Death is the consequence of sin and therefore not natural (Genesis 2:17). 1) A separation of body and soul (Genesis 3:19); 2) A frustration of this life along with its pain and miseries (Genesis 3:16-19); 3) It is spiritual death (Ephesians 2:1; 4:18); 4) It is the eternal death of body and soul (1 Tim. 5:6; Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:44; Rom. 2:16).

?Sacraments are a visible proclamation of the covenant. “It pleased God in every economy of His covenants, to confirm, by some sacred symbols, the certainty of His promises, and, at the same time, to remind man in covenant with Him of his duty (Witsius, 1:104-105)” Daily he beholds the sacrament with his eyes, and remembers the promises given to him, and the threats (Heb. 6:17-18). ?The Sacraments: 1) Paradise (which signified heaven (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Gen 3:10; Rev. 22:1; Gen 2:12; Rev. 21:27). 2) The tree of life was a sign of the covenant, promising eternal life (Rev. 22:2; Gen. 3:6; Proverbs 11:30). 3) The tree of the knowledge of good and evil signified the promise of the covenant and the threats. When a man partakes of the sacraments, he comes under an oath and curse, and makes himself liable to punishment if he deals treacherously. 4) The Sabbath (Genesis 2:2-3). As a creation sacrament, it is binding upon all men for all time (Eph. 5:1).

The Fall

?Why is there a necessity for the penal sanction for sin? It rests on the character of God (Exo. 34:14; 2 Tim. 2:13; 2 Cor. 6:14). A holy God cannot be joined with a sinner without satisfaction made to His justice (2 Cor. 6:14). A holy God cannot look upon sin (Hab 1:13). A holy God hates sin and the sinner (Deut. 25:16; Ps. 5:4-6). God manifests His holiness when He punishes the wicked (Lev. 10:3). He must be “just” in this sense. Justice is an essential attribute of God (Rom. 2:5). God's justice demands sin be punished by death (Rom. 1:32)

Matthew 7:17-18; 1 Cor. 12:3; John 15:4-5; Romans 8:7-8; Acts 16:14; Ephesians 4:18; 2 Cor. 3:12-18; John 1:11; John 8:43; Matthew 13:14; 1 Cor. 1:18; 21; 1 Cor. 2:14; Matthew 7:18; John 3:3; John 8:43; John 15:5; John 6:64-65; Ezek. 11:19; Ephesians 2:1; 5.

?Satan's temptation: Satan doubts God's word, undermines the penalty of sin, instills Heresy (Rev. 13:11), and promised Adam greater happiness upon obedience. Satan tempted him to obtain it through disobedience (1 Timothy 2:14).”

Time of Probation

?All men are under the Covenant of Works unless they are saved by the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace. ?The Fall did not abrogate the duty of men to keep the Law. Perfect obedience is still required before God. God’s character (the Law) does not change, and He still speaks to mankind as if men are not fallen (James 1:17; Romans 8:4). Perfect obedience is still necessary to obtain eternal life (Galatians 5:3). Disobedience is still punished by death. The obligation to obey the Law is founded principally upon God, not “a covenant.” Men are unable to keep the Law as sinners, but inability does not negate their responsibility to obey.

?Does the coming of Christ and the Gospel abrogate the duty to keep the law? No. ?The existence of the Covenant of Grace confirms the Covenant of Works. ?Perfect obedience is required to obtain eternal life because Christ's life and death were necessary to redeem His people. The Covenant of Grace demonstrates the need to uphold the righteous character of God. The fruit of Christ's work does not change the law, but changes the sinner. Jesus comes to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17; Colossians 1:13). The Law cannot change because God does not change. This is critical to understanding the Covenant of Works. Instead, there remains a renewed statement of man’s miserable condition all through the Bible (Deuteronomy 30:9-10; John 7:19). ?James 2:10, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of The Fall, imputation of Original Sin, curse upon the man, woman and serpent, and the promise of Salvation in the “Seed” to come.

Covenant of Grace: Genesis 3:15 - protoevangelium Covenant of Works

The coming of the Prophet, Priest and King to redeem a bride for Himself.

“The Law is the perfect reflection of the character and will of God which binds all rational creatures in perfect conformity in character and conduct.”

© May, 2004 A Puritan’s Mind , www.apuritansmind.com

?Original sin is imputed to all the progeny of Adam due to the Fall; Rom. 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” "All" includes those who did not personally sin. Therefore Adam's sin was imputed to them. Through Adam's one sin death came to all, and sin is imputed to all.

Men must still keep the Law.