Why is the world so broken? Why do we struggle with sin no matter how hard we try? The answer is found in God’s Covenants — specifically the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace.
These two covenants form the backbone of redemptive history. They are not abstract theological concepts; they are the very framework of how God relates to humanity.
If we misunderstand God’s Covenants, we risk distorting the gospel. But when we understand the relationship between Adam’s failure and Christ’s victory, the storyline of Scripture becomes clear—and the grace of God becomes all the more glorious.
To understand the Bible, you must understand God’s Covenants. A covenant, in biblical terms, is more than a contract or promise—it’s a solemn, binding relationship that God establishes with His people. Covenants are the primary way God reveals His will, administers His kingdom, and relates to humanity throughout redemptive history.
In every covenant, God takes the initiative. He sets the terms, defines the blessings, outlines the responsibilities, and establishes the consequences for obedience or disobedience. These divine covenants are not agreements between equals, but sovereign arrangements flowing from God’s grace and authority.
Throughout Scripture, we see that God’s Covenants are not random or disconnected. They are part of a unified, unfolding plan that moves from creation to consummation. While there are several covenants in the Bible—Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and the New Covenant—each one reveals something about God’s character and His redemptive purposes.
At the heart of them all are two foundational covenants that structure the entire biblical storyline:
These two covenants—one broken by man, the other fulfilled by Christ—are the lens through which we rightly understand Scripture, sin, salvation, and our standing before a holy God.
The Covenant of Works was God’s first agreement with mankind, given to Adam in the Garden of Eden. It required perfect obedience to God’s command: Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17).
This covenant was not unfair—it was an arrangement rooted in God’s justice and goodness. Adam was created righteous, capable of obedience, and fully responsible. His obedience would have secured blessing for all humanity. But his failure brought curse and condemnation.
This covenant revealed God’s holy standard—and our desperate need for a Redeemer.
Adam was not merely the first human; he was appointed by God to represent all of humanity under the Covenant of Works. As our federal head, his obedience or disobedience would not affect him alone—it would affect everyone he represented. This covenant, given in Genesis 2:15–17, was clear: “In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” The command was simple, yet weighty. Obedience meant life; disobedience meant death.
Adam’s sin was not just eating forbidden fruit—it was a moral revolt. By choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam declared independence from God’s authority. He essentially said, “I will determine right and wrong for myself.” This was more than a rule broken; it was a relationship shattered. It was a rejection of God’s rightful lordship.
In breaking the Covenant of Works, Adam did not simply make a personal mistake—he plunged all humanity into ruin. Romans 5:12 explains, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Because the Covenant of Works was made with Adam as a representative for the entire human race, his failure had cosmic consequences. Scripture outlines several devastating effects of his transgression:
This fallen condition is universal. It’s why babies cry selfishly, why toddlers disobey without being taught, and why adults pursue self-interest at all costs. We are born “in Adam”—under the curse of the broken Covenant of Works.
Here’s the hard truth: if the Covenant of Works were the only covenant, then none of us could be saved. No one can perfectly obey God’s law. We’ve all inherited Adam’s guilt and corruption, and we compound it with our own sins daily. Trying to earn salvation through obedience now is like trying to climb out of a pit by digging deeper.
Yet this brokenness prepares us to see our need for Christ. The Covenant of Works shows us the standard—perfect righteousness—and our inability to meet it. It reveals why salvation must come not from within us, but from outside of us. We need a new representative. We need a second Adam.
And that’s precisely what God provides in the Covenant of Grace.
If the Covenant of Works ended in judgment, the Covenant of Grace begins with mercy. In the face of Adam’s rebellion, God did not abandon His creation. Instead, He initiated a new covenant—a rescue mission—established not on man’s obedience, but on God’s grace. This is the heart of the gospel: though we failed under the Covenant of Works, Christ fulfilled it on our behalf and offers us salvation through the Covenant of Grace.
The first announcement of this gracious covenant is found right after Adam and Eve’s fall. In Genesis 3:15, often called the protevangelium or “first gospel,” God declares to the serpent:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Here, God promises that a Redeemer will come—a seed of the woman—who will crush the serpent’s head. This is the first spark of the Covenant of Grace, pointing to Christ, the Second Adam.
The Covenant of Grace is God’s unbreakable promise to save sinners through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Where the Covenant of Works demanded perfect obedience from Adam and all humanity, the Covenant of Grace offers salvation based on the perfect obedience and substitutionary death of Jesus. It is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
This covenant is not a “Plan B.” It was God’s eternal purpose from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4–5; 2 Timothy 1:9). Though revealed progressively throughout redemptive history, the Covenant of Grace has always centered on Christ.
The Apostle Paul draws a stunning contrast between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:18–19:
“As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Christ succeeded where Adam failed. He came as the Second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), born under the law (Galatians 4:4), to fulfill all righteousness. In doing so, He fulfilled the demands of the Covenant of Works in order to establish the Covenant of Grace.
Under the Covenant of Grace, salvation is a gift. We do not earn it. We receive it. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8–9:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
This grace does not nullify God’s justice—it satisfies it. Through Christ, God remains just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
Though the Covenant of Grace finds its fulfillment in Christ, it unfolds throughout Scripture. Each biblical covenant—Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic—serves as a stage in God’s unfolding promise:
All these covenants are connected and find their fulfillment in the New Covenant, ratified by the blood of Jesus (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6–13). This represents the complete realization of the Covenant of Grace.
Because the Covenant of Grace depends not on our performance but on Christ’s finished work, we can have full assurance of salvation. God has sworn by Himself (Hebrews 6:13–20). Christ is our surety and High Priest (Hebrews 7:22–25). Our salvation is as secure as Christ is faithful.
If you are in Christ, you are no longer under the curse of the Covenant of Works. You are under grace—adopted, forgiven, and sealed by the Spirit.
Grace does not lead to lawlessness; it leads to love and obedience. As those who have been saved by grace, we live in joyful response to God’s mercy. Paul writes in Titus 2:11–12:
“For the grace of God has appeared…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions.”
We don’t obey to be saved—we obey because we are saved. The Covenant of Grace transforms duty into delight.
From Adam’s failure to Christ’s triumph, the story of Scripture unfolds through covenants. The Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace show us both the depth of our problem and the glory of God’s solution.
The world is broken because Adam broke the Covenant of Works. But the gospel is good news because Jesus fulfilled it and offers us salvation through the Covenant of Grace.
This is the grand narrative of the Bible: one covenant broken by the first Adam, and a better covenant fulfilled by the Second. In Christ, we are no longer under condemnation—we are under grace.
Understanding these covenants doesn’t just deepen our theology—it deepens our worship. It lifts our eyes from our own efforts to the finished work of Christ. It reminds us that salvation is not achieved, but received.
So when you wrestle with sin, when you feel the weight of the world’s brokenness, remember: God has not left us in Adam. He has brought us into Christ. And in Him, we have a new covenant, a better covenant—one that cannot be broken.