The Adamic Covenant – What is it?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Adamic Covenant is a two-part agreement between God and Adam. This covenant reveals humanity's purpose, fall, and hope of redemption. The first part of the Adamic Covenant, given in Eden, established humanity’s blessings and responsibilities, including dominion over creation and a warning against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After Adam’s sin, the second part introduced curses, such as pain, toil, and death, yet it also contained a promise of a Savior who would ultimately defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15). This promise points to Jesus Christ, who overcame sin and death through His crucifixion and resurrection to fulfill God’s promised hope and restoration to humanity. The Adamic Covenant reminds us of God’s faithfulness to redeem us, despite our sinfulness, and invites us to live in the freedom and hope found in Christ.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The first part of the Adamic Covenant, sometimes called the Edenic Covenant, is found in Genesis 1:26–30 and 2:16–17. It outlines the parameters of Adam's existence in the garden of Eden.
• The first part of the Adamic Covenant, the Edenic Covenant, consists of blessings and a warning to Adam. He and Eve are created in God's image and are given dominion over the animals. They are given the gift of relationship with one another and the ability to bear children and expand the race over the whole Earth. They are vegetarian, so no slaughter of animals is necessary. Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is forbidden. God makes it clear that "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
• The second part of the promise, which was given after Adam sinned, outlines the parameters of Adam's existence outside the garden, including the curse found in Genesis 3:16–19.
• The second part of the Adamic Covenant is how God deals with the breaking of the Edenic Covenant. There are punishments and another promise. As a result of Adam's sin, there will always be hatred between Satan and Eve and her descendants (Genesis 3:15). Women will experience pain in childbirth, and there will be disharmony between man and wife (Genesis 3:16). The soil will be cursed, thorns and thistles will appear in the plants, and survival in general will be a struggle for the whole natural world (Genesis 3:17–18; see also Romans 8:22–23). Finally, death will be the fate of every living being (Genesis 3:19).
• Despite the terrible nature of these curses and the havoc that ensued, contained within the curse is a promise. Speaking to Satan, God says "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" (Genesis 3:15). It is indeed literally true that man does bruise the snake on the head and is bruised by the snake on his heel, but this curse was not intended only for snakes. It was spoken to Satan in anticipation of Jesus Christ's victory. The promise indicates the "offspring" or "seed" of a woman, which can only mean a virgin birth.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Adam broke the Edenic Covenant when he took the fruit that Eve gave him and ate it, defying God's command and bringing the penalty of death on the whole race (Romans 5:12–14).
• The seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15 is Jesus Christ, who, though He was bruised by the cross (Isaiah 53:4–5), crushed the head of the Great Serpent (see Galatians 4:4; 1 John 3:8).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The Adamic Covenant reveals the depth of humanity’s sin and the extraordinary hope that God promises in His goodness and sovereignty. Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden didn’t surprise God and didn’t just bring personal consequences to them—it introduced sin and death into the world, to every person who would be born after them, creating a separation from God that we still experience today. We are sinners by nature and by choice. We see echoes of their failure in our own lives whenever we choose our desires over God’s commands. Yet even in the darkest moment of judgment, God spoke a promise of hope: a Redeemer would come to crush the power of sin and Satan (Genesis 3:15). This promise points directly to Jesus Christ, who bore the curse of sin on the cross and overcame death through His resurrection. In Him, we see God’s faithfulness and love, despite our unfaithfulness. The Adamic Covenant gives us confidence that God’s plan for redemption remains unshaken. We are invited to live in the freedom and hope Jesus provides, turning away from sin and embracing the life God intended for us from the beginning.

UNDERSTAND

• The Adamic Covenant is a two-part covenant given to Adam.
• The first part of the Adamic Covenant outlines humanity's blessings in the garden—dominion, companionship, harmony with God—and the warning against eating from the tree of knowledge.
• The second part of the Adamic Covenant reveals sin's consequences—pain, toil, death, and separation—along with a promise of redemption through a Savior who would defeat sin and Satan.

REFLECT

• How do you see the consequences of Adam’s sin reflected in the struggles and brokenness of our world today?
• How does the promise of a Redeemer bring hope when you face the realities of sin in your own life?
• How does understanding God’s faithfulness in the Adamic Covenant shape your response to His grace and forgiveness?

ENGAGE

• How does the Adamic Covenant highlight both humanity’s failure and God’s plan for redemption through Christ?
• How can we see the effects of Adam’s sin and God’s promise of hope in our daily lives?
• How does the promise of a Savior in Genesis 3:15 encourage us to trust in God’s faithfulness and plan of redemption today?