Overview

This section traces the tragedy that makes redemption necessary: God’s covenant with Adam (Q12), the fall (Q13–15), the conveyance of sin to all mankind (Q16–18), and the misery of the fallen estate (Q19). It is the dark backdrop against which the covenant of grace will shine.

The Questions & Answers

Q12. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created? A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:17, ESV)

Further proofs: Gal. 3:12; Rom. 10:5; Gen. 2:16.

Q13. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created? A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.

Q14. What is sin? A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4, ESV)

Further proofs: Gen. 3:6–8, 13; Eccl. 7:29; James 4:17; Rom. 3:23.

Q15. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created? A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.

Q16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression? A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Rom. 5:12, ESV)

Further proofs: 1 Cor. 15:21–22; Rom. 5:18–19; Gen. 2:16–17.

Q17. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind? A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.

Q18. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell? A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Ps. 51:5, ESV)

Further proofs: Rom. 5:19; Eph. 2:1–3; Matt. 15:19; Rom. 3:10–18.

Q19. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell? A. All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“…and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Eph. 2:3, ESV)

Further proofs: Gen. 3:8, 24; Rom. 6:23; Gal. 3:10; Matt. 25:41, 46; Lam. 3:39.

Exposition: Q12 names the “covenant of life” (or works) with Adam as our representative head. Q14’s definition of sin is invaluable: sin is both “want of conformity” (failing to do good — sins of omission) and “transgression” (doing evil — sins of commission). Q16 confesses our covenant union with Adam: we “sinned in him, and fell with him.” Q18 unpacks original sin in three parts — the guilt of Adam’s sin, the loss of original righteousness, and the corruption of our whole nature — from which all actual sins flow. Q19 lays out the fourfold misery: lost communion with God, His wrath and curse, the miseries of this life and death, and hell forever.

Connections

• WLC Q20–29 — the estate of innocence; the covenant of life; the fall; sin; original sin; the misery of the fallen estate; the punishments of sin.
• WCF 6 (Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof) and WCF 7 (the covenant of works); WCF 19 (the law, against which sin is defined).
• Loci: Hamartiology (the covenant of works, original sin, total depravity, guilt and misery).

Pastoral & Practical Significance

This section refuses every flattering lie about the human condition and tells the truth that makes grace amazing. We are not basically good people who occasionally err, but sinners by nature and by act, guilty in Adam and corrupt in ourselves, justly under God’s wrath. That diagnosis is severe, but it is the doorway to the gospel: only those who know the depth of their misery rejoice at the height of redemption. Q14’s twofold definition of sin searches the conscience — much of our sin is not what we did but the good we failed to do. And Q19’s sober catalog of misery presses the urgent question the next section answers: is there any escape? The honest weight of these answers makes the single word of Q20 — “covenant of grace” — break like dawn.

For Memory & Reflection

• Commit Q14 to memory above all in this section; anchor verse: 1 John 3:4. Q18 and Q19 are also worth memorizing as a clear account of sin and its misery.
• Q14 includes sins of omission. What good have I failed to do that I have never repented of?
• Do I feel the weight of the “estate of sin and misery”? How does it make the next answer (the covenant of grace) more precious?