Adam and Eve are expelled from the presence of God.  The unity of their being, body and soul, has suffered catastrophic judgment under the curse of God, which begins a life of dying towards death.  The situation, as dire as could be, was not without hope though.  God pronounced his plan in the form of a promise.  That promise looked forward to One that would tend to the souls of their (Adam/Eve) progeny as a shepherd to His flock.  

Before continuing on to question 24 pertaining to sin,  it seems best if we pause to define some important ideas. Let us go for a bit down this by pass meadow and consider some important ideas before resuming our course through the confession of faith.
We haven’t spent any time considering the effects of sin and so we do that now. One of the first effects is that we see Adam and Eve attempt to cover their own nakedness with fig leaves.  Related to this, they also attempted to hide from God. “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:7–8)
Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness in that they tried to hide it from God.  Shame arises from guilt for violating the command of God.  The relationship between guilt and shame is important and we often are tempted to use these interchangeably but they are not interchangeable.  Guilt is a verdict/judgment concerning a violation of law.  Shame is the correct emotive consequence of a just finding of guilt.  It is good that Adam and Eve felt shame and wanted to hide from the Lawgiver because they were in fact (as a matter of law) guilty of breaking God’s command.
Instead of God, the Lawgiver, leaving them in their self fashioned misery of fig leaf nakedness we read the compassion He has on them.
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We are all part of the same body, striving towards the same goal—eternal life with God. The Church Triumphant serves as a constant reminder of this goal and a source of encouragement for us in our earthly struggles. Their victory is our victory, and their joy will one day be ours as well. As members of the Church Militant, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. 

The biblical concept of the Church as existing in two distinct but interconnected states—the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant—is a profound scriptural truth. It encapsulates the ongoing spiritual journey of Christians and the ultimate goal of eternal life in the presence of the Triune God. As the writer of Hebrews exhorts, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The Church Militant: Running the Race
The Church Militant comprises the community of believers currently living on earth. Hebrews 12 was written to such believers but it relied on those who had already passed into glory as the context (Heb 11).  We are akin to runners in a grand race, encompassed by a “cloud of witnesses”—the faithful men and women recounted in Hebrews 11, the “hall of faith.” Their examples encourage us to persevere even when faced with challenges. Their striving was directed towards a goal, a goal that Jesus, their Savior and ours, secured for all of us.  It is important to note that this passage (Heb 11-12) and the rest of Scripture sees God’s people as one people united in Jesus.  God’s people in all of time is the church: Jews and gentiles, one people in Christ.
From this vantage point, death is not the absolute cessation of life but rather the passing of the physical body, allowing the disembodied soul to enter into the presence of God in a unique, but not a final manner. The magnificent promise of Jesus is that at the resurrection, we, like Him, will be given new bodies fit for the new creation, a realm where sin is entirely eradicated. Until this momentous event at the culmination of the present age (last days), we as members of the Church Militant will embody several key characteristics:

Engaged in spiritual warfare: We contend against the world, the flesh, and the devil, resisting temptation and striving to align our lives with God’s will.
Striving for holiness: We pursue a life of virtue, seeking to deepen our relationship with God through prayer, the sacraments, and acts of charity.
Spreading the Gospel: We proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to others through both our words and our actions.
Serving the needy: We actively express our faith by serving those in need, recognizing the presence of Christ in the faces of the poor, the sick, and the sinner.

The Church Triumphant: The Finish Line
The Church Triumphant consists of all those who have completed their race and crossed the finish line into Heaven, which signifies being in the very presence of God. Heaven is where God resides; God defines heaven, not the other way around. Remember the Garden of Eden?
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