ADAM AND EVE

Bible Topics In The Christian Library

ADAM AND EVE

INTRODUCTION: Adam and Even represent a paradox to us. We know everything about them, and we know nothing of them. We know about their beginning, but nothing about their end. We know about their fall from grace, but nothing of any redemption.

We are fascinated about this "first couple." We’d like to know more, more than what the Bible tells us. But, have we even gone into any depth to see what the Bible says about Adam and Eve?

BODY

I. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT ADAM.

A. About his origin. 1. Adam was created out of the dust of the earth.

a. Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."" 27- So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

b. Genesis 2:7- "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

2. Adam was the last creation of God, the crown jewel of God’s creation.

a. Genesis 1:31- "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

B. Some facts about Adam. 1. The Bible tells us that Adam was the first man. a. 1 Corinthians 15:45- "And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." 2. There is some difference as to what the word Adam really means. It is closely related to a Hebrew word that means "dust." The name Adam literally means, "man" or "mankind."

3. Adam was created full grown and able to reproduce offspring.

a. Genesis 1:28- "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.""

b. How old was Adam on the day he was created?

4. Where was Eden, the first home of Adam?

a. The Bible tells us in general terms. It was somewhere in the Tigris/Euphrates River valley, in the area we now call the "Fertile Crescent." See Genesis 2:14.

5. How long did Adam live?

a. Genesis 5:5- "So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died."

b. We do not know how long Adam lived in Garden of Eden. It would simply be a matter of speculation.

6. Adam was no prehistoric man-ape creature.

a. The Scriptures suggest a high level of intelligence. He named all of the animals that were brought to him - Genesis 2:19-20.

C. Points of comparison between Adam and Jesus Christ. 1. Both had a supernatural beginning on the earth.

a. Adam was created from the dust of the earth.

b. Jesus was conceived by the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit. See Matthew 1:20.

2. Both were spoken of as the Son of God.

a. Adam because of his direct parentage by Jehovah. See Luke 3 38

b. Jesus, because of his special relationship with the Father that was from eternity. See John 1:1, 14; John 3:16; Philipians 2:5-10

3. Because of Adam all mankind suffers death, because of Christ all will be made alive again.

a. 1 Corinthians 15:22- "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

4. Adam became a living soul, while Christ became a life-giving spirit.

a. 1 Corinthians 15:24- "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power."

III. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT EVE.

A. Eve’s origin.

1. While Adam was made by God out of the dust of the earth, Eve was made from part of the flesh of Adam.

a. Genesis 2:21-22 "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22- Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man."

B. Some things we know about Eve. 1. The names of Eve.

a. She was first called woman - "And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man"" (Genesis 2:23).

b. Both she and her husband was called "Adam" - "He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created" (Genesis 5:2).

c. Finally, there is the name by which he is most often called, after the fall - "And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20)

d. The word Eve means "life", "life-giver," or "mother of all living."

2. What we know about Eve.

a. She was the first woman who ever lived on the earth. The word Eve, along with the circumstances of the text, tell us that.

b. She was formed by the miraculous action of God.

c. She was created for a specific purpose, as a companion for Adam - "And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him"" (Genesis 2:18).

d. She was full-grown, able to reproduce offspring, on the day she was created. See Genesis 1:27-28.

III. ADAM AND EVE’S SIN AND FALL.

A. Eve’s transgression

1. God’s command - Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-3.

2. The temptation

a. Genesis 3:4-5 "Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. 5- For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’"

3. Temptation through the three avenues.

a. 1 John 2:15-17

b. Genesis 3:6

4. Eve’s transgression would be one of the reasons why woman would be in subjection to their husbands.

a. 1 Timothy 2:13-15

B. Adam’s transgression 1. While Eve was deceived, Adam chose to sin with his eyes open. There were no illusions concerning his actions and their consequences.

a. 1 Timothy 2:14- "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."

2. We do not know the reason why Adam was not deceived and still chose to commit sin. Any speculation would be just that, speculation.

C. The consequences of their transgression. 1. They became ashamed and realized they were naked - Genesis 3:7.

2. They ran and hid from the presence of God - Genesis 3:8

3. Sin was released on the world. From henceforth there would be constant rebellion against God and sorrow over sin.

4. Mankind lost it’s right to the tree of the life and thus physical death was introduced to the world. - Genesis 3:19, 24.

5. Man would have to work hard to provide for his family, while woman would have increased pain in childbearing - Genesis 3:16-17.

IV. ADAM AND EVE AFTER THE FALL

A. They were cast out of the Garden of Eden.

1. Genesis 3:21-24 B. Very little is known about their lives after Eden. 1. They began to have children - Genesis 4:1-2

2. We know that both Adam and Even suffered the sorrow of having their son Cain kill his brother Abel - verse 8.

3. They bore other children - Genesis 5:4.

C. Some questions we cannot answer for certain. 1. Did Adam and Eve repent? - It would seem so, since she declared that she had received a man from the Lord at the birth of Cain - Genesis 4:1.

a. It is possible that the skins that God used to make their clothes came from animals that they sacrificed to the Lord. This would be consistent with chapter four and the rest of the Bible’s teaching on forgiveness.

2. Were they faithful to God all their lives?

3. How many children did they have?

4. Did they ever go back to the entrance of Garden of Eden and, seeing the angel guarding it, long to enter in?

CONCLUSION: The story of Adam is a great tragedy. They had paradise, only to lose it. But in the deep gloom came hope. God promised that a redeemer would come (Genesis 3:15). Paradise lost is paradise regain "in Christ."

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