ABOUT ADAM

0. About Adam

a) We can hardly imagine what it must have been like to be the first and only person on earth. It's one thing for us to be lonely, it was another for Adam, who had never known another human being. He missed much that makes us who we are - he had no childhood, no parents, no family or friends. He had to learn to be human on his own. Fortunately, God didn't let him struggle too long before presenting him with an ideal companion and mate, Eve. Theirs was a complete, innocent, and open oneness, without a hint of shame.

b) One of Adam's first conversations with his delightful new companion must have been about the rules of the garden. Before God made Eve he had already given Adam complete freedom in the garden, with the responsibility to tend and care for it. But one tree was off-limits, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam would have told Eve all about this, She knew, when Satan approached her, that the tree's fruit was not to be eaten. However, she decided to eat the forbidden fruit. Then she offered some to Adam. At that moment, the fate of creation was on the line. Sadly, Adam didn't pause to consider the consequences. He went ahead and ate.

c) In that moment of small rebellion something large, beautiful, and free was shattered ... God's perfect creation. Man was separated from God by his desire to act on his own. The effect on a plate glass window is the same whether a pebble or a boulder is hurled at it - the thousands of fragments can never be re-gathered.

d) In the case of man's sin, however, God already had a plan in motion to overcome the effects of the rebellion. The entire Bible is the story of how that plan unfolds, ultimately leading to God's own visit to earth through his Son, Jesus. His sinless life and death made it possible for God to offer forgiveness to all who want it. Our small and large acts of rebellion prove that we are descendants of Adam. Only by asking forgiveness of Jesus Christ can we become children of God. 

1. What were his strengths and accomplishments?

a) The first zoologist to give name to animals.

b) The first landscape architect, place in the garden to care for it.

c) Father of  the human race.

d) The first person made in the image of God, and the first human to share an intimate personal relationship with God.

2. What were his weaknesses and mistakes?

a) Avoided responsibility and blamed others; chose to hide rather than to confront, made excuses rather than admitting the truth.

b) Greatest mistake: teamed up with Eve to bring sin into the world.

3. What can we learn from his life?

a) As Adam's descendants, we all reflect to some degree the image of God.

b) God wants people who, though free to do wrong, choose instead to love him.

c) We should not blame others for our faults.

d) We cannot hide from God.

4. What are the key verses?

a) ¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12 NIV)

b) ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 NIV)

c) Adam's story is told in Genesis 1:26-5:5. He is also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 1:1; Luke 3:38; Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45; 1 Timothy 2:13, 14.