OUR FATHER ADAM

GENESIS 5:1

A. "THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GENERATIONS OF ADAM. IN THE DAY THAT GOD CREATED MAN, IN THE LIKENESS OF GOD MADE HE HIM: MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM; AND BLESSED THEM, AND CALLED THEIR NAME ADAM IN THE DAY WHEN THEY WERE CREATED."
  1. So reads the beginning of the story of the human race:
    1. It begins with Adam, our earthly father
    2. That is the way the Bible begins the genealogy of the human race - Luke 3; Acts 17:26; I Cor. 15:45
  2. The story of the first man Adam:
    1. Is fascinating for a number of reasons
    2. It points man's origin back to God, who created man in His own image - that gives the lie to the theory of evolution
    3. There are many other reasons for a prayerful study of our father Adam
B. OUR FATHER ADAM
  1. His origin:
    1. God formed him of the dust of the earth
    2. Breathed the breath of life into his nostrils; thus man became a living soul Gen. 2:7; I Cor. 15:45-46
  2. In appearance and nature:
    1. He reflected the image of God - compare Gen. 1:26-27 with chapter 5:1-2
    2. This places man above all other earthly beings
    3. The Creator had endowed him with the powers of reason - compare Gen. 2:19-20 with Is. 1:17-19; 2 Cor. 4:4-5
    4. He was created with a free will to choose and react accordingly to all influences good or bad - Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-6
  3. But the experience of Adam revealed to him:
    1. That even a free will has its set bounds to be free
    2. That is why the Lord planted two trees in the midst of the garden of Eden - the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil - Gen. 2:8-9
C. A NUMBER OF VERY IMPORTANT TRUTHS IN THE STORY OF OUR FATHER ADAM
  1. Man's nobility:
    1. He was made in the image and likeness of God - Gen. 1:26-27; 5:1-2
    2. God endowed him with the powers of reason - this ability alone separates him from all other earthly creatures
    3. But, also, man reflected the character image of his Maker - Phil. 4:8; Eccl. 7:29
  2. This nobility included:
    1. A moral responsibility to God and man - Example: The ten commandments express this responsibility - Ex. 20:3-17; Eccl. 12:12-13
    2. Adam had this law written upon the tables of his heart to begin with - compare I John 3: 4; Rom. 4:15; 5:13
    3. For by the law is the knowledge of sin - Rom. 3:21; 7:7
  3. The image and likeness of God in Adam:
    1. Was marred by sin or transgression of God's law - compare Gen. 5:1-3 with Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22, 1-9
    2. Man's ability to rule over sin has become an utter impossibility - Rom. 6:16; John 15:5; Is. 64:6-7
  4. But God so loved the human race, that He allowed His only Son to become the second Adam:
    1. To redeem the fallen race from his fall John 3:16
    2. this redemption is threefold -
      1. Christ paid man's indebtedness with becoming sin for us, who knew no sin - 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13
      2. God provides the means of our transformation; we become new creatures - 2 Cor. 5:15-17;
      3. This involves the new birth - John 3:3-9
  5. Finally, the life and experience of Adam offer three important saving truths to us:
    1. Adam was created with the endowment to be a ruler in this world - in fact, God crowned him with honor and glory - Ps. 8:4-7; Gen. 1:28-29
    2. By yielding to sin, Adam lost his dominion and the ability to rule himself
    3. but in Christ he will be saved and with him the human race


Design © John Bryant 2011