The Historical Adam

Scripture reveals that when God saw everything that He created, it was “very good” (Gen 1:31).

Scripture reveals Adam’s creation as follows: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (2:7). God then planted a garden, “and there He placed the man whom He had formed” (v. 8). Later that day, the Lord “caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and … took one of his ribs” to fashion “into a woman” (vv. 21-22). God had one prohibition for the man and woman: Do not eat “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (v. 17), which they disobeyed (3:1-7), resulting in their banishment from the Garden (v. 24).

The Bible declares the origin of sin was through Adam and Eve’s disobedience. As to be expected, the children of Adam and Eve began to sin (4:1-8), and eventually their progeny were exponentially wicked (6:5-6). Scripture lists the descendants of Adam and provides the years of their life. Archbishop James Ussher dated the Creation of the world to 4004 BC, based upon his calculations from the biblical genealogies. Scripture reveals additional details that make it possible to correlate the biblical dates with archaeological records. For instance, Tubal-cain is mentioned in Genesis 4:22 as the seventh generation from Adam and “the forger of all implements of bronze and iron,” which compares with the beginning of the Bronze Age, approximately 3500 BC.

Belief in a historical Adam is important because that certainty is fundamental to what Scripture reveals. If a person cannot be certain with the beginning of human history as recorded in the Bible, a natural skepticism would be applied to what Scripture teaches elsewhere. Evidence that the Fall in Genesis 3 was historical is the fact that the occurrence is communicated as such. The narrative is forthright and uncomplicated. The Garden, the rivers, the trees, and the animals are declared manifestly as literal historical facts. Considering such a context, it is difficult to imagine the fall not being historical. Christ and the apostles certainly regarded the Genesis account as historical (John 8:44; 2 Cor 11:3; Rev 12:9). Furthermore, the serpent is not a figurative designation for Satan, nor is it the devil in the form of a serpent. A corporeal snake was the agent in Satan’s working, as evident from the description of the reptile in Genesis 3:1, and the later curse upon the serpent in verse 14.

The names “Adam” and “Eve” certainly do have symbolic significance, yet they are not merely such (as in allegorical literature, which also lacks any nomenclature). “Adam” is both a proper name and also a generic term for “humankind,” and “Eve” is wordplay of the Hebrew verb chavvah (“life”), which explains the man’s comment that she “was the mother of all the living.” Eve is the life-giver of every person; she is everyone’s mother. The symbolism of the names has led to assumptions that the people and events in Genesis 1—11 are not historical; therefore, the narrative would be a metaphorical account with regard to the origins of humanity and the effects of sin upon human life. Related to this notion is the more progressively stated assertion that genetics disproves a historical Adam and Eve, and thus humanity emerged gradually from several separately beginning organisms sharing a common genetic pool.

Affirming the historicity of the Genesis account of Creation and Adam is also important because of the comparison and contrast with Christ in Romans 5:12. The comparisons and contrasts would lack meaning if Adam were not historical. To deny the historicity of Genesis 1—3 would require significant disregard for the mention of those chapters in Romans 5, because Scripture references them as historical.

Just as sin and condemnation affect the entire human race, so does justification, because it is not confined to national or racial concerns, and is thus immense in its magnitude. Scripture divides all humanity into two identities—the lost and the redeemed—and while there are parallels between those groups (Rom 5:12-14), there are fundamental contrasts that distinguish them (vv. 15-19). Each group has its representative head: Adam or Christ. Adam represents the entire human race, and all his descendants perish in sin. In the new creation, however, those who are united with Christ, the last Adam, live (cf. 1 Cor 15:45-47).

Fundamental to the comparison between Adam and Christ is that the first man is a type of the Messiah. An example of this relationship is the mold used to form shapes in iron casting. Molten iron is poured into a mold, and then cooled to solidify into a hardened shape. The shape of the iron casting is directly related to the shape of the mold, as it forms a negative impression of the desired product, so that the mold’s shape is the inverse of the casting that will be produced. The relationship between the mold and the casting is evident in the comparison of Adam to Christ. For instance, Romans 5:19 contrasts “one man’s disobedience” (the mold) with “the obedience of the One” (the casting), and declares “many were made sinners” through Adam, yet “many will be made righteous” through Christ. The result of Adam’s disobedience—constituting many sinners—is the inverse of Christ’s obedience—constituting many righteous.

The primary ideas emphasized in Romans 5 are the parallels and contrasts between the first Adam and the Last. All humanity became condemned when sin entered the world through Adam. As there are universal effects from the first Adam, so also “through one act of righteousness [by the last Adam] there resulted justification of life to all men [who trust in Christ]” (Rom 5:18). The “therefore” of Romans 5:12 is important because it not only resumes the concept of salvation from verses 9-10, but also considers the entire context of 1:18—5:11 (viz., the need for God’s righteousness, and the provision and certainty of it). Sin entered the world through one man, and salvation is through faith in one Man; hence, the parallels between the two Adams. First Corinthians 15:22 declares, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all [who believe] will be made alive.”

Scripture already revealed that the provision of God’s righteousness is for all who are trusting in the atoning work of Christ (Rom 3:21—4:25). The obedient act of “the One” affected “the many [who] will be made righteous.” Romans 5:12-21 considers the question as to how the act of one man—either Adam or Christ—could affect so many, in addition to answering how individuals presently living could be impacted by their action, since it occurred historically many centuries ago. The Bible answers first in reference to Adam, who sinned and by his damning act “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (v. 12). Sin apparently existed prior to the first man—as a consequence of Satan and his demons’ rebellion—yet Adam is recognized as the instrumental cause by which sin entered the world. Even though many centuries may exist between Adam and his progeny, his act of disobedience implicates all humanity. In a similar manner, Christ’s act has implications for the entire human race, even though many centuries separate the large majority of people from His saving work.

Imputation involves a transfer either of benefit or harm from one person to another. Harmfully, imputation involves the transfer of Adam’s sin and guilt to the entire human race. Positively, imputation refers to God’s righteousness being transferred to those who trust in Christ for salvation. One person’s actions can be transferred to another. The sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament demonstrate the seriousness of sin, in addition to the possibility and provision of a substitute. How is it though that when Adam sinned, so did every human being? And, how when Christ died is it possible that everyone died who is trusting in His substitutionary work, and that because of His resurrection, believers “will reign in life”?

“Sin entered into the world” through Adam, “and death through sin,” while “the abundance of grace and … the gift of righteousness” came “through the One, Jesus Christ” (vv. 12, 17). Whereas Romans 5:12-14 compares Adam and Christ, verses 15-19 contrast them. The passage concludes with an explanatory note demonstrating the relationship between the Law and the representative work of Adam and Christ.

The context of Romans 5 repeatedly explains how sin and guilt are the result of one man’s act (as opposed to that of all humanity). The parallels between Adam and Christ are such that the righteousness of the believer is foreign to them, yet by grace through faith in the Messiah, one is truly justified. Similarly, all humanity receives condemnation for a sin they did not personally commit. The phrase “all sinned” presents difficulty in understanding precisely how this occurs, for the implication is that all humanity was involved in Adam’s sin. The doctrine of the imputation of sin means when Adam first sinned, God justly considered his sin to be that of every human being. There is a union wherein Adam’s sin is humanity’s sin, and thus the condemnation of every person is just.

Adam and Christ each serve as a distinct principal with direct authority over the people they represent, thus creating a parallel relationship. The comparisons between Adam and Christ are too precise to think the former was not historical. Romans 5:12 is the foundation for the verses following. For instance, verses 13-14 expound the declaration of verse 12, and thereby correlate what is stated. The critical declaration is “sin entered into the world” through Adam; and, when he sinned, “death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

The assertion, “sin entered into the world [through Adam], and death through sin,” affirms the historicity of the Genesis record. The biblical argument is based upon the truth of Adam as a literal, historical figure. If the literal historicity of Adam is denied, then Paul’s entire argument concerning justification through Jesus Christ is of no value. To deny the historicity of the Genesis record would necessitate a radical reinterpretation of those references in Romans 5. The normative, plain reading of Scripture is to regard Genesis 1–3 as historical.

Works referenced: Ron J. Bigalke Jr., comp. ed., The Genesis Factor (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2008); Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., “All Mankind, Descending from Him…?” New Horizons 33 (March 2012): 3-5; Alan F. Johnson, Romans: The Freedom Letter, rev. ed., 2 vols. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984-85); Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996); Terry Mortenson and Thane H. Ury, eds., Coming to Grips with Genesis (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2008); Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures on Systematic Theology, rev. Vernon D. Doerksen (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979; reprint, 1992).