Was Adam The First Man

QUESTION: Was Adam the first man?

ANSWER:

The answer is that the Scripture makes this fact very clear and it is stated in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Genesis is the book of beginnings. It is the place where we find the truth of the beginning of man and that man is Adam. The word "Adam" comes from a Hebrew word that means red or ruddy. The word “Adam” is translated as; first man, mankind, man or human. God made Adam from the "dust of the ground", which is the Hebrew word "adamah" and therefore Adam's name comes from the ground from which God created him.

The Genesis record of God's creation of the first man is found in Genesis 1:28 and it is reiterated in Genesis 2:7. This record, as compiled by Moses, was part of the Pentateuch or the first five books of the law and therefore it is the basis for all future doctrine. The fact that Adam was the first man is not an issue of question in God's Word and we find that holds through all of Scripture, including the New Testament.

It is interesting to note that lineage of the foster father of Jesus begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph (Matthew chapter 1) while the lineage of His mother begins with Joseph and ends with Adam. However, the lineage of Mary does not come from her husband. There is a phrase "as was supposed" found in Luke 3:23 that needs explanation. It was a common custom in that time to reckon a woman's linage from her husband because a woman could not inherit under normal circumstances. However, the lineage listed in Luke chapter three is not Joseph's linage at all but Mary's as the carrier of the "Seed" that was promised in Genesis 3:15. The phrase "as was supposed" accommodates that fact. So the first mention of Adam in the New Testament is listed the line of Jesus through His mother. All of the other generations of our LORD are listed as the "son of a human father." However, only Adam is listed as the "son of God" (Luke 3:38) and that is because he had no human father. He was created first.

The Apostle Paul presents the doctrine of the "headship" of Adam in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 state “So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life."

1 Corinthians15:45-49 state, “The Scriptures tell us, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living person.’ But the last Adam -- that is, Christ -- is a life-giving Spirit. What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam's, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ's. Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the man from heaven.”

This doctrine is that all men are born in the first Adam and they all die, not only physically but they are separated from God and therefore spiritually dead as well. However, the second and last Adam is Christ and through Him we can be obtained a spiritual "new life." Man will still die physically, but when we believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, we are given His resurrection life, which is eternal, and we are then reconciled with God spiritually.

In answer to the question, "Was Adam the first man," the answer is yes. There is ample proof in Scripture that answers the question.

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