Creation of Adam and Eve

INTRODUCTION:

David marveled how that man was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).  In another Psalm, he glories that man was made just “a little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5).   Study carefully the creation of Adam and Eve.  Notice God’s original plan for man.  See what you can learn about man’s original design.

1. THE CREATION OF MAN (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7)
1. Gods Plan for Mans Creation (Genesis 1:26-27)
1. In our image
1. God refers to Himself in the plural (us, our). 
   
2. Creation was the work of the trinity
2. The makeup of man
1. In our image
1. Image as a word emphasizes the idea of form. 
   
2. An image is a representation of the appearance or shape of something.
3. Since God is a spirit (John 4:24), He does not have a physical shape.
4. However, He does have a form or structure which is revealed in the word of God.  He is a trinity.
5. In like manner, man is also a three-in-one being.  He has a spirit, soul and body (Genesis 2:7; 1Thessalonians 5:23).
6. He lost this image when Adam sinned because Adams spirit died but can regain it again through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29; 2Corinthians 3:18).
2. After our likeness
1. Likeness as a word emphasizes the idea of nature.
   
2. Likeness means to have the same general qualities or characteristics.
3. Though there is a great gulf between God and man, there are also likenesses that lift him above the nature of animals and make him capable of fellowshipping with God.
1. Man has a dignity (Psalm 8:5) and has been given dominion (Psalm 8:6-8).
   
2. He has an eternal soul (Genesis 2:7; Mark 8:36) and is capable of communion with God (Genesis 3:8).
3. Man unlike the animals
1. First, in his self-consciousness.
1. This refers to his ability to mentally step aside from himself and consider himself as the subject of his own thoughts. 
   
2. He can consider whether or not he is good and think about what kind of person he is.
3. He can even recognize that he is considering himself.
4. This picture of self looking at self looking at self is thought by some to be a type of the trinity.
2. Second, in reasoning.  Only man can understand, judge, imagine and work with ideas in his mind.
   
3. Third, in language.  The few signals that animals give to one another are in no way similar to the simplest language of man.
4. Fourth, in morality.  Mans ability to understand and act on the concept of right and wrong sets him apart.
2. Gods Creation of Adam (Genesis 2:7)
1. Body of the dust of the ground
   
2. Soul man became a living soul
3. Spirit breathed into his nostrils the breath of life
4. Mans soul seems to be the direct result of the body of man coming into contact with the breath or spirit of God.  Mans soul is his immortal nature which acts as a communicator to both body and spirit.
2. THE HABITATION OF MAN (Genesis 2:4-6, 8-14)
1. The Watering of the Earth (Genesis 2:4-6)
1. Rain did not fall on the earth until the time of the flood.
2. This covers a time period of over 1600 years.
3. This difference in pre-flood climate would have required a totally different atmospheric model for this period of time.
4. There may have been a water canopy above the atmosphere that created a green-house effect on earth before the flood.
2. The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8-9)
1. Planted eastward in Eden (Genesis 2:8)
1. The garden of Eden is not identical to Eden.
   
2. The garden is planted eastward in Eden.
2. Planted with every good tree (Genesis 2:9)
   
3. Planted with the tree of life (Genesis 2:9)
4. Planted with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9)
3. The Rivers Out of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14)
1. The Pison (Genesis 2:11-12)
   
2. The Gihon (Genesis 2:13)
3. The Hiddekel (Genesis 2:14; Daniel 10:4); same as the Tigris
4. The Euphrates (Genesis 2:14)
5.  The four rivers did not flow into Eden, but were four parts of the river that flowed out of Eden.
6. Two rivers can still be identified:  the Euphrates and the Hiddekel (which is the Tigris).  The Gihon flowed into Ethiopia.  This does not fit present geography at all since the Nile flows north from Ethiopia, not south towards it.  The Pison and even the land of Havilah are impossible to identify.  Some put it in India; others in Arabia.
7. It is interesting, however, that the sources of the Euphrates and the Tigris are close to one another.  Perhaps that area was the original location of the garden of Eden.
3. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MAN (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:15-17)
1. His Commission (Genesis 1:28)
1. Be fruitful
   
2. Multiply
3. Replenish the earth
4. Subdue the earth
5.  Have dominion over the living things
2. His Vocation (Genesis 2:15)
1. To dress the garden
   
2. To keep the garden
3. Man, in his innocent state, was put to work dressing and keeping the garden of Eden.  Man, in his eternal redeemed state, will again work in his service to God (Revelation 22:3).
4. Work is not one of the results of judgment after the fall of man.  The judgment came in the frustrated results of our labor, not in the idea of labor itself.  In all labour there is profit (Proverbs 14:23). 
5. Work is one of the noble things man can do.
3. His Restriction (Genesis 2:16-17)
1. To freely eat of the trees (Genesis 2:16)
   
2. To not eat of the tree of knowledge (Genesis 2:17)
1. Man was given one and only one restriction on his activities.
   
2. Some have wondered why God placed in paradise the potential for mans fall.  But consider.
1. If man could not have sinned, then he could not obey God of his own will.
   
2.  He would have been no better than a robot. 
3. If he could not have chosen something other than God than he could never really choose God.
3. God wants us to love and serve Him of our own will and not because we can do nothing else.
4. THE CREATION OF WOMAN (Genesis 2:18-25)
1. The Problem (Genesis 2:18-20)
1. On the occasion of naming the animals (Genesis 2:19)
   
2. Adam recognized that he was alone (Genesis 2:18,20)
3. God determined to make an help meet for Adam (Genesis 2:18)
1. Adam had a threefold need.
   
2. He needed a companion to keep him from being alone.
3. He needed a comforter to help him in his day to day life.
4. He needed a complement to round out his character that was meet for him.  Meet means ready, prepared, just right (see 2Timothy 2:21 where we are to be meet for the masters use).
2. The Creation (Genesis 2:21-22)
1. Causing a  deep sleep on Adam (Genesis 2:21)
   
2. Created from the rib of the man (Genesis 2:22)
3. The Woman (Genesis 2:23-25)
1. Taken out of man (Genesis 2:23)
1. Adam called Eve woman because she was taken out of man.
   
2. The wo would then signify taken out of.
3. This would closely resemble our abbreviation for without (w/o)
2. The institution of marriage (Genesis 2:24)
1. From the beginning, marriage consisted of a man leaving his family, cleaving unto his wife and becoming one with her.
   
2. Read especially Matthew 19:4-6. 
3. As such, marriage is the first earthly institution established by God.
4. The other two are human government and the church
3. The innocence of the man and woman (Genesis 2:25)

Conclusion:

We know that man has fallen from God’s original purpose for him.  However, some of God’s original design remains.  What should God’s lofty design and goals for man mean to us today?  How can we get back to this original plan?