Bible character overview - Adam
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Time to read 5 min
Introduction:
Welcome to an insightful character overview of Adam. Here you'll learn about who Adam was, what he did, and his strengths and weaknesses. Also, we have provided questions related to the story of Adam to provoke thought. They can also be used for personal/small-group studies.
Who was Adam from the Bible?
Key facts
- When: Was the first man
- Where: Garden of Eden
- Name meaning: ‘ground’, ‘earth’, or ‘soil’
Glimpse: The first man to ever live, Adam. He witnessed the bliss perfection of the garden of Eden that was crafted by the hands of God Himself for life to live harmoniously. After making a big mistake, Adam, along with his wife Eve, were kicked out of this garden and sin corrupted their souls.
Creation of man
As the first human ever created, Adam experienced what many have never experienced and never will: a true relationship with God. On the sixth day of creation, God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26). So Adam was formed, and God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and he became a living being.
Adam knew what it was like to live in pure holiness and freedom—no sin, no pain, no tears. Man was given authority over the whole world. Adam began naming each animal and wandering through the perfect oasis of the Garden of Eden. However, Adam was without a partner.
Questions
→ Can you imagine what Eden would have been like and therefore what heaven may be like? How does this make you feel?
→ What does this section tell you about God's nature?
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them"
The forbidden fruit
After putting Adam to sleep, God took a rib from his side and formed Eve from it. Things didn't just seem perfect, but were perfect. This all changed when Eve succumbed to the temptations and deception of Satan. God had previously commanded them to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, the serpent, who was Satan, deceived Eve into eating the fruit. Once she ate it, she gave some to Adam, who also ate.
As a result, Adam and Eve were cursed. We read about this in Genesis 3:
'So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”'
Questions
→ Even though they had everything they could have ever needed, they still ate the fruit, why?
→ What role did Adam play in this event?
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”''
The entry of death
From this point, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, which was now guarded by a powerful cherubim angel wielding a flaming sword. Genesis 2:17 states, ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.’ Although they did not die physically, their death was spiritual.
Adam and Eve's relationship with God was severed. They went on to live outside the garden and had three sons: Cain, Abel, and Seth.
Questions
→ Why did Adam and Eve not die instantly? What was the purpose of kicking them out of the garden?
→ Do you relate to Adam at all? What stands out to you in his story?
“So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Strengths:
- Perfection: For a brief moment, Adam was perfect and had the privilege of witnessing a perfect world without sin
- Authority: Adam was given all authority over the earth before losing it to Satan
Weaknesses:
- Sin: Through the eating of the fruit, sin corrupted his soul and body and he came under the curse of sin
- Silent: It says in Genesis 3:6 that Adam was with Eve when she took the first bite of the fruit. He did not say anything to stop her and allowed her to continue in sin
Conclusion
Adam represents the whole of humanity. We can all point fingers at him but we sin multiple times a day everyday and are therefore no better than Adam. We must recognise our need for life and a saviour and this only comes through Jesus Christ who came as the 2nd Adam. Instead of bringing sin into the world , Jesus made a way out of the curse of sin. We are to lay our lives down for Him that we may be born again into eternal life.
''For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life''
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