Adam

Day 1 - Earthling from the Earth (Genesis 2:7-8,15)

Day 2 - Companionship (Genesis 2:18,23-25)

Day 3 - Broken Companionship (Genesis 3:8-12)

Day 4 - The Curse of Toil (Genesis 3:17-19)

Day 5 - Jesus & Marriage (Mark 10:6-12)

Day 6 - The New Adam (1 Corinthians 15:20-26)

Sermon - Adam

Adam Day 1 - Earthling from the Earth

Then the Lord God formed [adam] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the [adam] became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the [adam] whom he had formed… The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. -Genesis 2:7-8,15

Genesis 1 is a creation poem, in which humanity is created at the climax. Genesis 2 is a creation narrative elaborating on the particulars of the human story, which begins with adam (pronounced in Hebrew with long “a”s, emphasis on second syllable). This “adam” is not at first a proper name. It is a pun on “adamah” which means earth or dust or ground or dirt. To say in Hebrew “adam from the “adamah” translates to “earthling from the earth” or “human from the hummus” in English. Adam is a play on words to express just what kind of “stuff” we’re made of - the same basic elements of carbon and nitrogen that make up all living beings, enlivened with a special breath from God.

It’s the breath of God that hints at humanity’s uniqueness. God goes on to form all the animals from the earth/dust/ground/dirt as well, but the human is uniquely enlivened with the breath of God. It’s like God breathes onto humanity the very image of God. What is the image of God? It has to do with the responsibility of dominion, yes, as the Genesis 1 creation poem said, but this Genesis 2 creation narrative elaborates on the realities of RELATIONAL living. It’s not good for the human to be alone, God says. The breath of God enlivens humanity for life in relationship, which is precisely who the Triune God is, a God of living relationship!

Go Deeper: Read Genesis 2:18-20. How does the task of naming animals reflect God’s image of dominion and relationship?
Pray & Reflect: What relationships are most important to my identity? What does each uniquely reveal to me about God’s character?

Adam Day 2 - Companionship

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the [adam] should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”... Then the [adam] said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. -Genesis 2:18,23-25

Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! Enlivened by the breath of God’s own relational self, humanity is created for… relationship. And not just any relationship, but intimate relationship. Marital relationship, in particular, bears a special capacity for intimacy - more than friends, more than siblings, more than even parent-child relationships. The “one flesh” that results from marriage seems to closely resemble the unity that God in God’s own Triune self experiences. It’s this context of deep union that allows for nakedness without shame, being seen fully and loved completely.

When I do premarital counseling with couples, one thing that I emphasize is the creation of a new family. In order for the marital union to thrive, each person must thoroughly LEAVE their family of origin behind for this new relationship. The good news is you get to take what you want and leave what you don’t! Or at least try to do so. Cultivate what fosters that new companionship. Root out what hinders that new companionship.

Go Deeper: How do particular relationships in my life resist loneliness, like marriage does here?
Pray & Reflect: What from my parents’ relationship do I take with me into my relationships? What do I try to leave behind?

Adam Day 3 - Broken Companionship

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” -Genesis 3:8-12

So much for companionship! Whose fault was the first sin anyway? ER. WRONG QUESTION. The blame game ultimately has no winners; it doesn’t get us anywhere. Both Adam and Eve bear individual responsibility for their actions. Why didn’t Adam say something when Eve ate, or decline to eat himself? Why did Eve listen to the lies of the serpent over the promises of God? However you parse out the story, what had become one flesh no longer functions like one flesh. Their marital companionship is broken. They act like enemies, not allies; opponents, not teammates. It’s like the last two people in a game of dodgeball, hiding in the corner.

In the good way God created them - from earth and breath, as one flesh - to be seen was to be loved. Now, possessing the knowledge of not only good, but EVIL too, Adam and Eve tremble at the possibility of being seen and NOT loved. The shadow of evil now eclipses God’s bright light of goodness. And so Adam and Eve hide. First from each other. Then from God.

Go Deeper: Read Genesis 3:7. How is both judgment and mercy present here? Are there any hints of Jesus?
Pray & Reflect: What parts of myself do I hide for fear of them being seen and not loved?

Adam Day 4 - The Curse of Toil

And to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;
you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” -Genesis 3:17-19

The knowledge of evil has broken not only Adam’s companionship with Eve and God, but also his relationship to all of creation. Their call to dominion gets complicated. Any sense of harmony that originally defined their experience of Eden is now replaced with the experience of toil.

When I was younger, I balked at my dad’s obsession with the lawn, and I objected every time I was told to pull weeds in the landscaping. It’s useless, I thought! They always grow back! And yet, now on year three of home ownership myself, I probably spent a full day last spring popping up dandelions alone! I get it now. Thanks a lot, dad! And Adam! Under the curse that is sin, we earthlings find ourselves in an unending, obsessive toil with the earth. No matter how much we work and work and work, the work is never complete. Whether it’s manicuring the lawn to look nice, or cultivating fields to get a good crop, the chaos of creation always seems to edge us out, until the day we return to the dust.

Go Deeper: Were there thorns and thistles (and dandelions!) in creation before the curse of toil? Or did humanity’s relationship to such plants simply change after the curse of toil?
Pray & Reflect: Where do I feel like I toil with no progress in my life? Literally or spiritually. How might I surrender that toil back to God?

Adam Day 5 - Jesus & Marriage

But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” -Mark 10:6-12

Jesus’ callback to Genesis 1 and 2 is central to Christian teaching on marriage and divorce. The bottom line is that Jesus upholds the sanctity of the one flesh union: what God has joined together, let no one separate. The intimacy of marriage resembles the very intimacy of the Trinitarian God. Divorce is painful and devastating, particularly for women in Jesus’ time, who were mostly defined by their relationship to men - either their father or their husband. A divorced woman was left particularly vulnerable and without means. Thus, Jesus prohibits divorce not only due to what was ordained in the beginning, but also in protection of the vulnerable.

The Law of Moses did allow for divorce in certain circumstances. But this is what Jesus does. He intensifies the law; he raises the bar. Jesus reveals the fullness of God’s holiness, a standard which we all inevitably fall short of. Thankfully, that is not ultimately the mission of Jesus though. The law that Jesus intensifies reveals our sin, yes, but finally He came to forgive sin! Whereas Adam broke companionship with Eve, and we all sin against one another, Jesus remains faithful to God, and on the cross restores human relationships and indeed all creation.

Go Deeper: Read Matthew 5:31-32. What grounds does Jesus open up here for the possibility of divorce?
Pray & Reflect: Where has divorce brought pain into my life? How might Jesus redeem that pain and restore broken relationships?

Adam Day 6 - The New Adam

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. -1 Corinthians 15:20-26

For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. Through the knowledge of evil and blame, Adam made enemies out of Eve, his companion, God his Creator, and indeed all creation itself, cursed into a broken relationship of toil. Christ’s incarnation is the new Adam, making alive again that which is dead, and restoring all these broken relationships.

Christ reveals to us that the ultimate enemy is nothing other than death itself. By dying on the cross and being raised from the dead in the resurrection, Christ destroys the power of death. First fruits are a promise of an even greater harvest coming, so Christ promises that same new life to us, to all who trust Him. Whatever feels dead in your life - from the pain and shame of divorce, to any other broken relationships in your life - Christ promises to bring new life out of that death. And Christ can make good on that promise because He Himself took on flesh, became a human from the hummus, an earthling from the earth, but knew not evil and blame, breathed only the life-giving breath of God.

Go Deeper: Read Romans 5:12-21. How is Jesus the new Adam?
Pray & Reflect: Do I trust in Jesus? If so, how might he make alive that which is dead in my life?

Notes:

____________________________________________________________