Creation
Lesson Four - The First Man
by Patricia Dailey

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And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age,
being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,
which was the son of Heli...
...Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth,
which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God
Luke 3:23, 38

The First Man - Adam

The Gospel of Luke traces the genealogy of Joseph back to Adam, and calls Adam the son of God.

Adam
comes from Adamah:
the ground,
earth

Male and female created he them;
and blessed them, and called their name Adam,
in the day when they were created.
Genesis 5:2

Eve was given Adam’s name: THEIR name was called Adam. Today the law allows a woman not to take her husband’s name.  But that’s part of women’s liberation, not God's way. 

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psalm 103:14

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psalm 8:4

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:7

Can you imagine that! Man became a living soul just because God breathed into him the breath of life.

And God said,
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
Psalm 8:6-8

Adam was given dominion over all lower creatures, and over all the earth.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:1-5

Agriculture was the first occupation of man: Adam was put in the Garden of Eden to dress it, and to enjoy its fruits.

Notice that the food provided was a vegetarian diet. There was no such thing as eating meat before the flood. Man didn’t have meat to eat until after the fall - up to then, no animals were killed.

Some take this, however, and use it to build a vegetarian doctrine of eating no meat. But that is unscriptural (see 1 Timothy 4:3-5). Of course, we are also told to have temperance - not giving ourselves over to gluttony in our eating habits. 

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden;
and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The name of the first is Pison:
that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah,
where there is gold;
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
And the name of the second river is Gihon:
the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel:
that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria.
And the fourth river is Euphrates.
Genesis 2:10-14

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air;
and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them:
and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air,
and to every beast of the field;
but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Genesis 2:19-20

The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is also called The Garden of God  (Ezekiel 28:13 & 31:9) and The Garden of the Lord (Isaiah 51:3).  A non-Biblical name used for the Garden of Eden is Paradise - but that is just a descriptive word which people use in referring to the Garden. We don’t find it in the Scriptures.

Eden was abundantly irrigated, furnished with Divine supplies of vegetation. When Adam and Eve were placed there, they had plenty of food to eat.

Eden is believed to have been located in Tigris-Euphrates country, just north of Babylon.  The Euphrates River is going to dry up before the Battle of Armageddon (see Revelation 16:12).

The beasts and birds were brought to Adam to be named by him. Before God created the woman to be Adam's help meet (verses 21-22), He had created every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and had brought them to Adam to name them (verse 19).

And the LORD God said,
It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,
and he slept: and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man,
made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Genesis 2:18, 21-22

And Adam called his wife's name Eve;
because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 3:20

Eve

God performed an operation on Adam, removing one of his ribs - and, from that rib, He made woman!

Can you make anything like this from one of your ribs?

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:23-25

Marriage and Children

This is where God instituted marriage. And anything God has instituted is sacred and holy:

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled:
but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Hebrews 13:4

Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning
made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Matthew 19:4-6

Notice here that sex is ordained for AFTER marriage. It is honorable and holy - in the marriage relationship. Other than in marriage, though, it is sinful.

A couple who have been united together in holy matrimony become one flesh - and no one is to separate them. This allows no room for divorce!

And God blessed them, and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28

Many would scorn this commandment today. Birth control and abortion are so prevalent because so many couples don’t want to be fruitful and multiply.  They do all they can to avoid having children - yet still having sex.

It’s a scorn for a couple to have a large family these days. People criticize them for wanting children - especially if they want a large family.

Those who frown on large families, saying the parents just want sex, usually refrain from having children by use of birth control or abortion - not by refraining from sex!

The thinking of many today is:  One child is too much; two children is a bit too much; and any more than that is unheard of!

There are some countries where the man raises his family under his parents’ roof, with all the living generations together - having the oldest living relative as head of the house. But God intended that man should leave his parents when he gets married.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness?
Corinthians 6:14

We have to be careful that we don’t yoke ourselves together with an unbeliever in marriage, but that we marry someone who is saved. And we shouldn’t date an unbeliever, lest he/she draw our heart away.

 Some feel they have fallen in love with the right one, but don’t take time to seek the Lord about it. We have to be careful that our heart isn’t deceiving us.  When a lust spirit is at work, it can cause us to feel that we are in love, when all it is is lust at work to take our heart.

Don’t go by your heart. Take time to seek the mind of God. If you’re sincere in wanting His will, He’ll make it known to you whether or not that one is for you.

If it is lust that’s drawing you to someone, such a marriage won’t last. He won’t be satisfied with you. After a while, he will be wanting someone else.

And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord,
Let not the wife depart from her husband:
But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried,
or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:10-11

IF a couple is separated then they should remain unmarried - or be reconciled to each other.

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth;
but if her husband be dead,
she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:39

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity,
which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity:
for that is thy portion in this life,
and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:9

Rejoice with the mate you marry - for that is the only one you can have unless he dies!

Choose your love - and love your choice!

Then there are those who don’t want to be bothered with children. They don’t want the work and time that goes into raising a family. They want to be free to do as they please, when they please.

Children are an heritage of the Lord given to a marriage - a real gift from God. There is a lot of work involved in being a decent mother - but it’s worth it.

Before a couple gets married, there should be an understanding about raising a family. If one of them wants children, while the other doesn’t, it can raise much contention and sorrow in the home.

This is the purpose of having children - that God might have a godly seed upon the earth. If no children were being born, soon there would be no godly seed left!  I believe this is what Satan is attempting to do, by promoting birth control and abortion in our generation.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,
God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:1-5

The Fall of Man

As we read chapter three of Genesis, we find something happening to Eve that changed everything.

Eve carried on a conversation with the devil. But we shouldn’t do this. Jesus didn’t reason with the devil. He merely quoted from the Word of God.

You don’t find the devil rightly dividing the Word of Truth - though he does quote the Scriptures, twisting them to make you believe God didn’t mean it the way you thought He meant it.

We also find the devil contradicting the Word of God. And this is the way he works. He speaks contrary to what God has said, to cause you to wonder if God really meant what He said.

Adam knew what God had said! yet he ate of the forbidden fruit. Many women, like Eve, know just how to lure their husbands to do wrong.

Eve was beguiled by the serpent’s crafty, cunning ways to violate the only commandment the Lord had given! The devil is so subtle.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:15-16

The Lord makes it very clear to us that all that is in the world is not of the Father, but is of the world.  The world is made up of the lust of the flesh; the lust of the eyes; and the pride of life.

 Eve was guilty of all three: she saw the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh); it was pleasant to her eyes (lust of the eyes); and it was to be desired to make one wise (the pride of life).

 We find these three things prevalent today in the world. People are constantly pursuing all that would benefit self.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15

Temptation

There is no temptation we may face that others haven’t come across at one time or another. We can’t give in, and use the excuse that it was too much for us to bear - for God promises to make a way of escape that we may be able to bear it.

Realize the faithfulness of God to help us to resist any temptation we may face. We may feel God is far from us in some situations - but we need to remember that He is right there to help.

We can stand in the midst of temptation, without yielding to sin. Jesus is our example. We don’t have to yield when the devil comes along to tempt us to go contrary to the Word by offering us gain.

We haven’t been promised that there would be no temptation - but we have been promised that God would make a way of escape each and every time we are tempted.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan,
and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Being forty days tempted of the devil.
And in those days he did eat nothing:
and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
command this stone that it be made bread.
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written,
That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 4:1-4

... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Ephesians 6:17

For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

As soon as Jesus became hungry, the devil was right there to tempt Him.  Notice that the devil was trying to make Jesus doubt that He was the Son of God - IF Thou be the Son of God! And he uses that word IF in his attempts to get us to doubt our salvation, to doubt the Word of God.

Now Jesus could have easily turned those stones into bread - but He wasn’t about to give the devil the satisfaction that He would do as he said.

 Jesus used the Word of God in His reply to the devil (quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3). And we should also have the Word of God readily available to use as a sword against the suggestions of the enemy.  There’s no point in reasoning with the devil. Just use the Sword which God has given you. Your words are meaningless and powerless in combating the enemy: but the Word of God is a sharp two-edged Sword.

 You have to be careful, for the devil knows the Scriptures better than you do - and he will often try to trip you up by quoting them out of context.

And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain,
showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him,
All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them:
for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Luke 4:5-8

The devil offered Jesus great power in this world - IF He would worship him. Yet Jesus HAS been given all power from His Father (see Matthew 28:18). Here was the devil saying that he would give Jesus all power! What a lie!!

Not only did God give His Son all power - but we find in Luke 10:19 that Jesus, in turn, has given us power over all the power of the enemy. We have to realize the power that we have - and not listen to the devil’s deception.

The devil does have power - but his power isn’t greater than the power which Jesus has given us to tread on him with.

ONCE AGAIN, we find Jesus combating the devil with the written Word of God. He didn’t reason with the devil that He wasn’t about to worship him, after all He is the One to Whom all will one day bow down to  (He is THE Son of God).

And he brought him to Jerusalem,
and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him,
If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
And in their hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
And Jesus answering said unto him,
It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Luke 4:9-12

We find the devil quoting from the written Word to Jesus!! He quoted from Psalm 91:11,12

Jesus answered him with the Word (Deuteronomy 6:16) telling him that we are not to tempt the Lord.

There are those who will listen to the suggestions of Satan, and take the Word of God out of context.

Now, Jesus wasn’t about to jump of that pinnacle just to show the devil that He wouldn’t get hurt!

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
James 1:12-15

If we yield to temptation we have no one to blame but ourselves. The devil will come along to tempt us with promise of gain or pleasures, or something else that is in our heart. He knows what we desire - and we need to put those desires down.  If we give in to the devil’s suggestions, yielding to the temptation that he places before us, we may very well find some gain or pleasure for a season - but, if we insist on pursuing such a course, it will lead us down the road to hell.

We need to put the flesh down, and yield to the Spirit of God. Some have a lust for sex - while others have a lust for food, or for gain, or for pleasure, or prestige, or some other thing.

If we listen, the devil will entice us and lure us to give in to that lust. He usually works on what is already in one’s heart, something that isn’t yet crucified.  You need to crucify that thing as soon as you are aware that it’s in your heart, so the devil won’t have an advantage of you.

Many times these things enter our heart because we have let down in our prayer life and have set the Word of God aside. When we become careless in our devotional life, we allow these things of the flesh to gain entrance into the heart.

But, as long as we put down the flesh, yielding to the new man - we will find the way of escape when temptation comes along. We should be concerned each and every day that we seek the Lord and are walking in the Spirit.

It doesn’t all go overnight - but we need to persist in pressing in to the things of the Lord, while resisting the flesh. We can’t give in and yield, and expect to walk in victory. Rather, we need to cry out to the Lord for help - and help will come.

If you love those fleshly things that are in your heart, you’ll readily yield to temptation. You may not love the results of that thing that holds you down time and again - but do you love that thing?

You hear of those who are in bondage to another person through lust. They take beatings time after time, living in confusion and strife - yet they say they can’t make a break BECAUSE THEY LOVE THAT LUST.

There’s a need to get a hatred for those lusts of the flesh, that we’ll be able to stand strong against temptation. Our faithfulness in praying and walking in the Spirit is where the victory lies.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
James 1:2-3

Count it all joy when divers temptations come along your path. Don’t let discouragement put you down; don’t get bitter towards the Lord; don’t give up and yield - but count it all joy, and let the Lord work a work in your life.

If you turn to the Lord, He will help you through - and draw you closer to Him. You need Him!  It’s not time to turn from Him, not time to try to work things out in your own strength and understanding. Count it all joy - and look to Him for that which you need to bring you through.

God is faithful to bring us through - if we let Him. He knows just how to help us, and to deliver us out of every temptation.

Don’t get sidetracked by discouragement or defeat. Press on. Temptations will come along - but remember that the Lord is there to deliver us out of them.

They were trying to make a covering for their sin. Previously, they had walked in the garden unaware of their nakedness. They were as innocent as small children, not knowing good and evil.

For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
And Adam was not deceived,
but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing,
if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
1 Timothy 2:13-15

One result of their sin is that Eve would find sorrow in child-birth. God had told them to be fruitful and multiply (have children) but it wasn’t originally intended to be a hard thing to bear children.

This was part of the curse. Many women suffer much in bearing children - and some even die as the result!

But there is a promise for the saved, for those who are no longer under the curse.  This is a promise of blessing for the saved woman who is expecting a  baby. She doesn’t have to endure hard labor, nor have difficulty and pain in delivery. Rather, she can be blessed in bringing forth a child.

Another part of the curse Eve brought upon women is that they would be ruled by their husband. The woman allowed herself to be deceived, and would now have to be in submission to her husband.

This is the very thing many women fight against, advocating women’s liberation. They want to be their own boss - and, in many marriages, that’s just how it is! The husband goes his way, and the wife goes her.  They live two different lives, even though they are married. But God intends them to be one (with the husband over the wife - and Christ over the husband).