Topical Bible: Adam: The First Man: Temptation and Sin of

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Adam, the first man created by God, holds a pivotal role in the biblical narrative of creation and the fall of humanity. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was formed from the dust of the ground, and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, making him a living being (Genesis 2:7). He was placed in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it, and he was given dominion over all living creatures (Genesis 1:28).

The account of Adam's temptation and sin is foundational to understanding the human condition and the introduction of sin into the world. God commanded Adam, "You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). This command established a clear boundary and a test of obedience for Adam.

The narrative of temptation unfolds in Genesis 3, where the serpent, described as more cunning than any beast of the field, approaches Eve, Adam's wife. The serpent questions God's command, saying, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). This question introduces doubt and challenges the integrity of God's word.

Eve responds by affirming the command but adds, "You must not touch it, or you will die" (Genesis 3:3). The serpent counters with a direct contradiction, "You will not surely die," and suggests that eating the fruit will open their eyes, making them like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5). This deception appeals to the desire for wisdom and autonomy.

Eve, seeing that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom, takes the fruit and eats it. She also gives some to Adam, who is with her, and he eats it as well (Genesis 3:6). This act of disobedience marks the entrance of sin into the human experience, as both Adam and Eve's eyes are opened, and they realize their nakedness, leading to shame and fear (Genesis 3:7).

When God confronts Adam, he shifts the blame to Eve, saying, "The woman You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it" (Genesis 3:12). Eve, in turn, blames the serpent for deceiving her (Genesis 3:13). This passing of responsibility highlights the disruption in relationships caused by sin—between humanity and God, between man and woman, and within the created order.

As a result of their disobedience, God pronounces curses upon the serpent, the woman, and the man. To the serpent, God declares enmity between it and the woman, and between its offspring and hers, with a promise of ultimate victory through the woman's seed (Genesis 3:14-15). To the woman, God increases pain in childbearing and establishes a dynamic of relational tension with her husband (Genesis 3:16). To Adam, God curses the ground, making his labor toilsome and ensuring that he will return to the dust from which he was taken (Genesis 3:17-19).

Adam's sin has profound theological implications, as it introduces the concept of original sin, affecting all of humanity. The Apostle Paul reflects on this in the New Testament, stating, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). This underscores the need for redemption and the hope of restoration through Jesus Christ, the "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45), who offers salvation and reconciliation with God.

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Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
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Job 31:33
If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom:
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Isaiah 43:27
Your first father has sinned, and your teachers have transgressed against me.
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Hosea 6:7
But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.
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Library

On Our First Parents and their Fall
... When a man becomes insane or loses the use of ... corrupted by the sin of our first parents,
which ... Our "understanding darkened." Adam knew much more without study ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 5 on our first.htm

Adam's Sin
... I. Our first parents fell from their glorious state of ... God made man upright, but
they have sought out many ... to woo, not a king to compel; but Adam gave away his ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/2 adams sin.htm

On the First Sin of the First Man
... the effects of the Holy Spirit dwelling in man, ought not to ... sin, however, is not
peculiar to our first parents, but ... For in Adam "all have sinned." (Romans 5:12 ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/disputation 7 on the first.htm

How Sin came In
... The law to which Adam is to be obedient is in ... form, is the natural symbol of such
an enemy of man. ... of the forbidden fruit are not dangled at first before Eve ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/how sin came in.htm

His Freedom from Sin.
... an accidental or outward gift, and his temptation an unreal ... As a true man, Christ
must have been a free ... the first and the second Adam: the first Adam lost his ...
//christianbookshelf.org/schaff/the person of christ/his freedom from sin.htm

Curiosity a Temptation to Sin.
... the Jews; and we at this day inherit with them a like nature from Adam. ... captive at
his will[3]. He sees that curiosity is man's great and first snare, as ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol viii/sermon v curiosity a temptation.htm

Of the Manner of the Temptation in which Our Lord was Attacked by ...
... Him to those sins, by which he had deceived the first Adam, inferring that He as
man would similarly ... which had shot up as from the root of the first fault ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter vi of the manner.htm

Through the Fall and Revolt of Adam, the Whole Human Race Made ...
... not difficult to infer in what way Adam provoked the ... beginning of all evil, because,
had not man's ambition carried ... he might have continued in his first estate ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 1 through the fall.htm

Original Sin
... in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. ... Ever since Adam did eat of
the tree of knowledge, and his ... If God leave a man to himself, how suddenly and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/3 original sin.htm

The Doctrine of Man
... a) On Our First Parents"Adam and Eve ... The results of sin in the experience of our
first parents were ... in child-bearing, and subjection of woman to the man (Gen.3 ...
/.../evans/the great doctrines of the bible/the doctrine of man.htm