{"id":12057,"date":"2023-07-04T16:19:46","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T21:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/?page_id=12057"},"modified":"2024-06-02T17:17:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T22:17:15","slug":"adam","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/creation\/garden-of-eden\/adam","title":{"rendered":"Adam"},"content":{"rendered":"

ADAM\u00a0<\/strong>
\nThe conventional interpretation of the creation story is that Adam is the first human. It is hard for people who read the Bible literally to avoid this interpretation. Nevertheless, consistent with our arguments in\u00a0Literal or Symbolic Interpretation: Part 1,<\/a>we choose to see the story very differently.\u00a0<\/a>For example, we do not see Adam as the first physical man. Rather, we see him as the symbol of the first spiritual man: Jesus<\/p>\n

As evidence for this opinion, we offer\u00a0Genesis 1:26<\/a>\u00a0in which God says:<\/p>\n

And\u00a0God\u00a0said\u00a0, Let us\u00a0make\u00a0man\u00a0in our\u00a0image,\u00a0after our\u00a0likeness:\u00a0and let them have\u00a0dominion\u00a0over the\u00a0fish\u00a0of the\u00a0sea,\u00a0and over the\u00a0fowl\u00a0of the\u00a0air,\u00a0and over the\u00a0cattle,\u00a0and over all the\u00a0earth,\u00a0and over every creeping\u00a0thing\u00a0that\u00a0creepeth\u00a0upon the\u00a0earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

What God really meant differs greatly from traditional, literal interpretations.<\/p>\n

First we see\u00a0\u00a0that\u00a0man\u00a0does not refer to a single man but to all mankind \u2014 both male and female.\u00a0Therefore, the Hebrew word\u00a0\u2018adam<\/a>\u00a0should be interpreted as inclusive mankind until the point that God blew spiritual life into his nostrils. From then on,\u00a0\u2018adam<\/a>\u00a0is appropriately interpreted as\u00a0Adam, a unique, spiritual\u00a0man.<\/p>\n

Next we must\u00a0consider the nature of God and man.\u00a0God is spirit, but \u00a0man consists of spirit, soul and body<\/a>, where the body\u00a0is formed out of the\u00a0dust<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AUTHORS\u2019 NOTE: Readers who bother to click on\u00a0Adam\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0earth<\/a>\u00a0will notice that the Hebrew words \u00a0\u2018adam and \u2018adamah are very similar even though the technical definitions are different.\u00a0Since we are always looking for the spiritual meaning of scripture, however, we make the\u00a0 connection here to the\u00a0symbolism that equates man to earth.\u00a0This may not seem important in the Genesis story, but it does become very important in\u00a0Exodus 20:24-25<\/a> and following scriptures where altars are mentioned. What we learn from this association is that the kinds of altars God recognizes and commands people to build are not physical altars but are spiritual altars (i.e. hearts). We have discussed altars in more detail in Altars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This great contrast between\u00a0spirit<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0body<\/a>\u00a0makes it\u00a0obvious that the physical likeness of God was not created\u00a0when natural man was created in\u00a0Genesis 1:26<\/a>.\u00a0Therefore,\u00a0Genesis 1:26<\/a>\u00a0 cannot apply to the creation of a singular, natural man. What it does refer to, however, is the creation of the first spiritual man, the one to whom Jesus is likened in\u00a01 Corinthians 15:45 KJV<\/a>:<\/p>\n

And so it is written , The\u00a0first\u00a0man\u00a0Adam\u00a0was\u00a0made\u00a0*\u00a0 a\u00a0livingsoul;\u00a0the\u00a0last\u00a0Adam\u00a0was\u00a0made\u00a0a\u00a0quickeningspirit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We conclude, therefore,\u00a0that\u00a0God did not make physical man in this phase of creation. Instead,\u00a0Genesis 1:26<\/a>\u00a0 is a separate phase of creation in which he created man as a\u00a0spiritual being in God\u2019s image. In other words, mankind, including the one named Adam\u00a0already existed as a physical being when God transformed him into a spiritual being in the image of God. This was the beginning of God\u2019s plan to populate the world not just with physical people but spiritual people in his likeness.<\/p>\n

Faced with this alternative interpretation, readers will naturally ask about the creation of the first physical man. Our answer to that is found earlier\u00a0in\u00a0Genesis 1:24-25<\/a>:<\/p>\n

And God said , Let the earth bring forth\u00a0 the\u00a0living\u00a0creature\u00a0after his kind, cattle, and creeping\u00a0thing,\u00a0and\u00a0beast\u00a0of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God\u00a0made\u00a0 the\u00a0beast\u00a0of the earth after his kind, and\u00a0cattle\u00a0after their kind, and every thing that\u00a0creepeth\u00a0upon the earth after his kind: and God saw\u00a0 that it was good.<\/p>\n

Clicks on the links in this scripture reveal the definitions of the original words from which the English words are translated. This investigation leads us to the conclusion that\u00a0living\u00a0creature\u00a0,\u00a0thing,\u00a0beast,\u00a0cattle\u00a0and\u00a0creepeth\u00a0all have definitions that apply to man. They are not definitions that are exclusive to animals.\u00a0The words \u201d\u00a0living\u00a0creature\u00a0,\u201d definitely apply to man because they include the concept of soul. And \u201ccreepeth\u201d and \u201cthing\u201d can also be interpreted to apply to man without stretching the definitions unreasonably. Therefore, we conclude that physical man was created along with all the other animals.<\/p>\n

The creation of man in both his physical and spiritual form is\u00a0commonly interpreted to have happened\u00a0in\u00a0Genesis 1:26-27<\/a>:<\/p>\n

And God said , Let us\u00a0make\u00a0man\u00a0in our\u00a0image,\u00a0after our\u00a0likeness:\u00a0and let them have\u00a0dominion\u00a0 over the\u00a0fish\u00a0of the\u00a0sea,\u00a0and over the\u00a0fowl\u00a0of the\u00a0air,\u00a0and over the\u00a0cattle,\u00a0and over all the\u00a0earth,\u00a0and over every creeping\u00a0thing\u00a0that\u00a0creepeth\u00a0 upon the\u00a0earth.\u00a0 So\u00a0God\u00a0created\u00a0man\u00a0in his own\u00a0image,\u00a0in the\u00a0image\u00a0of\u00a0God\u00a0created\u00a0 he him;\u00a0male\u00a0and\u00a0female\u00a0created\u00a0 he them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The way we see it, the creation of man was a two-step process. First God created the physical man in\u00a0Genesis 1:24-25<\/a>, and the spiritual part (i.e. in God\u2019s image) in\u00a0Genesis 1:26-27<\/a>. The completion of the spiritual part is accomplished in\u00a0Genesis 2:7<\/a>:<\/p>\n

And the LORD God\u00a0formed\u00a0man\u00a0of the\u00a0dust\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0ground,\u00a0and\u00a0breathed\u00a0 into his\u00a0nostrils\u00a0the\u00a0breath\u00a0of\u00a0life;\u00a0and\u00a0man\u00a0became a\u00a0living\u00a0soul.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The\u00a0breath\u00a0of\u00a0life\u00a0is the same as being filled with the Holy Spirit \u2014 the same Spirit mentioned in\u00a01 Corinthians 15:45 KJV<\/a>\u00a0that applies to both\u00a0Adam and Jesus.\u00a0 Adam already had physical life, but he needed spiritual life in order to fulfill God\u2019s plan for him.<\/p>\n

The way we see it, this interpretation of the creation of the physical and then the spiritual man is entirely consistent with what God says in\u00a01 Corinthians 15:41-49<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: \u201cThe first man Adam became a living being\u201d the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth,\u00a0 the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The way we see it, when God said the natural came first and the spiritual followed, he was not talking only about the examples cited in the passage, He was also making a point about how He works in general. If that is correct, then He would be faithful to follow that pattern in how He reveals Himself in His word. It is important, therefore, to always apply this principle when studying the Bible. And the way we do that is by reading the natural (i.e. literal) word and then asking God to reveal the spiritual understanding to us.<\/p>\n

So what is the pattern?\u00a0 We think it is found most clearly in these two statements in verses 44 and 46:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. \u201d\u201dThe spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Since this is what God said, we do well to apply that pattern in our interpretation of the creation of man as well as other parts of the Bible . In other words, God first created the natural Adam, and then he created the spiritual Adam. Looking at it that way has several applications.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ADAM\u00a0 The conventional interpretation of the creation story is that Adam is the first human. It is hard for people who read the Bible literally to avoid this interpretation. Nevertheless, consistent with our arguments in\u00a0Literal or Symbolic Interpretation: Part 1,we …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":12055,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12057","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12057"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13128,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12057\/revisions\/13128"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}