In The Beginning Was Adam Series

There seems to be a great interest in genealogy these days. People wonder where their roots began. It is said that THE LONGEST FAMILY TREE IN THE WORLD IS THAT OF THE CHINESE PHILOSOPHER AND EDUCATOR CONFUCIUS. THE TREE SPANS MORE THAN 80 GENERATIONS, AND INCLUDES MORE THAN 2 MILLION MEMBERS.

My daughter-in-law has done searches in her family background that revealed when her ancestors came to this country. She tried to follow my son’s but our family must have some dark secrets that we are keeping hid. She couldn’t find much past a few generations. These discoveries are based on marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, property purchases, arrest records, and so on. It was probably the arrest records that brought our search to an end.

Now they can test your DNA to determine your nation of origin. You just send them some spit. And, since 99% of all DNA is shared among all humans, it is that 1% that separates us as individuals. And, since all humans share 99% of all DNA, I believe it suggests that we have one common ancestor that connects us all together. That one common ancestor is Adam.

Luke begins to show the genealogy of Jesus in chapter 3 of his letter. Let’s look at Luke 3:23 “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli. Luke will continue to list the ancestors of Jesus until he reaches the beginning of the family tree.

Luke 3:38 “Kenan was the son of Enosh. Enosh was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.”

Don’t let that statement throw you. Adam was not the Son of God in the same sense as Jesus but rather the son of God because he was created by God and had no earthly father.

REMEMBER CONFUCIUS? THIS FAMILY TREE SPANS EVERY HUMAN GENERATION SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CREATION. IT CAN BE TRACED BACK

CHRONOLOGICALLY THROUGH THE BIBLE TO AROUND 6,000 YEARS AGO, AND EVERY HUMAN BEING THAT HAS EVER BEEN BORN ON THIS PLANET, INCLUDING YOU AND ME, BELONGS TO THIS ANCESTRY.

Our DNA began with Adam and links us all together as family. It is DNA that links us with all of those who have ever lived, who are living, and with Jesus himself. We are relatives to the first Adam and to Jesus who is called in 1 Corinthians the second Adam.

So I thought over the next few Sundays we would take a look at our family tree. As in any family tree we will find some godly people, some shady characters, and some who went through life without leaving a legacy. So we begin with Adam.

God had created the world. There was sunlight and nighttime. There was dry land and waters. There were plants and animals. Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” God did not actually call him “Adam”. Adam is the Hebrew word for man.

God made a special place for Adam. He planted a garden in Eden and placed him there to care for it. God made trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit to grow there. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God told Adam “You can eat all the fruit you want of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you will die.”

God sensed that something was missing for Adam. He realized that Adam needed companionship. So He brought before Adam every animal that was created in the garden for Adam to name. After this chore ended, Adam did not find any animal that could fulfill his desire for a companion.

So God caused Adam to fall into a coma. While Adam slept, God took out one of Adam’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then God made a woman from the rib, and he woke Adam up. Immediately Adam knew he had found his companion. He called her “woman” because she was created through him. They were both nude but were not ashamed because of it.

One day Adam and the woman were in the center of the garden where the tree of knowledge of good and evil stood. He listened as a serpent engaged in a conversation with the woman.

“Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” the serpent asked.

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”