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". . . . . but from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this
cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife . . . . ."
Here the Lord is quoting literally from the Septuagint version of Gen. 1: 27 and 2: 24
and from this there can be no doubt whatsoever that He regarded Adam and Eve as literal
persons. The context makes no sense without this.
How can anyone therefore call himself a Christian, a true believer in Christ, who does
not accept as true everything that He taught? But there is more than this. The whole
central section of the epistle to the Romans, namely 5: 12 - 8: 39 stands or falls with a
literal Adam:
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin . . . . . death
reigned from Adam to Moses . . . . . if through the offence of one many be dead, much
more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, hath
abounded unto many . . . . ." (Rom. 5: 12-15).
Surely if `one man' Adam is a myth, the whole of the Apostle's argument and doctrine
is jeopardized. Its basic doctrines of the Christian faith: justification by faith apart from
works or human merit, its "no condemnation" and its glorious `persuasion', all have no
logical basis if they do not rest upon historical fact. Both Paul and Christ must have been
deceived if Adam never existed and who can trust deceived people for time and for
eternity? Truly we can echo the cry of Mary, "they have taken away my Lord, and I
know not where they have laid Him" (John 20: 13).
Not only is the fundamental epistle to the Romans invalidated, the glorious hope of
resurrection is likewise nullified:
"For since by man (Adam) came death, by Man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Cor. 15: 21, 22).
Here the argument from Rom. 5: is reinforced by the emphasis on resurrection. That
Paul completely and unreservedly endorsed the opening chapters of Genesis, let the
subsequent references to Adam in I Cor. 15: 45-49 speak:
"And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was
made a quickening Spirit . . . . . the first man is of the earth, earthy: the second Man is
the Lord from heaven . . . . . and as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly" (I Cor. 15: 45-49).
When we are dealing with the doctrine of resurrection, let us remember we are
handling the very foundations of our faith and hope in the future. If there is no
resurrection then the whole Christian faith collapses:
"And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that
He raised up Christ: Whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if
the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain;
ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished"
(I Cor. 15: 14-18).