Creation: Were Adam and Eve real people?
Something I learned in my college days is that there are highly educated people who think Adam and Eve weren’t real people. Their supposition, if they believe anything about the Bible, is that Adam and Eve are simply symbolic for the entire human race. But what does our Bible actually teach us about this? Can’t we trust the statements in the Bible about all this?
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God [THEOPNEUSTOS = god-breathed], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect [ARTIOS = complete (or brought to maturity)], thoroughly furnished unto all good works. [Emphasis added]
Isn’t it a “good work” to help people understand the truth about creation? We’ll begin by looking at what’s written in Genesis about this.
Genesis 1:26-27
26 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.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. [Emphasis added]
Even the apostle Paul comments about creation. In fact, it is Paul who tells us that it was actually the God/man Jesus Christ who did this fabulous work of creation.
Colossians 1:16-17
16 For BY him [the antecedent here is Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before [He antedates] all things, and by him all things consist [SUNISTEMI = stand together or consist]. [Emphasis added]
That all seems quite clear to me, doesn’t it to you? Then we have the account of God’s creation of the woman, Eve.
Genesis 2:21-23
21 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;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 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. [Emphasis added]
But is all this to be taken “symbolically”? One of the best ways to completely dispel all the false teaching about this is to note what is said in the many other passages of Scripture about this. Here we’ll note a few of them.
Psalm 121:1-2
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. [Emphasis added]
Psalm 124:8
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. [Emphasis added]
Psalm 139:13-14
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: THOU hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are THY works; and that my soul knoweth right well. [Emphasis added]
Isaiah 40:28
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,the Lord, the CREATOR of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. [Emphasis added]
Jeremiah 32:17
17 Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: [Emphasis added]
John 1:3
3 ALL things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [Emphasis added]
Romans 11:36
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are ALL things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. [Emphasis added]
Hebrews 3:4
4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. [Emphasis added]
Are we to simply dismiss all these passages as untrue or, to put it more bluntly, lies? It should be good to know by all that we have a God who cannot lie.
Titus 1:2
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; [Emphasis added]
This puts the words of the Bible above every science book or any other kind that denies these truths.
Now let’s get back to our question—Were Adam and Eve real people? One place we’ll find a clear answer to this is in our apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman believers. Let us first note that it was through “the man” Jesus Christ that the way of salvation was provided for all of us.
Romans 5:7-11
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement [KATALLAGE = reconciliation]. [Emphasis added]
But then in that same passage we see several more references to this ONE man Adam. What one must realize is that if man came into being by evolution from one cell to many, because of so many subsequent births there had to ultimately be many men on the face of the Earth. But the Bible tells us that the creation of mankind began with just ONE man, Adam. Please note how often this statement is made in this passage.
Romans 5:12-19
12 Wherefore, as by ONE man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam [this one man] to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude [HOMOIOMA = likeness] of Adam’s transgression [that of one man], who is the figure of him that was to come [the one man, Jesus Christ].
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For 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.
16 And not as it was by ONE that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by ONE man’s offence death reigned by ONE; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of ONE judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of ONE the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by ONE man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. [Emphasis added]
WHO is this “ONE man” mentioned here and in this passage? It is the one man Jesus Christ! There’s nothing symbolic being discussed here. This is all about the work of the one man Jesus Christ to provide us with a way of salvation. Wasn’t Jesus Christ just ONE man? Then the same must be true with Adam. He wasn’t symbolic of many; he was just ONE man.
All this is so important because the theory of evolution completely wipes out the whole account of man’s fall into sin. So please don’t tell me this isn’t important. It is extremely important!
Adam and Eve were real people, not just symbols for all mankind. Certainly what they did affected all mankind but they were two individuals.
Again, Romans 5:12
12 Wherefore, as by ONE man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: [Emphasis added]
Because of what ONE man did that affected all mankind, all mankind needs a Savior. That well known verse of Scripture relates to this—
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Even though there’s nothing in that verse that tells us specifically what God was accomplishing through Jesus Christ on the cross, the apostle Paul provides all the details of what happened there—
Again, Romans 5:8
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [Emphasis added]
2 Corinthians 5:19-21
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]
It is by faith in this work that Jesus Christ did through His death, burial, and resurrection that all mankind has the opportunity offered to them for salvation. Anytime anyone accepts this offer it is often referred to as justification by faith. For more information about this, please see my article about it—
Justification: How does the Bible define it?
Conclusion—
If Jesus was one man, then Adam and Eve were individual people, too. These statements about them are not meant to be taken symbolically. Just as Adam and Eve committed the first sins, Jesus Christ was the ONE man who came to do something about it, providing a way of salvation for everyone.
Romans 5:8-10
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. [Emphasis added]
Have YOU been reconciled by Him? Have YOU put your faith in what Christ did through His death, burial, and resurrection as the sole means for your salvation? If you haven’t, why not do that right now? God knows all the details of every thought you’ve ever had. If you’ll put your faith in Jesus Christ and this which He did for you, you’ll be saved immediately and forever.
Again, 2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]
Just as the ONE man Adam and the ONE woman Eve brought sin into the world and upon all mankind, the ONE man Jesus Christ provided the ONE solution we all have.
John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I [Jesus Christ] am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. [Emphasis added]
