Adam the Man

 

"The first man is of the earth, earthy."

"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."

1 Cor. 15:47,49

 

So what about Adam? What was he like? What kind of body did he have? What about original sin? Where does the Bible speak of "original sin?" If sin is inherited and we can't help but sin, then why the commands in the Bible to do good? How come those who claim to be born again still sin? What's the difference if I'm saved or not if I still can't help but sin? How come we are responsible and punished for Adam's sin? How could I have been born a sinner when I didn't sin, when I didn't even know what sin was?

There are many more questions like the above. I recently read where someone said, "I've heard people go round and round about original sin because they feel put upon by the concept of someone else being responsible for them being a jerk and sinning uncontrollably. If I understand the Fundamentalist Christian teaching on the subject, we're born sinners, and we'll die sinners, and nothing will help us but to ask God for help, and repent from all our bad deeds and do good. But even then God will knock you on the head, if you're not careful."

So sad. The reason for all the confusion is because there is an ancient teaching from around the fifth century that has existed up to our day that has to do with the term "original sin." It is believed that the sin of Adam resides in all his descendants. It is taught that when Adam sinned, his "nature" became so corrupted that he passed this nature to all his posterity. It is taught that all his descendants have some inherent pollution caused by him and so someone managed to coin the bizarre term "sinful nature." Sin is viewed as a disease, a kind of nonmaterial genetic mutation acquired in Adam and then passed down from generation to generation. It is a reverse evolution of the nonmaterial. Like organic evolution, it requires the creation of missing links to substantiate it. In this case, the missing links are fabricated terms and concepts not appearing in Scripture. Since Augustine, a heretic of the fifth century, the level of absurdity has grown with increasing philosophical speculation, from Luther to Calvin, and down through the Puritans to Hodge, and now a whole string of modern parrots. They say that all men die because, though they didn't sin either personally or in Adam, yet all are born evil in the very essence of their souls.(1)

The man mainly responsible for working out this doctrine was Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430). Augustine believed all of humankind, existing in seminal form in Adam, participated in Adam's first sin in the garden. He believed that Adam fell from a state of perfect holiness and immortality into a state of moral corruption, and his free will became enslaved to what he termed "sinful nature." He taught that all of Adam's descendants sinned "in Adam" and therefore are born in a state of "original sin." Augustine taught we are born bearing the guilt of Adam's sin and fully deserving of God's punishment. This teaching was buttressed by the Protestant Reformer John Calvin (A.D. 1509-1564).

Subsequent to Calvin, another interpretation of "original sin" was articulated by means of "Covenant theology" or "Federal theology."(2) This theory is that Adam sinned as the Federal head or legal representative of all humans. Supposedly Adam broke God's covenant (no covenant was made in the garden) and his sin was legally "imputed" to all his posterity. This theory is usually taught in conjunction with the Augustinian theory. So it it believed that all humanity is guilty of Adam's sin both by heredity and by legal imputation. What this boils down to is that each individual is born into this world in an actual state of sin, and guilty of sin, because this is an inherited sin from the first man Adam physically, "legally," or both.

There are some theologians who disagree with this teaching. One of the most notable to disagree was Charles Finney, a well-known evangelist of the Second Great Awakening in the United States. Finney was careful to distinguish between "physical" depravity and "moral" depravity. He believed and taught that every human is born with a depraved physical nature, not with a depraved moral nature. He believed that confusing the two would absolve individuals of any personal responsibility for their own sins. Finny denied the doctrine of "original sin."

The following is a compilation of direct quotes from advocates of the doctrine of original sin, beginning with direct quotes from Augustine himself:

There was an article "Thanks, but No Thanks," recently written by a Christian I know, which endorses Augustine's doctrine of original sin. He begins with:

 There is not one of us who have not received something they did not want and wish they could send it back.

(Chickenpox, mumps, wrinkles, hair lost, audits for the internal revenue services and worst of all the legacy of Adam.)

He is referring to "original sin," the "sinful nature" that is passed upon all men because of Adam, as Augustine believed. In other words, we received something against our own will, something we did not want and wish we could give it back to God. That something he wishes he could give back is the "disease" God supposedly gave the human race through Adam, and since we have this disease called "sinful nature," a curse given by God because of Adam's sin, we can't help but sin. Do you know what that tells me? That God is responsible for us sinning! He gave us something we did not want. We blame our Creator for our sinfulness. We have found an excuse for the sins we commit on this dual personality God gave us. As said above, to believe in original sin absolves individuals of any personal responsibility for their own sins.

I have been doing some investigation on some websites and came across this comment,"Every descendant of Adam has inherited this disease; the law of sin and death has appeared in every person born of the line of Adam. This disease is known as SIN NATURE. The only way to be reconciled with God is to somehow get rid of this sin nature." Interesting. How does one get rid of the sin nature? He never said how. It certainly couldn't be by being born again, because Christians still sin! So how does one get rid of that sin nature? Obviously we are stuck with it. It's also interesting that God gives plenty of commands so that we may lead a holy life, but apparently this would be an impossibility because God gave us this "sinful nature" that we cannot shake or give back to Him. Sin is no longer a transgression of the law, sin has simply become a disease we have inherited.

Going back to the article, to prove his point of original sin, he uses children as an example and then quotes a passage from the book of Job:

Having raised six children and working on the last I never had to instruct any in how to lie, rebel, steal, be selfish or to act unseemly.

They are naturals and have this innate "talent" that has caused me much grief and concern. The Bible alerts us of this prior to them seeing the light of day.

Job 15:14 What [is] man, that he should be clean? and [he which is] born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

It should be noted that he quoted the words of Eliphaz which cannot be quoted as inspired truth, for God testified against Eliphaz and his two friends that they did not hold the truth! Today this teaching of "sinful nature" is supported by quoting someone who didn't even speak the truth about God. God told Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job (Job 42:7-8)

So here we had the first attempt to try and prove Augustine's theory by quoting a man who did not tell the truth, who did not speak the thing which is right.

He continues:

You can place two "innocent" small children in the same room with one toy and just wait for a very short time before you hear: it is mine, I had it first and finally "Mommy" when the one hits the other one.

THE TODDLER'S CREED

If I want it, it's MINE,

If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's MINE,

If I can take it away from you, it's MINE,

If I had a little while ago, it's MINE,

IF it's MINE, it will never belong to anyone else no matter what - It's still MINE,

If we are building something together, all the pieces are MINE,

If it looks just like mine, it is MINE,

Tell me friend, where do toddlers get this selfish and violent behaviour?

We are to infer that every infant is born with a "sinful nature," inheriting Adam's disease that was supposedly passed upon all men.

How does one explain the sinful actions of a toddler? It is clear from Scripture that every baby (all of us) is born without the presence of God, without the Spirit of God dwelling within the body, without the divine life of God inside of his body. When the baby comes into this world it is disadvantaged in that he does not have the resources of the spirit that comes from God to overcome these bodily drives. That's why a toddler sins. That is why a toddler can show selfish and sometimes violent behaviour. The baby is born separated from God and eventually ends up in the lake of fire as an adult because at some point in his life he will come to know and understand the difference, not between right or wrong, but between good and evil (Deut. 1:39). Until then that child is safe and his sin is not imputed to him (Rom. 5:13; Rom. 4:15). He is alive. Once he comes to the understanding between good and evil, he will then be guilty for his own personal trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). The Bible NEVER says a baby is "born in trespasses and sins" or "born spiritually dead in trespasses and sins," that is, unless you agree with Augustine's theory.

He continues and then shifts his attention on Cain:

 Tell me where did Cain receive the innate ability to manifest the works of the flesh?

Cain did not receive unholiness from God; therefore he inherited these from Adam.

Cain is singled out here when trying to prove the "sinful nature" theory. Why single out Cain? Did Cain sin because he had a sinful nature? Why blame Cain for killing Abel if he was born with an "innate" necessity to sin?

Well, there's another side to this coin. Is it not true that God always had His saints? Did not God have people who feared Him and kept His commandments? How about the people who did not break God's commandments daily in thought, word and deed? God said of Job, "A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil (Job 1:8)." What happened? Did Job not inherit Adam's sinful nature? What about Enoch who "walked with God" and "was not, for God took him. (Gen. 5:24)." Did Enoch escape inheriting unholiness from Adam? What about Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers, how he kept himself pure in the matter of Potiphar's wife? Let's not forget Daniel and Shadrachh, Meshack, and Abednego. Did all these people escape inheriting Adam's sinful nature? Why does the Bible say Noah was found righteous in his day and how come others were not? What about Zacharias and Elizabeth who "were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1:6)." What happened to that Adamic sinful nature that should have been passed onto all these people? Why was Lot called a righteous man, and yet the people around were found wicked sinners, sinning exceedingly and were destroyed? Please tell me, was their sin a disease they inherited or was it an act? Is it something that some of them inherited and others did not, or was there a difference, and if there was, what was that difference? These questions are crucial and must be answered in order to make sense out of this whole mess! "Original Sin" is not Bible doctrine.

The gentleman continued and mentioned David's natural state of birth.

David remarks on this natural state of his birth.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalms 51:5 and 58:3 are the most common verses cited to support the doctrine that each individual person is actually born in a state of sin.

Both passages are interpreted literally to prove man is born with an innate nature that necessitates one to do nothing but sin. However, I believe the author of the article should also consider other writings of King David, where this same King David is addressing God (Ps. 22:9,10; cf. 71:5,6).

What so many want to imply from Psalms 51:5 is that David was born a sinner. The ramifications of taking the verse literally would mean that God fashioned David in iniquity! We are to believe this was David's natural state of birth, and therefore ours also. Scriptures do not support such doctrine. When David said, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me," he is speaking figuratively, otherwise, if taken literally, David has just charged his Creator with making him a sinner.

The doctrine of sinful nature slanders the character of God. If man has inherited a sinful nature at birth, then God is responsible for that sinful nature, for it is God who established the laws of procreation. No, David would never charge his Master with such slander, for David knows that God is his Maker (Ps. 119:73, Ps. 100:3). It is God that hath made us.

 The Bible is clear that God is the Creator of all men:

The Bible says "We are his offspring," does that mean his offspring are born sinners? Jesus said, "I am the root and the offspring of David." Does this mean that Jesus, as the offspring of David, was born with a sinful nature? Jesus was a man, descended from Adam, born with a human nature as we are, so the only conclusion can be is that Jesus was also born with a sinful nature. Since this is not acceptable to think that Jesus would ever be born with a sinful nature, we must now make Mary sinless. I even read in one article that inherited sin is handed down through the father (because of Adam) and since Jesus didn't have a "human father," he did not inherit the sinful nature! What will we think of next?

Contrary to popular opinion, Psalms 51:5 it is not a statement of original sin. The language of Ps. 51 is figurative. Both context and reality demand a figurative interpretation of this text. We know David uses figurative language throughout his Psalms. Take Ps. 58:3 for example, "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies." Do we actually teach that babies go astray as soon as they leave the womb, speaking lies? This is contrary to reality if we were to take this literally. If we want to make verse 5 to be understood in the literal sense, then why not do the same with the other surrounding verses? Verse 8 can teach that God breaks the bones of sinners when he sins, and then these bones rejoice when he is forgiven. How about being cleansed with hyssop?

Even though these standard verses are quoted with private interpretation, these types of poetic expressions still fall far short of proving each person is born bearing the guilt for Adam's first sin.

When we read such passages as Psalms 51, both context and our knowledge of reality demand a figurative interpretation. Verses five, seven, and eight are all figurative expressions. Throughout Psalms, David sometimes uses the strongest possible language to express the joy, or the despair, of his innermost being. Psalms 51 is a Psalm of repentance from David's heart towards God. Nathan pointed out David's sin (2 Samuel 12). David was guilty of his own sins and in very deep remorse. David couldn't blame anyone for his sin. He was confessing his shame and sin before God, using strong figurative language to express that deep, awful shame and guilt. David was grieving over the tragedy of his sin. He deserved to die for the sins he committed, for there was no prescribed sacrifice to cover the sin of adultery and murder. Although David was still going to suffer the consequence of his sins, according to Law, David should have been put to death, and he knew it. David would have died in his sins and faced eternal torment in Hell. In the Old Testament, God forgiving David was an absolute exception, the Bible calls his case the sure mercies of David.

 

Romans 5:12

"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:"

 

In Romans 5:12-21, Paul explicitly assigns the universality of death to Adam’s sin. This passage is also one of the primary passages on which the doctrine of "original sin" was built. Augustine and his contemporaries relied on the Latin version of Romans 5:12 where it states for "in him all men sinned. It was a corrupt Bible Augustine had. No place in the Bible does it say, "In Adam all sinned." Verse 14 disproves that account, it is fatal to the Augustinian reading, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." (v. 14)

If you are capable of reading this article, death will pass your way some day and your body will end up in a graveyard somewhere. There was a death penalty passed on all men because of Adam's sin. There is a great difference between imputing someone else's sin, with its guilt, and imputing the temporal consequences---physical death. In other words, it's not Adam's sin that was imputed to him and his descendants, it was the result of sin that was passed on....death. Physical death is the lot of all flesh on this planet that has forsaken the God of life.

It is clear that the passage talks about an original sin, for Paul clearly states that sin entered the world through one man, but that this sin was passed to Adam's descendants is not supported in the passage at all. Sin is not an abstract property that can be "imputed" from one person to another (Ezek. 18:20), like it's some kind of disease. Sin is clearly defined as lawlessness. Sin is the transgression of the law.

What about verse 19? where it says, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

To quote another author:

Some people view Romans 5:12 as speaking of "spiritual death" since Adam did not physically die the day he ate from the forbidden tree. It is clear from Scripture that the penalty for Adam's sin was physical death and the Bible says that the death that passed on all men is physical, the dissolution of the body, as seen by:

The Bible does not paint the picture of two deaths, one spiritual and one physical. Romans 5 speaks nothing of a spiritual death. There is no such condition in all of Scripture. Yes, there is such a condition as being dead in trespasses and sins, estranged from God, but depravity is not "spiritual death." As another author stated, "Though it could be misleading, we could even call it spiritual death, if by that we simply meant that on a divine plane the man was totally out of touch with God and righteousness. But the fallacy in choosing this non-scriptural terminology is seen in the fact that it has led many to believe that the human spirit is somehow dead or inoperative. Uninformed Christian writers and theologians have even incorporated that false concept into their writings."

Even the Jewish view is that physical death is the result of Adam's transgression, and agrees with Paul's language in 1 Cor. 15, which can be considered an interpretative key for Romans 5:12-21.

The Scriptures are beyond dispute. It certainly does not have "spiritual death" in mind here, nor does it speak of "eternal death." The death which he writes about is the physical death.

Romans 5:18 says, "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation." The fact is, sin resulted in the condemnation to death. "so death passed upon all men."

The only way Romans 5:12-21 can be read is with the condemnation of physical death in view, resting in light of other passages of Scripture.

To attribute condemnation to an inborn, depraved morality as Augustine and Calvin would assert, is unjustified. Moral responsibility implies the capacity to recognize the difference between good and evil, which Scripture clearly denies the youngest of infants and young children this knowledge (Deut. 1:39; Isa. 7:15,16). To say that infants are born in a sinful state and are guilty of someone else's sin, and so everyone is born spiritually dead , is foreign to Scripture. Notice the term, "born spiritually dead," no such passages of Scripture exist.

To believe in the doctrine of original sin as Augustine and Calvin taught, not only is the fundamental freedom of the human will unequivocally affirmed, but personal responsibility for sin, as well as the justice of God, are also affirmed. Granted there is no doubt that all of us are born with limitations and weaknesses, but they are not of such a nature as to prevent us from making our own moral choices and suffering the consequences of our own personal sin. It is true that all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. We must come to God with our personal sins, which means we have the opportunity to respond to God's gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ who is able to reverse the effects of sin and death. Is this not the whole point of the gospel? Amen!

Above I had mentioned how that there is a popular teaching that Adam's spirit died the day he sinned. I always took this teaching for granted, but never did any study concerning the matter. But now that it has caught my attention, I find no such Scripture to support that allegation. The only spirit Adam had was his "human spirit," the Bible calls it the "spirit of man." This is not the Holy Spirit. Adam did not have the Holy Spirit living in him.

We are to believe that Adam's spirit died the day he sinned, and therefore everyone is born with a dead spirit, but Scripture supports just the opposite! I searched the Scriptures and looked up passages that had to do with the "spirit of man," the human spirit, and as I read I found scores of verses that shows how every unregenerate, depraved person in the Old and New Testament had a spirit that was very operative. I read that a person's spirit can be troubled (Gen. 41:8). Can a dead spirit be troubled? I read where a man's spirit can be hardened by God (Deut. 2:30). Can a hardened spirit be dead? A man's spirit can be sorrowful (1 Sam. 1:15). Can a dead spirit be sorrowful? A man's spirit can rejoice (Luke 1:47). Even Christ Himself said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." How can something be willing if it is dead or inoperative? If a man's spirit can be willing, and remember Christ said it is, why do we want to teach the exact opposite just to prove someone's idea and then pull about three or four verses out of context just to try and prove a dead spirit? The Bible tells us the spirit is anything but dead or inoperative. It can be troubled, hardened, sorrowful, rejoice, and it can be willing.

 

The Image of God

 

The soul. We are made in the image of God, which has to do with our constitution, the structure of our human soul, not how we act. The attributes of the human soul remain the same whether we employ it honorably or not.

The Bible is clear that God made man in His image. (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7). Three times the Bible confirms this, but yet we will find in some commentaries how it is said Adam lost that image when he sinned. Nowhere does the Bible say Adam lost that image by sinning and thus his descendants also.

I took another look at Dr. Ruckman's (a man whom I respect) commentary on Genesis where he tries to explain how Adam lost the image of God when he sinned, but he did not give any Scriptural references for support. He totally ignored Genesis 9:6 where it concerns that image, and 1 Cor 11:7 is explained away by saying how Paul is only referring to those who are in Christ, who have regained that image. Paul does not make that distinction, nor is it the topic on hand.

The Bible is very clear and mentions THREE (triune) times that man is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7) and James confirms all three (James 3:9).

Scripture is very clear that every human being is:

  1.  Made in the "image of God." Genesis 1:26. (The soul, with the attributes of mind, will, and emotions.)

  2. That all humans "have borne the image of the earthy." 1 Corinthians 15:49; Genesis 5:3. (Mankind bears the earthy image of Adam, who was made out of the earth, earthy.)

  3.  And that only born again believers will be "conformed to the image of his Son." Romans 8:29

 

God's Triune Nature I have never seen God. Though I have never seen my Creator, He left a witness of His nature in the physical world. God's triune nature can be observed in the physical nature. For instance, space is three-dimensional. It has height, width, and depth. Time is three, it is: past, present, and future. The physical sun is a picture of the triune nature of God. It emits alpha, beta, and gamma rays. In the world of color there are three primary colors from where all other colors stem: red, yellow, and blue. In the public school system there is: primary, middle, and high school. The Bible for example has three parts: The Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles. There are three heavens (2 Cor. 12:2). In the Old Testament we find: The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. In a family unit we have father, mother, and children.

These are just a few of the witness of God's triune nature as revealed in everything that surrounds us in the physical world. We can take the body itself and see a triune physical nature. Our own body consists of flesh, bones, and blood. The blood consists of three main cells: platelets, red cells, and white cells. The flesh consists of three layers of skin: Epidermis, Dermis, an Subcutaneous tissue.

God has a soul. There are three attributes of the soul (mind, will, and emotions). God has a mind, God has a will, and God has emotions. The Bible says we are made in God's image, and like God, every human being has a soul, which consists of mind, will, and emotions as well.

The soul isn't something we possess, but it is who we are, it's our personhood. God has a soul and He gave us a soul. So the structure of the soul is: mind, will, and emotions (triune). We are a mini-replica, a representation of the Almighty, infinite God, though we are not God and He is not us. He is infinite, we are finite. This soul is surrounded by a physical body made from the earth. If our physical body ceased to exist, our soul would not cease. Our soul part of us is immortal as God is immortal.

You are a soul (mind, will, and emotions) with a soulish body. It has a bodily shape. Though Scripture doesn't state this plainly, just at it doesn't use the word Rapture, its conclusions can be drawn from Scriptures about a soulish body. The Scriptures depict the soulish body as in the same shape as our physical body. When the soul is out of the body, it can still feel, think, has a will, taste and touch. It has a tongue, fingers, etc. We can understand this if we read Luke 16:23-24. The rich man was in hell (though his fleshly body in the grave) and was able to speak and see ("And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments..."). He wanted to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue.

In Revelation 6:9-11, we read about those who were killed for their faith and their souls under the altar and they cried to the Lord and were able to receive and wear white robes.

"I saw under the altar the souls...."And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

The soul is the invisible part of you and me that cannot be seen. These fleshly eyes cannot see you, the real you. These fleshy eyes cannot see God. The Bible says in 1 John 4:12 that,

Jesus said in John 14:9,

Jesus is speaking of his bodily appearance in the flesh. "God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16)."

The three attributes of the soul (mind, will, and emotions), as with God's soul, are interdependent. Each soulish attribute implies and necessitates the other. In other words, I cannot rightly conceive of mind without a will. Without my mind I could not think a thought, have a change of thought, or maintain continuity of thought. It would be impossible for me to to entertain any kind of thought, value that idea, will it to pass and not feel in accordance to its stage of development. My emotions are an inevitable result of valuing something which my mind chooses to value. To deny the concept of either the mind, the will, or the emotions, would render the other two attributes inconceivable. Each attribute cannot exist without the other, each necessitates the other.

 

Here is a picture of a physical brain and a physical heart.

In the medical field, they can replace body parts. They have even put in plastic hearts to replace the human heart. There have been people who have lost part of their brain, but can still function and think. At one time the medical field was experimenting in replacing a person's heart with a plastic heart that could still pump blood.

The brain is not your mind, just as that heart is not your emotions. With that plastic heart, you still have emotions. The Bible speaks a lot about the heart. The heart is the seat of the affections and passions. It's the summation of the mind, will, and emotions. In the Bible we can read about an honest heart, deceitful heart, good heart, a willing heart, the proud heart, a pure heart, a heavy heart, a sorrowful heart. Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." He also said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

So the brain is not my mind, just as that physical heart is not my emotions. The brain is physical, the mind is metaphysical. Though the brain can be damaged, it doesn't change who we are. My mind is one of the attributes of my soul, just as emotion is another attribute. Our mind is part of that soul God created, and is not dependant upon the human brain for its existence. Our emotions are not dependant upon the human heart for its existence.

We know when the body is dead, the physical brain is dead just as well. However, the day we face physical death and stand in the presence of the Lord, we are still a capable, thinking being. We will still know who we are and have all our memory. In this life, when the brain deteriorates and forgets, that memory is not gone; the soul man, that part of us, still remembers. When this soul mind is confined in the physical brain, it's limited as to its memory, but once I am out of this body, I'll remember every single little detail of my life, for nothing will be forgotten, not one thing. When I stand before the judgment seat of Christ and all my works judged, I cannot stand there and say, "Oh, I forgot." I will know what Christ is talking about. Right now we only see through a glass darkly, but when I come face to face with my Creator, I will no longer know in part, but "then shall I know even as also I am known." When a sinner is at the Great White Throne Judgment he will remember and know every little detail of his life, what he did each day while he was here on this earth before he died physically. He will know all the times he rejected Christ and every sin he ever committed. He will be without excuse.

The body When God made Adam in His image, He took that image and surrounded him with an earthy body. There is an earthy body and there is a heavenly body. God does not have an earthy body. When Adam was created, he was created perfect, as perfect as flesh can be, but he did not have a glorified body. The flesh is mortal, not immortal.

The finality of our salvation is the redemption of this fleshly body which will one day be a heavenly, glorified body like Christ's body. Christ, in His glorified body after the resurrection, is said to be "...the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Man was never said to be in the express image of God. As someone has well stated, when we look at humanity and say we see the image of God, we are like a child pointing at the surface of the water in a mud hole and exclaiming, "Look! I see the sky."

The spirit. This spirit given to Adam is not the Holy Spirit, but what the Bible calls the "spirit of man." Man is made up of a body, soul, and spirit. God has a body, soul, and spirit. God's own spirit breathed into Adam. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" and it was then that man became "a living soul." That spirit imparts to our soul the attributes of self-consciousness and self-determination. It completes the "image and likeness" of God.

The soul of man corresponds to God the Father; the spirit of man corresponds to the Holy Spirit; and the body of man corresponds to Jesus. As Jesus is the only aspect of God that is visible (heavenly body), so the body is all that is visible of man. We are truly in God's "likeness." (5)

God gave man that spirit which made him become a "living soul." To say that Adam's spirit died when he sinned is to contradict other simple truths of Scripture that show otherwise. In fact, the Bible says, "...the body without the spirit is dead..." (James 2:26). The simple definition of dead is lacking power to move, feel, or respond; incapable of being stirred emotionally or intellectually. But as said previously, we saw a small sample of Scriptures how the spirit of man can be troubled, hardened, sorrowful, rejoice, and how it is willing.

The spirit that was given to the human race through Adam is not the person of the Holy Spirit. It is the essence of life itself, that life which is common to the Godhead. Humanity shares personhood with God by sharing mind, will, and emotions infused with the spirit of life. The spirit breathed into Adam became Adam's own spirit, separate from God. It is the presence of that eternal spirit that makes the soul alive and man immortal. All who are conceived are made alive by that spirit, and therefore it can never be destroyed. The triune soul fused with the spirit is essential to human personhood. (6)

Born again. What happens when a person is born again? What happens is that the Spirit of God enters that man. Look at the chart above. The human spirit is still there, but now God takes up residence. You now see two spirits in there. Just as the Bible says a husband and wife become one flesh, so it is with the Spirit and human spirit, they become one, for the Bible says "he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." The Bible also says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " It does NOT say, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is a spiritual rebirth of the human spirit."

Look at the chart up above and imagine only one "s" in there for the spirit. That one "s" represents your human spirit, a spirit that is very much functioning, very much alive. The Bible says, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh." That is the first birth...in the flesh. Now! When I trusted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, BOOM! The Holy Spirit of God comes into my body and takes up residence. That is the SECOND BIRTH. That is what is called BORN AGAIN. I had my first birth, that of the flesh, and then my second birth, when the Holy Spirit came and took up permanent residence in me.

There is no recreation (born again) of the human spirit. The spirit of man is not what needs to be born again. What that person needs is God's Holy Spirit. He needs a birth from above. Everyone comes into this world without the Holy Spirit. He needs another birth. He needs the Holy Spirit. When I am born of the Spirit, I am no longer destined for Hell, my sins are forgiven, I have hope, I can now have sweet fellowship with God. God begins to guide me in all truth. I am born of the Spirit in that God's Holy Spirit now resides in me, thus new life, born again. As soon as I was born again, a lot of spiritual things were taking place, and among that was circumcision, "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead (Col. 2:11,12....see also Heb. 4:12)" so that I would not have to be a slave to sin any longer. This body no longer has control over me. Through Christ I can do all things because now I have Christ who strengthens me. I became a new creature in Christ, I was baptized into His body (1 Cor 12:13). I am in Christ.

 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " Adam gives birth to fleshly children, and God gives birth to spiritual children. God has not born my body again. When I accepted Jesus Christ, my body did not change. Nothing happened to my flesh. It was still the same flesh before and after I got saved, but one day this body will be changed. It will be like Christ's resurrected body. It is a mortal body destined to be a heavenly body. "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23)."

 

Adam's Flesh Made Mortal or Immortal?

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground..." -Gen. 2:7

When I look at physical creation (the earth, sun, moon, stars), I know it's under the absolute program of God, with all its fixed laws. As it is with the creation around us, so it is with this body of flesh. Everything inside the physical body is needed to function like it should. The physical body needs the bones, it needs the muscles, it needs the liver, the bladder, the heart, red cells, white cell, nerves, the veins and yes, blood. Without blood the flesh cannot live (Lev. 17:11). The flesh needs the blood circulating throughout the body. Man needs all the parts inside of him to operate in the manner God created it. Granted some of the body parts can be removed without destroying life, but the body suffers from fully functioning like it should. And of course, without such things as the heart, liver, veins, and blood, the body could not survive at all. God made all these necessary inward parts to function the way He programmed it to be.

The Bible tells me man is made from the earth, and called "earthy." Every single little detail of Adam's body is made from the earth. There's a body laying on that ground with every piece of equipment necessary to function, waiting for something to give it life. It was God breathing into Adam that made him become a "living soul."

The subject that seems to have disagreement among Christians is whether Adam was made a mortal or an immortal being. After doing some studying in the Scriptures and searching a vast number of different commentaries to read what others had to say, I have come to the conclusion, basing my final authority upon the Scriptures, as far as I understand it, that Adam was made a mortal being as far as his flesh is concerned. The key to my conclusion is based upon 1 Corinthians 15.

When God made that body, it was not said to be a glorified body. The Bible calls it a natural body, earthy.

"And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly." -1 Cor. 15:45-48

According to what I am reading, what came first was the natural, not the spiritual. The earthy man made from the earth first, afterward that which is spiritual. When Adam was created, he was created a natural man. He was earthy. Scriptures above show that what came first was the natural man, and then that which is spiritual. Adam was a pattern. He was a figure of him who was to come (Rom. 5:14). Adam was not created with a glorified body. Jesus came down in an earthy body, like Adam's. He came down a natural man first and was then glorified and became a glorified man, in a different form. We see the same pattern of the natural and the spiritual, in that order.

I would like to stop here for I have a commentary before me by Dr. Ruckman. As I said before, I do respect this man, but it does not mean he is infallible. None of us are. I happen to disagree with him on some points and I will state why, but first, concerning Adam and Eve, he believes they had no blood. Dr. Ruckman states, "The "life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11-14), so there is a good possibility that Adam (as Christ's resurrection body) had no blood when he was created; and there is an excellent probability that Eve was also created that way. At any rate, the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" produces a blood stream in our first ancestors which guarantees that they will devolve, disintegrate, and rot, no matter what science says!"(7)

Though he says it is a possibility that Adam had no blood when God created him, he went through great lengths elsewhere in his commentary to support the idea as fact, even though he admits it's only a possibility Adam had no blood. Then further in his commentary to keep supporting his idea they (Adam and Eve) had no blood, he tells us when he thinks Eve got some blood, for he says concerning Eve, "But she takes the forbidden fruit orally. It is a grape with seeds, and typifies blood and becomes blood in her."(7) Further in the book he's not sure, for he states, "Three things happen when Adam pops that fruit into his mouth. 1. He gets blood poisoning, if he had blood to start with."(8)

I was reading over an article on a website titled, "Forbidden Fruit" which also tried to prove Adam had no blood. It states,

I believe this author was parroting Dr. Ruckman, or it could be from Dr. Ruckman himself; however, this author went through great lengths to try and prove Adam had no blood. The problem with this is that he is comparing a resurrected body (Christ's body) to that of the natural, earthy body (Adam). Adam did not have a resurrected, glorified body like Christ's body. He had a natural body. To imply that Adam had a heavenly body contradicts Scripture where it concerns the natural man. Let's read the Scriptures again:

There is no Scriptural support that says Adam did not have blood when he was created. However, it seems to me there is more support logically and Scripturally that Adam did have blood since we must look at how God made us. The Bible says we have borne the image of the earthy, and Adam is that earthy image, and if we have blood, then Adam had blood. Concerning Adam, we are in "his own likeness, after his image" (Gen. 5:3; 1 Cor. 15:45-49). Everything we are now, in this fleshly body, is the same kind of body Adam had, with all the same bodily elements. Jesus came into this world as a man, a human being, with the same elements! Jesus had blood!

Mortality existed prior to Adam's sin.

 It is a Biblical fact that the beautiful cherub Lucifer turned against God and had a great host of heavenly beings on his side. Lucifer and his army had already sinned and suffered the destruction of their bodies as seen by the fact that Satan confronted Eve in a borrowed body. He had to use the body of the serpent to entice Eve. However, human death owes its origin to the first human sin.

There is nothing in Genesis 1-3 that says Adam was created immortal. The burden of proof rests with those who teach he was, since we cannot prove a negative.

Reading the first few chapters of Genesis along with 1 Corinthians 15:45-50, the Scriptures clearly indicate that Adam was created mortal. God linked the human soul to a body of flesh and breathed into it the breath of life and man became a living soul. The Scriptures do not say that the flesh became mortal as a result of sin.

Adam was created mortal, which means there was a possibility that death could take him. He was made from the dust of the earth, a very unstable material, to say the least. In order that his life might be prolonged indefinitely, or at least it seemed until his probationary period was over, he was given access to the tree of life. If Adam's flesh was created immortal, then there would have been no need for the tree of life.

According to Genesis (and reading the passages in 1 Corinthians 15:50), the fleshly body was never meant to be eternal for " flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." Adam was flesh and blood, and we have the same type of body as Adam. If you want to leave out the blood, fine, but we still have to deal with the mortal flesh.

1 Corinthian 15:44-54 clearly teaches that Adam was create mortal, corruptible.

The conclusion is that Adam was created in a natural body. Paul says Adam was taken from the earth, earthy (v. 47). When Adam sinned, God told Adam "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen. 3:19).

Adam's life was dependent on air and food. He was a mortal man with the possibility of immortality. Not only that, he was potentially corruptible. In other words, if God had denied him food he would have grown hungry and eventually his body of flesh would have died. He was mortal by nature and would have fated sooner or later to return to dust. The fact of God warning Adam that if he ate from the forbidden tree he would die is an acknowledgment that the body was such a nature as to be subject to death.

We can compare Adam's flesh to the nature of Christ's flesh. Jesus was "made like unto his brethren." Jesus took on himself a body of flesh just like Adam's before the fall. Jesus' body was mortal, corruptible. Jesus' body was corruptible, but not corrupted for he did not sin. Jesus had blood. Jesus needed air to live. Jesus needed to eat, he had to eat food to sustain his flesh. If Jesus bled long enough, he would have died a natural death by bleeding. Jesus aged, which means he had cells that died and replaced with new cells. Christ is the second man in every sense of the word, the Adam of God before the fall. He had a mortal body capable of dying, as was Adam.

There is nothing mystical about Adam. Man is made from the earth, earthy. The same elements in the earth are the same elements that our bodies are made up of. Those coming from the loins of Adam, the first man made from the earth, is said to be in "his own likeness, after his image." (Gen. 5:3) The Bible says we have borne the "image of the earthy" (1 Cor. 15:49). It's an earthy body like Adam's, not a glorified body, and so we are in his likeness, after his image.

That is the nature of man so far in the aspect of that which is natural, what constitutes it for what it is, earthy.

There's the absurd teaching that when Adam sinned, his nature was changed. We are bombarded with the term "sinful nature" (Calvinistic theology); that every infant born is born with a sinful nature inherited from Adam, which the words, nor the concept is supported by Scripture. It's a term we have taken for granted without really examining its consequences. It clouds so many areas of Scripture when dealing with the "flesh" and its "members" (eyes, ears, tongue, sex organs, hands, feet) in the New Testament. When one substitutes the word flesh for sinful nature, or mind for sinful mind, the simple truths of Scripture are shaded and hidden which cripples our understanding of God's words.

We know our bodies are sustained by cells dying and being replaced with new cells. Since man was created a mortal being (his flesh), I believe this is where the tree of life comes in. God gave Adam and Eve the tree of life as a means to prevent the body from its natural cycle. As long as they continued in fellowship with God, they had access to that life sustaining tree. When they ate from the forbidden tree, God denied them access (and everyone after him) to the tree of life. Death is the natural consequences of sin, but it is also a divine sentence.

Prior to Adam and Eve committing sin, it was necessary for them to eat in order to sustain their mortal bodies, and the Bible is clear that they were given access to the Tree of Life, an indication that their bodies were created mortal. The Tree of Life helped in sustaining their mortal bodies from aging. They were allowed to freely eat from that tree.

The Bible says right there that Adam was given permission to eat of EVERY tree in the garden, and this included the "tree of life."

We know that when God made Adam it was not for the purpose so he could die, but to have life and live forever. God made provision for him to live forever. To be under God's blessing is life. Death on the other hand is a curse. Death is a curse that came as a result of Adam's sin.

We know that the Bible says it is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment, yet we know there will be many people who will not die even though they are appointed to die. In other words, we know that those who are appointed to die will not die because something circumvents that. Something happens to supplant that death sentence upon that soul.

The Bible says Adam was given permission to eat of EVERY tree in the garden (Gen. 2:19,16) , and this included the "tree of life". God provided the tree of life from which they could freely eat. If Adam had ceased to eat from the tree, he would not have lived forever. He had eternal life as long as he had the tree of life, and enjoying the benefits of having daily fellowship with God. The only tree he was not to touch was the tree of the "knowledge of good and evil." Immediately man assumes that Adam did not eat from the tree of life at all. Considering God made Adam from the earth, a natural man (1 Cor. 15:47), with all his body parts working and functioning the way God intended it to function (with the laws of cells dying and having to be replaced with new cells, to digest food and eliminate it, etc.), he would need food to sustain his body. That tree of life is what sustained Adam's natural body from losing weight and eventually dying. His soul wouldn't have died, but his fleshly body would have. The fact that man has to be excluded from the tree to prevent him living for ever suggests it had a similar continuing function. In Genesis, nowhere does the Bible say Adam died a spiritual death. What God did was drive him from the garden lest he reach out and eat of the tree of life and live forever. God told him from the dust he had come and to dust he would return. Again, the implication is that what had sustained Adam's physical health and immortality was his partaking of the tree of life, not simply once, but on a regular basis. Revelation 22 supports this thought, where this tree comes to play again for the healing of the nations, bearing crops every month of the year in the eternal state. Because of Adam's sin, God denied him any further access to this tree of life and thus became subject to mortality.

I believe even Dr. Ruckman was close to this in his commentary. He states, "Among those free trees is to be found the Tree of Life. Both of them by freely eating could have lived forever in a sinless, innocent condition in fellowship with their Creator and all of His creation! A man say, 'Do you mean to tell me that some fruit could produce eternal life?' Of course, why not? Are not the trees of Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22 for 'medicine' and 'healing'? Have not the American Medical Association and the college laboratories and nuclear physicists all over the world spent hours and days in trying to produce life, or substances that can sustain life?"(9)

When we read about Adam, he's in a natural body and has fellowship with God everyday, with every herb and the tree of life close by, ate from that tree of life which kept his body from aging, that kept it from getting old, that kept it from dying. God, by His grace, provided that tree of life which Adam could eat from and never die as long as he had access to it. Once he was deprived of the tree of life, the death process started taking place in his flesh.

However, of the one tree of good and evil, God told him if he ate from it he would die.

If we are honest with ourselves, before we were indoctrinated by man, we know that the first time we ever read that passage we automatically took it literally as "physical death." Well, Adam ate from the forbidden tree and he didn't drop dead that day, so to help protect God's blunder, men like Augustine and Calvin must come to His rescue. Since Adam did not physically die that day, a non-biblical term was invented, and so it is said that he died spiritually. That is not what the Scripture tells us. It is impossible for the spirit of man to die, for the body of flesh cannot live without the spirit. James says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead." There is plenty of Scriptural proof that proves man's spirit is alive and functioning.

Because of Adam's choice to sin, he came under the curse of God so that physical earth and all physical descendants of Adam became subject to mortality by no choice of their own (Rom. 5:12-14, Rom. 8:20-21). Nowhere does the Bible say Adam's sin was imputed to his descendants or that all sinned in Adam.

When Adam sinned, a death sentence certainly came upon him, which had to be fulfilled before the day was out. I will remind the reader that something did die before the day was out.

How do you think God got those coats of skins? He had to kill an animal. Adam committed an act of sin "for sin is the transgression of the law." Adam went against a known command from God. When Adam ate from the forbidden tree, he became as stated in Ephesians 2:1, "dead in trespasses and sins." Without God's intervention, if they were to die that day, both Adam and Eve would have been doomed to eternal hell fire besides a physical death. Because of God's abounding grace and mercy towards sinners, he already had an intervening redemptive purpose worked out. In Genesis 3:15 we have a prophecy which we know refers to Christ. And in the that day, what followed this prophecy was that God killed an animal and made coats of skins and placed them on Adam and Eve. So Adam avoided the immediate death penalty by the substitution of an innocent animal (most likely a lamb) that died in his place. However, the sacrifice did not give Adam and Eve the right to re-enter the Garden, nor did it free them from the death sentence. The Bible says, "death passed upon all men" and this included Adam. The word "passed" means "to move in a path so as to approach and continue beyond something. To pass, as one who travels, passing through a region." It is not speaking of an instantaneous event, but of a history of overtaking. "Death passed upon all men" and the graveyards prove that point.

When we get to Genesis 5:5 (the number of death), we finally see where Adam succumbed to physical death as God said he would (die) and this death passed upon all his descendants. Death did pass and continues to pass upon all men. Read Genesis 5 and note the word "died." This whole chapter starts speaking of those who died (with the exception of Enoch, which I believe represents the church who will meet the Lord in the air at His coming). Death became the history of the human race and continues to this day. One is born, lives, begets sons and daughters, and dies.

So back to Gen. 2:17, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." I will have to admit this had stumped me for a long time as I tried to understand this whole thing. I had been praying for answers where it concerns Gen. 2:17, for we know Romans 5:12 speaks of a physical death and 1 Corinthians 15 speaks of a physical death anticipating a physical resurrection and is an interpretative key for Romans 5:12, and it is apparent physical death is meant in Genesis. The reason for all this confusion is because we are constantly fed that Adam died spiritually that day and so this umbilical term is forever ingrained on our mind. Nowhere does the Bible speak of "spiritual death". (For more details listen to Adam and Christ Audio)

What we do know is that Adam and Eve where in a state of "innocence." They knew neither good nor evil. The only way to know the difference between good and evil was to eat of the forbidden tree. Their knowledge came by them disobeying the word of God, his command for them not to eat, and upon acting against God's command, they committed an act of sin, "for sin is the transgression of the law." When Adam ate from the forbidden tree, he became as stated in Ephesians 2:1 as for all those who have sinned, he became "dead in trespasses and sins." He was doomed for Hell and physical death, along with his wife ("For as in Adam all die").

Since Adam sinned and had a mortal body, he was no longer given access to the tree of life which helped sustain that mortal body. That day God denied Adam and Eve access to the garden, and from that day Adam's body began its dissolution, until finally one day, death of that body ("thou shalt surely die."). In the mean time, because of God's abounding grace and mercy towards sinners, he already had an intervening redemptive purpose worked out so that they might some day live again, free from eternal damnation in Hell, where one day there would be a restoration of having God's presence and fellowship.

The sacrifice did not give Adam and Eve the right to reenter the Garden. From that day till now, no one has the privilege of eating of that tree and live forever. God does not want a sinner to live forever. An immortal sinner would be an absurdity. God slaughtered an animal to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness, and God promised a Redeemer who would come. (Gen. 3:15).

Concerning Adam when he sinned, the Lord did not do anything to change his body, his nature. The Bible says nothing about his nature being transformed. It is clear from the Bible that Adam was separated from the one resource that would have enabled him to stave off physical death. This death was then assured to all his descendants, since the one resource was denied to all mankind, "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Gen. 3:24)."

The Lord also did not do anything to his spirit. There's just no Scriptural support for that, nor do Adam's descendants bear the blame or guilt of his sin, we bear the penal and natural consequences, which is physical death. Romans 5:12 states:

Infants who have not committed personal sins nevertheless, die. All of us bear the penal and natural consequences which is physical death.

Adam's death was physical as seen by the fact that the Bible repeatedly represents the cure for Adam's death as yet future for all believers. "For since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall [yet future] all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:21-22)." It is a physical death that anticipates a future resurrection. If the death incurred in Adam was something spiritual, then those now in Christ would already be delivered from it. But the Scripture is emphatic; the cure for our corporate death in Adam is yet future. The new birth is not the cure; the new body is.(10)

When Adam sinned, there was no longer any personal relationship with God. He was alienated, without hope, without God, no fellowship, and denied entrance into the Garden. He no longer had fellowship with God, he no longer had the daily, intimate communion with God. When we are born, we are born under the same condition and will eventually experience the same kind of death Adam experienced, physical death. And as time passed and man multiplied, sin increased and the body was susceptible to all kinds of diseases, the genetic pool got worse, birth defects, etc. etc..

We might ask, "How did his sin affect him and his posterity? One thing that can be said, the Bible doesn't say his spirit died. God did not recreate or uncreate him. God did not alter the essence of his being of which he was originally created. Now we know that certainly something happened in his character, in his thinking, in his mind, in his will, and in terms of his relationship with God, but nowhere does it say God changed his spirit. Because of Adam's sin, we come into this world without the Holy Spirit, without fellowship with God, without entrance into the garden, and without the tree of life, . The whole entire race, born of a woman, comes into this world subject to physical death, and sooner or later falls into voluntary moral depravity because of the combination of influences in that direction (the world, the flesh, and the devil). But God made a way, the ultimate sacrifice, to restore fellowship and to give eternal life and that is through his Son Jesus Christ.

_______________________________________________________________

 

 

(1) Michael Pearl, Romans 1-8 Verse By Verse (No Greater Joy 1000 Pearl Road, Pleasantville, TN 37033), p. 94
(2) Cf. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.), 1939, rep. 1984, pp. 211,212
(3) http://www.baptistlink.com/dividingword/myth_of_original_sin/chapter_2.htm
(4) Michael Pearl, Romans 1-8 Verse By Verse (No Greater Joy 1000 Pearl Road, Pleasantville, TN 37033), p. 86
(5) Michael Pearl, By Divine Design (No Greater Joy 1000 Pearl Road, Pleasantville, TN 37033), p. 8
(6) ibid, p. 8
(7) Dr. Peter S. Ruckman, The Book of Genesis (Pensacola, Florida; Bible Believers Press) p. 59
(8) ibid, p. 90
(9) ibid, p. 80
(10) Michael Pearl, Romans 1-8 Verse By Verse (No Greater Joy 1000 Pearl Road, Pleasantville, TN 37033), p. 86