The First Man Adam

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the East, in Eden; and
there he put the man he had formed. (Genesis 2:8)
Man was created as a human being in the singular, and not as a
representative of a whole clan or species. God had formed him from
the ground. There are many creative explanations that try and
accommodate science to this process to explain the transition from
inorganic clay to human sentient life, but the controlling hermeneutic
is to avoid such attempts at harmonising science and scripture. We
do not want to tamper with science, nor do we want to modify the
literal interpretation of scripture to accommodate science. People
want the truth, and the truth is derived from a literal rendering of
scripture to give it the full force and meaning intended.
If people want to understand human development from a scientific
perspective they should go to science because scripture offers a very
different picture to science – a very different timeframe – and it is
not looking at the same subject in two different ways both of which
are true. One looks at humanity from the perspective of secondary
natural causation whilst scripture examines the subject from the
direct agency of God which is supernatural. They are two different
and incompatible accounts. We should not diminish the tension that
is there nor allow it to modify either science or scripture. Scripture is
theocentric and then shifts to Christocentric as recorded in John
Chapter One and Hebrews Chapter One and we want to preserve the
historical narrative without tampering it. Science rules out the divine
and focuses on the natural law. Scripture focuses on God and his Son
Jesus Christ. Scripture is a revelation from God, a different source of
knowledge whereas science is a product of human intellect applied
to scientific research that results in theories based on empirical
evidence.
Scripture describes the creation of man as a direct act of God, and
this connects humanity to God in a very close relationship. Both male
and female are the product of divine formation. They are two
individuals. The relationship of both to God is that they owe their
origin to him and in a sense, he is their parent. So, there is an
expectation that children honour their parents as in the ten
commandments, and so we owe God as a duty, to honour him as
God. However, God is far greater than human parents and is owed
even greater honour as he is divine. This creates a societal hierarchy
with God at the apex of this order.
God not only makes humans, but he makes a home for him and puts
him there. The home is paradisical and safe, but it is not idle
existence that God places them there. God places them there with a
purpose and this involves labour and divine service, but also intimate
communion with God. Therefore, not only is God our maker and
parent, but he is also our provider. God provided a beautiful garden,
a companion for Adam who was lonely, and his presence to raise
humans above the simple existence of subsistence and into the
sublime communion with God. This relationship has not changed.
God remains our Father, our Lord, and our Saviour in Christ Jesus. He
also remains our judge and one who will sentence us for
disobedience. But God is merciful in all his dealing with us. He
provided for Adam and Eve, each other, a garden, and a purpose
which suited their needs at the time. Now our needs are far more
complex. We need redemption from this wicked world and an eternal
home to go to so we can commune with him directly. This he has
provided for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a part of the
story of Adam and Eve. God our Maker, parent, provider, and judge.
This relationship will never change. But now, he forms us not from
the clay, nor from the rib of Adam, but from his own Son to whom he
unites us and we are spiritually reborn into a new creation and
united to Christ spiritually. He has also prepared a home for us in
heaven that transcends anything on Earth. This is our hope and
belief, a conviction founded on God, his word, and his character. It far
transcends the realms and boundaries of science that is limited to
the temporal, transient and redundant world marred by sin that we
live in today.