Where did God create Adam?
I thought we could begin with a little Bible trivia this morning. Before you answer, keep in mind that this is an open book test. So here is question number one. Where did God create Adam? Was Adam created in the garden, in Eden?
Genesis 2:4-7 (NIV) says, "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
These verses don't say where Adam was created. In fact, Adam is sort of like the senators from Indiana and Wisconsin. He's in an unspecified location! He's not in the garden. He is somewhere outside the garden. What these verses do tell us is the condition of the place where Adam was created. There were no shrubs or plants in the field yet. There wasn't a single blade of grass yet. God had not sent any rain yet. Streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface. There was dust. Wherever God created Adam stood in stark contrast to the Garden of Eden.
How did Adam get into the garden of Eden?
Question number two is, how did Adam get into the garden? Genesis 2:8 (NIV) says, "Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed." And notice that this is repeated in Genesis 2:15 (NIV). "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."
Whether it was only for a few hours or for a few days, or whether Adam was conscious or unconscious, we cannot know. But Adam was formed outside of the garden. He received the breath of God and he experienced his first moments of life outside of the garden. But then he was put in the garden by God. That's what the Bible teaches us.
Look again at Genesis 2:8. God forms the man. But then in his grace and kindness, he prepares a place for man. He plants a garden in the east, in Eden. And look at the verbs in Genesis 2:15. God, "took" the man he created and, "put" him in the garden. Adam was outside the garden. Now he is in the garden.
What right did Adam have to the garden?
Question number three is next. What right did Adam have to the garden? The answer is that Adam had no right to lay claim to the garden. He wasn't born there, he wasn't formed there, he didn't take his first breath there, he hadn't worked there, and he hadn't earned any right to be there. Adam is put there only by the means of God's grace and kindness-- nothing more, and nothing less.
Just as he did for Adam, God has prepared a place for us.
In Genesis 2 we have a foreshadowing of salvation and eternal life. Consider John 14:1-3 (NIV) where Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." We don't just go to heaven. Heaven is a place where God must take us and establish us.
And my favorite, Colossians 1:12-14 (NIV) speaks of, "...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Are we to suppose that we are worth anything apart from God's grace and kindness? Jesus is preparing a place for us. God takes us, loves us, redeems us, forgives us, and brings us into the kingdom of the Son. We don't earn it, we don't deserve it, and we don't attain it. Life and immortality are gifts given by God's grace alone. It's all from God!
There is no basis for boasting. We can't just will ourselves into heaven. God has to take us and put us there, he has to bring us from the outside into his kingdom. Jonah 2:9 (NIV) says, "Salvation comes from the LORD." Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
The Garden of Eden had ten characteristics.
The fourth question is, what was the Garden of Eden like? The Garden of Eden had ten characteristics.
1. Eden was a safe place.
First, it was a safe place. It was a place under God's care and protection. This is what Genesis 2:8 and Genesis 2:15 are teaching. God didn't abandon Adam in the vast wilderness along with wild animals and no food. But God created a safe place for Adam and Eve. This is a major theme of scripture! Psalm 46:1 (NIV) says, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 18:2 (NIV) says, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Adam was momentarily outside, but now he is inside the garden. He was put in a place under God's care and protection.
2. The garden was a place of pleasure.
Second, the garden was a place of pleasure. The word "Eden" means delight or pleasure. In Genesis 2:9 (NIV) we read, "And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." This is one of the greatest misconceptions about God! First and foremost, God created us for his pleasure. But he also created us to be delighted, and to enjoy pleasurable, guilt-free lives. Life in Eden was delightful. It was pleasurable. And outside the Garden in Eden, life was something else. So here is the point. Life isn't pleasurable apart from God. Life isn't pleasurable outside the garden. Life isn't delightful in the presence of danger and trouble. Life is only pleasurable when God is our refuge and strength, our ever-present help.
3. Eden was a place of nourishment.
Third, the garden was a place of nourishment. God provided trees that were good for food. In the Jewish tabernacle was a golden candlestick styled in the shape of a tree. In front of the lighted lampstand, the Jewish people placed twelve loaves of bread to symbolize God's sustaining presence. See Exodus 25:31–35 and Leviticus 24:1–9. This was a reminder to the Jewish people that they didn't just need God to create them. They also needed God to sustain them daily with his bread. We are no different than the Jewish nation. We need God's sustenance for our lives also. In the New Testament, Jesus is the bread of life and he teaches us to pray to the Father by saying, "Give us today our daily bread." See Matthew 6:11 (NIV).
4. The garden was a place of immortality.
Fourth, the garden was a place of immortality. Notice in Genesis 2:9 that in the middle of the garden, God placed the tree of life. In the garden, God is making a provision for eternal life. In Genesis 3:22 we learn that whoever reaches out and takes from this tree will eat and live forever. Throughout the Bible, the tree of life becomes a metaphor for eternal life. But here is the point. Man only had access to the tree of life within the garden. The tree of life wasn't accessible outside the garden. As long as Adam was in the garden, in God's presence, he need not fear death.
5. The garden was under God's authority.
Fifth, the garden was a place under God's authority. In Genesis 2:9 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes God's authority in the Garden of Eden. The garden was a place under God's governance, his lordship, his kingship, and his authority. This is what heaven is. This is what the kingdom of God is. The kingdom of God is a people under God's authority. If you are not under God's authority, you are not allowed into heaven. This is why 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV) says, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
Most people are delusional. They think that when they usurp the authority of God during their whole lives, and live in wickedness, they will still lay claim to heaven. Wicked teenagers, wicked college kids, wicked parents, and wicked grandparents do not inherit God's kingdom. Adam could remain in the garden only so long as he remained under the authority of God. If you're not under God's authority, you are on the outside. You're going to hell. Your life ends in tragedy. From dust you came, and to dust you'll return.
6. The Garden of Eden was a place of satisfaction.
The garden was a place of satisfaction. Genesis 2:10-14 (NIV) says, "A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."
Two of the rivers mentioned in these verses still exist today. Two of the rivers mentioned no longer exist. But in biblical times, all four rivers were well known. Most scholars believe that the garden was located somewhere in modern day Saudi Arabia. But here is the point. In scripture, the number four signifies completion. Eden was a well-watered garden, complete in every way. Man could work there with enjoyment. Life there was sustainable in every way.
7. The garden was a place of beauty.
Seventh, the garden was a place of beauty. Let's not belabor all these points. The garden contained abundant minerals, gold, precious stones, aromatic resin, and onyx. Adam didn't have to mine these elements because they were readily available for his enjoyment and pleasure.
8. Eden was a place of purpose.
Eighth, the garden was a place of purpose. Genesis 2:15 (NIV) says, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Adam didn't sit under a shade tree sipping lemonade all day long in the garden! Adam was given meaningful, satisfying work. We weren't created for retirement. We weren't created for leisure. We were created to do the good work God has prepared in advance for us. See Ephesians 2:10.
9. The Garden of Eden was a place of responsibility.
The garden was a place of responsibility. Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV) says, "And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.' " In the garden, there are clear boundaries of right and wrong. There is accountability. Adam has a dire responsibility to obey God. Notice, Adam cannot choose wickedness and eternal life. He can only choose wickedness or eternal life. We'll talk more about this in the coming weeks.
10. The garden was a place of true freedom.
Last, the garden was a place of true freedom. In Genesis 2:16 (NIV) God commands Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden..." In the beginning, Adam was truly free. But you and me? The Bible says we are slaves to sin. The Bible says that there is no one righteous, not even one. We are sinful from birth. We are wicked by default. We are under God's wrath by default. Unlike Adam, we are not free to not sin. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much willpower we muster up, we are all under sin and God's curse. But in the beginning, Adam was free to not sin. He was free to not rebel.
Our dilemma is Cain's dilemma. In Genesis 4:7 (NIV) God says to Cain, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Cain didn't master sin. Instead, sin mastered Cain. He murdered his brother Abel and became a slave.
How do we get back to the Garden of Eden?
Question number five is, how do we get back to the garden, in Eden? This was Thomas' question to Jesus in John 14:5 (NIV). "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus replies to him in John 14:6 (NIV), "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
In Christ alone is the promise of freedom. God's offer is salvation-- immortality and life. But his invitation is Jesus alone. Jesus is our rock, our sure foundation. Jesus is our joy and our delight. We exist for the praise of his glory! Jesus is our daily bread, for man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God. Jesus is our resurrection and life. He died on a tree so that we might die to sin, and live again for righteousness. And Jesus is our Lord! With faith, Jesus invites us to repent of our sin and be baptized into his name. Through repentance and baptism, we declare ourselves to be a people once again under God's authority. We are not wicked, but holy and obedient to Christ.
Romans 6:22-23 (NIV) is God's invitation to us. "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."