What the Bible says about God's Geneology
(From Forerunner Commentary)
These two verses in the genealogy of Adam might seem unimportant at first. It is the first place in the Bible that the created man is named "Adam." He has before been referred to as Adam, but here he is named Adam.
We need to ask, "Is this really Adam's genealogy?" Well, the answer to that is, yes and no, because the implication of verses 1-2 is that God is naming Adam. As his creator and thus father, He has taken His prerogative and named the man He had created in His likeness "Adam."
With God at the head—not Adam—this means this genealogy is God's, which includes Adam, and makes God the father of all humanity.
This genealogy eventually comes to Noah, who had three sons, and each of them married. After the Flood, all of mankind has sprung from Noah. But Noah came from Adam's line—or better, from God's line. Therefore, God is the Father of all of humanity!
Why is this important? It reveals that mankind has sprung from God. Because of this fact, man is substantially distinct from all other mortal creatures.
Related Topics: Adam's Geneology | Creation of Human Beings | Creation of Mankind | Family of God | God's Children | God's Family | God's Geneology | Noah | Noah's Offspring
Are we sons of Adam? Why do we have this image? Why are we like him? Because we are his offspring! We have been born into this earth, the offspring of Adam, as Acts 17 clearly proves. When we are resurrected we will bear the image of our Father. We will be just like Him (I John 3:2), even as we are now just like Adam was. We will be God!
Incidentally, the word image means "that which corresponds to and reproduces the original." No image—whether it is a reproduction in a flat mirror, a three-dimensional hologram, or a living child of a parent—is an exact replica or image, because each person has his own peculiarities. That is so evident and logical that everybody should be able to understand that nobody can be God exactly as God is God, because each person is an individual personality. We will be a reproduction of Him, but we will be unique—because we are who we are, and He is who He is. He has His life and His history, and we have ours. However, we will still be God. We will be just as much "God" as a baby in the human family is a "human" like its parents.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part One)Related Topics: Adam's Geneology | Adam, Sons of | Family of God | God as Family | God as Parent | God's Children | God's Family | God's Geneology | Image | Image and Likeness of God | Image of Adam | Image of Christ | Image of God | Image of the Heavenly | Image of this World | Image, Spiritual