Was Adam Made Spiritual?

By Sylvester Hassell

Question. Was Adam made a spiritual man, and did he die a spiritual death when he ate the forbidden fruit?

No other man was ever like Adam, or even had his exact experience, and we can only know of him what the Scriptures teach us. It is worse than useless to speculate as to Adam or any other subject beyond the plain teachings of the Scriptures.

The truly humble soul does not desire to indulge in such speculations, or to hear or read such speculations from other (Psa.  cxxxi.; Isa. viii 20.; Acts xvii. 11; 1 Tim. Vi. 3-5; 2 Tim. Iii. 15-17). We know from the scriptures that Adam was made with a body and a soul (Gen.ii 7; Ecc. Xii. 7), and yet that he was made a natural man (1 Cor. Xv. 45-49). Though he had a human spirit, he was not spiritual in the sense in which God’s children are who are born of the Divine Spirit. And we know, from the Scriptures, that, when he ate the for bidden fruit, he died to the pleasant communion that he had before with God, became dead in trespasses and sins (Gen ii. 17; Eph. ii 1), and that he became subject to Divine wrath and to physical and eternal death unless saved by Divine mercy. Gen iii. 17, 19; Rom. V. 12, 21. Some call the death in trespasses and sin spiritual death; if by the phrase “spiritual death” they mean death in trespasses and sins, let us bear with them, and not make our brother an offender for a mere word or expression, when he means only what that Scriptures declare (Is. xxix. 21).”

From Gospel Messenger of Oct., 1902.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *