Who Were Adam and Eve?

Adam was the first man, formed by God 'of the dust of the ground' and given the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Eve was the first woman, created from Adam's rib to be his companion and helper (Genesis 2:21-22). Together they were placed in the Garden of Eden with one prohibition: not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Deceived by the serpent (Satan), Eve ate the forbidden fruit and gave it to Adam, who ate willingly (Genesis 3:6). This act of disobedience — the Fall — had catastrophic consequences: spiritual death, physical mortality, broken relationship with God, a cursed creation, and the transmission of a sin nature to all their descendants. Romans 5:12 states, 'By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.' Yet even in pronouncing judgment, God promised a Redeemer — the 'seed of the woman' who would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15), the first prophecy of Christ. Adam and Eve's story is the story of humanity: created for fellowship with God, fallen through sin, and in need of salvation.