Genesis 5:2 Commentary and Bible Study

Again we are told what had been said before, but now in summary. Man was made male and female. It is God who defines our nature and many important lessons are mediated through that nature. What we are now is not what we shall be, and the resurrection body which we will receive when Christ returns will have its own set of lessons. But for now we are male and female, and only these two genders. We do not define our gender but God defines it. Like many other circumstances of life, we do not choose these things for ourselves, but we receive them from God. It is human rebellion which refuses to recognise this and wants to be free to define our own essence as if this is not already defined for us by God who does not consult us first. Human rebellion knows no bounds, and although it is madness to think we can succeed, human beings even presume to fight against things that are totally out of their control.Adam and Eve were created directly by God. All others came from this first pair of human beings by natural means because man, unlike the angels, was given the ability to reproduce. Adam was made the head of the human race under the covenant of works, and as the first man there was no one more suited to take this role. Surprisingly, the name Adam, which means ‘earth’, is given to both of them. This word is not used in this verse as a personal name, as it is in the preceding and following verses, but as a name which describes the kind which man was. He was Adam, both male and female were Adam. God gave them this name and it told them what they were. By this name man was reminded of his earthly origin, and was encouraged to aspire to more than he received originally. He was of the earth, earthy, but the image of God within him made him aspire to heaven, to be more than he was first created to be. He saw right from the start that all his good came from his Creator, and he needed God to raise him up above his earthly origin.