Satan, Adam, and Sin

Satan, Adam, and Sin

Adam might be considered the original “bad boy” in the Bible; after all, he succumbed to temptation and sinned. But he was not the originator of sin—the first creature to sin was Satan. Satan's creation is not described in Scripture, but Jesus said that He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18). The New Testament identifies Satan as the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Rev. 20:2). He is a fallen angel and is capable of appearing as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Jesus characterized Satan as a murderer and a liar (John 8:44). Satan and the other angels who fell with him will eventually be punished in the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).

If Satan was the first of God's creatures to sin, why does Romans 5:12 say that sin “entered the world” through Adam? Why not say that sin entered God's created order through Satan? Or why not say that sin entered the world through Eve, since she was the first to be deceived and the first human being to sin (1 Tim. 2:14)? The Bible points to Adam as the entrance point, because he was our representative. This representative function helps us to understand why Paul says that death came to all because “all sinned” in Romans 5:12. Adam's sin affected our position and our nature. All men and women share the guilt of Adam's sin, and all are born with a fallen nature as a result. We compound the guilt incurred through Adam's sinful choice by our own disobedience.

Although we may chafe at the thought of having our spiritual fate linked to the choice and actions of another, God's selection of Adam as our representative actually paved the way for redemption. Jesus Christ is called the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). Since sin entered the human race through one man—Adam, grace and forgiveness are now offered through one man—Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15-19). Consequently, Adam was not merely the primary source of sin for the human race, but in a sense he was also its first agent of grace.

The theological term that is sometimes used to describe the relationship between Adam and Christ is imputation. To impute something to someone is to credit it to them. The connection between Adam and Christ means that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection can be credited to us by grace and through faith.