Dr. Guy Waters, explains how this view affects our understanding of Adam and Eve and why the Bible’s teaching about Adam is essential to understanding the person and work of Jesus Christ, the last Adam.
The following is a transcript of the video above.
What is Theistic Evolution?
“What is theistic evolution?” Theistic evolution is an attempt by some Christians to reconcile the teaching of neo-Darwinian evolution with Scripture’s teaching about the origins of human beings. It argues that Adam and the human race should not be understood as Christians have historically understood them.
Historically, Christians have understood Adam and Eve to be the parents of the entire human race. Every human being is descended from Adam and Eve. Theistic evolution, however, argues that human ancestry extends far back into the past and that we are descended from pre-hominid ancestors rather than exclusively from Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve, therefore, are not considered the parents of the entire human race.
What implications does this have for our understanding of Scripture? We can mention at least two.
First, both the Old and New Testaments clearly teach that Adam is the ancestor of every human being who is alive today or has ever lived. That teaching cannot be reconciled with pre-hominid ancestry or with an understanding of Adam as simply one in a succession of ancestors of human beings today.
Second, it affects our understanding of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is presented to us in the New Testament as the second man and the last Adam. In other words, to understand the work of Christ, we must understand his work in relation to the work of Adam. Jesus Christ’s work is for those who are fallen in Adam. If we adopt theistic evolution, it would mean that the work of Jesus Christ is not for every human being alive on earth because not every human being traces his or her descent from Adam, nor did Adam stand as the representative of every human being.
Furthermore, Christ came to undo what Adam had done by bringing sin and death into the world. He also came to do what Adam failed to do: obey God and win life and glory through his obedience. Christ’s redemption makes no sense apart from that framework.
Theistic evolution, then, presents problems on two counts. It calls into question Scripture’s teaching about Adam and our relationship to him, and it calls into question the framework Scripture gives us for understanding the person and work of Christ. In other words, it is a gospel issue.”
