Why Sin Wasn’t Humanity’s First Problem

Created for Relationship

God made us for friendship. He made us for deep, rich, close friendships. The first hint we get about this in the Bible is from Genesis 2. God has created the whole world. He’s filled the sky, land, and sea with communal life, and then, as the pinnacle of his creation, he creates humanity. But he starts with one person: Adam. Adam’s alone.

The first problem in the world was not idolatry, it was isolation.

God repeatedly pronounced over the whole creation that it was good. Then, when he creates humanity—starting with one person—he says it’s “not good.” This is fascinating because this is before the Fall. Before sin has entered into the world. This means that the first problem in the world was not sin, it was solitude. The first problem in the world was not idolatry, it was isolation.

Asking Why

We should ask the question, “Why?” Why was it not good that Adam was alone? Why is it not good that we are alone? It’s because God made us in his image. Before and behind everything, there was God existing as a triune fellowship of love.

God is not a solitary, isolated being. He is Father, Son, and Spirit, eternally existing in a fellowship of love. This God made us in his image, to be in rich, deep community with him and with one another.

Made for Friendship

Drew Hunter

Exploring a biblical vision of true friendship, this book demonstrates the universal need for friendship, what true friendship really looks like, and how to cultivate deeper relationships.

This explains the deep realities that we find in our own souls. We long for connection and friendship. This means that if and when we’re lonely, it is not fundamentally because something is wrong with us. It’s actually because something is right with us.

Your desire for friendship is a sign that you’re human, that God put the longing for friendship in your DNA. It’s a sign of your dignity.

We were made for friendship.

Drew Hunter (MA, Wheaton College) is the teaching pastor at Zionsville Fellowship in Zionsville, Indiana. He is the author of Made for Friendship and the Isaiah and Matthew volumes in the Knowing the Bible series. Drew and his wife, Christina, live in Zionsville, Indiana, and have four children.