Part I: One Story, One Family

Where did we come from, and how are we connected? One Tree: From Many Branches to One Family in Christ begins with the idea that Scripture and science approach human origins through different lenses but reveal patterns worth examining together. Scripture describes humanity as beginning from one source and one family, while genetics reveals deep biological connections among human populations. The book begins even before Adam, however, because Scripture places Christ before creation itself. John 1:1–3 and Colossians 1:16–17 identify Him as the One through whom all things were made. Adam may stand at the beginning of the human genealogy, but Christ is presented as the deeper root from which life itself originates.

Genesis describes Adam as formed from the dust of the earth and given life by God. Eve is then formed from Adam and called “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). Before nations, ethnicities, languages, or cultures existed, Scripture presents humanity as one family. This becomes the central image of the book: one tree whose many branches may eventually look very different but still trace backward toward a common origin.

The Fall changes that original condition. Sin introduces separation between humanity and God, between human beings, and within creation itself. Yet restoration is promised almost immediately. Genesis 3:15 introduces the seed of the woman who will ultimately defeat the serpent. From that moment forward, the biblical story follows both the growing fragmentation of humanity and the preservation of the promised line. Cain and Abel demonstrate that the first meaningful division is not racial or geographic but spiritual. Two brothers from the same parents move in opposite directions toward God.

This establishes the pattern that will continue throughout One Tree. Humanity begins as one, becomes divided, and yet carries a promise of restoration from almost the moment division enters the story. The many branches have begun to grow, but the root has never changed. Jesus is not simply waiting at the end of the story. He is its beginning, its center, and ultimately the One through whom the family will be restored.

References: 

Finding Truth Ministry. (2026). One tree: From many branches to one family in Christ (1st ed.). 

The Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978)

Scripture Referenced: 

Genesis 1:27–28; 2:7, 21–24; 3:15, 20

John 1:1–14; 15:5

Romans 5:12

Galatians 3:16

Colossians 1:16–17