Doctrine of Humanity
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Humanity was Created by the LORD God
Humanity was Created by the LORD God
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Created in God’s Image
Created in God’s Image
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
If all the Bible told us about ourselves is that we were created for God’s glory, this would be a wonderful thing, but it wouldn’t really distinguish us much from the rest of creation.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Part of our uniqueness, however, comes from the fact that we are the only part of God’s creation made “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27).
As creatures made in God’s image, we were made to be like Him.
Therefore the more we understand about God, the more we understand about ourselves. And the more we understand about ourselves, the more we understand about God.
For example, we are moral creatures, created with an innate sense of right and wrong. Look at Romans
14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,
15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)
This is a reflection of God’s perfect sense of right and wrong.
In addition, we are not merely physical creatures; we are also spiritual creatures, which means we are somewhat like God, who is spirit.
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Our spirit is a reflection of God’s nature and allows us to relate to him personally.
To take another example, our ability to think about and process information is a reflection of God’s knowledge.
And our ability to relate to others, as well as our desire for community, is a reflection of God’s perfect community within the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have forever related to each other perfectly.
Because of sin, God’s image in us is partly distorted. His image is not seen as clearly as it once was. Although the Bible is clear that man is still “made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
that likeness, defiled by sin, doesn’t look like everything it is supposed to. For example, sin distorts our moral judgment, clouds our thinking, and hinders our fellowship with others.
The good news is that God’s image is being restored. God redeems his children through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so that they can be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Christ is (Col. 1:15
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Paul says that fellow Christians have a new nature, “which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:10
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
And while here on earth, we “are being transformed” into Christ’s image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
At the end of time, all of God’s children will become like his son, Jesus Christ. For, “just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:49
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Christ “is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
in a perfect sense. In Jesus we see God’s likeness as it was intended to be. And because of Jesus, we will eventually be changed to reflect God’s image as we were intended to do.
Created for God’s Glory
Created for God’s Glory
Because we were created for God’s glory, our ultimate goal in life should be to live for his glory. Giving God glory will give our lives purpose and meaning; it will give us the joy in our life that we all long for. Giving God glory is part of the life Jesus said
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
One of the ways we glorify God is by enjoying him. As David said in Ps. 16:11
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Fullness of joy is found in knowing God and delighting in him. When we do this, we give him the glory that he desires and that we long to give to him. In the midst of this, we find God rejoicing over us “with gladness” and exulting over us “with loud singing” (Zeph. 3:17).
Responsibilities as Creatures in God’s Image
Responsibilities as Creatures in God’s Image
As creatures made in God’s image, we were also made to be his representatives on the earth.
Much like a king who places images (through statues and pictures, for example) of himself around his kingdom to show where he rules, God has, through us, placed images of himself across his world. This is why he commanded Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28).
When they replicated God’s image across the earth, they demonstrated all the places where God rules and reigns. And since “the earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof” (Ps. 24:1),
God desires that his image “fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28). When we fill the earth with God’s image, we demonstrate all the places where he reigns and rules and bring him the glory he desires and deserves.
As God’s representatives on the earth, we are also called to take care of his land.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
When God commanded Adam and Eve to “subdue” the earth and “have dominion over … every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28
he did so as a king telling his representatives to care for his kingdom in a way that honored him. Therefore, although we are free to take from the abundance of God’s earth, we are to do so in way that demonstrates care for it and respect for its Creator. And when we take the opportunity to make improvements to the world we live in, we are bringing God the glory he deserves by making his world look more like he designed it to look.
As God’s image bearers—as representatives of the king of the universe—we have the awesome responsibility to help restore his people and his land to the way they were meant to be. We get the opportunity to work alongside the king who is “making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
Therefore, we have great hope and respect for all people—regardless of their state.
They, like us, are the culmination of God’s infinitely wise and skillful creation. They have the potential to return to the beauty of Jesus Christ, the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), by turning away from their sin and turning to their Creator.
11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
We also have great hope and respect for the world God has entrusted us with. We long to see it returned to its original state—a world without “thorns and thistles” (Gen. 3:18). And as we joyfully work toward this goal, we give God the glory we were created to bring to him.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Grudem, Wayne A. 2005. Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know. Edited by Elliot Grudem. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.