The Doctrine of Man
Part 1. One Race
John Calvin wrote: “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” If this statement is true then its implications for mankind are profound. Modern, materialistic, secular man is not truly wise: he is a fool.
When faced with the question, What is man? contemporary man is unable to give an answer which is either satisfactory or satisfying. He is ignorant of his origin, purpose and destiny. Despite his ever-growing knowledge of the workings of his body, his brain and even his genes man does not know himself! Hence his frustration with life and his despair at death.
It is assumed today that man is the product of millions of years of incremental development within the animal world. We are told that the progress which led to man was fortuitous, without a proper cause and ultimate end. The theory of evolution is in reality a cruel hoax. The different scientific disciplines and branches of learning have contributed much to our knowledge of the universe but the question of origins is not answerable by science. Present phenomena cannot provide the key to the past. The study of natural revelation must give way to the study of special revelation. What do we learn from Scripture?
1. Divine Creation
We learn that God made man. Genesis Chapter One climaxes in the creation of man, which is expanded in Chapter Two. Other statements are scattered throughout Scripture. The Psalmist exhorts, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” (Psalm 95:6) Paul proclaimed the true and living God, declaring “For in him we live, and move, and have our being...we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28) Luke’s genealogy concludes with “Adam, which was the son of God.” (Luke 3:38)
To some it is enough simply to believe that God made man. They view the Genesis narratives as poetic descriptions of what took place. They say that we must not take every statement in these accounts literally; they merely convey the general truth that God was responsible for the existence of everything, including man. And as modern science maintains that the universe is very ancient then it is most likely that God brought all things into being over a very long period, using the process of evolution.
To those who accept the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture this position is untenable. Genesis is not a story book but a history book, chronicling real events in reliable detail. It is written for our instruction and learning. With an open Bible and a humble spirit we shall learn more about ourselves in a little time than proud men do in a lifetime without the Word of God.
2. Special Creation
We see how God created man. God brought everything into being out of nothing over a period of six days (Genesis 1). He did this by His powerful word, making each individual thing, living and non-living, directly, by a special act. On each occasion God issued the command, “Let there be...” and in an instant His will was carried out, “...and it was so.” The Psalmist states: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth....For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:6,9)
But when God created man there was more than a simple command. “And God said, Let us make man” (1:26). William Ames pointed out that the other creatures were brought forth “by a word only” but man “with greater counsel and deliberation.” Man occupies a unique place among the creatures. We also see that although there is one God there is more than one divine Person: the mystery of the Trinity. In works external to the Godhead the three divine Persons always concur. This was true for the whole of the creation but here, at its apex, it is made manifest.
When we read of God’s powerful word in creation we may also understand the Personal Word, Jesus Christ, as John makes clear. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) The second Person of the Trinity, who was to become man Himself, Himself made man, with the Father and the Spirit, not as a mere instrument but as a mighty, efficient agent.
As Anselm of Canterbury observed there are four distinct ways in which God has made man:
i. Adam. God made Adam without the use of a man or a woman. “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 soul.” (Genesis 2:7) The name ‘Adam’ is variously interpreted to mean either “formed of the ground” or “ruddy.” We do indeed dwell in “houses of clay” and our foundation is “in the dust” (Job 4:19). Interestingly ‘man’ and ‘Adam’ represent the same Hebrew word: the former is the generic use and the latter the specific use, indicating a particular individual.
ii. Eve. God made Eve with the use of a man but without the use of a woman. “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” (Genesis 2:21-22) Adam was put into a slumber so profound that he felt nothing while God took a bone from his side and shut up the flesh. From Adam’s rib God ‘built’ a woman. This was a figure of the church which would emerge from the pierced side of the last Adam who slept the sleep of death for our sins. Adam gave to his wife her name: “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” (3:20)
The woman was “of the man” and “for the man” (1 Corinthians 11:8,9) yet the first man and woman bore the name Adam jointly (Genesis 5:2), signifying the equality of the sexes and the unity of the race. Matthew Henry wrote quaintly, Eve was “not made out of [Adam’s] head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” It is an equality of dignity or worth rather than of opportunity or function. The male and female roles are complementary and this is seen especially in the institution of marriage.
iii. Mankind. God makes mankind in general using both a man and a woman. “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.” (Genesis 4:1) We term this “ordinary generation.” While husband and wife are to perform their role God is the sovereign Author of life: “So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.” (Ruth 4:13) God opened the wombs of Leah and Rachel and gave them conception (Genesis 29:31-32; 30:22-23); in contrast He closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech for a time (Genesis 20:18).
Fallen man challenges the divine order in every area of activity, not least in procreation. Artificial methods of contraception, which hinder the conjunction of egg and sperm inside the female body, prevent the production of human life improperly: the result is sex without reproduction. Artificial methods of conception, which attempt to join egg and sperm outside the female body, promote the production of human life improperly: the result is reproduction without sex. Now artificial cloning, which involves eggs but not sperm, attempts also to promote the production of human life improperly: the result would be reproduction without sex and without conception. But only God has ever made a human being without the use of a man.
iv. Christ. God made the human nature of Christ with the use of a woman but without the use of a man. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) This prophecy was fulfilled when the angel said to Mary, “the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) The Son of God by eternal generation became the Son of man by “extraordinary generation,” taking our human nature into permanent union with His own divine Person.
Some have taught that Christ brought His humanity from heaven and that Mary’s womb served merely as a channel for His entrance into the world. This doctrine was held by the early Anabaptists. Their concern was to safeguard Christ’s sinlessness but they were guilty of severing the link between His human nature and ours. Christ “took on him the seed of Abraham” (Hebrews 2:16) and was “made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). Christ is literally of our flesh and of our bones. His humanity is not just like ours but is organically related, such that He might be our true ‘kinsman redeemer’ (Ruth 4:5-10).
The Belgic Confession states: “Therefore we confess (in opposition to the heresy of the Anabaptists, who deny that Christ assumed human flesh of his mother) that Christ is become a partaker of the flesh and blood of the children; that he is...a fruit of the womb of the Virgin Mary, made of a woman.” (Article XVIII) The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England state: “The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance.” (Article II) The Westminster Confession of Faith has a similar statement in Chapter VIII.
These Reformed creeds highlight Galatians 4:4: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” This text surely teaches that Christ’s humanity was derived from an egg produced by Mary and fertilised by the Holy Spirit. The Authorised Version is alone among Bible versions in use today in translating “made of a woman” rather than “born of a woman.” There is no textual variant – it is simply the translators’ choice – but by its rendering the AV indicates Mary’s precise role in the production of Christ’s human nature.
By virtue of His unique conception in which no human father was involved (Matthew 1:18) the Lord Jesus Christ alone among mankind was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). In the incarnation of the eternal Son of God in the womb of His mother Mary there was the special intervention of God the Holy Spirit, by-passing the normal method of reproduction and leading to a unique birth (Luke 1:35). In His creative act in regard to Mary’s seed the Holy Spirit purified her substance in such a way that Christ possessed a perfect human nature, perfectly free from sin.
3. Unique Creation
We understand why God created man. It was that man might reflect the divine image and so exercise dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:26). As God is a spirit so man’s resemblance to God is seen in his soul, not in his body. Both sexes displayed this resemblance to God. Not even the angels, probably created on the first day and called “the sons of God” (Job 38:4-7), enjoy the high privileges which are given to man. Although they are rational, moral, immortal creatures, and many remain wise, holy, obedient servants of God, the Bible does not actually say that the angels bear the image of God.
To fulfil the end of their creation our first parents were told, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it” (1:28). They were directed to marry and bring forth children for the increase of the race so that the whole earth might eventually be populated, for “he formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). They were to take possession of the earth and make use of all its resources in the service of God: “the earth hath he given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16).
4. Recent Creation
We discover finally when God created man. It was on the sixth and last day of creation (Genesis 1:31). The fact that each of these days consisted of an “evening” and a “morning” suggests that they were equivalent to our twenty-four hour days. Perhaps though they represent age-long periods of time? Or perhaps there was a ‘gap’ between the original creation and these six days of creation?
When Christ was questioned by the Pharisees on the subject of divorce He pointed them to the account of creation in Genesis: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female?” (Matthew 19:4) This ‘beginning’ does not refer simply to the beginning of the human race for the parallel account in Mark reads: “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6) Man’s origin was therefore contemporary with the origin of the creation itself.
We affirm that mankind is an organic unity, having its root in Adam and its branches in the various nations. Despite the obvious differences among men there is but one human race. This has important consequences, not only for how we should treat our fellow men but also for how God treats us.
Part 2. Two Parts
Man was God’s supreme creation, appearing on the sixth and last day of the creation week. “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 soul.” (Genesis 2:7) When God made man there was a process: firstly his body was made, then God gave life to his body. Two significant questions arise.
1. The Composition of Man
The first question concerns the composition of man. In the fundamental sense, how many parts make up a human being? Three viewpoints may be considered:
i. One Part
One view is that man has no part which survives death and endures eternally. The Sadducees said that “there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit” (Acts 23:8). Today the so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults deny that man has a soul. A JW publication states: “God did not create man with a soul. Man is a soul. So, as we would expect, when man dies, his soul dies.” And: “The spirit is our life-force. This life-force is in each one of the body cells of both humans and animals. It is sustained, or kept alive, by breathing....At death the life-force in time leaves all the body cells and the body begins to decay. But this does not mean that our life-force literally leaves the earth and travels through space to God. Rather, the spirit returns to God in the sense that now our hope for future life rests entirely with God. Only by his power can the spirit, or life-force, be given back so that we live again.”
In this view the soul is the life enjoyed by every living creature, plant or animal, and the spirit is the force which energises that life. Man therefore has no personal, immortal soul or spirit. However the Bible teaches not only that man is a soul but that he has a soul. The soul has thought and feeling. “And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.” (Job 30:16) The soul is capable of knowing God: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Psalm 139:14) At death the soul leaves the body and enters eternity. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7) While man’s body shares the same fate as other creatures this is not true of his soul. “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” (Ecclesiastes 3:20-21).
Among those who believe that man has a soul there are different views on the nature of its existence:
Conditional Immortality. Some have taught that immortality is a gift that God bestows only upon believers. Unbelievers do not survive death. This doctrine, apparently held by Justyn Martyr, Irenaeus, Archbishop Whately and Isaac Watts among others, has been revived recently. Philip E. Hughes posed the question, “Is the Soul Immortal?” and answered it in the negative, concluding: “Too late will they [the unregenerate] then wish they had lived and believed differently. The destiny they have fashioned for themselves will cast them without hope into the abyss of obliteration. Their lot, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life, is the destruction of the second death.” However John Murray wrote: “The Scripture provides us with copious evidence to establish the thesis that there belongs to man a subsistence or entity distinguished from the body and characterised by qualities in virtue of which it does not undergo the dissolution that befalls the body in death.” Death is not the extinction of our being but the translation of our being.
Annihilation. Others have taught that all men survive death but unbelievers will be annihilated after the resurrection. John Stott writes: ““the immortality – and therefore indestructibility – of the soul is a Greek not a biblical concept.” However the historic position of the Church is stated in the Westminster Confession of Faith: “After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls” (IV.ii); “The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, (which neither die nor sleep,) having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them.” (XXXII.i)
Immortality. The orthodox view is that the souls of all men survive death and the resurrection. Some, such as John Kennedy, have questioned the terminology, but not the concept: “I prefer to speak of a soul as ever-existing than as immortal, for as the latter means ‘incapable of dying,’ how can that apply to a soul that is already dead, and is in instant danger of dying for ever?” We learn that when the rich man died and was buried his soul went to hell where he experienced conscious torment (Luke 16:22-23). When Christ returns He will say to unbelievers, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41) Hell is a place and state “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43,46,48). Stott says: “emotionally, I find the concept [eternal conscious torment] intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterising their feelings or cracking under the strain.” However we should receive biblical teaching because it is true, not because it happens to concur with our feelings.
ii. Two Parts
Deriving from Genesis 2:7 and many other texts the belief that man is composed of two parts has prevailed in the church. This is known as ‘dichotomy’. There is the body, the lower, earthly, mortal element, and the soul or spirit, the higher, heavenly, immortal element. Soul and spirit refer to the same entity, the terms being used interchangeably in Scripture. Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:46-47) At death the soul (Genesis 35:18) or the spirit (Acts 7:59) is said to depart. Those who have died are described as “souls” (Revelation 6:9) or “spirits” (Hebrews 12:23).
iii. Three Parts
The belief that man is composed of three parts, i.e. body, soul and spirit is known as ‘trichotomy’. The claim that there is a real distinction between the soul and the spirit rests effectively upon two texts: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23); “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).
We might ask, Is any man conscious of possessing both a soul and a spirit?! Probably the most that can be taken from these verses is that man may be considered as either soul or spirit depending on which of his powers or faculties are in view. Man possesses these two principles: animating life and rational life.
2. The Propagation of Man
The second question concerns the propagation of man. In particular, given that man is body and soul how does the soul of each new individual arise? Three viewpoints may be evaluated:
i. Preexistence
Preexistence is the theory that the soul exists before the generation of the body, with which it is united in this world. Commonly it is believed that God created all souls when He created the universe. Origen taught that man’s present physical existence is a punishment for sins committed by souls in a previous existence. The Mormons teach that the soul dwells with God in heaven until it is sent to indwell a newly-conceived human being. Commenting on Ecclesiastes 12:7 a Mormon publication states: “How would it be possible to return to a place, point, or locality that we had never visited? How could we return to God unless we had once been in his presence? The logical conclusion is unavoidable: to enable us to return to him, we must have once enjoyed his association, which must have been in a premortal state, before we became clothed with this body of flesh and bones.”
This idea is foreign to Scripture. When a spirit returns to God it is going to the Creator who gave it existence in this world and to the Judge who bestows upon it His eternal sentence.
ii. Traducianism
Traducianism, from the Latin for a branch or shoot, is the theory that both soul and body are propagated together by parents. It was expounded by Tertullian and favoured by Luther. Some Reformed writers, such as W.G.T. Shedd and Gordon Clark, are said to have held it, as did the Baptist theologian, A.H. Strong. Three arguments for traducianism are:
1. Completeness of creation. God ended His work of creation and rested from it on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3); His breathing into man the breath of life is not repeated after Adam, not even in the case of Eve, who is “of the man” (1 Corinthians 11:8). However the work of the six days was the creation of the original kinds or species; what has taken place since is the creation of new individuals of those same species, including man.
2. Unity of the race. God created mankind male and female with the command to multiply (Genesis 1:27-28), implying that the propagation of man was to be entirely through secondary causes; souls are said to have come out of the loins of their ancestor (Genesis 46:26; cf. Hebrews 7:9-10); when Adam begat a son “in his own likeness” (Genesis 5:3) it implies that he passed on his spiritual nature as well as his material nature and we observe how often children resemble their parents mentally and temperamentally, as well as physically. In response it may be said that the concept of a child’s soul originating by separation from the father’s soul appears incompatible with the soul’s immaterial nature. Moreover, if the new soul arises from the mother’s soul as well as from the father’s then it must be a composite and not a simple substance. The remaining option is that human parents are creators rather than propagators of souls but creation in the proper sense is the work of God alone.
3. Transmission of sin. God threatened death upon Adam as a punishment for his sin (Genesis 2:17); this death was to affect the whole man, including the soul, and the inheritance by Adam’s posterity of his guilt and moral corruption is easily understood by the fact that the souls of men are derived from their parents as well as their bodies. The problem with this view is that it assumes that all human souls are not merely generically one, or made of the same substance, but also numerically one, being derived from the same individual essence. Therefore in the fall not only Adam sinned but also human nature as a whole. Given that the human nature of Christ was made of Mary’s substance then it must have been sinful too.
iii. Creationism
Creationism is the doctrine that God creates the souls of men directly, in connection with the propagation of their bodies by their parents. God makes each new soul out of nothing at the moment of conception and immediately unites it with the body. Jerome supported creationism and it was adopted by Calvin. It is the general position in the Reformed church. In addition to the objections to traducianism we have:
1. Scripture evidence. While direct biblical evidence on the origin of the soul is limited the majority of passages suggest that the soul is created by God. God is described as: “the God of the spirits of all flesh” (Numbers 16:22); “he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein” (Isaiah 42:5); and, “the Father of spirits” (Hebrews 12:9). Especially strong is Zechariah 12:1 which says that the Lord “formeth the spirit of man within him.”
2. Self-consciousness. It is not only logical that our immaterial part should come from God but also consistent with our general self-consciousness: “Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psa.100:3). Such a self-consciousness could not exist if our souls were derived from our parents. Consider also 1 Peter 4:19: “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
3. Jesus Christ. Christ did not share in the universal sinfulness of mankind because the transmission of sin is primarily a matter of imputation. Our souls are guilty and polluted as a result of our connection with Adam and Eve, they being the root of all mankind. The guilt of Adam’s first sin is reckoned to all his posterity descending from him by ordinary generation, Adam being the federal head of the race. God withholds from Adam’s descendants original righteousness and the pollution of sin follows: deprivation results in depravation. The sinfulness of our souls is not because their creation by God is in any way defective but because in an act of justice God avenges Adam’s original sin upon his posterity by leaving them destitute of original righteousness. Christ shares our humanity but He is not a human person: He existed before Adam and is descended from him by extraordinary generation. Original sin is not imputed to Christ.
Man therefore has two parts, his body and his soul. His soul is a precious jewel which is placed by God in the plain casket of his body, to exist for evermore. May we value our valuable soul.
Part 3. Threefold Image
God created man in such a way that man would reflect His image. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26-27) Man therefore has a likeness to God, both sexes being made equally to bear God’s image and reflect His glory. How should we understand the image of God in man?
1. Location of the Image
When we hear of an ‘image’ we instinctively think of the physical resemblance which one thing bears to another. Men once came to Jesus to entrap Him with the question, “Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?” He replied: “Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it?” Studying the coin’s surface their answer was, “Caesar’s” (Luke 20:22-24). We are familiar too with statues representing the whole figure of a person and portraits which illustrate the face. However the image of God cannot be understood in physical terms. In Scripture we are told that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24) and “a spirit hath not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39). God’s being is immense and He has no body or shape. Therefore man’s likeness to God is not to be found in his body but in his soul.
It is true that in his great chapter on the resurrection Paul says, “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:49). At the last day the saints will see their present bodies, which like Adam’s after he sinned are subject to infirmity and death, changed into incorruptible bodies which resemble the glorious body of Christ (Philippians 3:21). But the image in which man was created was an image which reflected God as He is in Himself and not as He is in His incarnate form in Jesus Christ. Therefore man’s resemblance to God is not in anything outward, physical and visible but in something inward, spiritual and invisible.
Although the image of God in man is located in the soul it does manifest itself in the body. Calvin wrote: “I retain the principle...that the likeness of God extends to the whole excellence by which man’s nature towers over all kinds of living creatures....although the primary seat of the divine image was in the mind and heart, or in the soul and its powers, yet there was not part of man, not even the body itself, in which some sparks did not glow.” The Latin poet Ovid saw a spiritual significance even in man’s posture: “Whilst other animals look downwards upon the earth, he gave man a lofty face, and ordered him to look at heaven, and lift his countenance upwards towards the stars.”
2. Aspects of the Image
By the image of God in man it is not meant that man partakes of the divine essence. Christ alone is “the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4) in that sense, being “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3). As the only begotten Son of God He is the natural image of His Father, eternally sharing the exact same divine essence and perfections. The divine essence which is found in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit cannot be communicated to the creature. What may be and is communicated to man are certain divine attributes, or rather a resemblance to them.
Neither is it meant that anything and everything found in man which bears a resemblance to God is part of the image. Some have suggested that the fact that man is a social being is part of the image, as this reflects the fact that God is a Trinity, three Persons in one Godhead. Others have referred to man’s capacity for abstract thought and his artistic powers as features of the divine image, reflecting the God of creation and providence. However our understanding of the image needs to be obtained from the Scriptures. There we find a more limited definition of the image. This is reflected in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “How did God create man? God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.” (Q/A 10) We should therefore view the content of the image in a narrow rather than in a broad way.
Reformed theologians have frequently understood the image of God in man in a threefold sense. Herman Witsius wrote: “The image consisted antecedently, in man’s spiritual and immortal nature; formally, in his holiness; and consequently, in his dominion. The first was the precious tablet; the second the image drawn on it; the third was the ray shining from it.” Similarly R.L. Dabney: “The Reformed divines represent it as grounded upon man’s rationality and immortality, which make him an humble representation of God’s spiritual essence, but as consisting especially in the righteousness and true holiness, in which Adam was created. The dominion bestowed upon man, is the appropriate result of his moral likeness of his Maker.” We may therefore consider the image according to the following three aspects:
i. The Basis
The basis for the image is man’s immortal soul and in particular its inherent powers, meaning the intellect, will and affections. These powers are a prerequisite for the image. They are not the image itself, for man retains these powers after the fall and even devils possess them. Indeed just as the soul will never cease to exist so men will ever possess the ability to think, choose and feel, whatever their spiritual state. The essential spirituality and vital powers of the soul are the ground upon which the image rests.
ii. The Form
The form of the image or the image proper is what is impressed upon man’s soul, consisting of the qualities which regulate the intellectual, volitional and emotional faculties. The image is not man’s rational, moral nature but his spiritual uprightness. “God hath made man upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Dabney wrote: “This image has been lost, in the fall, and regained, in redemption. Hence, it could not have consisted in anything absolutely essential to man’s essence, because the loss of such an attribute would have destroyed man’s nature.” J.H. Thornwell wrote: “If the possession of a personal, spiritual nature were the image of God, the Devil and his angels would bear it. But their image is, in the Scriptures, made directly contradictory to the image of God. Hence, that image must consist in those moral perfections which Satan has lost, and which man, since the fall, acquires only by a new creation.”
We therefore ascertain the content of the divine image by observing what God restores to man in salvation: what a man gains in his spiritual resurrection is what Adam lost in his spiritual death. We note three features of the image:
Knowledge. When a man is converted he is said to be “renewed in knowledge” (Colossians 3:10) Therefore when man was created he had knowledge in his intellect. Adam knew God in a transparent way and sufficiently to cause him to delight in God. He knew himself also in his relation to God, the moral law being engraved upon his heart. When God revealed His will to him positively, in regard to the trees of the garden (Genesis 2:16-17), Adam understood perfectly both the permission and the prohibition.
Righteousness. By the grace of God a Christian is “created in righteousness” (Ephesians 4:24). Therefore when man was created he had righteousness in his will. Adam was obedient to the will of God in every duty which concerned him, whether Godward or manward, immediately and with his full consent.
Holiness. A Christian is also “created in...true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Therefore when man was created he had holiness in his affections. Adam’s desires were chiefly fixed upon God. Altogether he was perfectly able to fulfil the chief end for which he was created, which was to glorify God and to enjoy Him.
Turretin spoke of a perfect harmony among all man’s faculties as a notable feature of his original spiritual uprightness. The bodily members obeyed the affections, the affections the will, the will the reason and the reason the divine law.
Man possessed the divine image from the very instant of his creation. Thomas Boston wrote: “He did not first make him, and then make him righteous, but in the very making of him, He made him righteous. Original righteousness was created with him; so that in the same moment he was a man, he was a righteous man, morally good; with the same breath that God breathed into him a living soul, He breathed into him a righteous soul.” After God created each individual thing He saw that it was “good”: after He completed His whole work with man bearing His image at its apex and centre He saw that it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
iii. The Consequence
The consequence of the image is man’s dominion over the creatures. This was the chief way in which man’s internal spiritual perfection was seen externally. God said, “Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Adam had the charge of the garden of Eden and the work of cultivating it was committed to him. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15) According to Wilhelmus a Brakel this was: “so that the animals would not intrude and trample and feed upon the beautiful plants, elegant flowers, and aromatic herbs. He would also dress the garden by pruning the trees in order to make them fruitful, sow seed here, and plant something there. All these activities would neither be burdensome and tiresome, nor would he perform them in the sweat of his face, but would engage therein with pleasure and delight, for a perfect man was neither permitted nor desirous to be physically idle.”
As God’s image-bearer man was God’s deputy in the world. The earth, which is God’s footstool, was man’s throne. This kingship is understood from the fact that it was Adam, not God, who gave to every creature its name. “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” (Genesis 2:19) Man was to make use of the creation in order to meet his own necessities and in a way which was to God’s glory.
3. Status of the Image
The important question arises, What is the status of the image of God in man since the fall? Is it intact, is it somewhat marred or is it lost altogether?
Some verses of Scripture suggest that the divine image is present in fallen man: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” (Genesis 9:6); “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.” (1 Corinthians 11:7); “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” (James 3:9)
Other verses infer that the divine image is absent: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” (John 8:44); “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:12); “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)
The answer depends on which aspect of the image is in view. Dabney says: “In man’s fallen state, the formal image has been destroyed, and therefore the consequent image also (Gen. 3:17-18); only the antecedent likeness remains.” The divine likeness has been erased from the tablet of man’s soul, leaving only hints of his former dignity. However the tablet is still there. While the image of God in the proper sense has utterly gone from man he retains the capacity to bear that image once again.
It is not enough to say merely that man has lost the image of God. Fallen man is not in a state of spiritual neutrality but rather his nature has become wholly corrupt. John Kennedy: “All the image of God is effaced from the soul of fallen man. That temple is now an utter ruin. True there is still some light – ‘the work of the law written in the heart,’ (Rom. 2:15), – but, like a lamp, hung from the broken vault of a ruin, its flickering glimmer only makes more manifest the wreck on which it shines.” Spiritually man who was designed to be the image-bearer of God now looks like the devil.
God’s elect are predestinated “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). This refers to Christ’s sinless humanity. By grace believers are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), a term which refers not to the divine essence but to those divine perfections which have their counterpart in the man Christ Jesus and which are produced in the lives of believers by the Spirit of Christ. Dabney wrote: “In those who are regenerated by the grace of God, the formal image is restored: in fact it is surpassed, for the righteousness of Christ is such that they shall never fall from it. Well may they aspire after it (Psa. 17:15; 1 John 3:2).” May we long for likeness to Christ and labour for it too.
Part 4. Four States
An attractive feature of the Christian faith is that it provides a credible explanation for the way the world is. In contrast to the theory of evolution, which posits the gradual ascent of man, the Bible tells of man’s rapid descent from his paradise state. However, unlike secularism’s empty dreams the Bible offers us the solid hope of salvation, both now and in the future. The teaching of Scripture on this subject is summarised in what may be called the four states of man.
1. The State of Innocence
At creation man was in the state of innocence. Adam knew the Creator personally and his duty perfectly. He had a bias towards things pleasing to God and an ability to perform them. His affections were set upon what is holy and good. As God’s servant he was obedient to the divine will. As God’s friend he cleaved to Him in love. Being pure in heart and having no practical knowledge of evil Adam knew nothing of grief, shame or regret. There was the possibility of a change in man’s state however. Adam was on probation. In addition to the law of God which was written in his heart God gave Adam a positive precept to try his obedience: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
This was the first covenant which God made with man: the covenant of works. The parties were God and Adam, representing all mankind; the promise was life; the prerequisite was obedience; the penalty was death. The penalty for disobedience is threefold: natural death, the separation of the soul from the body; spiritual death, the separation of the soul from God; and eternal death, the separation of the soul and the body from God in hell forever. Therefore the promise for obedience is also threefold: natural life, the union of the soul with the body; spiritual life, the union of the soul with God; and eternal life, the union of the soul and the body with God in heaven forever.
Only Adam and Eve have ever enjoyed the state of innocence and that only briefly. In that state they were able not to sin. When Adam sinned we did so too, because the covenant was made with him as the head and representative of our race.
2. The State of Sin
At the fall man entered into the state of sin. A radical change ruined God’s image in man and brought calamity to the world. What is involved in the state of sin?
i. Guilt
In his original sin Adam transgressed not only the specific commandment concerning the tree but also the whole law. When a law is broken there is guilt and a liability to the penalty demanded by that law. Adam’s sin is charged to all his natural descendants and so we are guilty before God. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). We have contracted a debt we cannot pay and are threatened with eternal imprisonment in hell.
ii. Unrighteousness
When Adam sinned he lost the righteousness he had when created. The powers of his soul, once conformed to God and His law, were turned against God and devoted to the service of sin. The same is true of Adam’s posterity. “This only have I found, that God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). The result is that we are filled with “all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness” and much more besides (Romans 1:29-31).
iii. Corruption
A corrupt nature and wicked heart have been conveyed to us from Adam. All our actual deeds of sin and wickedness spring from this fountain of guilt, unrighteousness and corruption: our original sin. This bias towards evil is present from infancy, for David in repenting of his adultery says, “I was shapen in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5). It is universal, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
iv. Misery
Inseparably joined to man’s sinfulness is his misery. As sinners we are in a state of condemnation and wrath. “He that believeth not is condemned already...the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:18,36). Man cannot now fulfil the purpose for which he was created; having in the fall lost his likeness to God he has lost his fellowship with God. The creation is cursed to him and his prospect is death and a woeful eternity.
All men are born in the state of sin. In this state we are not able not to sin. Those who are unsaved remain in the state of sin through their lifetime and into eternity, where there is no possibility of any change.
3. The State of Grace
At conversion man enters into the state of grace. This is possible only because of a second covenant which God made, the covenant of grace. The parties are God and Christ, representing elect mankind; the promise is life; the prerequisite is faith. There is no penalty because Christ has borne it for His people! Christ has fulfilled the proper condition of this covenant by His own perfect obedience in life and death. God promises to give His Holy Spirit to His elect to work saving faith in them. What is involved in the state of grace?
i. Effectual Calling
We enter the state of grace by effectual calling. In this work Christ not only invites sinners by His word but also draws them by His Spirit who quickens them (Ephesians 2:1). They have “the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). The sinner is convinced in his conscience about his sin: he perceives that he is under the law-breaker’s curse (Galatians 3:10) and deserves to be punished in hell. He is also enlightened in his mind concerning Christ, that He is able and willing to save those that come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:25). He is also renewed in his will to do good: God takes away his stony heart and gives him a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The sinner turns from his sin and trusts in Christ crucified, freely offered to us in the gospel.
ii. Union with Christ
To be saved we must be united to Christ. Christ unites Himself to the soul and gives it life. Christ’s Spirit produces faith in the soul and the sinner unites himself to Christ, taking Him in the arms of faith. A match has been made and the marriage is gladly entered into. The elect belonged to Christ in eternity as His spiritual posterity but in time are they united to Him in their experience. The union created between Christ and His people is spiritual (1 Corinthians 6:17) and when this union occurs the soul begins to engage in spiritual activities. Our union with Christ will last forever: nothing shall be “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). It is a most intimate union and a blessed friendship and fellowship results. The Lord shows us His secrets (Psalm 25:14) and we open our hearts to Him (Psalm 62:8). Union with Christ leads to three great blessings: justification, adoption and sanctification.
iii. Justification
To be justified is to be made right with God. It is a change of status rather than of nature. The act of justifying is the opposite of condemning (Deuteronomy 25:1) so to justify a man is to declare him righteous. The sinner is tried before the divine tribunal and found righteous in terms of God’s holy law. The sentence is complete at once. There are two parts to justification. Firstly there is pardon, or absolution from guilt. “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:8) This extends to all the believer’s sins: past sins are forgiven and future sins will not be imputed. There is also acceptance or reception into God’s favour.