God created man in His own image in contrast to plants and animals. Man
is a unique creature created for a unique purpose. Note the repeated
phrase
"after their kind" (Gen 1:11-25) which occurs 10 times.
'Image' speaks of a certain correspondence or likeness of nature
between
God and man consisting in part of:
Spirit. As God is spirit, so also man possesses a spirit.
Personality. As God is a personal being capable of thinking (mind),
feeling
(emotion), and choosing (will), so also man.
Moral attributes. As God is in Himself perfect love, holiness, truth,
justice,
...., so also man is a moral creature capable of these same moral
attributes
although in a far less perfect sense.
So, man was uniquely designed in the image of God:
To live in personal relationship with God and to enjoy personal
fellowship
with Him.
To be the visible representation of the invisible God, displaying and
reflecting
the character and glory of God on earth.
To rule the earth under God's authority
The Nature of man
First, God formed man's body from the dust of the ground. Next God
breathed
into this body the breath of life which for man, consisted of a human
spirit.
When the spirit entered the body, we are told that 'man became a living
soul.
Basically man consists of two parts: material body (visible) and
immaterial
spirit/ soul (invisible). Sometimes the functions of soul and spirit
are
distinct, but often similar.
Distinct:
1Th 5:23 ¶ 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.
1Co 2:14 But the natural (soulish) man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he
that
is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no
man.
In 1 Cor.15:44-49 there are three parallel contrasts:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was
not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural;
and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the
Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they
also
that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they
also
that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Similar:
Ge 35:18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she
died)
that she called his name Benoni:
Lu 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Joh 12:27 ¶ Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?
Joh 13:21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit,
Mt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill
the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and
body
in hell.
Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
works
is dead also.
1Co 7:34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The
unmarried
woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in
body
and in spirit:
In general perhaps we can say that the soul is the immaterial part of
man
viewed as his own self-conscious being, link with the body and related
to this world; while the spirit is the immaterial part of man viewed as
from God and related to God. "The spirit is then man's nature looking
God
ward, and capable of receiving and manifesting the Holy Spirit; the
soul
is man's nature looking earthward, touching the world of sense. The
spirit
is man's higher part, as related to spiritual realities or as capable
of
such relation; the soul is man's higher part, as related to the body,
or
as capable of such relation."
Man, then, consists basically of only two substances: spirit and body.
But as the same time he may be said to live and function in three
dimensions.
Through his spirit man can know God, that is the world above. Through
his
soul man can know himself, that is the world within. Through his body
(and
its five senses) man can know the world around him and enter into
relationships
with other human being.
It appears that both soul and spirit represent the inner personality of
man capable of the functions associated with mind, emotion, and will.
The
functions of both soul and spirit are related to and included in a
broader
term frequently used in the Bible for the immaterial part of man, the
heart,
An interesting passage reveals the similarity in nature of heart, soul,
and spirit: 1Sa 1:8 and why is thy heart grieved? 10 And she
was
in bitterness of soul, 15 I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit:
but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
The spirit of man is not the same as the Holy Spirit. When a person
receives
Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within the human
spirit.
Ro 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of God:
In the midst of the garden, God placed two trees of special
significance.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil - Gen.2:16-17
The only limitation or restriction placed upon man was in connection
with
this tree
Eating the fruit would result in death. This tree symbolizes the way of
death in contrast to the tree of life.
From 3:5 and 3:22 we see another result: man's eyes would be opened,
and
he would become like God, knowing good and evil. What does it mean?
God knows good and evil by relating everything to Himself. What is
consistent
with His character and nature is good; what is inconsistent with it is
evil. God Himself is the one absolute standard of good and evil in the
universe. He is the final authority on all moral issues.
Man was created to discover the difference between good and evil by
relating
everything to God, not to himself. Man was designed as a creature to
live
in total dependence upon God as the Creator. Whenever any question or
problem
arose, Adam took it immediately to God and acted in obedience to God's
spoken word. God was the one and only Head in control of all things. In
this relationship man was to fulfill his purpose as the image of God,
becoming
the visible representation of the invisible God and exercising dominion
on earth under God's authority, as was to be demonstrated perfectly in
the life of Jesus.
If Adam were to eat the fruit, he would become like God, knowing good
and
evil. He would become a self centered, self sufficient being. In other
words, he would become his own god, able to relate everything to
himself
and to decide for himself on moral issues. He would become an
independent
creature, thereby establishing a new center of life apart from God
which
is the very essence of the sin nature in man.
The tree of life
There was no restriction placed on the tree of life.
In 3:22 we see that the result of eating from the tree of life is
eternal
life. Thus, this tree symbolizes the way of eternal life. It represents
the very life of God Himself.
If Adam were to eat the fruit of this tree, the Holy Spirit would
immediately
enter his human spirit, and Adam would receive eternal life. He would
be
lifted to the position of a child of God.
Adam chose to disobey God's commandment, and his fellowship with God
was
broken.
The image of God in man was marred with the result that he could no
longer
reflect the glory of God on earth.
He chose to believe Satan's word over God's word and was thereby
brought
under the influence of Satan and his kingdom of darkness.
He chose to know good and evil and thereby became an independent being
acquiring the capacity to live his life totally apart from God. Thus
was
born in man the sin nature or the flesh, the capacity in man to exclude
God from his life and actions, and to order his life according to his
own
will.
If Adam had not sinned, he would have most likely gradually acquired
the
knowledge of good and evil by listening repeatedly to God's word in a
variety
of situations.
He chose the tree that God said would bring death, and he began to die.
The process of death -
Gen.3:7-19
The moment Adam ate the fruit, he began to die. Death is not merely
physical
-- that is really only the end of the prrocess. Death really began in
Adam's
spirit, spread to his soul, and finally ended with his body.
Death mean separation, not annihilation.
Spiritual death (spirit) means that man's spirit is separated from God.
Experiential death (soul) means that man experiences separation from
himself
and separation from other men.
Physical death (body) means that the body is separated from the spirit.
Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, ..
Eternal death means man's entire being is separated forever from the
presence
of God.
The whole process of death as seen in Gen.3
The death of Adam's SPIRIT (Affecting relationship with God). Death
fist
began God ward in his spirit. This aspect of death is called spiritual
death and results in separation from God. In 3:7-10 an obvious change
has
occurred in Adam and Eve's relationship to God. Now they are ashamed
before
God, hide from His presence, avoid His fellowship, and fear His voice.
The death of Adam's SOUL (Affecting relationship with himself and with
others). The death that began in Adam's spirit immediately began to
affect
his soul as well, bringing death to both his relationship with himself
and his relationship with others.
In 3:7-10 we see Adam and Eve experiencing for the first time shame,
guilt,
and fear. Man begins to run, to hide, to avoid, to cover up. Sin has
begun
to affect man's mental and emotional well being. Here is the beginning
of every kind of psychological, emotional and mental breakdown -- the
experience
of death in the self. The disintegration of man as a whole person. Here
is the source of man's struggle with his self image. When the image of
God in man is marred by sin, then the dignity, the meaning, and the
glory
of our humanity is lost, and we face with an identity crisis. This
aspect
of death indicates man's separation from himself.
In 3:11-13 God confronts Adam and Eve wit their disobedience. We see
first
Adam, and then Eve passing the blame on to someone else. Instead of
bearing
responsibility for his own sin, Adam sifts the blame to his wife. Eve
does
the same to the serpent. Here we have the beginning of hostility,
tension,
and conflict between individuals -- problems in every area of social
interaction,
the experience of breakdown and death in interpersonal relationships.
The
reality of this confronts us forcefully in Gen.4 when Cain murders his
brother Abel. This aspect of death indicates man's separation from
others.
The death of Adam's BODY. In 3:19 we read how man's body will return to
the dust from which it was taken. This ends the process of death which
began in the spirit. This final stage in the process of death results
in
the separation of the spirit from the body.
The ultimate meaning of the death process: separation from LIFE
Gen.3:22-24.
Having chosen the way of death, Adam was henceforth separated from the
tree of life. There was no way that man on his own could gain access
again
to the tree of life. Only God by His grace could provide a way.
Genesis 5 is called 'the book of the generations of Adam'. In 5:1 we
are
reminded that Adam was created in the likeness of God. Then in 5:3 we
read
that Adam "begat a son in his own likeness, after his image: and called
his name Seth." The son that Adam begat was according to his own image,
that is, his fallen image, marred by sin and subject to death.
The fact that Adam's marred image was perpetuated from father to son
throughout
Adam's descendants is evident by the repeated phrase:" and he died"
which
occurs eight times in this chapter. Death as the result of Adam's sin
became
the common experience of every member of Adam's race.
The repeated word 'begat' (or became the father of) indicates that
physical
birth is the means of entrance into Adam's race. Every baby born into
this
world is born in Adam and receives from Adam his fallen human nature.
Sin entered - Ro.5:12
This verse clearly shows that sin entered into the human race through
one
man, Adam and through sin death. And death has passed unto all men,
because
all men sinned in Adam.
Being united to Adam by physical birth, we are all one with Adam. Thus
when Adam sinned in the garden, we all sinned also (not individually,
for
we were not yet born, but) in union with him.
Man cannot save himself
What can man himself do about his own condition? Absolutely nothing.
Death
is like a spiritual cancer.
No one from Adam's race can provide salvation from sin and death. For
all
are sinners and under bondage to sin and death. This demonstrates the
limitation
of all human religions. God has cut off direct access to the tree of
life
- Gen. 3:22-24
In 3:7 the futile attempt of Adam and Eve to cover up their nakedness
by
sewing fig leaves together pictures all human efforts to make man
acceptable
before God throughout human history up to the present day.
God's Grace and Provision
- Gen.3:19-13,21
God initiates salvation by searching for man and calling unto him:
"Where
are you?" 3:9. God has been seeking lost man ever since. Lu 19:10 For
the
Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
God leads both Adam and Eve to the point of confession. In 3:11-13
while
they seek to shift blame, finally both Adam and Eve are willing to
confess:
"and I did eat."
That is as far as man can ever go in correcting evil. He can do no
more.
But this immediately provides the ground for God to act.
In 3:21 we read that God Himself covers Adam And Eve with clothing made
from the skins of slain animals. This is a picture of Jesus Christ
dying
on the cross and shedding His blood for the sins of the world. John the
Baptist, seeing Jesus years later, exclaimed: Joh 1:29 Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Thus God in grace
provide
a way for man to be forgiven and restored to life and fellowship with
God
through His son, Jesus Christ.
He is God. He is the Creator, not the creature. 1:1-3
He is man. He became a human being as one of us (identified Himself as
a member of Adam's race). 1:14. Thus Jesus Christ is fully God and
fully
man united in one person forever.
In Him is life. 1:4a. This is the same life represented originally by
the
tree of life. This is eternal life -- God's own divine life. It is now
available, not in a tree, but in a person-- the person of Jesus Christ.
Life is received by receiving Christ/ believing on His name. 1:12
Those who receive Him are born of God. 1:13
Spiritual birth makes them children of God possessing the life of God.
1:12
And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not
the
Son of God has not life. 1Jo 5:11-12
The life is the light of man. 1:4b, 1:9
Christ came to restore man in the image and likeness of God. When God's
life enters man, he 'lights up' and begins to 'shine' like a light
bulb,
progressively reflecting the character and glory of God as he is
transformed
to become more and more like Him. All life has a character and nature
of
its own. A grain of corn will germinate and grow into a corn plant. The
germ cell of a frog will produce a frog, of a horse a horse, of a human
being a human being. God's divine life has its own nature and character
too. When this life is implanted within us and begins to grow in us, we
become more like Him.
In 1:14b Christ himself is the perfect image of God and reflects His
character
and glory. In His humanity, Jesus represents the perfect man-- all that
God intended man to be.
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature:
In John 1:18 He is the visible representation of the invisible God.
Heb 1:2-3 Has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who
being
the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and
upholding
all things by the word of his power,
The destiny of God's children is to become like Him.
Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until
Christ
be formed in you,
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in
all
wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Rom 8:29 For whom he did fore know, he also did predestinate to be
conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren.
2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory
of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even
as by the Spirit of the Lord.
1Co 15:3-4 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And
that he was buried, and that he rose again the third
day
according to the scriptures:
The finished work of Christ on the cross forms the foundation stone of
the Christian life. Everything in Christian growth is based upon it.
Everything
in Christian growth is based upon it. Every fresh experience in the
Spirit
flows forth from it. It forms the one and only basis for the normal
Christian
life.
1Co 15:20-28
He gives life to those who are dead in Adam. 15:20-23
He restores all authority in the universe back to God so that God
becomes
the acknowledged center of everything again. 15:24-28
Birth is essential to life --one must be born first before he can begin
living. There are two kinds of births leading to two kinds of life.
There is physical birth resulting in physical life. We become united to
Adam and his human family by physical birth and inherit human life.
There is spiritual birth resulting in spiritual life. We become united
to Christ and God's family by spiritual birth and inherit God's life
(eternal
life).
The Christian love is a spiritual life and can not be lived by anyone
who
has not experienced the second birth (new birth).
Jesus explains the new birth in John 3:1-8.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born
of the Spirit is spirit. We see here a contrast between the birth of
the
human body and the rebirth of the human spirit. The new birth,
therefore,
begins with the spirit of man (not his soul or his body). And it occurs
when Christ, in the person of the Holy Spirit, enters the man and
begins
to dwell permanently within his spirit.
In 3:8 we see that spiritual birth is divine mystery, a supernatural
work
of God beyond human explanation. And this is because it takes place
with
the human spirit, beyond the realm of human observation and analysis.
The new birth means union with God in Christ.
We have seen from Genesis how Adam chose the way of death. And death
meant
separation-- separation from God, separation from the true life.
Now we see that the new birth in Christ means union --union with God,
union
with life. If death involves separation, than life involves union. And
union with Christ is the basis of new life in Christ; it is the summa
bonum
of the normal Christian life.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive.
In Adam all men experience death progressively in all its aspects,
affecting
the whole person: spirit, soul and body. Likewise, in Christ all men
can
overcome death and instead experience life which also affects the whole
person: spirit, soul and body. Christ came to reverse the death process
initiated by Adam's sin and replace it with a life process resulting in
the progressive transformation of the total man.
This life process involves the continuos growth of the new born child
of
God toward the ultimate goal of 'being conformed to the image of His
Son'
Ro.8:29. This process of growth and transformation involves three
distinct
phases corresponding to the threefold nature of man.
The regeneration of the spirit.
The first phase involves man's spirit. Since the death process began
here,
the reversal of the process must also began here. We have already seen
that that when a person receives Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit
enters
his dead human spirit and makes it alive. At that instant, he is born
again,
is united with God, and receives God's own life, eternal life.
Specifically, in relation to sin, he is set free from the penalty of
sin.
The penalty of sin is death, but Christ paid that penalty for him.
(Rom.6:23;
5:8). On the basis of Christ's shed blood, the sinner is forgiven and
cleansed
forever.
This is the first stage of the new life. It is an essential stage. But
it is only the beginning phase. The new birth produces a new life-- but
a new life in the form of a newborn baby. The baby must now grow to
maturity.
And this takes us to the second phase.
The second phase of change and growth in Christ involves man's soul.
There
is both a negative and a positive process which occurs here.
Negatively, God must put to death the flesh or the self life centered
in
our soul.
Positively, God must progressively manifest the life of Christ in our
personality
by the Holy Spirit. Our mind, emotions and will must be brought under
the
lordship of Christ.
This explains why we experience inner conflict and struggle in the
Christian
life (Rom.7:14-25). The flesh or self life does not want to die. It
desires
to maintain control over the soul and body. It resists the desires of
the
Holy Spirit (Gal.5:17). Victory comes as we learn:
To crucify the flesh- Gal.5:24, reckoning ourselves to be dead unto
sin-
Rom.6:11.
To walk by the Spirit- Gal. 5:16,25; Rom. 8:1-13.
Specifically in relation to sin, this means being progressively set
free
from the power of sin in our daily experience. Not only are we to
receive
cleansing for our past sins, but we are also to experience increasing
deliverance
from our sinful nature. Rather than the sin confession pattern being
the
rule of our life, it should become the exception.
This second phase of salvation, centering in the soul, is a constant
and
progressive process which continues throughout our life on earth. When
we speak of growth and transformation in the Christian life, it is
really
this second phase that we are talking about.
Since personal relationships all stem from the soul, the progressive
transformation
or saving of the soul will have a significance effect on man's
relationship
with God, with himself, and with others. The result will be
reconciliation,
healing, and harmony in all personal relationships as the flesh is
progressively
manifested by the Spirit.
The redemption of the body
The third and final phase of salvation involves man's body. Just as in
Adam our physical body dies, so also in Christ our body will be raised
from the dead someday as a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:42-49)
Specifically, in relation to sin, this will mean being set free forever
from the presence of sin.
Summary of new life in Christ
New life in Christ affects the whole of man:
spirit (spiritual)
Soul (experiential)
Body (physical)
New life in Christ affects all of man's relationships
With God
With himself
With others
New life in Christ affects the very essence of man's existence and
purpose
as the image of God: a visible representation of the invisible God,
filled
with the life of God and reflecting the character and glory of God on
the
earth.