| The Doctrine of Man |
| “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:7) |
In our lesson today we want to look at some things the Bible teaches about mankind. This
study may require more than one lesson, and if it does, it will be good for us to spend the
time to learn what we can about mankind, because we are studying what the Bible has to say
about ourselves.
Now let us consider first, The Origin of Man. Where did man come from? What does the
Bible teach concerning the origin of man?
study may require more than one lesson, and if it does, it will be good for us to spend the
time to learn what we can about mankind, because we are studying what the Bible has to say
about ourselves.
Now let us consider first, The Origin of Man. Where did man come from? What does the
Bible teach concerning the origin of man?
God Created Man
The Bible says in (Genesis 1:26-27) “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.” And in (Genesis 5:1-2) it says, “This is the book of
the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he
him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in
the day when they were created.” And we see in (Deuteronomy 4:32) “For ask now of the
days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the
earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any
such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?" Here we see the Bible clearly
stating that man is the creation of God.
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.” And in (Genesis 5:1-2) it says, “This is the book of
the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he
him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in
the day when they were created.” And we see in (Deuteronomy 4:32) “For ask now of the
days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the
earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any
such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?" Here we see the Bible clearly
stating that man is the creation of God.
God Formed Man from the Dust of the Earth
It says in (Genesis 2:7) “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 soul.” This has to do
with man’s body. It came from the ground. But God breathed into man's nostrils the breath
of life; and man become a living soul. This has to do with the spiritual part of man. The
body is material, taken from the dust of the ground, but the soul and spirit are spiritual, and
came from the breath of God. This is not said of animal and plant life, it is only said of man.
This great Biblical truth gives man a special dignity of being, and a special place of
responsibility that no other creature has. Only mankind is said to be made in the image of
God.
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” This has to do
with man’s body. It came from the ground. But God breathed into man's nostrils the breath
of life; and man become a living soul. This has to do with the spiritual part of man. The
body is material, taken from the dust of the ground, but the soul and spirit are spiritual, and
came from the breath of God. This is not said of animal and plant life, it is only said of man.
This great Biblical truth gives man a special dignity of being, and a special place of
responsibility that no other creature has. Only mankind is said to be made in the image of
God.
God Made Male and Female
We see in (Genesis 1:26-27) “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.” Then we see in (Genesis 2:21-23) “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. And Adam said, This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
Man.” Now beloved, if we believe the Bible, we can see clearly that God created man. He
did not evolve from some lower life form. God created man. Man’s body came from the
dust of the ground, which is physical, and his soul and spirit came from the inbreathing of
God, which is spiritual. I choose to believe the Bible, rather than the theories of man.
Now the second thing that I would like for us to consider is the state of perfection and
happiness of man after God had created him.
1) Consider his place of habitation. God placed him is the garden of Eden. We see in
(Genesis 2:8) “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put
the man whom he had formed.” As we study the Bible we see that God has given the whole
earth for man to inhabit and dwell, we see in (Isaiah 45:18) “For thus saith the LORD that
created the heavens; (God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established
it; he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD, and there is
none else.” Now, even though Adam had been given dominion over all the earth, yet there
was one special place that was more special than all others on all the earth, that God had
made for Adam to live. This was his home, his place of habitation. God had assigned this
place, the Garden of God, the Garden of Eden, to Adam for his residence. Even as the king
of a large country has his palace, so had God given Adam the most beautiful and glorious
place for him to live. We see in (Genesis 2:8-15) “And the LORD God planted a garden
eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground
made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the
tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And
a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became
into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land
of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and
the onyx stone, And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth
the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which
goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God
took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
We notice in this passage that God had planted this garden, located it eastward in Eden, and
He placed man in the garden. He had created man outside the garden, then put him in the
garden. This shows us that it was a special place that God had made and reserved for Adam
to reside in. After Adam fell in sin, God put him out of the garden, not allowing him to enter
again. He placed the Cherubims and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
Again this shows us that the garden was a special place above all other places on the earth.
The garden is called the Garden of Eden because of its beauty, glory, and delightfulness. It is
called the garden of God because He planted it. How sad it is, when we think about how
Adam lost his privilege to live in such a beautiful place when he fell in sin through his
disobedience to God.
2) Let us consider why Adam was placed in the Garden. In (Genesis 2:15) it says, “And
the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep
it.” We see there that Adam was placed in the garden to dress it and keep it. Even here in
the garden of Eden, the most beautiful spot on the earth, God had a work for man to do.
Adam was in a perfect state of innocence, without sin. But God never meant for man to live
an idle and lazy life. All of God’s creatures are for His service and glory. Even the angels are
ministering spirits in the service of God. But the blessed thing about Adam’s work in the
garden of Eden was a work without toil and fatigue. He did not earn his bread by the sweat
of the brow until after he had fallen in sin. His work and his service to God was with
complete pleasure and delight.
Now the third thing I would like for us to consider in this lesson today, before we look at the
test God gave to Adam concerning the two trees in the garden, which we will look at in our
next lesson; is some of the major beliefs that are contrary to the Bible record of the creation
of man, and the creation of all things.
Beloved, throughout our land the theory of evolution is taught in our schools. Even though
they teach evolution in most of the classrooms, most will not permit the Bible account of the
creation to be taught. So then, we are all confronted with the question as to the origin of
mankind, the human race. We must decide which we are to believe, man’s theory of
evolution or the Bible’s record of God creating all things. The reason for this is because of
the unbelief in God. Let us look at some of the Anti-God theories that are so prevalent.
1) The Atheist. An atheist is one who does not believe in the existence of God. There are
three categories of atheists. There is the Practical Atheist who lives as if there is no God; the
Dogmatic Atheist who openly denies God; and the Virtual atheist who rejects God by his
teachings. These all deny the true, personal, and living God.
2) The Agnostic. The agnostic is a person that lacks a knowledge of God. He says that we
cannot know whether God exists or not. Agnostics cannot believe in something unless it can
proved by science, and since God cannot be proved to exist by science, they just leave Him
out of their consideration and thinking.
3) The Evolutionist. Those who believe in evolution do not believe in the supernatural origin
of all things. They don’t believe in the existence of God, so they seek to explain life and
existence apart from God. The theory of evolution is one of the devil's favorite theories, and
it’s a very dangerous belief. You see, beloved, if God created man, then man is morally
responsible to God; but if man evolved from something else, if he is a product of evolution,
then he is simply biological, and is not morally responsible to any one. This is why the
evolutionists hate the Bible. The Bible teaches that God created man, and that man is
morally responsible to God, and will stand before God in judgment. The evolutionists do not
want to accept this, so they deny God in any form.
4) Polytheism. Polytheism means “ a belief in many gods.” There have always been many
nations and societies that believe in many gods. It is even more so today. There are many
people today in our country that believe in many gods.
5) Pantheism. Pantheism teaches that everything is God and God is everything. Those who
follow pantheism teach that God is all; and all is God. There are different aspects of
pantheism teaching that eternity is matter, and that matter is the cause of all life; and that all
reality is a unit, and ultimate reality is really mind. Many environmentalists hold to this view.
6) Deism. Deism teaches that there is no God to whom we can relate. They teach that an
impersonal God created the world, the human race, and then separated himself from the
human race, and left them alone in his created world to make it the best they can.
Beloved, it is because of these false beliefs and ideas that we have all the confusion in the
world today. We must make the choice as to what we are going to believe. Will we believe
the Bible, or will we believe the different philosophies and ideas of man? I choose to believe
the Bible as the written Word of God. I have never seen any of the beliefs and philosophies
of man transform a person's life from sorrow, sinfulness, fear, bitterness, and hatred, to a
life of true joy, peace and holiness. I have never seen the beliefs of man regenerate a lost
soul. It is only through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that a person can be saved.
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.” Then we see in (Genesis 2:21-23) “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. And Adam said, This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
Man.” Now beloved, if we believe the Bible, we can see clearly that God created man. He
did not evolve from some lower life form. God created man. Man’s body came from the
dust of the ground, which is physical, and his soul and spirit came from the inbreathing of
God, which is spiritual. I choose to believe the Bible, rather than the theories of man.
Now the second thing that I would like for us to consider is the state of perfection and
happiness of man after God had created him.
1) Consider his place of habitation. God placed him is the garden of Eden. We see in
(Genesis 2:8) “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put
the man whom he had formed.” As we study the Bible we see that God has given the whole
earth for man to inhabit and dwell, we see in (Isaiah 45:18) “For thus saith the LORD that
created the heavens; (God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established
it; he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD, and there is
none else.” Now, even though Adam had been given dominion over all the earth, yet there
was one special place that was more special than all others on all the earth, that God had
made for Adam to live. This was his home, his place of habitation. God had assigned this
place, the Garden of God, the Garden of Eden, to Adam for his residence. Even as the king
of a large country has his palace, so had God given Adam the most beautiful and glorious
place for him to live. We see in (Genesis 2:8-15) “And the LORD God planted a garden
eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground
made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the
tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And
a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became
into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land
of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and
the onyx stone, And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth
the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which
goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God
took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
We notice in this passage that God had planted this garden, located it eastward in Eden, and
He placed man in the garden. He had created man outside the garden, then put him in the
garden. This shows us that it was a special place that God had made and reserved for Adam
to reside in. After Adam fell in sin, God put him out of the garden, not allowing him to enter
again. He placed the Cherubims and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
Again this shows us that the garden was a special place above all other places on the earth.
The garden is called the Garden of Eden because of its beauty, glory, and delightfulness. It is
called the garden of God because He planted it. How sad it is, when we think about how
Adam lost his privilege to live in such a beautiful place when he fell in sin through his
disobedience to God.
2) Let us consider why Adam was placed in the Garden. In (Genesis 2:15) it says, “And
the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep
it.” We see there that Adam was placed in the garden to dress it and keep it. Even here in
the garden of Eden, the most beautiful spot on the earth, God had a work for man to do.
Adam was in a perfect state of innocence, without sin. But God never meant for man to live
an idle and lazy life. All of God’s creatures are for His service and glory. Even the angels are
ministering spirits in the service of God. But the blessed thing about Adam’s work in the
garden of Eden was a work without toil and fatigue. He did not earn his bread by the sweat
of the brow until after he had fallen in sin. His work and his service to God was with
complete pleasure and delight.
Now the third thing I would like for us to consider in this lesson today, before we look at the
test God gave to Adam concerning the two trees in the garden, which we will look at in our
next lesson; is some of the major beliefs that are contrary to the Bible record of the creation
of man, and the creation of all things.
Beloved, throughout our land the theory of evolution is taught in our schools. Even though
they teach evolution in most of the classrooms, most will not permit the Bible account of the
creation to be taught. So then, we are all confronted with the question as to the origin of
mankind, the human race. We must decide which we are to believe, man’s theory of
evolution or the Bible’s record of God creating all things. The reason for this is because of
the unbelief in God. Let us look at some of the Anti-God theories that are so prevalent.
1) The Atheist. An atheist is one who does not believe in the existence of God. There are
three categories of atheists. There is the Practical Atheist who lives as if there is no God; the
Dogmatic Atheist who openly denies God; and the Virtual atheist who rejects God by his
teachings. These all deny the true, personal, and living God.
2) The Agnostic. The agnostic is a person that lacks a knowledge of God. He says that we
cannot know whether God exists or not. Agnostics cannot believe in something unless it can
proved by science, and since God cannot be proved to exist by science, they just leave Him
out of their consideration and thinking.
3) The Evolutionist. Those who believe in evolution do not believe in the supernatural origin
of all things. They don’t believe in the existence of God, so they seek to explain life and
existence apart from God. The theory of evolution is one of the devil's favorite theories, and
it’s a very dangerous belief. You see, beloved, if God created man, then man is morally
responsible to God; but if man evolved from something else, if he is a product of evolution,
then he is simply biological, and is not morally responsible to any one. This is why the
evolutionists hate the Bible. The Bible teaches that God created man, and that man is
morally responsible to God, and will stand before God in judgment. The evolutionists do not
want to accept this, so they deny God in any form.
4) Polytheism. Polytheism means “ a belief in many gods.” There have always been many
nations and societies that believe in many gods. It is even more so today. There are many
people today in our country that believe in many gods.
5) Pantheism. Pantheism teaches that everything is God and God is everything. Those who
follow pantheism teach that God is all; and all is God. There are different aspects of
pantheism teaching that eternity is matter, and that matter is the cause of all life; and that all
reality is a unit, and ultimate reality is really mind. Many environmentalists hold to this view.
6) Deism. Deism teaches that there is no God to whom we can relate. They teach that an
impersonal God created the world, the human race, and then separated himself from the
human race, and left them alone in his created world to make it the best they can.
Beloved, it is because of these false beliefs and ideas that we have all the confusion in the
world today. We must make the choice as to what we are going to believe. Will we believe
the Bible, or will we believe the different philosophies and ideas of man? I choose to believe
the Bible as the written Word of God. I have never seen any of the beliefs and philosophies
of man transform a person's life from sorrow, sinfulness, fear, bitterness, and hatred, to a
life of true joy, peace and holiness. I have never seen the beliefs of man regenerate a lost
soul. It is only through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that a person can be saved.
|
Blessed Hope
A Continuing Ministry of Milford Cecil
A Continuing Ministry of Milford Cecil
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