Man (Anthropology)

VI. Man (Anthropology)

A. Purpose

1. We teach that man and woman were directly and immediately created by God¹ in His image and likeness.² Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God.

·   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 being.

·   James 3:9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

2. We teach that God's intention in the creation of man was that man should glorify God,³ enjoy God's fellowship, live his life in the will of God and by this, accomplish God's purpose for man in the world.⁴

·   Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

·   Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

¹ Genesis 2:7; 15-25    ² Genesis 1.23-27; James 3:9    ³ Isaiah 43:7; Revelation 4:11         ⁴ Colossians 1:16

B. The Fall

1. We teach that in Adam's sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God¹ the whole human race fell,² man lost his innocence,³ incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death,⁴ became subject to the wrath of God,⁵ and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace.⁶

·        1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

·        Ephesians 2:1-3 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

2. We teach that all men, until they accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, are lost,⁷ darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them,⁸ hardened in heart,⁹ morally and spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins.¹⁰ They cannot see nor enter the kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit.¹¹ With no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost.  Man's salvation is thereby wholly of God's grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

·       Ephesians 4:18 …having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

·       John 3:3-5   Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”   ⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  

¹ Genesis 2:16-17 1 Timothy 2:13-14   ² Romans 5:12   ³ Genesis 3:1-19 (esp. 9-11)   ⁴ Romans 6:23  ⁵ John 3:36  ⁶ 1 Corinthians 2:14  ⁷ Luke 19:10; 2 Corinthians 4:3    ⁸ Ephesians 4:18: 1 Peter 1:14    ⁹ John 12:40  ¹⁰ Ephesians 2:1   ¹¹  John 3:3-5     

C. The Sin Nature

We teach that because all men were in Adam, the consequence of Adam's sin has been transmitted (imputed) to all men of all ages,¹ Jesus Christ being the only exception. All men are thus sinners by divine declaration, by nature, ² and by choice. ³

·       Psalm 14:1-3 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

·       Romans 5:10-12 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

¹ Romans 5:10-12     ² Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18, 23    ³ Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18, 23; 5:10-12

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^s Acts 4:13, 29; 2 Cor. 7:4; Eph. 6:19

^t Ex. 34:33–35; 2 Cor. 3:7

^u Rom. 10:4; [Gal. 3:23]

^v Is. 6:10; 29:10; Acts 28:26; Rom. 11:7, 8; 2 Cor. 4:4

^w Ex. 34:34; Rom. 11:23

^x Is. 25:7

^[1] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Co 3:12–16.

"Watch Video Magnificent Men: The Image of God Expressed in Redeemed Masculinity" by Rev. Charles M. Butler

These are just my initial, rough draft notes as I listened.  It is much better in person.

This is not just a motivational sermon, or set of rules to live by.  The rules made in one time and context often become outdated and irrelevant because it is often impossible to anticipate changes

I.  Go back to the original design specifications and see what God’s intentions were for designing us. 

Genesis 1:26

The first man’s name is Adam.  The Hebrew word for man is Adam.  It can be used to refer to a man or to a group of men or men and women.  It can be used as a name.

Gen 1.3, 6, 9, 20, 24  God commands his creation and it obeys.  When God creates his image bearers his words change.  He holds a brief conversation.  Let us make man in our image.  As my son’s experience fatherhood they will understand me better. 

Progressive revelation:  Our ability to understand about increases through history.  God doesn’t change, but our understanding does.  He gives hint through history and then tells “all.”  Hebrews 1:3  The only limitation is our dim vision  1 Cor 13.12

Through the lens of the N.T. we can clearly see the Father, Son, and Spirit speaking.  God is unity in diversity in loving and affirming relationship  They create humanity as male and female.  God creates us to be in community.  The priority of relationships to God and to each other.

The two greatest commandments to love God and our neighbor reflect the priority of relationships. 

The Hebrew for "male" is Zucar (sp?)  The word means to remember, recite, recollect with the idea of acting on what you remember.  Ex. 22.23  God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant…

That is what it means to be male.  To remember and act upon what is remembered.  Masculinity remembers and then moves to bring about what was remembered.

Gen 1.1-2.4 we have an overview.  2.5 begins the street level view.  God personally formed man and breathed life into him.  He was intimately involved.  God planted a garden with the tree of life and Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  It was given to Adam when he was alone and it will be up to him to remember and convey.

There was not a helper fit for responding to him.  Adam hast to have a female adam for the image of God to be complete. Together they display the full image that God intended.

The Hebrew word for woman is nekabot (sp?)which means open or pierced.  The women is open to receive and nurture what advances the purposes of God. 

II. Consider humankind's early history and how that has impacted our present situation.

The serpent approaches Eve.  There is nothing to suggest Adam knew anything about Satan.  The Gist of the conversation is that God was depriving them.

The husband who was with her and he ate.  All they had to do was live out their purposes to be like God.  As soon as the serpent contradicted God, Adam, the male, should have remembered what God had said and moved to advance God’s purposes.  Instead, he stood passively by…

The NT comments on this passage in two places.  1 Timothy 3.14  Eve was deceived.

Romans 5, sin came into the world through Adam.  He wasn’t deceived.  He chose the solution that didn’t require submitting to God and trusting Him.

Shame was the result.  The choice to choose what the serpent said over what they heard from God they became conflicted.  They knew evil because they had done evil.

Now they had another problem to solve.  They covered themselves with fig leaves.  In verse 8 they heard the sound of God…  the Lord God called to Adam.  Who told you were naked?  Have you eaten…?”  God gave them the opportunity to repent but they didn’t.  They just made excuses.  Innocence is lost and replaced with a disposition to turn away from God. 

This is the essence of how sin expresses itself in us.  Isa 53  We go our own way

Jer. 2.13  We pass up God’s fountain for our broken, dirty broken cistern.

The Hebrew word for earth is adoman (sp?).  Adam was formed from adoman (sp?).  Now that relationship is troubled.

Eve will desire to control Adam and Adam will cause him to want to dominate Eve.

Adam’s intentional misuse of God’s design has landed them in trouble.

Adam gave her the name Even because she was the mother of all the living. 3.21   Though bearing children in pain she would continue to raise children.  Though he would have to sweat and fight with the soil, he could feed his family.  The serpent would continue to strike the women’s offspring in the heal, but a day would come when the evil brought by the serpent would be eradicated.  Jesus would save his people from their sin.  Satan struck Christ’s heal in the crucifixion and Christ struck the Satan’s head at the resurrection.  Adam didn’t know all of that.

III. Examine how God responded to what took place

The fig leaves were insufficient.  God took the lives of animals in place of Adam and Even and covered them with their skins.  The Lamb of God takes away sin.

They rebelled. God punished and remember His love. This is our God, the image of God in zakar (sp?), the male.

What lessons do we gain?

1. Redeemed masculinity means we have accepted God to come to us.  The way we find leads us away from him instead of to him.  If have moved of ourselves, we have moved away from Him.  We cannot fix our sins.  God has moved toward us and invited to forgive our sins.  God will redeem us if we ask him.

2. Being a man who is a Christian is not the same as redeeming our masculinity.  What are you waiting for?  The further you go on the wrong road, the longer it takes to get back to the narrow road.  It’s not the road of being odd.  It’s the road of being clear.  Identifying first things that line up with His first things, keeping second things second.  First things is to love God, neighbors.

3. The ultimate image of God revealed in masculinity is seen in Christ as He moves toward the cross.  He is settled in his love for God and to love us.  As a redeemed man, God calls me to remember His word and live it, and to remember his love and to move toward others to show that love, to die to self, lose the self-obsession.  His glory should be my first concern.  That call on me to repent.

CS Lewis describing repentance.  “It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training into ourselves.  Killing part of yourself.  It is a kind of death. 

For the image of God to be expressed in my masculinity, I need to move forward selflessly not for personal reasons, but because this is what He calls me to be. 

http://www.moodychurch.org/watch-online/magnificent-men-image-god-expressed-redeemed-mascu/