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THE DOCTRINE OF MAN
I. THE CREATION AND ORIGINAL CONDITION OF MAN.
1. IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD.
2. PHYSICAL--MENTAL--MORAL--SPIRITUAL.
II. THE FALL OF MAN.
1. THE SCRIPTURAL ACCOUNT.
2. VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS.
3. THE NATURE OF THE FALL.
4. THE RESULTS OF THE FALL.
a) On Adam, and Eve.
b) On the Race.
(1) Various Theories.
(2) Scriptural Declarations.
THE DOCTRINE OF MAN.
I. THE CREATION AND ORIGINAL CONDITION OF MAN.
1. MAN MADE IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD.
Gen. 1:26--"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness." 9:6--"For in the image of God made he man." What is
meant by the terms _image_ and _likeness_? _Image_
means the shadow or outline of a figure, while _likeness_
denotes the resemblance of that shadow to the figure. The two
words, however, are practically synonymous. That man was made in
the image and likeness of God is fundamental in all God's dealings
with man (1 Cor. 11:7; Eph. 4:21-24; Col. 3:10; James 3:9). We
may express the language as follows: Let us make man in our image
to be our likeness.
a) The Image of God Does Not Denote Physical Likeness.
God is Spirit; He does not have parts and passions as a man.
(See under Doctrine of God; The Spirituality of God, pp. 19, 20).
Consequently Mormon and Swedenborgian views of God as a great
human are wrong. Deut. 4:15 contradicts such a physical view of
God (see p. 19, b, c). Some would infer from Psa. 17:15--"I shall
be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness," that in some remote
way, a physical likeness is suggested. The R. V., however, changes
somewhat the sense of this verse, and reads: "I shall be satisfied,
when I awake, with _beholding_ thy form." See also Num. 12:8,
R. V. It is fair to believe, however, that erectness of posture,
intelligence of countenance, and a quick, glancing eye characterized
the first man. We should also remember that the manifestations in
the Old Testament, and the incarnation must throw some light upon
this subject (see p. 20).
b) Nor Are the Expressions "Image" and "Likeness" Exhausted When
We Say That They Consisted in Man's Dominion Over Nature, and the
Creation of God in General.
Indeed the supremacy conferred upon man presupposed those spiritual
endowments, and was justified by his fitness, through them, to
exercise it.
c) Positively, We Learn from Certain Scriptures in What This Image
and Likeness Consisted.
Eph. 4:23, 24--"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that
ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness (B. V., holiness of truth)." Col. 3:10--"And have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of him that created him." It is clear from these passages that the
image of God consists in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness;
moral, not physical likeness.
d) The Original Man Was Endowed with Intellectual Faculties.
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