The Doctrine of
Man
W h a t
i s M a n a n d W h a t
D o e s h e d o ?
Introduction
Thus far, I’ve given you a survey of the Doctrine
of the Word and the Doctrine of God.
Today, we move on to the Doctrine of Man.
Two questions—
What is man?
What does man do? Or, what is his task?
Man is the Image of
God
God’s first words to man were —
“Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness, and let them rule over the fish of
the sea and birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the
ground” (Genesis 1:26).
Moses then said in v. 27, “So God created
man in His own image....”
The NT says the same thing in I Cor. 11:7,
“... man is the image... of God.”
Dr. Richard Pratt says, when speaking about
the term, “image” —
“In the ancient world, this term often denoted a
statue or figurine, a three-dimensional
representative of a person or thing. In light of
this widespread usage, we understand what
God meant when he called Adam and Eve His
image. They were finite physical
representatives of their Creator. We are images
of God formed out of the dust of the ground.
We were made out of clay, for the purpose and
design to reflect our Creator” (Pratt, Designed
for Dignity, 3,4).
What is this image of God? In what ways do
we resemble and reflect our creator?
In the broadest sense, man is like God in
every way possible for finite creatures to be
like Him.
In one way or another everything that
God created reflects some likeness to
Him.
But only man is so much like God that it
can be said that he is in the image of
God.
Man is like God in that he has rational/
intellectual and linguistic/communication
abilities.
Colossians 3:10 says, “Don’t lie to one
another, since you have put off the old
person with his practices, and have put on
the new person who is being renewed in
such a way as to produce true knowledge
that is in keeping with the image of the
Creator.”
This points to man’s rational capacity.
He can think, learn, and rationalize about
God and His will.
He can communicate to God and God can
communicate to man through the Word.
Man has a moral likeness to God (Eph. 4:24)
He was created in true righteousness,
which according to Hodge & Reymond
means, “with justice/fairness toward his
neighbor.”
And he was created in true holiness, that is,
in right standing with God or in a state of
covenant faithfulness.
Man is like God in that his soul is immortal.
Man’s soul will live forever.
Also, as Richard Pratt points out, as do
others theologians, “even man’s physical
characteristics and abilities reflect the
spiritual characteristics and powers of God.”
We have physical eyes to see which
reflects God’s ability to see. (Ps. 94:6)
We have ears to hear which reflects God
ability to hear.
God is one who speaks. Since we have
mouths we too can speak and thereby
reflect the creator’s likeness.
Every human being is the image of God.
It belongs to all races and nationalities.
It belongs to both rich and poor.
It belongs to men and women alike.
Also to the disabled, to the unborn and those
near death.
The Bible also teaches that fallen, sinful human
beings are still in the image of God.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man
shall his blood be shed; for God made man in
His own image” (Gen. 9:6).
Listen to James, “With it (tongue) we bless
the Lord and Father, and with it we curse
people who are made in God’s likeness.
From the same mouth comes forth blessing
and cursing. This isn’t right brothers; these
things ought not be so” (Ja. 3:9,10).
However, after the fall, the image of God in man
is not the same. It is marred and distorted. Man—
Lost moral purity
The mind and intellect have been corrupted
by lies.
Our communication falls short of glorifying
God.
Every aspect of God’s image in man has been
affected by sin.
Man’s Human
Constitution
What are the elements of human persons like
you?
Scripture focuses on man as a whole person.
However, there are different aspects to man—
Man is a material being—he has a body.
Man is an immaterial being—he has a soul.
This view of man’s human constitution is called
dichotomy.
Regarding the immaterial aspect of man—
Soul and spirit are interchangeable terms to refer
to the same immaterial entity.
The other terms such as the conscience, mind, and
heart refer to the same immaterial part of man’s
nature and describe its different functions.
The conscience is the capacity that we have for
self-judgment (Heb. 10:22).
The mind is the thinking aspect of the immaterial
side of man.
The heart is the inner you or life that one lives
before God. It is often set over against the
outer man.
“...Man looks on the outward appearance, but
the Lord looks on the heart” (I Sam. 16:7).
“...this people honors me with their lips, but
their hearts are far away from me” (Matt.
15:8).
What Is Man To Do?
Listen to Genesis 1:26 and 28.
These verses spells out what the main roles and
responsibilities are of man in the world.
26 Then 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
birds of the heavens and over the livestock and
over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.”
28 And God blessed them. And God said to
them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
and subdue it and have dominion over the fish
of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and
over every living thing that moves on the
earth.”
This is called the “Cultural Mandate”.
Mankind is directed to bring his influence to
bear on the whole earth.
Adam and Eve were to have children.
They were to spread out over the whole earth.
They were to bring out the potential of the
earth to meet their needs and to bring glory to
God.
You are multipliers who are to multiply.
You are rulers who are to exercise dominion.
The Ancient Near Eastern background is
helpful in understanding what Moses is saying
here.
Kingdoms were spread out over thousands of
square miles, which was problematic for kings
trying to exercise control over their empires.
The question was, how could they make their
presence and authority known and
remembered?
The solution was to put up images of
themselves at strategic locations all over their
empire.
By doing this, the king made it clear who was in
charge and to whom the citizens owed their
allegiance.
Well, just as these kings filled their kingdoms
with images of themselves, so God commanded
those created in His image to fill the earth. And
just as the kings conferred authority on their
images, so God commanded His images to rule
and exercise dominion.
Do you sense the degree of honor to be one
who is in God’s image? Do you sense the
privilege that God’s given to you?
What does it mean for us to be multipliers and
rulers?
Multiplication.
Biological multiplication — Man was created to
have children — to reproduce images of God in
the world.
Spiritual multiplication - The fall of man into sin
led to the loss of the moral aspect of God’s
image, so multiplication takes on a spiritual
dimension. God desires images that faithfully
represent Him. The Great commission
Practically, this means teaching and training
our children so that they increasingly reflect
God’s likeness.
It involves evangelism and discipleship of
people (Salvation - sanctification - conformity
to Christ’s likeness).
How may this help a single person who
doesn’t have children, or a childless couple?
Dominion (ruling)
As God’s images fill the earth they have
the responsibility to exercise dominion.
God has given you part of his world and
expects you to master it.
All of your specific jobs fit within the
general mandate to rule over the earth.
You should excel at what you do and be
the best that you can be.
This is a primary way that we honor God
whose image we bear. And this must be
the fundamental reason that we do our
work.
Listen to Paul, “Whatever you do, work
at it with all your heart, as working for
the Lord, not for men since you know
that you will receive an inheritance from
the Lord as a reward” (Colossians
3:23-24).
In summary, we are images of God put in this world to
fill the earth with His likeness and to rule over it for
God’s glory.