Mankind Originally

Summary: (top)

We see from reading the Bible that both men and women were created in the image of God (that is, there are various qualities found in men and women that are representative of qualities found in God), were perfect, and were to rule over other creation. Man and woman were and are of the same importance and standing, but were created to fulfill different roles, the man having a certain authority over the woman and the woman having special abilities to fulfill her roles. Both are equal in importance and dignity, and complement each other.

Introduction: (top)

It is quite clear from a reading of Genesis that man was created by God to be above other creation, and to relate to Him in a special way. Yet over the course of history, man has related to God in deferent ways: immediately following creation, man related to God differently than following the fall of man, and similarly, man in the state of sin relates differently to God than man in the covenant of grace. This page will look at the state of mankind immediately after creation, and other pages from the theology section will look at mankind in sin, in grace, and for eternity.

The Biblical Teaching:

The Origin of Mankind: (top)

Man was created above other creation: with respect to other animals, God created them "according to its kind", i.e., they would be created in a typical form of their own; yet God said of man: "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Gen. 1:26).
Man was created in two elements (physical and spiritual): God created the physical form of man 'from the dust of the earth', yet did not use pre-existing materials in the creation of the soul: "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Gen. 2:7).
Man is placed in an exalted position: Man is crowned as king over the lower creation and given dominion over all inferior creatures in order that they follow his will to glorify God: "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'" (Gen. 1:28).

Mankind as the Image of God: (top)

There are various passages within scripture portraying man as the "image" or "likeness" of God, some included below:

Genesis 1:26-27: "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 5:1b: "When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God."
Genesis 9:6: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."
1 Corinthians 11:7: "A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God"

As the image of God, man is undoubtably distinguished from other creation, and stands alone as the head and crown of creation.

The terms "likeness" and "image" have been interpreted in various ways. Some held that "image" referred to the body and "likeness" to the soul. Others believed that "image" had reference to the intellectual and "likeness" to the moral faculties of the soul. There were various interpretations given, but it seems clear that "image" and "likeness" express the same idea: the very image of God.

There are several ways in which this was the case:

Original righteousness: man was created perfect (Gen 1:31).
Intellect, affections and moral freedom: man has a rational and moral nature which he could not lose without ceasing to be man.
Spirituality: God is spirit, and man's living soul is the very nature of his being.
Immortality: Although the Bible says that God only has immortality (1 Tim. 6:16), it is perfectly clear that man also has immortality in some sense of the word. We must reconcile these to say that God has immortality as a part of His essence, while man has an immortality derived from God.

Man and Woman (top)

There are two broad streams of teaching within Scripture relating to man and woman: that of their equality, and that of the complementary nature of their functions.

That man and woman are essentially equal in their value, dignity and status: (top)

Aside from both being created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), in 1 Corinthians we read "In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman." (11:11-12). We also find the unity of all persons in Christ: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

Man and Woman are in some respects complementary to each other, are certainly different in some ways, and have different roles to play, specifically that man has a place of leadership or authority over woman: (top)

In Genesis we see that Adam was created before Eve (which is different from all other animals as they were initially created male and female), and that Eve was created to be a helper for man. This does not mean that she was inferior, but simply that she had a different role to play than Adam. Paul comments on this with: "For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man" (1 Cor. 11:8-9). I must stress that helper does not imply a place of subordinance, for God is often called "a Helper" to the Israelites for they need His help. It is simply a difference in roles.
Adam named Eve: Adam's authority over the animal kingdom was shown when he named them, as in Old Testament thought the right to name someone implied authority over them, and similarly Adam named Eve, implying an authority over her.
God named the Human Race "Man," not "Woman", nor any gender-neutral name (Gen. 5:2).
Even though Eve sinned first, God spoke to Adam and called him to account for his actions (Gen. 3:9).
Adam represented the human race, not Eve: Even though Eve sinned first, the New Testament tells us that "in Adam, all die" (1 Cor. 15:22).
After the fall, they were given specific roles: Adam was to work the land to produce food (Gen. 3:17-19), and Eve would still have the responsibility for bearing children (Gen. 3:16).
In the New Testament we read extensively of the role of husbands and wives, that wives should submit to their husbands, and that husbands should love their wives and not be harsh with them (Col. 3:18-19; Eph. 5:22-23; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1-7).
In 1 Corinthians we also read "Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (11:3).

So we see that man and woman were created equal, are equal, yet have different base gifts and are called to different roles.