God Created Man
Westminster
Shorter Catechism 10
Quest. How
did God create man?
Ans. God created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Introduction
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Out of
the dust of the ground God made a mini representation of Himself. Of all the
earthy and earthly creatures, only man was made in the image and likeness of
God. Man, therefore, is a miniature of God on a creaturely level. Man, as God’s
vicegerent or vice-regent, is to rule over all other creatures.
Now, it has
long been debated among Christians as to whether man is made up of one part,
two parts, or three parts. But let’s keep in mind that man is the image and
likeness of God. Let’s be clear, there are no “parts” to God. God is one. God
cannot be dissected. God does not consist of a father part, a son
part, and a spirit part. No, there are no parts to God. Rather
there are distinctions. Likewise, if man truly is the image and likeness
of God, then man too is one. There is not, therefore, a body part, a
soul part, and a spirit part to man. For each of us is rather one
whole person consisting of body, soul, and spirit.
The
Apostle Paul says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely;
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23). The Apostle in this verse
would seem to refer then to the triune-God-reflecting nature of man, viz.
spirit, soul, and body – i.e., the whole man.
When the
triune God created Adam on the sixth day He created a whole person from the
soil. “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” (Gen.
2:7).
There’s a
very interesting and illuminating comment on this verse made by my old
theological professor Dr Francis Nigel Lee,
“It is not stated that (only) man’s body is soil, as if his soul were a spark of divine non-soil! Rather it is stated that the (whole) man (comprising unannihilable soul and unannihilable body and unannihilable spirit) is soil (Gen. 3:19,23 & Ps. 103:14). For man is not monochotomous (or a one-part being) nor dichotomous (or a two-part being) or trichotomous (or a three-part being), but triunichotomous (or a trinifold being), cf. Gen. 1:26 & 1 Thess. 5:23 – as too is the Trinity Himself Whose image man is. For God and His image man are not monistic or dualistic nor tri-istic, but triune or Trinitarian. Moreover, that the whole man (soul-body-spirit) is essentially ‘earthy’ and ‘earthly,’ is also evidenced by the word for man here used in the original Hebrew (adam).”[1]
So much
then for Plato’s “divine spark” or the “spark of divine non-soil” as Dr
Lee calls it. For the whole you, not just our body, but body-soul-spirit, like
Adam before us, is made of the dust of this earth.
Now, I
know that this is not the popular view of man, but I believe it’s the biblical
view. The triune God does not consist of parts; neither does His image. Man
also reflects God who is Triune in the human family of father, mother, and
child.
As God is
One and Many so man is one and many. The same one person may be a father,
husband, brother, and son all at the same time. He may, as they say, wear many
different “hats” – plumber, soccer referee, president of the stamp-collectors’
club and so forth.
In the following we shall look at three aspects of man in particular, viz., Knowledge, Righteousness, and Holiness.
Knowledge
God alone
has infinite knowledge of Himself and His creation. However, God imbued man
with a true knowledge of God, of creation and of himself. We see
indication of Adam’s true knowledge of God in the fact that God entered into a
covenant with Adam.
Adam knew
who God was and he understood God’s authority, even the terms of the covenant.
For the LORD God commanded Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit. Also, Adam knew
what all the birds and animals were. He catalogued them. He named them. He
would have been glorifying God as he examined the creatures God had made. And
it’s fair to say that Adam would have gained an even deeper knowledge of God
through his study of God’s creation and the creatures in it.
And
finally, Adam had a true knowledge of himself. He knew there were no animals comparable
to himself. And what did he say when he saw Eve? “This is bone of my bones and
flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man” (Gen.
2:24).
God
created man male and female. So, Adam could tell you all about God, God’s
creation, and man. He entered into God’s covenant. He gave names to the
animals. And he called his wife “Eve,” because she was the mother of all
living. By definition, this makes Adam a prophet. A prophet is able to
recognize God’s truth and speak it forth for the benefit of others. “Woman,
I’ll call you ‘Eve’ Why Eve? Because you are the mother of all living!”
So, Adam,
in his role as prophet would have told his wife about God and His covenant. He
would have been able to tell her all about the creatures God had made. And he
certainly told Eve all about herself – “Mother of all living – bone of my
bones, flesh of my flesh!” and so forth.
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So, we see then, that to have knowledge, true knowledge of God and His creation, and to share that knowledge makes one a prophet. A prophet by definition is one who forth-tells true knowledge. Yes, there were prophets in Scripture who would not only forth-tell but also foretell. But even so, whether forth-telling or foretelling, being a true prophet is all about having a true knowledge of God and telling others about Him.
Adam then, in that he was created with true knowledge of God, creation and himself, was a prophet. He was the Lord’s anointed prophet. He had knowledge in his understanding. But not only did God create Adam with true knowledge. Adam was also created in righteousness.
Righteousness
Adam was
to subdue God’s creation, and he was to have dominion over God’s creatures. In
his role of subduing and dominion he was to operate with the utmost respect for
God. He was to deal justly in all roles. He was to act responsibly. In a word,
Adam was to be righteous.
God
created him in righteousness and Adam was to function righteously. In order to
function righteously there needs to be a code of ethics. There needs to be a
rule of Law for any kind of righteousness to exist. And so, Adam was to rule
God’s creation according to God’s righteousness, which is to say that he was to
rule according to God’s Law, which is an expression of God’s righteous
character.
Adam
wasn’t to make it up as he went along. He was created in God’s image with a
true knowledge of God. So, it’s not hard to see that Adam was created with
God’s Law written on his heart, as we say. Adam knew right from wrong in that
he knew true from false. He could tell the difference between what is real and
what is fake.
He didn’t
know good and evil experientially. But he knew that good was doing God’s will,
and evil was going against it. He knew it was right to believe God and accept
everything He said as truth. He knew it was wrong to disobey God, for that
would be to go against what is true. It would be to believe the lie instead of
the truth. So, everything about Adam was righteous.
He
willingly did everything according to the will of God. He had a righteous
knowledge of God, a righteous knowledge of God’s creation. And he had a
righteous knowledge of himself and the rest of mankind (at that time, his
wife).
By definition, one who rules righteously is a king. Conversely, one who rules unrighteously is not a king but a despot! To be sure a wicked ruler might be called a king. But the reality is that a wicked ruler is a tyrant, not a king. A true king is one who rules righteously over his dominion. Adam therefore at his creation was a true king in every sense. He was like a sort of extension of God on earth. And it was God who ordained him, and it was God who crowned him. Therefore, Adam in the Garden was truly the Lord’s anointed king.
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Adam had
dominion over all the creatures of the earth, the sea, and the sky. And
something we tend not to think about, Adam had dominion over himself. He ruled
over his own affections, feelings or emotions. In other words, Adam was able to
control himself. He exercised self-control.
With his
true knowledge and his righteousness Adam was the ideal person to represent God
on earth. He wouldn’t do anything out of ignorance. To be sure, Adam didn’t
have infinite knowledge. But, if there were something he wasn’t sure of, he
would have been able to righteously consider all the implications before
he acted.
Righteousness means operating according to a set of principles. True righteousness is operating according to God’s true Law. The overarching principle that governed Adam’s kingship was God’s Moral Law. To be sure, the form of God’s Moral Law wouldn’t be exactly like the Ten Commandments as we know them. For the Ten Commandments presuppose sin. The Law of God for Adam before the Fall would have been in positive terms:
1. Worship God exclusively.
2. Worship God spiritually.
3. Worship God sincerely.
4. Worship God as He will to be
worshipped.
5. Respect authority.
6. Respect the life and rights of
others.
7. Be pure and loyal.
8. Be honest.
9. Be truthful.
10. Be happy and content.
I got
that list from Dr. Francis Nigel Lee who got it from a fellow by the name of
Yost. But anyhow, it simply shows the Ten Commandments stated positively. The
way it’s presented in the Ten Commandments as given at Mount Sinai presumes
that man is already fallen. But needless to say, Adam was created in an upright
or unfallen state. As it says in Ecclesiastes 7:29: “God made man upright.”
Therefore,
like Jesus Christ, Adam didn’t need the constant reminder of what constitutes
the breaking of God’s Law. He had true knowledge, and he had been created with a
bias toward doing what is right. Therefore, he knew how to rule in
righteousness. He didn’t have to be taught like those after the fall. Hence
Adam had the Ten Commandments on his heart in their positive form, which is to
say that he knew how to love God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and
with all his mind, and love his neighbour as himself. He knew how to do unto
others as he would have them do to him.
Before
the Fall, the “Law of Love” lodged in his heart. Adam was righteous and he
acted in righteousness. He had righteousness in his will. He was the Lord’s
appointed and anointed king.
Thus far we’ve seen that Adam was created in knowledge. And that on account of his use of this true knowledge he was a true prophet. And we’ve also seen that Adam was created righteous. And that on account of his acting on this true righteousness he was also a true king.
Holiness
When
something is holy it is said to be set apart, sanctified, and pure. The very
first commandment speaks of the holiness, i.e., the set apartness of God. “You
shall have no other God’s before Me” (Exod. 20:3). Or as Adam would have known
that Commandment before the Fall, “Worship God exclusively.”
God is
exclusive – there are no other gods like Him. God alone is God. Man is
exclusive. There are no other creatures comparable to him. Man alone is man.
Big Foot, Sasquatch, Yeti, the Abominable Snowman are not man. Neither are
gorillas or chimpanzees even close to man. Man alone is man just as God alone
is God. However, man is like God in that man like God is holy. Man was,
consecrated, set apart by God to use his true knowledge to rule in
righteousness in the service of God.
Adam was
created in holiness to serve God in whose image and likeness he was made. Therefore,
Adam was to put God first in all his undertakings. He was to worship God
exclusively. Therefore, this by definition makes Adam a Priest.
A priest
is one who ministers on behalf of others. Adam served or ministered to God. And
as an individual he was designed by God to serve or minister to his fellow man.
He was designed with a pure heart of love toward God and love toward neighbour.
In other words, Adam had holiness in all his affections, which is to say that
he had a disposition toward serving God and his fellow man. His bias was toward
caring about and for others even more than he cared for himself. Therefore,
Adam wasn’t created as a neutral being. He was created to love God with all his
heart, with all his soul, with all his strength and with all his mind, and love
his neighbour as himself.
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We must
note, of course, that Adam rebelled against God. He broke God’s Covenant when
he ate the forbidden fruit. And in this we see that Adam’s knowledge,
righteousness, and holiness were corrupted by sin. Adam, therefore, became a
false prophet, a false king, and a pseudo-priest.
The
Apostle Paul spells some of this out in Romans chapter one. “[Man] exchanged
the truth of God for the lie…” (Rom. 1:25). Paul is saying that the Fall made
man’s knowledge corrupt. The prophet no longer speaks according to knowledge in
understanding. But his foolish heart was darkened. Therefore, man in Adam
became a false prophet espousing much false knowledge.
One only
has to look around at the false religion and the pseudo-science that pervades
the world today to see evidence of this. Man, in our own day, has re-catalogued
and renamed all the animals according to a Darwinian template. Man no longer is
made in the image and likeness of God, say the pseudo-scientists. Man now is
thought to be a by-product of time and chance. Therefore, man has lost the true
knowledge of God, God’s creation, and of himself. In brief, because of
the Fall, man no longer knows who he truly is, or what is his true purpose.
This is what happens when you exchange the truth of God for the lie. Fallen
man, then, is a not a true prophet. He is a false prophet.
The
Apostle Paul also goes on to say, “[Man] exchanged the truth of God for the
lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” (Rom.
1:25). In this we see that man has lost his righteousness and holiness. He was
to righteously rule over all creation and its creatures as king. But now he, in
all unrighteousness, worships the created things of God rather than God
exclusively.
Man no
longer rules according to God’s Law. But he rules according to what he
understands to be the “Law of Nature.” But his understanding of God, His
creation (i.e. nature) and himself is not according to true knowledge. To
be sure, fallen man can fire rockets to the moon, and design and build
computers. However, he is supposed to be subduing the earth and ruling over its
creatures to the glory of God alone. In order to glorify God alone man must
operate righteously, which is to say that man must rule according to the
principles of God’s Moral Law. However, man goes to two extremes. He either
lets nature rule over him, (for example, like some North American Indians, and
some Australian Aboriginals), or he exploits nature (perhaps like, for example,
some Western mining Corporations, and some Japanese Whalers and such like).
Fallen
man either abuses fallen creation, or he lets fallen creation abuse him. But
either way, it is an abuse of his God-given kingly rule. Man is supposed to
rule nature for God in all righteousness. But instead, he worships and serves
the creature rather than the Creator. Man therefore, since the Fall, is a
pseudo-king. And, as we’ve just seen, he is also a pseudo-priest.
Instead
of serving God and his fellow man, fallen man serves creation, i.e. the
creature. And he abuses these things. As a pseudo-priest he intercedes on
behalf of trees, whole rainforests. He intercedes on behalf of whales, koalas,
and rare tree frogs, etc. Yet he turns a blind eye to the plight of the
millions of unborn infant human beings who are being murdered by abortion
daily.
Fallen
man is very affectionate toward creation but is not so affectionate toward his
fellow man. It’s good to care about creation and look after it, for that’s what
man was designed to do. However, we are to do these things in holiness, in our
priestly service to God. But instead fallen man views creation apart from the
living and true God. Therefore, in his heart and in his actions, he serves the
creation exclusively to his own end.
Fallen
man, then, is a pseudo-priest, a pseudo-prophet, and a pseudo-king. But the
Good News is that God has done something about this. In Colossians 3:9-10 the
Christian is told that he has: “put off the old man with his deeds [and has]
put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him
who created him.”
So, the
Christian is renewed in knowledge. This means that the Christian has had his
understanding of God, God’s creation, and himself renewed. To be sure the
renewed man still suffers the effects of the Fall. But all in all, with his
renewed knowledge he can now tell others true knowledge about God, God’s
creation, and himself. By definition, this makes him a true prophet, so long as
he doesn’t contradict God’s Word.
And also
we read these words in Ephesians 4:24, “Put on the new man which was created
according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.” So, we see then that the
Christian has also regained righteousness and true holiness. He is now able to
rule once more as God’s vicegerent in accordance with God’s Law. Although still
suffering from the effects of the Fall he is able to subdue his own sinful
affections progressively. The Christian has been consecrated or set apart by
God. Although he is already sanctified, he becomes progressively more
sanctified as he applies the knowledge God has given him to his daily living.
By definition this makes the Christian a true king in that he rules righteously. And also, because he is renewed in true holiness, he is able to serve God and his fellow man, which is to say that he is now able to love God and his neighbour as himself. This is illustrated by his actions toward God’s worship and glory and his dealings toward man. Like a true priest he now intercedes on behalf of others before the throne of God.
Conclusion
The Christian is renewed in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. In brief, the Christian is renewed as knowledgeable prophet, righteous king, and holy priest. However, there is one Man who is THE true Prophet, THE true King, and THE true Priest. He is, as the writer to the Hebrews says, the “express image” of God’s Person.
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It is in
Jesus Christ that the Christian is prophet, king, and priest. Because it is in
Him that the Christian has true knowledge, true righteousness, and true
holiness. He, Jesus Christ, is the new Man, the new Adam. Jesus Christ is the
new and everlasting replacement for the Fallen Adam. Therefore, if we want to
see what man is supposed to be, we look to Jesus Christ.
He is the
true Prophet in that He is the Word of God become flesh. He is the knowledge of
God incarnate. He is the true King in that He rules in righteousness. He is the
true Priest in that He is truly Holy. And, as our High Priest, He intercedes on
behalf of His people.
Jesus
redeems the whole man, body-soul-spirit. We know this because Jesus is a whole
man, body-soul-spirit. And as such He was raised from the dead. And it was the
whole Man, body-soul-spirit, who ascended into Heaven. Jesus is not half a
Saviour; nor is He a third or two-thirds of a Saviour. Therefore, I urge you to
keep on trusting in Jesus for total salvation, body-soul-spirit.
We asked
the question as it is found in Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 10: How
did God create man? And we saw something of the fact that God created man
male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and
holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
[1] Francis Nigel Lee, Creation and Commission: A
New Translation and Commentary on Genesis One Through Three, Jesus Lives
Series, Tallahassee, Florida, no date, footnote g, 19.
[2] Thomas
Vincent, The Shorter Catechism Explained from Scripture, The Banner of
Truth Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland, first published 1674, 1980 edition, 48.
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