Anthropology – the study of humanity

I. The Nature of Man

A. Man as created

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

Acts 17:26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities––all things were created through him and for him.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

B. Man as the pinnacle of God's creation

Genesis 1:26-31 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.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

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.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Psalm 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

C. Man as personal moral beings

morally accountable to God; inner sense of right and wrong; ability to reason, think logically and learn; use complex abstract language; an awareness of life beyond death; experience depth and complexity of emotions; depth and complexity of relationship with God and with other people

D. Man as male & female

Genesis 5:2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and they shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

E. Man as Material and Immaterial; Physical and Spiritual

Luke 23:43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Philippians 1:21-24 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 5:1-9 For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened––not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Revelation 6:9-10 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Mark 9:47-48 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

1. The Constitution of Man; body & soul/spirit; [dichotomy/trichotomy]

spirit pneuma pneuma; xwr ruwach

soul: quch psuche; vpn nephesh

body swma soma; rsb basar

a. Dichotomy:

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature [soul].

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Soul and Spirit used interchangeably:

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

John 12:27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

John 13:21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Matthew 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life [soul] as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

b. Trichotomy:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two–edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

1 Corinthians 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

[Trichotomy is said to have originated with the Greek philosophers who taught that the material world is essentially evil, including our bodies, and something to be escaped from; it fell into disfavor with the church because of the heresy of Appolinarius, who taught that Christ had a human body and soul but no human spirit; instead a divine nature.]

Other descriptions of the constitution of man

Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart [kardia kardia] and with all your soul [quch psuche] and with all your mind [dianoia dianoia] and with all your strength [iscuv ischus].’

Romans 2:14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature [fusiv phusis] do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts [kardia kardia], while their conscience [suneidhsiv suneidesis] also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

Romans 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind [nouv nous] and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

c. Biblical emphasis on the Unity of Persons

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

I Corinthians 7: 34 … the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit.

I Corinthians 15:53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

2. The Origin of the Immaterial Soul/Spirit [traducianism/creationism]

a. Creationism: God creates a new soul at the conception or birth of an individual

Hebrews 12:9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

b. Traducianism: The human race was created in Adam; body and soul are propagated by natural means

Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Genesis 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

II. The Purpose of Man

A. We bear the image of God

1. The Image of God was Distorted but not Lost at the Fall

Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed,

for God made man in his own image.

James 3:9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

2. Redemption in Christ restores the Image of God in Man

Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

1 Corinthians 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

3. Aspects of God’s Image in Man:

We are to rule as God’s image-bearers over his creation. We bring Him honor by faithfully ruling and representing him. We are to rule, serve, protect, enjoy, and we are called to submit to God’s supreme authority

B. We were Created to bring Glory to God

John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Isaiah 43:7 everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

C. We were Created to Enjoy God

John 15:14-15 You are my friends if you do what I command you.15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.