The nature of man

Biblical View of Humanity

• Gen. 1:26-27. Human beings were created after the divine type
and not after the type of an animal kingdom.
• “Image” implies the physical, social, mental and spiritual aspects
of God. On this basis human beings possess the full image of
God.

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 IMPLICATIONs
• Humans created for relationship with others, Gen. 2:18
(Marriage)
• Humans created to be stewards of his creation, Gen. 1:26;
Psa. 8:6-8.
• Humans created to imitate God.
• Humans created with conditional immortality. It was
determined by obedience, disobedience led to death, Gen.
2: 17; Gen. 3:22

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Fall (Gen 3)
• Choice becomes an Issue of trust:
Satan suggested that God has
deliberately withheld the best from
Adam and Eve (Gen 3:5).
• Choice: (1) believe God and obey him
and live in the place he has set them
OR (2) believe Satan and attempt to
take over God’s position.

Test issue: fruit of knowledge of good

and evil (Gen 2:15-17)

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 Fall
• They chose the second option, an
attempt to be “like God” (power and
glory–not character) ended up with
broken relationship.

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 Immediate Disaster
• Inner harmonious relationship with self-broken (guilt) – Gen
3:7
• Relationship with God was broken – Gen 3:8
• Relationship with each other shattered – Gen 3:12, 16
• Nature rebels against humans – Gen 3:17-18
• Humans become sinners.

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How does sin affect Adam’s descendants
• Born in the enemy camp, and therefore enemies of God, Eph. 2:3.
• An universal experience: I Kgs. 8:46; Rom. 3:10-12, 23
• Theologians refer to the doctrine of “original sin” (total
depravity)
• Satan became the ruler of the world when Adam sinned.

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• Body subject to sickness and death
• Mind clouded and befuddled (Reasoning power becomes corrupt)
Romans 1: 21- 22.
• Power of the will is corrupted, Rom. 5: 17; 6. 17. “Slaves to sin” in
our natural state.
• Emotions, experience anger, hatred, unforgiving, temper, jealousy
etc., Rom 1: 26-27.
• Relationships (vertical and horizontal relationship affected)

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• Sin disconnects Human beings from God who is the source of life
thus brings in death.
• God is the source of life, only live when connected to him, 1 Tim.
6; 13-16, 1 John 5: 12.

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• Ezekiel 18: 4. “The soul that sins dies.”
• Biblical meaning of “Soul”.
1. Soul is a translation of the Hebrew nephesh. In Gen 2:7,
nephesh or soul- refers to the complete person or can be people
(Gen 2: 7)
Human reality made of two parts: Clay model + Breath =
Living Soul.

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2. Expressions such as my soul, your soul, his soul, etc are
generally idioms for the personal pronouns ‘I,’ ‘me,’ ‘you,’ ‘he’
etc (Gen 12:13; Lev 11:43, 44; Josh 23:11; Psa 3:2).
3. Nephesh refers to desire, appetites or passions (Deut
23:24; Prov. 23:2; Eccl 6:7), is sometimes translated ‘appetite’
(Prov. 23:2; Eccl 6:7).

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 Hope
• Through disobedience the pair became
sinners, no longer able to resist Satan.
• However, God gave them the hope by
introducing the covenant of grace, Gen
3:15.
• Sin entered the world through one man
(Adam) but through the obedience of one
man (Jesus) many were made righteous
(Rom 5:12,17,18-19).

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Reference
Erickson, Millard. Introducing Christian Doctrine. Baker Academic, Grand Rapids:
2001.
Seventh-day Adventists Believe… A Biblical Exposition of Fundamental Doctrines.
Washington: DC, Ministerial Association of the General Conference of the Seventh-
day Adventists, 2005: 91-112.

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