Our Most Precious Faith
Man
Turn to Ephesians 2. Well, after studying our statements on the Word of God, creation, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we now come to our statement on man.
MAN
We believe that Adam and Eve were created perfect in the image of God, but when Adam sinned, it brought both physical and spiritual death to all mankind. Therefore, man is totally depraved and is subject to the wrath of God (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 1:18; 3:23; 5:12-14).
I was wondering thus far which of our statements would the culture oppose the most. I believe that though the culture would not agree with our statements on the Bible and on the Trinity, some would at least understand why we hold to them. Of course, they would have much opposition that we believe that the Bible is complete truth and that it comes with all authority, but they likely would not expect anything different from us. And though they would greatly disagree with our statement on creation, there are likely some unchurched who if they were willing to admit, see the holes in the teaching of evolution and therefore admit that our existence today came about somehow, other than by chance. But it is our statement this morning—statement #6—which I would suggest, by far, would be the most appalling to the culture. For imagine saying to someone in the world today that man was made perfect in the image of God, but because Adam sinned, all men and women are destined to both physical and spiritual death as man is totally depraved and subject to the wrath of God.
So, it is true that this statement would be appalling to the general guy on the street today. But not so for those who claim the Bible as the Word of God, however, this may not be true as well. Ian sent out a link for the elders of what is called the State of Theology in the U. S. It is a yearly poll done by Ligonier ministries, the group which was started by former pastor R. C. Sproul. The poll is a series of statements asked to evangelicals. Evangelicals were defined as people who strongly agree with the following four statements: the Bible is the highest authority; the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that can remove the penalty for sin; and only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation. In the ‘2025 poll, one of the statements was that “everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.” Surprisingly, 64% of evangelicals agreed with that statement. Another statement was that “everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature,” 53% of evangelicals agreed.
Yet this truth about man that we have in our doctrinal statement that basically says the opposite and that would be disagreed upon by the majority of “so-called” evangelicals in the U. S. is such a great statement! And the reason that it is so vital that we understand this statement regarding the condition of man is so that we also understand and celebrate the massive change that God does in the life of a believer. Listen to the words of Charles Spurgeon:
“We declare, upon Scriptural authority, that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, and so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined to everything that is good, that without the powerful, supernatural, irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human will ever be constrained towards Christ.”
Charles Spurgeon
Now some may balk at such a statement. But when we tend to think that man is righteous, we fail to understand whom we are comparing man to. For the comparison is to God, for He alone is the guidepost for righteousness and because man has been created in God’s image. And if man is not righteous all the time, God declares him to be unrighteous. If man ever distorts the truth even slightly, God declares him to be a liar. And if man ever has a wrong thought, God declares him to be impure. And notice what Spurgeon states here, as he places such an emphasis on the Spirit of God if man is ever to have any hope or chance of redemption. This falls in line with exactly what we said last week that it should cause us to shutter what would happen if God pulled from us the Holy Spirit’s restraining hand in the lives of individuals or from our culture in general. As we would think we would all be left groping for rightness, justice, mercy, love; but none of these would even exist in humans. So, lets begin to dig into this statement by looking at Man’s Image, Man’s Fall, Man’s Earthly Condition, and Man’s Redemption.
Man’s Image
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:26-27 (LSB)
This is quite the beginning for man. This truth is restated in Genesis 5:1, “In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.” And the Bible teaches this is why it is wrong to kill another human being.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man.”
Genesis 9:6 (LSB)
And the Apostle Paul reiterates this in the New Testament. First Corinthians 11:7, man is the image and glory of God. James also says that we have been made in the image of God. When we speak of man being made in the image of God it really is referring to a number of things specifically about the uniqueness of man over the rest of creation. One, has to do with his relationship with God. In other words, man’s relationship with God is uniquely different from all other created things, that we would have a Father/child relationship. Two, is that man is creative. As man’s impact on the world in which he lives has been great. I mean wherever man lives, there are relics of his life whether that be the things he has built, or music he has composed, books he has written, art he has created, and knowledge he has mastered. No other lifeform comes anywhere close to what man has accomplished. Thirdly, man has a spirit and therefore will live forever. Ecclesiastes says that God has “set eternity in the heart of man.” Fourthly, we have a moral obligation that the rest of creation does not have. Ted does not sit and think about her actions. She has been taught to sit and speak and come, sometimes.
I was at the Hodgson’s the other night with their great dog Marty—maybe a Christian dog! And when Owen got her a treat, old Marty did eight tricks without ever being told anything. She just could not do enough things to get that treat—sit, jump, lay down, and crawl along the floor all at the same time. I think Ted would have had a heart attack. But outside of man, because man is responsible to God in a moral sense. No other part of creation will face an eternal judgement, except that of angels. As man will have to stand before God and give an account, Ted and Marty will not. And the most focused point in regard to man being in the image of God comes directly from the Genesis passage. For in Genesis 1, let us make man in our image, so that they will have dominion. So, fifthly, we could say that man has the ability to rule, again, except for angels, very unique. So, we could give a very simple definition of man being made in the image of God, that man was created with a relationship to God, that man is creative, that man will live forever, that man has a moral obligation, and that man has been given the charge to rule. And though I have mentioned angels in this, it is interesting that angels are never described in the Bible as man is—of being created in the image of God. Man’s image, secondly:
Man’s Fall
In considering man’s fall with the introduction of sin, the question is this, “Does man still possess the image of God after he has sinned?” In other words, after the sin of Adam and Eve, has this image been lost? The short answer to this question would be “no.” For man is still creative, he still has a spirit and will live on forever, he still has a moral obligation to God, and he still governs and rules. Yet we might wonder about the first thing we said and that is that man has a relationship with God, for the Bible speaks of being a child of God, yet this is after salvation when man is restored through Christ. But what about mankind in general, is he still in the image of God after sin? Well, there are some hints for us in the Bible. The verse in Genesis 9:6, where it says not to murder another human. And the reason it says not to murder is that God made man in His image. Well. if sin has completely eliminated that image, then man becomes just like an animal and could be killed, but the Bible says he cannot.
Now on the other hand, much has been lost. For since man has sinned, his moral purity has been lost, therefore, his character no longer reflects the holiness of God. And even his creative nature has been weakened because of sin. We do not know what it would have been like to be Adam and Eve considering their intelligence prior to their sinning, as they would have acted without selfishness, without laziness, and without memory loss. There was no desire to be deceptive or to be unloving. Therefore, their capacity to create music and art and knowledge was likely amazing. Wayne Grudem makes this statement that:
“After the fall, then, we are still in God’s image—we are still like God and we still represent God—but the image of God in us is distorted; we are less fully like God than we were before the entrance of sin.”
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 444
So, we have man’s image at creation, but then we have man’s distorted image after sin, thirdly:
Man’s Earthly Condition
So, where has this left man since the fall? The term we use in our doctrinal statement is “total depravity.” I want to begin so that I am not misunderstood by stating what total depravity is not:
1 / Total depravity is not totally insensitive in matters of conscience of right or wrong.
2 / Total depravity does not mean that the sinner is as sinful as he/she could be.
3 / Total depravity does not mean that the sinner engages in every possible form of sin.
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 572
So, what is total depravity?
1 / Sin is a matter of the entire person—mind, emotions, and will.
2 / The unregenerate person always contains an element of improper motive.
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 572
So, let’s answer this question, if I do not accept total depravity like the Scriptures teach where may this lead me? God becomes very unfair. That He would condemn people to hell, in other words, if man is basically good like the poll suggested, how could he be eternally punished? Secondly, God begins to owe man something, as salvation to save becomes an obligation of God rather than the grace of God. This is a key point! Finally, excuses are made for man. In other words, the sinfulness that he experiences must have come outside of him, so that he cannot be blamed for his actions, sound familiar, doesn’t it?
“And you were dead in your transgressions and sins,2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience,3 among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Ephesians 2:1-3 (LSB)
We are all in the same basket: dead to God; dead to spiritual matters; and dead to the truth. We need to acknowledge that, that outside of the Holy Spirit of God, we have no understanding of God or His Word. Now this does not mean that sinners cannot love their children, love their spouse, care for someone, or do what is right in a particular situation, show great kindness. But because of their sinfulness, which is part of all of us. They are unable to have a relationship with God, nor are we able to reach anywhere near the righteousness of God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, until God acts.
“But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us … For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 2: 4, 8 (LSB)
And prior to that grace and love by God, man is condemned to both physical and spiritual death. Now the Bible teaches that this depravity came to us through Adam.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Romans 5:12 (LSB)
In other words, the entire human race is born in sin through one man, Adam. First Corinthians 15:22, “as in Adam all died.” We therefore are a condemned race by our birth. Now unfortunately, when we speak of total depravity, our minds often go to the murderers or the rapists. But look what these passages say about all of us.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9 (LSB)
Remember last week we spoke about the retraining work of the Holy Spirit. Well, we need to understand that this is who man is without God’s interference.
“Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure,
I am clean from my sin’?”
Proverbs 20:9 (LSB)
Romans 1:28 speaks about a debased mind or an unfit mind. Debased means to be adulterated or impure. Second Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan has blinded the mind of the unbeliever. Turn over to Romans 8:5-8.
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is at enmity toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.”
Romans 8:5-8 (LSB)
Those who are in the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. They are hostile towards God. They do not submit to God. They have no ability to please God. They cannot please God. That is why some call this doctrine absolute inability, no ability to please God, and no ability to save themselves. Martin Luther said:
“Man is as Lot’s wife, as a pillar of salt, a log, a stone, toward spiritual things, unless he is enlightened, converted, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.”
Martin Luther
Jesus said:
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.”
Mark 7:21-22 (LSB)
This was the reason for Jesus’ teaching on sin. For some were sitting there thinking, I have never committed adultery, or I have never murdered anyone. And Jesus said, yes you have. For if you have even committed those things in your mind, you are guilty before God. Turn bcka few pages to Romans 3.
“There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; There is none who does good, There is not even one. Their throat is an open tomb, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The poison of asps is under their lips, Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Romans 3:10-18 (LSB)
Some have called this the description of the living dead. This is really a definition of total depravity. So, what is this passage really saying? Well, we want to know for certain who the passage is speaking about.
“What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.”
Romans 3:9 (LSB)
Who is this speaking about? This is a description of all of us. None are Righteous. Psalm 51:5, we were brought forth in iniquity. Psalm 58:3, from the womb we are all wayward. This is why the Bible says that we are enemies of God. Secondly, None Understand. The unsaved man believes the things of God are foolishness. John MacArthur wrote:
“Fallen and condemned man, trapped in his sin is confused. Because he sees [God] as a threat to his life-style rather than an eternal blessing, he makes every effort to escape the gospel, which the Lord has so graciously provided for his salvation.”
John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary: Romans 1-8 184
None Seek After God. Remember that Jesus said to those following Him, no one can come to Me unless what? the Father would draw him. A sober reminder to us that when we pray for those we love to come to Christ, we must pray, Lord, would You draw them, because no one would ever come to Christ on his own initiative. Lastly, None Fear God. This evil, which is within us, which was given to us through Adam, has both been there since we were born, and has manifested itself through our behaviour. Therefore, we are sinners both from birth and sinners through our disobedience. We do not become sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. Result, we have become “enemies of God,” and we can get to the point where we can sin and not fear God. Ephesians 4:18, we are darkened in our understanding. First Corinthians 1:21, we are alienated from God. So, this is the condition of man outside of God. without the Spirit of God intervening in the lives of people. This is what man looks like if God had chosen to leave him alone, finally:
Man’s Redemption
If we asked the question, what does it mean to be in the image of God? In other words, we know we need to be saved, we know that we need to receive Christ as our Saviour and Lord. But does this do anything regarding our image of God, our distorted image of God. Paul was writing to the Colossians, believers who he was challenging to grow in their faith. And he told them to put on the new man and to set their minds on things above. And he said this to them:
“When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.”
Colossians 3:4 (LSB)
Here, he is teaching them to be like Christ. Therefore, he tells them to give up any ungodly passions in their lives, and to lay aside anger and slander and improper speech and to forgive one another. And then he says:
“[A]nd have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”
Colossians 3:10 (LSB)
Paul also instructs them to strive toward the image of God. And the wording he uses is to be renewed in full knowledge according to the image of the Creator. So, two here he teaches: strive to be like Christ; and strive to be like the image of your Creator. Now, in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes this:
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
- Corinthians 3:18 (LSB)
Over time—as believers on this earth—we are being sanctified by the work of the Spirit. We are becoming more and more like Christ. And we are to becoming more and more like the image of God. And I want you to see this for yourself and mark this in your own Bible—and though I know that some of you struggle with marking up your Bibles—but at least make a mental note. Turn back to Romans 8.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”
Romans 8:28-29a (LSB)
Here Paul has taught us to be like Christ. He has taught us to become like the image of God, and now he also teaches us that we are being conformed into the image of God’s Son. Why? (Heb 1:3) because Jesus Christ is “the radiance of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature.” Colossians 1:15, that Jesus Christ is the “image of the invisible God.” Therefore, becoming more like Christ and becoming more like our original image is what? It is the same thing, as Christ is the image of God. Is this not amazing? Full circle: as Adam goes from being created in God’s image to his downward fall into sin; then to our birth in which we are born in sin and therefore have a distorted image of God; to being destined to both physical and spiritual death; therefore, we are totally depraved and subject to the wrath of God; and we have become an enemy of God, To what? Being made into the image of Christ, who is the exact representation of the Father’s nature and who is the image of the invisible God. Full redemption! Amen!
Now you may say, I am not there yet. Well, that would be true of every Christian. Yet in this life it is a striving after the character of the life of Christ through the work of the Spirit, as this must be the earnest desire of every Christian. I suppose that if we were asked as Christians, what is the greatest desire of your life, the proper answer would be, I desire to like Christ. I desire to be like the Master I serve. That I might become more like Christ in my thinking and in my living. So that I can become in the likeness of the full image of God. Grudem says that when we become believers the process of our sanctification, brings with it a “progression” of recovering of God’s image. While at the end of the age, when we are glorified, the image of God will be completely restored to us. And biblically, we are already there in Christ; but in our practical living, we will be there completely in eternity.
You know, just thinking about that, as we grow older, we are often reminded of our physical recovery in eternity. Won’t that be great—running and not being weary! Playing hockey and not sitting on the bench like I’m going to have a heart attack. But even greater than that, to also be reminded of our spiritual recovery in eternity, where we will fully regain the image of God in our lives. Something the human race has never known since Adam, something we have never known. But even better than that, because we will be made into the image—of not the first Adam who sinned—but transformed into the image of second Adam, Christ, who did not sin, and who cannot sin, nor will we. For we will be a new creation made in the image of God. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Gruden goes on to say:
“The full measure of the excellence of our humanity will not be seen again in life on earth until Christ returns and we have obtained all the benefits of the salvation He earned for us.”
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology 445
In closing, turn to 1 Corinthians 15. We have been studying this passage on Sunday evenings. And what God is doing here is preparing us for our reunion with Him.
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a corruptible body, it is raised an incorruptible body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
1 Corinthians 15:42-44a (LSB)
These verses help us see our imperfection prior to our transformation.
“If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.”
1 Corinthians 15:44b-47 (LSB)
So, we will have a different body, a body that is fit for life in heaven. It will not be like the earthly body we inherited from Adam. Adam gave us one kind of body, then we will receive a different body. The resurrection becomes necessary, because we are creatures of flesh and blood. And flesh and blood are not suited to the realities of an eternal heaven. Therefore, we need a radical transformation. Now this chart is not completely theological. As after sin we are positionally at the bottom—already enemies of God. But from our practical human perspective is what I want us to see. Adam; to sin and total depravity; to us being born in sin with a distorted image of God; and our sin causing physical and spiritual death; therefore, being an enemy of God and having the wrath of God upon us; to our conversion; and our growing in Christ; and ultimately being restored in to the image of Christ, the image of God. And exactly how is this change described?
“And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”
1 Corinthians 15:49 (LSB)
Let’s pray. Lord, we praise You this day for the work You have done in the lives of those who believe. Those who have been transformed and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and are being made into the image of Christ. No wonder the Apostle Paul proclaimed, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Not just physical recovery but spiritual recovery. But really both physical and spiritual newness, as we will be a new creature in Christ both now and forever. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” And all God’s people said, amen.