Category: Doctrine of Man in Relation to God

The study of the nature of mankind is called anthropology. The study of the nature of mankind as described in Scripture is called biblical anthropology. This category could therefore alternatively have been titled Biblical Anthropology. It covers issues such as the origin of man, the nature of man, what is meant by man being created Read more

The primary components to the theology of man’s origin are that God created man, that God created man in His own image, that mankind is elevated above the lower animals, and that each person consists of a physical body and a spiritual soul. God says, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our Read more

Scripture teaches that a human has both an earthly element and a spiritual element. The earthly element is our physical makeup and something we share with the lower animals. The spiritual element relates to what the Bible refers to as our soul and/or our spirit. There are two main theological opinions with regards to soul Read more

The very first chapter of Genesis has God saying, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Gn 1:26). Mankind being made in the image of God is commonly referred to by the Latin phrase imago Dei. But what does being made in the image of God mean, and does being made Read more

As discussed above, man was originally created “very good” and therefore had original righteousness. Adam and Eve then directly disobeyed God’s command in eating the forbidden fruit and thereby committed the first sin. The serpent temps them by saying they can become like God, but the original sin was disobedience. Genesis describes the direct impact to Adam and Read more

Sin can be thought of in a philosophical sense and in a moral sense. Philosophical explanations of sin seek to answer metaphysical questions such as whether it is a privation, a defect, a negation, a physical or spiritual essence, a selfish feeling, and so forth. Although intellectually interesting, philosophical theories about sin are only of secondary Read more

Grace is something positive that is bestowed to someone underserving, such as a gift, a blessing, or love. In theology, grace typically refers to the good things that God bestows upon undeserving humanity. This divine grace can further be divided into grace that God gives to everyone, called common grace, and grace that relates to Read more