The doctrine of man would say that God did not need to create man, yet he created us for his own glory (Isaiah 43:7).
- Man is made in God’s image, which means that man is like God and represents him (Genesis 1:26). The image of God in man is distorted but not lost in the fall (Genesis 9:6) and is restored through redemption in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
- Man is most like God in his moral, spiritual, mental, and relational aspects.
- The creation of man as male and female shows God’s image in (1) harmonious interpersonal relationships, (2) equality in personhood and importance, and (3) difference in role and authority (Genesis 5:1-2).
- Equality and differences in the Trinity are reflected in equality and differences in marriage (1 Corinthians 11:3) and are part of God’s original creation order. Although distorted by the fall, this creation order is reaffirmed by redemption in Christ (Colossians 3:18-19).
- The essential nature of man includes two parts (physical and spiritual) = dichotomy with an emphasis on the overall unity of the two (2 Corinthians 7:1).
What Is Sin?
- Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.
- God is never morally responsible for sin (Deuteronomy 32:4), but he ordained that sin would come into the world through the voluntary choices of moral creatures (Genesis 3:1-19).
- Inherited guilt: We are counted guilty because of Adam’s sin. God righty imputed Adam’s guilt to us (Romans 5:12-21).
- Inherited corruption: We have a sinful nature because of Adam’s sin (Psalms 51:1-5).
- In our natures we lack any spiritual good before God (Romans 7:18) and are totally unable to do spiritual good before him in our actions (Romans 8:8).
- All people are sinful before God and our ability does not limit our responsibility (Ephesians 2:1).
- All people are equally guilty before God, in terms of legal guilt (Galatians 3:10), yet some sins have more harmful consequences in life and our relationship with God (John 19:11).
- When Christians sin, our legal standing before God is unchanged but our fellowship with God is disrupted and our Christian life is damaged (Ephesians 4:30).
- God punishes sin primarily because his righteousness demands it so that he might be glorified in the universe (Romans 3:26).
- A covenant is an unchangeable, divinely imposed legal agreement between God and man that stipulates the conditions of their relationship (i.e., covenant of works, redemption, grace).
*Resources Added From Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology
