Man's origin, nature, and redemption are explored through the lens of biblical teaching. The sermon begins by establishing man's creation in the image of God, referencing Genesis 1:26 and its confirmation in the New Testament, highlighting man's dominion and spiritual capacity. It then addresses man's fallen state and condemnation due to sin, as seen in Adam's fear after disobedience. Finally, the message pivots to man in Christ, presenting salvation as a new creation where believers are placed in Christ, no longer under condemnation but part of God's family.
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Welcome to the Emmaus Bible Hour. This is a program for you and your family, a time to open the Bible and see what God has to say to us through His Word. Greetings. Once again we're together for another study of this excellent course, What the Bible Teaches.
And today's session brings us to lesson number three in the series. It concerns the important subject of man. You'll find the lesson on pages ten through twelve of the course. Study carefully, then, the material outlined in the lesson number three, looking up all the scripture references, and then take examination number three at the back of the manual. Today we're thinking of what the Bible teaches concerning man. I want you to think with me of three views of man. Let's look at man in creation, in condemnation, and also in Christ.
Now to begin with, we shall turn back to man's origin, that is, how he originated. Let's look at Genesis, verse twenty-six. Here's a text that you and I should not only read, but we should memorize. Now remember, we're back at the beginning of things. Man as he came fresh from the hand of God. Genesis one twenty six. And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
You'll notice the recurrence of the word over here. There are five of them altogether. When God gave to his creature man dominion, he placed him in a role of a king. He was to have superiority and control over all the lower forms of life. Now lest someone say, well, but you're quoting just the Old Testament, and after all, is the Old Testament reliable? Well, my reply is that this text, Genesis and the truth of this text is confirmed in the New Testament. Take, for example, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in Mark ten six.
Speaking to the objectors, he said, From the beginning of the creation God made them, male and female. And then he went on to explain, and I'm reading, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, so then they are no more twain or two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder. Now I would remind you that in this great passage of Mark ten our Lord confirms fully the story of Genesis chapters one and two. From the beginning of the creation said Jesus, God made them male and female.
Again this is confirmed in first Corinthians Chapter fifteen and verse forty-five. Paul by the Holy Spirit writes, And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Notice particularly the words of First Corinthians fifteen forty-five. The first man Adam was made a living soul. And lest we consider that this is not sufficient confirmation, take first Timothy chapter two, verses thirteen and fourteen. For here we read, for Adam was first formed, then Eve.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Again verse thirteen of first Timothy chapter two. Adam was first formed, then Eve. Now I've read these scriptures in order that we might see very clearly that the Old Testament is confirmed fully by the New Testament. by our Lord and by His appointed apostles. Now coming back to man in creation, notice the words of the Almighty. Let us make man in our image and after our likeness. Now just what does this mean? Well the word image suggests representation.
The word likeness suggests resemblance. I said the word image suggests representation. In other words, when the Lord God made man and placed him in that paradise, he placed him there to represent him. To represent him to whom? Well, obviously, to the lower creatures. You see what God was to man. Man was to the lower creatures, and the lower forms of life, the animal life, and so on. They looked to Adam as their superior. And from him they took their orders, and him they obeyed. Image, then, suggests representation. I think this is illustrated in the fact that the image of Caesar on the coin represented Caesar's authority.
And the image, again, that Nebuchadnezzar reared up on the plains of Dura, as recorded in Daniel three, was designed to represent Nebuchadnezzar. So man was to represent his God. Then the idea behind the noun likeness is that of resemblance. Man being made in the image of God resembled him inasmuch as he possessed a spiritual nature. Man was not only physically formed, but he was spiritually prepared and given by his Creator a moral and spiritual nature. Man was made then a little lower than the angels, but higher than the animals.
This spiritual nature that man has, and was given originally by his Creator, was a capacity for knowing and enjoying and obeying his God. Now we know that sin has come in and greatly damaged that image. Nevertheless man still possesses an immaterial nature as well as his physical body that is abiding. It is immortal. For example, let me read with you Ecclesiastes chapter twelve and verse seven. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Notice the contrast between the dust that goes into the ground, that's the body, and the Spirit that returns to God who gave it.
Again let's just listen to our Savior, as in Matthew, ten, twenty-eight he warns, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. You will notice here in Matthew ten twenty eight that the Savior says that man possesses a soul which is immortal. It does not perish with the body. Again, second Corinthians four, verse sixteen. For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. And, First Thessalonians, five, twenty-three is a prayer that also verifies what we are saying.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray, God, your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that man is not all body. Man lives within his body. There's the outward man, that's the physical, and there's the inward man that consists of soul and spirit that outlives the body. You see, each of us possess these immaterial factors. For example, intellect, affections, will, judgment, imagination, and memory. These are the factors that go to make up the immaterial part of a man.
Now man still possesses this in spite of the fall. Now then the second is man in condemnation. Back in Genesis three ten we have guilty Adam after he had transgressed the expressed command of God. We hear him saying in answer to the call of God, I heard thy voice in the garden and was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. Here is man in condemnation. Ben, because of sin, feared and fled. He had fallen. sin had proved to be not a delight, but a disaster, and a fearsome trail of murder, polygamy, violence, and heartbreak flowed out of that willful act of disobedience.
But in the Gospel, man is seen not so much in creation or in condemnation, but in Christ. Second Corinthians five, seventeen introduces us to a new view of man. Not, I repeat, in creation, not in condemnation, but in Christ Himself. For second Corinthians five seventeen says, If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation. Old things are passed away, and all things are new. When a person acknowledges his guilt and comes to the Savior, that God has provided in Christ, God places that believing sinner in Christ.
He is no longer in Adam, the family of death and condemnation, He's in the family of God, and being accepted in Christ, He finds Himself in a new creation, where all is ordered after God's own counsel and God's heart. Now let's return to lesson three, look up the Scriptures carefully, and then address ourselves to the exam. And I'm sure as we do so, our horizon and our understanding will be greatly enlarged. You knew I had no Shepherd of love You knew that I'd loved my way You saw and found me, laying around me Strong arms to carry me home more
alarming, never again will I roam. Shepherd of love, Savior, my Lord, my God, Word of love Forever I'll stay by your side Thank you.