Return to You and Your Beliefs Series
Return to Wednesday Bible Study Series
"You
and Your Beliefs"--Anthropology, part 1
Note:
We’ll begin this lesson by
finishing last week’s study of the Holy Spirit, then proceed to the
following…
Tonight:
The Doctrine of the Man, part 1
What is Man? (using the
generic term "man" = mankind)
That's the question David asked in Psalm 8:4.
What is man? The answer to
that question is called Anthropology.
There is great confusion in our world today when it comes to that
question. What people think about
man has far-reaching implications for life and society:
1. What New Agers think
about man--Man has the potential of God himself, for man is a
"god."
2. What Secularists think
about man
Discuss: Anyone ever had an
anthropology class on a secular campus? What
were you told about mankind? Probably
something like this…
a. Man is the product of
evolutionary chance. He is
merely a biological blob of cells. There
is no inherent difference between Man and the animals.
Man is merely more developed, more advanced than animals, but not
inherently different.
b. Man is a neutral
blank-slate. Man's problem is
not himself, but his environment.
Bruce Milne, in his book Know the Truth, identifies the problems
with secular anthropologies, "Secular anthropologies...have failed to
answer the ultimate questions: Where
did mankind come from? What is our
ultimate significance? Where are we
going?" (90)
Look at what's happened to the former
How should we as Christians answer the question, What is Man?
Milne again (Milne, 90), "Calvin put it thus: 'Man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God's face, and then descends from contemplating Him to scrutinize himself.'"
The next sentence is critical. Our
absolute authority on who man is is the Word of God.
If you want to know the truth about who you are you must look to the
Owner’s Manual, God’s Word.
What does God tell us about Mankind in the Bible?
If we go "Back to Genesis," we'll see a very different answer
from the world’s. The Bible
answers five key questions about Man for us, in Genesis 1-3…
I.
Where? Man's Origin (1:26;
2:7)
II.
What? Man's Design as Image
(1:26, 27)
III.
Why? Man's Purpose in the
World
A. To Live in Fellowship with
God
B. To have Dominion over the
earth (1:26, 28)
1. Develop the earth (2:15)
2. Name the animals (2:19)
C. To Live in Relationship
with Others: The Family (1:28; 2:18,
24)
IV.
What Happened? Man's Fall
A. Man sinned (3:1-6).
B. Man came under the Curse
of a Holy God (3:17-19)
1. Alienation from God
2. Alienation from Mankind
3. Alienation from Self
V.
What did God Provide? Man's
Hope
Let’s
take a closer look at God’s Word and seek to answer these five questions…
I.
Where? Man's Origin (1:26;
2:7)
1:26
"And God said, Let us make man"
1:27
"So God created man"
Gen 1 is the telescopic view of creation.
The Big Picture. Scans all 7
days.
Gen 2 is the microscopic view of man's creation on day 6.
More detailed.
2:7
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground..."
Where did man come from? Biological chance? No. The Bible makes it clear that Man is the Creation of God. We're not self-made. We're not the product of some cosmic process.
Key: We exist because God
made us.
Discuss: What other passages
in God’s Word teach about this? List
them…
Gen
5:1 "...God created man..."
Ps
139:14 "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made..."
Mt
19:4 Jesus said, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning
made them male and female."
Rom
1:25
I
Peter 4:19
The doctrine of creation is so important, for many reasons.
Here’s one reason. Your
anthropology determines your ethics. What
you believe about how Man got here determines what you'll believe about how man
should live.
E.g.—The Gnostics taught that man is a spirit being, with the body
being a prison house, the flesh something negative…
Consequently, they taught it doesn’t matter what you do with your body
since it’s bad anyway. Thus,
immorality was condoned.
Discuss: Give another examine
of how one’s anthropology affects one’s ethics.
Which brings us to the question… What
does make man different from all other creatures?
II.
What? Man's Design as Image
(1:26, 27)
1:26
"...let us make man in our image..."
1:27
"So God created man in His own image"
What does it mean to say we are created in God's image?
--not referring to physical likeness
--in part, it says we have been given the ability to enjoy a relationship
with God; He made us a moral creature. He
gave us intellect, conscience, personality.
Key: God created man to live
in fellowship with Himself. Man was
given the significant distinction of being created in God's image.
Man alone was given the capacity to know God and to enjoy a relationship
with God.
Discuss: What are the
implications of saying that we are created in God's image?
Man possesses dignity and worth because Man is image.
Anthony Hoekema, in The Christian Looks at Himself, writes about a
little boy who put up a banner in his room that read, "I'M ME AND I'M GOOD,
CAUSE GOD DON'T MAKE JUNK." (15)
III.
Why? Man's Purpose in the
World
Let's
notice three reasons God created man, as revealed in Gen 1-2:
A. To Live in Fellowship
with God
Gen 2:16 "And the LORD God
commanded the man..."
God gave purpose to man by revealing His will.
Fellowship with God is possible only when we live in obedience to God's
will.
B. To have Dominion over
the earth (1:26, 28)
God gave man a job to do in His world…
1. Develop the earth (2:15)
2. Name the animals (2:19)
Key: This indicates that "work" is not bad. God created mankind to work, pre-fall. God expected Adam to care for the earth, nurture it, subdue it, use his God-given creative abilities. Have you ever noticed how you "feel good about yourself" after a good day's work?
Discuss: Are there any
implications for today? Ecological?
Environmental?
C. To Live in Relationship
with Others: The Family (1:28; 2:18,
24)
1:28 "Be fruitful."
2:18 "It is not
good...alone."
2:24 "Therefore shall the man
leave..."
There are attempts in our day to redefine the family.
To say that two men living together constititues a legitimate family, or
that a family is two women living in a “loving relationship.”
We’re told, “What right do you have to impose your values on someone
else? If two men want to marry and
establish a family, it’s their right, isn’t it?
You’re being narrow-minded for being so intolerant.”
And so the rhetoric goes. But
the bottom line remains…
God designed the family. God established the family. I have no right to “reinvent” things in God’s world. Sociology is established in Genesis.
Why then do men try to do things their own way in God’s world? The answer brings us to another question…
IV.
What Happened? Man's Fall
A. Man sinned (3:1-6).
We'll see this more when we cover the Doctrine of Sin.
B. Man came under the
Curse of a Holy God (3:17-19)
1. Alienation from God
2. Alienation from Mankind
3. Alienation from Self
V.
What did God Provide? Man's
Hope
Now we are moving from Anthropology into another doctrine, Soteriology,
the Doctrine of Salvation. Here's
what God provided for fallen man:
A. The Promise of a Coming
Deliverer for Mankind
Gen
3:15 "...He shall bruise thy head..."
B. The Provision for
Present Needs
Gen
3:21 "...the LORD God make coats of skins..."
Next
Week:
Q: What does it mean to say
that man is depraved?
Q: Is Man still God's
Image-bearer since the Fall?
Q: What happens to Man when
he is born again?
Q: Does a new man have an old
nature? Rom 6-8
Q: What does God expect of
Man now?
1. Humility (Micah 6:8)
2. Worship (Jn 4:23-24)
3. Praise (Ps 150)
4. To know Him (Jn 17)
5. Reflect His Character (Mt
5:18)
6. Enjoy Him (Is 61:10; Hab
3:18; Ph 4:4)
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These unedited notes were prepared for use in a Wednesday evening,
discussion-oriented Bible study at