Systematic Theology: Lesson 18 - The Life and Community of Mankind

THE LIFE AND COMMUNITY OF MANKIND
Anthropology - Lesson 18

In this lesson, we consider the life and community of mankind. When we view these topics through the lens of Scripture, we are brought to see God’s purpose for individuals and peoples and governments and nations. God created people in community. While we act individually, we are also part of a whole. Of course, that community has been infected by sin (even the church is not completely free of it), but we yearn for a day when our relationships will be free from the corruption of sin.

 

THE BEGINNING OF LIFE

Pinpointing the beginning of life is one of the most hotly debated topics of our day. It is certainly one of the most explosive political topics. Since a child doesn’t ‘appear’ for nine months, many have become convinced that the child is not a ‘child’ until it crosses through the birth canal and into sight. By changing the terms and definitions[1], conception and the development of personhood have become separated by many weeks in the cultural depiction of pregnancy and birth.

For this reason, we need to ask: when does life begin? It is important to see that the Bible speaks of the unborn as fully human persons.

1.   Gen 25:22-23 - But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”

2.   Exod 21:22-25 - “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

3.   Isa 44:24 - Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone…

4.   Job 10:8-11 - ‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, And would You destroy me? ‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay; And would You turn me into dust again? ‘Did You not pour me out like milk And curdle me like cheese; Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews?

5.   Psa 139:13-16 - For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

6.   Isa 49:1 - Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me.

7.   Jer 1:5 - “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

8.   Luke 1:41-44 - When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

 

The Bible does not view personhood as a development. The Bible always treats the unborn as a person with rights. Thus, personhood and conception should not be separated. To do so is unscientific, arbitrary, and dangerous. Any attempt to dissolve the guilt of committing abortions by changing the terms and arbitrarily denying the personhood of the unborn child is futile and foolish. God clearly considers the intentional slaughter of the innocent to be murder.

Having considered the timing of the development of personhood, we might ask where that personhood comes from. In other words, how is the soul developed? This again comes down to timing, though it is a bit different than the timing of the bestowal of the soul upon the body.

 

THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL

When and how is the soul created? There have been a number of views.

1.   Preexistence – God created a certain number of souls all at once, but only joins them to bodies as children are conceived.

2.   Creationism – God creates each soul at the time of conception.

a.   Gen 2:7 - Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

b.   Eccl 12:7 - then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

c.    Isa 42:5 - Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it…

d.   Isa 57:16 - “For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would grow faint before Me, And the breath of those whom I have made.

e.    Zech 12:1 - The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him…

f.     Heb 12:9 - Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?

3.   Traducianism – God uses the means of procreation to naturally create a new soul at conception.

a.   Gen 5:3 - When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

b.   Psa 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

c.    John 3:6 - “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

d.   Heb 7:10 - for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

 

 

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

The first community that God provided for mankind is the family. The family preceded and gave birth to tribes and nations and culture. Genesis 2:24 introduces marriage. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” The marriage relationship involves the man and the woman ‘cleaving’ away from their respective parents to become “one flesh” in marriage. This oneness is demonstrated by the sexual union, but it goes far beyond that since they are mutually dependent upon one another in all areas of life from that point forward.

·       Proverbs 18:22 - “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”

·       Matthew 19:4–6 - And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

·       1 Cor 7:2 - “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” 

·       Eph 5:31-32 - “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” 

·       Eph 5:22-33 - Marriage illustrates the loving relationship between Christ and His church. God’s design is that the husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church, and the wife responds to her husband’s loving leadership as the church responds to Christ.

·       Gen 3:16 & 1 Pet 3:7 - Marriage is subject to the curse after the fall of man, but Christians under the control of the Holy Spirit should experience peaceful, productive, and fulfilled marriages.

·       2 Cor 6:14 - Believers must marry those who share their faith and regenerate life.

·       1 Cor 7:24 - If a man or woman comes to faith but his/her husband/wife does not share their faith, then the couple should remain married.

·       Matt 19:10-12; 1 Cor 7:7 - Some have a special gifting for singleness.

·       John 4:18 – Prolonged conjugal cohabitation does not make a couple ‘married.’

 

 

NATIONS

The Bible reveals the following concerning nations and ethnicities.[2]

1. People of all ethnicities are made in the image of God.
2. No people group is superior or inferior to any other.
3. Racism is a heinous sin it denies full personhood to certain people groups and violates the dignity all God’s image bearers.
4. Israel is chosen to restore fallen humanity and bring salvation and restoration to all people groups.
5. Salvation occurs through the ultimate Israelite, Jesus the Messiah, who will restore the nation Israel and bring blessings to the Gentiles.
6. The death of Christ and the establishment of the New covenant brings unity to all who identify with Jesus. True racial unity and harmony is found only in Jesus the Messiah, not simply education, social reform, legislation, or any other man-centered attempts.
7. The church should evidence racial harmony and serve as an example to the world of what harmony among people groups looks like.
8. When Jesus returns he will rule the nations from Israel and bless all the nations (Isa. 27:6; Rom. 11:12).
9. In the eternal state nations and governmental leaders will exist in harmony.

 

GOVERNMENT

·       Rom 13:1-7 - Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

·       1 Pet 2:13-14 - Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

From these passages we see that…

1.     God has appointed human government (Rom 13:1-2)

2.     Government is a servant of God (Rom 13:4)

3.     To resist government is to resist God (Rom 13:2)

4.     Those who resist government’s authority will be judged (Rom 13:4)

5.     The purpose of government is to punish those who do evil (1 Pet 2:14)

6.     Government is an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (Rom 13:4)

7.     The government has the right to carry out capital punishment. They bear the sword (Rom 13:4).[3]

8.     Government approves and praises those who do good (Rom 13:3; 1 Pet 2:14).

9.     Government is a cause for terror to those who do evil (Rom 13:3).

10.  All people must be subject to human government (Rom 13:1, 5; 1 Pet 2:13).[4]

11.  Obeying government eases one’s conscience (Rom 13:5).

12.  People should pay taxes to the government (Rom 13:7; cf. Matt 22:21).

13.  People should respect the governors and rulers (Rom 13:7)

 

CULTURE

Every nation and people group have developed unique cultural aspects within their respective place and time. There are examples of developing culture in the earliest chapters of the Bible. From incorporating different metals to developing string and wind instruments, people have always quickly developed unique ways of doing life. This is part of mankind’s rule over God’s creation. Sadly, even culture has been corrupted by sin, so that much of culture has become perverse and evil.

 

THE CREATION MANDATE

I want to end this set of lessons on Anthropology by examining in greater detail the function of mankind. What did God create people to do?

The answer to that question is found in Genesis 1:28 - God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God created mankind to be rule the earth under God’s authority. Being made in the image of God, mankind was supposed to mirror God’s nature and bring God’s blessing on the earth. Sadly, sin has ruined man’s ability to do this in a way that honors God.

After the Flood, God repeats this mandate to Noah and his sons in Genesis 9:1-7. He says, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

However instead of ruling over the creatures of the earth, God warns them, “The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. “Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.  No longer would the earth be easily subdued by men. In many ways, men are subdued by the earth. Earthquakes, floods, storms, fires, tsunamis, etc. plague peoples and nations everyday. No longer does the animal world bow to men. Rather, they are terrified of them, and many of them hurt people. The world is very different because of the curse.

Then He warns them about the gravity of murder. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. Finally, He repeats the mandate to fill the earth. “As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

Psalm 8 takes up the Creation Mandate. What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown Him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas (Psa 8:3-8).

After quoting this section of Psalm 8, the author of Hebrews makes the argument in Hebrews 2:8 that in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. Earlier, the author hinted that this will find fulfillment in the world to come (Heb 2:5). Then the author continues in the rest of the chapter to examine the work of Christ on the cross and the freeing effects that has in bringing many sons to glory.

Then in the ages to come, Christ and His people will fulfill the Creation Mandate.

Vlach has an excellent summary of this:

“Present: Man still possesses the right and responsibility to rule over God’s creation, but this is not occurring yet.

Present: Jesus, who is representative of mankind, is crowned with glory and majesty at the right hand of God.

Future: In the world to come all things will be subject to man because of Jesus.”[5]

 

IN CONCLUSION, we see a wonderful theology of mankind in the Scriptures. God created all people in His image to bring glory and honor to Himself by filling the earth and subduing it. However, sin has corrupted this purpose of man and made it impossible. God, however will bring it to pass through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is making all things new.

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[1] Remember, he who controls the definitions controls the argument.

[2] The following are from Vlach, Unpublished Theology 3 Class Notes, 70.

[3] Jesus did not dispute Pilate’s authority to crucify Him (cf. John 19:10). He informed him that his authority came from God (cf. John 19:11).

[4] One exception would be if obeying a civil command means disobeying a command of God (Exod 1:7; Dan 3:16-18; 6:7, 10; Acts 5:29).

[5] Vlach, He Will Reign Forever, 457