Chapter 5 | Who Are We? Anthropology: The Doctrine of Humanity
Key Verse: Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
For Further Study:*
Books:
Reenchanting Humanity: A Theology of Mankind, by Owen Strachan
In His Image, by Jen Wilkin
Videos:
The Doctrine of Humanity, The Village Church
Article:
“The Doctrine of Humanity,” by Owen Strachan, The Gospel Coalition
Infographic:
Love One Another - by Tim Challies
Kids’ Content:
How and Why Did God Create Us?, The New City Catechism
Summary:
Brief Definition: All humans are creatures made in the image of God, either male or female, with the task of representing God to all of His creation.
Humans are breathed to life by God. He is our origin. We understand our nature and purpose in light of that origin. Because He is our Maker, He has the right to determine not just how we are made but for what purpose we are made.
Who am I? What is my identity? The most elemental parts of our identity are received, not achieved. Our identity is rooted in how God made us and in what God speaks over us, not in what we make of ourselves. In order to understand our identity in the deepest possible ways, we have to look to our origin.
Immediately on recognizing that God is our creator, we gain knowledge of ourselves (and everything else we can perceive) as created. The first distinction the Bible makes is between the Creator and His creation. When we lose sight of this distinction, we worship the creation instead of the One who made it.
Nothing else in all of creation carries the identity or purpose of image-bearer. To bear God’s image means that humans reflect what is true about an infinite God in limited human form. Sin’s consequences have obscured the image of God in us. We don’t reflect Him as we were created to do. But to understand what we were created to “look like,” we can look to Christ, the perfect image-bearer.
When we understand that every human bears intrinsic worth because of origin and design, we become better equipped to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Image bearing means that all humans, regardless of social, intellectual, or physical distinctions, are endowed with divine dignity, value and worth. Every single person you have ever met bears God’s image. The Bible invites Christians to see humanity as “us” and not as “other.” And so does the example of Christ.
The Bible teaches that we are our bodies and we are our souls. As image-bearers, all humans are both body and soul, each part being essential to what it is to be a human.
Adam realizes there is a difference, not in degree but in kind between himself and every other creature. He is missing a co-image-bearer, a necessary ally. But God stands ready with a remedy. Adam’s first response when he meets Eve,his first instinct, is that she is like him. Though men and women share more in common than what separates them—equality in personhood, shared mission, and divine image-bearing—they are not interchangeable. Male is male, and female is female.
When we distort, overlook, or erase human sexuality as God created it, we participate in attempting to overturn God’s created order.
The Bible tells us that the purpose of humanity is to represent God to all of creation. In the cultural mandate, humanity is commissioned by God Himself to rule over His creation and to represent His glory to all.
Humans bear the image of God in their work by ordering what is disordered. This means even the most mundane tasks can be infused with supernatural meaning.
“Into an age screaming for me to live my truth, the Scriptures speak calmly that my truth, self-declared and self defined, is a lie.” But my Maker’s truth transcends. My Creator’s truth endures. It is an anchor in a storm-tossed world, beaten to and fro on the waves of faddish culture. The doctrine of anthropology reminds us that we are not our own. Another has crafted our frame. Another has charted our course. He is trustworthy and true. And in the light of His truth, we at last become the humans we were created to be.
Discussion/Reflection Questions:
1. We are creatures, and creatures have limits. What are some ways you are currently experiencing your limitations? In what areas of your life is God inviting you to embrace your limits?
2. Human history demonstrates that we are prone to fail to see the dignity of every image-bearer. Why do you think this is so?
3. Who are you most tempted to devalue? Why? Who is easiest for you to value? Why?
4. In your own experience of the body/soul dichotomy, which aspect have you tended to emphasize more?
5. What aspect of your daily work have you not perceived as an opportunity for you to reflect the glory of God because of its mundane nature? What aspect of your daily work are you most prone to seek glory from?
*Disclaimer: Our ultimate authority and resource will always be the Bible, and any other resource should be used as a supplement. While we believe the authors represented here have done excellent work to provide insight and clarity in these topics, we may not endorse every statement or position they hold (past, present, future).
