The Doctrine of Humanity and a Pastor’s Ministry

Who are we as humans? You’ll be surprised how many different answers people give to this deceptively simple question. In part, the reason for the diversity of answers is that who we are as humans is part of a larger set of questions related to the origin of the universe and the larger reality in which we find ourselves. For Christians, the doctrine of humanity is an essential part of our beliefs, yet we seldom reflect on it. The following discussion aims to shed light on this vital question and to provide a general framework for further reflection and gospel proclamation.

Why the Doctrine of Humanity Matters

It is self-evident that the answer to the question “Who are we as humans?” has great existential significance for all people, Christian or not. We all face a cluster of undeniable realities: We are born into this world by the choice of others; we are frail and finite; we find evil not only around us but even inside us, and we know that one day, we will all die. Here are seven truths pastors will do well to teach their congregations to equip them to live their lives more fully in keeping with biblical teaching.

7 Truths to Teach about the Doctrine of Humanity

The following seven truths to teach about humanity follow a salvation-historical pattern. The first four relate to the way God created humanity in its unfallen state; the fifth pertains to humanity’s rebellion against God and the implications of the fall; and truths six and seven relate to Jesus’ taking on human nature (except for sin) to restore us to a right relationship with our Creator and to show us how to live.

1. God created humanity in His image and likeness.

After creating the stars and the sky, fish, birds, and other animals, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and so He did (Gen. 1:26–27). God made humanity uniquely in His image and likeness. As God’s creatures, we share in His family likeness! Later in the Genesis narrative, we read, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Gen. 5:3). Like father, like son. We’re not gods, but God made us to reflect Him in how we live and relate to each other.

2. God created humanity, male and female.

Until recently, this truth was almost universally affirmed. Yet once people no longer believe in a transcendent Creator, it is only a matter of time before humans come to believe that gender, like many other aspects of our existence, is self-chosen, even contrary to biological birth sex. Yet such a notion contradicts the biblical affirmation that “male and female [God] created them” (Gen. 1:27). Jesus, likewise, asked, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” (Matt. 19:4). So we reflect God’s family likeness as refracted in our unique masculine or feminine identity.

3. God created humanity to be fruitful and multiply.

God’s creative purpose for humanity is that we are thriving and productive: “And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’” (Gen. 1:28). In the first place, this means that God created us to have children. Again, Jesus said, citing Genesis, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Matt. 19:5). God created sex primarily so we can “fill the earth” with additional image bearers. While some have the gift of singleness, God’s general calling is for people to marry and have a family.

4. God created humanity to exercise dominion over His creation.

God also created humanity to “subdue” the earth and exercise “dominion” over it (Gen. 1:26, 28). We are God’s representatives, stewards, and caretakers to manage and cultivate the earth for Him: “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed … to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:8, 15). Not only our bodies and sex but also work is a good gift of our Creator. God calls us to be responsible stewards of the good earth He entrusted to our care.

5. Humanity rebelled against God, so now everyone is born with a sin nature.

It’s a fact of history that God’s good creation purposes didn’t go forth unhindered. Rather than enjoy living in the wonderful world God created, the first man and the first woman, incited by Satan, a fallen angel, chose to transgress the boundaries God had lovingly and benevolently set for them. In the immediate aftermath, “they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God” (Gen. 3:8), and after being told of the consequences of their sin and being graciously clothed by God (Gen. 3:9–21), the man and the woman were expelled from God’s presence and driven from the garden (Gen. 3:22–25). But God’s plan of marriage and family and His mandate for work and stewardship remained.

6. Jesus, the Son of God, took on human nature to redeem humanity from sin.

Fast-forward millennia of human history, with God’s promise of sending a redeemer gradually taking shape (see Gen. 3:15) through a series of covenants and promises, and we arrive at the coming of Jesus. Jesus is at the very heart of history. As Paul writes, though Jesus “was in the form of God,” He was “born in the likeness of men,” “and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him” (Phil. 2:6–9). Jesus was the perfect human who came to redeem us to restore us to God’s original image.

7. As the perfect human, Jesus kept the law and showed us how to live.

Finally, as Paul writes again, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5). Not only did Jesus redeem us, He also showed us how to live. Pastors, let’s encourage our congregation to immerse themselves in the Gospels and to gaze at Jesus long and hard so people learn from Jesus and become more like Him.

Conclusion

As we preach the gospel, centered on Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, let’s not forget the Bible’s teaching on who we are as humans. The doctrine of humanity is not only essential but also has existential relevance. We must not neglect to teach the biblical truths that God created humanity in His image and likeness, that He created us male and female, to be fruitful and multiply, and to exercise dominion over the earth. We must not neglect to explain that everyone is born with a sin nature (more about that in a later post). Most importantly, let’s share the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, took on human nature to redeem us from sin and that Jesus, as the perfect human, kept the law and showed us how to live.

©2023 Andreas Köstenberger. Used with permission.