Bible View of Man: One of a Kind and One Mankind

 

When physicians and other health professionals look at a patient, they are trained to focus on that individual. The training of those professionals leads them to analyze the patient from different perspectives ranging from the whole-body physical picture to the cellular / microscopic level.  In the field of public health, health professionals are trained to focus on groups of patients or prospective patients (population groups) to analyze those population groups in the context of the broader populations of mankind.

In a manner similar to the example above, the Bible encourages Christians to look at their existence both as individuals who have a personal history, relationship and destiny with our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father…as well as members of the world community of mankind. These combined personal and global perspectives allow us as Christians to have a very different view of the world we live in, compared to those who do not read or understand what the Scripture is teaching us.

Consider the amazing expression of God’s love for man from the beginning when He created the heaven and the earth.  God made the environment perfect in every way. Then He created man in His own image (an eternal spirit with a soul); gave man a physical body to facilitate his existence in this new, ideal environment; and then gave man dominion rule over the entire creation (Genesis Chapters One and Two).  This began our history of mankind as we know it.

Some unknown time after his creation, the first man Adam made the fateful choice to not believe God; rejecting His Love; and thereby receiving the penalty of death (separation from God). In this manner, Adam followed the deceitful temptation of the Evil One, casting all future generations into a life of sin / rebellion against God, and death. (Genesis Chapter Three). As a result, God regards each of us as individuals (one of a kind), but also as part of the family of “one mankind”.  We can make the choice to either believe God or reject His offer of redemption.

From the beginning, God’s love was evident in His providing for the redemption and restoration of Adam and Eve. God’s demonstration of how man could be restored to righteousness in His eyes (through the shedding of innocent blood) applied directly to these two individuals. The LORD God made coats of animal skins to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, to replace the fig leaf aprons they had made to cover themselves (Genesis Chapter Three). Fortunately for us as individuals, this act by the LORD God established the pattern whereby all mankind could be saved through the shedding of the innocent Holy blood of the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Christians, we need only believe what God and our Lord Jesus have done on our behalf (John 3: 16 – 18; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13; and Ephesians 2: 4 – 9).

Throughout the Bible, the concept of each individual (one of a kind) making personal choices is evident.  But also evident is the fact that in many instances, the choices of individuals have had an impact on the future on mankind in general. Consider Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Pharaoh, Esther, David, Mary, John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, and Saul / Paul, among others.

Our current world is a picture of the collective impact of mankind over many centuries.  Few would argue that this picture is what God wanted for mankind when He created the first man. This current world is the result of the collective actions of millions of men, too many, unfortunately under the influence of the sin-nature inherited from the first man Adam after he sinned against God. (See especially Romans Chapter Seven).

Now, all this leads to the ultimate results or consequences of the actions of each of us as individuals, as described in the final five chapters of the final book of Scripture, The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Although John the Revelator wrote using a considerable amount of symbolism, it is clear that those individuals of the body of mankind who chose to believe God and have received His love gift of Righteousness through faith in His Son, have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of (Eternal) Life.   The rest of mankind is doomed to the eternal separation of their soul / spirit from the Creator God, as they have made the choice to not believe in His Son.

For those who would argue that God is not being fair to those who might not believe in our Lord Jesus, the Scripture declares: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation (unto eternal life) hath appeared to all men…” (Titus 2:11-14). We are not likely to fully understand how this happened, but we do believe that the Scripture is the true word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).  As Christians, we believe God.

More on the Bible’s message to mankind in general will be discussed in Part Two.

Dr. W.A. Robinson