God
Sees Man as Both Individuals and the Group Called “Humanity”
One of the concepts of Scripture that some Christians and
other Bible students should find helpful is found in the title above: “God sees
man as both individuals and the group called ‘humanity’”. Understanding this
concept makes it clearer as to why God changed His approach to dealing with man
and humanity / mankind at various points in our history. This is important for
us today because it helps us realize and acknowledge that the first man and all
subsequent mankind were created in the image of God as eternal spirits
(Genesis 1: 26-27). Further, we each are unique in having a distinct eternal soul
(mind, will, emotions), which God imparted into us when we took our first
breath and became alive. (Genesis 2: 7) He also gave each of us the freedom
of choice as to whether we would return or reject the love He showed us
when He gave man dominion over the Earth. (Genesis 1: 26-29; 2: 19)
Even as we are each individuals, we are also linked to
all other human beings / humanity, and the God who created the first man. As we
review the Bible as a whole, we note that the Scripture begins with the human
focus on individuals and their relationships with their Creator. It then moves
to show us the impact on those relationships with the Creator and each other, when
individuals are parts of groups of humanity various sizes (families, tribes, nations,
etc.) In the final chapters, it returns
to its focus on the individuals (each who have ever lived), the choices they
made during their lifetimes on the Earth, and how their future lives will be
determined by their Creator. (Revelation Chapters 19 through 22). This is
personal for every man / woman.
In the following discussion I’d like to explore some of
the concepts relevant to those points.
The initial point at which God began dealing with man was
during the sixth day of the Creation. (Genesis Chapter One) Unfortunately for the first man Adam and
subsequently all humanity / mankind, one of God’s highest created angelic
beings (Lucifer / Satan) had turned against Him. In an act of hatred against
God and His newly-favored creation man, this Enemy succeeded in corrupting the
relationship between the Creator God and man while they were in the Garden of
Eden. (Genesis Chapter Three). That story was further explained by the LORD to
the prophets Isaiah (14: 12-17) and Ezekiel (28: 11-14), and will be addressed
in another blog posting.
From that historic beginning, the Bible Scripture focused
on Adam, his wife Eve, and their sons, Cain and Abel, and later Seth (Genesis
Chapter Two; Chapter 3, Verses 1-13; Chapter
Four). This brief introduction to mankind as individuals provided the
critical background for our understanding the behavior of man, both as individuals
and groups of humanity over the many centuries since the Creation. We learned
that man’s sinful nature was a common trait inherited from the first man Adam,
who at the instigation of the Serpent Lucifer, disobeyed the one commandment given
by His Creator. (Genesis Chapter Three; Romans 5: 12, 3: 23) We also learned that the Biblical term “man” was
applied as the general designation for human beings / humanity, unless related
to those of a specific sexual gender. (Genesis 1: 26-29; 2: 7, 18-25; 5: 1-2)
There in the Garden of Eden we were also introduced to
God’s concepts of “time” and “death”. The LORD God had told Adam
in the Garden that “in the day” that he ate of the forbidden tree he
would surely “die” (experience death). (Genesis 2: 16-17) For context remember
that when God created man, He placed man’s invisible, eternal spirit and soul
into a perfect physical body that knew no aging / corruption…but the physical
nature of that body was composed of earthly materials that could be altered,
and even destroyed. Therefore the concepts of “time” and the “dying / death” of man must be considered from
two perspectives.
The immediate ”death” brought about by Adam’s
disobedience / sin resulted in their (Adam’s and Eve’s) spirits and souls being
separated from their Creator God. Note in the Scripture that the once
warm relationship between them in the Garden of Eden had been broken / fractured.
But because of His continuing love for them, the Creator God moved immediately
to restore their spiritual communication with Him. (Genesis 3: 6-24) Even so, at the same time the slow process
of the “dying” of their physical bodies had begun. (Genesis 2: 16-17; 3:
17-19). This will culminate in man’s “first death”.
[The bottom-line reason why God gave us the Bible
Scripture was to inform and teach humanity what has happened before their time
on the Earth; how we became separated from Him; and what He has done through His
Love for man, and the suffering of His Dear Son (our Lord Jesus Christ), to restore
us to Him. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) His “Redemption” has
resulted in our “Salvation”… if we will believe what He has said. (2 Peter 3:9) Otherwise the separation of our soul and
spirit from Him (the “second death”) will become a reality and permanent fate through
eternity. (Revelation 20: 11-15)]
After the introductory chapters of the Bible, the
Scripture continued to focus on individuals as it listed the men who “begat”
/ brought forth the generations following Adam. It also listed their lifespans
which reached many hundreds of years. (Genesis Chapter Five) Their longevity seems unbelievably remarkable to
us today, until we consider the relative perfection from which they began their
lives. Of the physical lifespans of the individuals named, none lived to reach
1,000 years. [Methuselah was the longest living man. He reached the age of 969
years. (Genesis 5: 21-27)] To put our
eternal God’s perspective of “time” as it relates to man, later in the Bible
Scripture we learned: “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and
a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)
Today, none of us expects our physical bodies to live up
to one thousand years.
In fact, following the continual wickedness, constant
thoughts of evil, and other sinful behavior of man that led to God’s
decision to flood the Earth ("Noah's Flood"), God has placed a newer limit on man’s (physical)
lifespan to be 120 years. (Genesis 6: 3)
In contrast to the physical body, remember that man’s essence,
his spirit and soul are eternal. That is the key to recognizing the
significance of our spirit and soul being “saved” from “the second death”, the eternal
separation from our Creator. (Revelation 20: 12-15) With Adam
and Eve, the LORD God Himself provided for their eternal “salvation” by making coats
of the skins of animals to clothe them. (Genesis 3: 21) This shedding of the blood of the innocent (to
clothe them in righteousness) for the remission of sin marked the pattern that
continued for man. (Job 29:14; Isaiah 59:17, 61: 10) . It applied to the many animal
sacrifices made by the Nation of Israel to provide coverage for their
individual and collective sins. Today as
Christians we believe that the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is the key factor
in our eternal salvation. (Galatians 3:
27; Hebrews 9: 7, 11-22)
The Bible teaches us that all humanity have been given
access to the knowledge of this sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus on our behalf.
(Titus 2: 11-14) That Gospel is found in
1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; and Romans 10: 9-13. Today each individual must decide for
himself / herself whether to believe this message from God through the Holy
Spirit. That belief / faith is all that God is asking of us. (Note the Bible’s
“Faith Chapter”, Hebrews 11, especially Verse Six) That should remind all humanity of the dire
consequences endured by mankind / humanity as a result of Adam’s failure to believe
His Creator God. But now, each individual has
the opportunity to determine their own eternal future.
There are too many instances in the Scripture to identify
each situation relevant to our discussion of God’s dealing with man as both
individuals and the collective group called humanity. However, below are some additional
notable examples:
1) When
you read Genesis Chapter Six and the following chapters about the world-wide flood, note that God dealt with
Noah first as an individual, then his family as a small segment of humanity;
and then the entire family as the progenitors of all humanity / mankind.
2) Some
2,000 years after Adam, in light of mankind’s continued inability to achieve
righteousness in God’s eyes, God implemented the next phase of His Plan for
man’s salvation. (Genesis 12: 1-3, 7) Starting with one man Abram, the LORD made
a promise (Abrahamic Covenant). If Abram would separate himself and his wife
Sarai from their past, and obey His guidance, He would make of them a great
nation (Israel). The LORD would bless
them as individuals, and through them would come a blessing (our Lord Jesus
Christ) for all the families of the Earth (all humanity).
3) When
God moved to redeem the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt, he turned
to one man, Moses. It was during their 400 years there in Egypt (including the
period of slavery) that the people grew from a family of 70 souls from Abram’s
grandson Jacob / Israel (Exodus Chapter One), into a nation of millions. [Note that only warrior males 20 years of age
or older were counted in Israel’s census which showed approximately 600,000. (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6324155/jewish/11-Facts-About-Counting-the-Israelites-in-the-Desert.htm )] The estimate of “millions” in the total population
includes all the women, children and elderly males.
4) In
Exodus Chapter 19, the LORD spoke to the Nation of Israel through Moses,
saying: “…if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall
be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And
ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.” The Scripture continued,
saying: “And all the people answered together, and
said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” From that point on, the LORD
regarded them as a distinct segment of humanity, separated from the rest of
mankind (Gentiles).
5) When
the Nation of Israel as a whole rejected the Lord Jesus as their Messiah
who would fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant, there were individuals and relatively
small groups (including the Disciples, and later members of the Jerusalem
Church) who believed in Him. This rejection of the Son of God by Israel led God
to turn to another individual Jew, Saul of Tarsus (later known as the Apostle
Paul), to lead His new plan to evangelize the Gentile world.
As the LORD God began His relationship with humanity
through the individual man Adam, so now He has returned His love and attention
to each of us as individuals. As with Adam, He only asks that we believe what
He has said and done. Adam heard Him through His
audible voice. Today we hear Him through the written word provided by the Holy
Spirit to the gifted men who wrote it two thousand years ago. In the Book of Romans, Chapter Ten, the
Spirit taught that our faith in our Lord Jesus and what He has accomplished on
our behalf is the result of our hearing the word of God. As noted above, the
key to our eternal salvation is found in the Scripture in knowing the Gospel that:
1) Jesus Christ is the Son of God; 2) He died as our substitute to pay the penalty
for the sins of mankind; and, 3) He was buried, but He arose / was resurrected
on the third day, according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4) This
Gospel is also explained in the Book of Romans, Chapter Ten, Verses 9 – 13.
Now that we have that knowledge, as
individuals we are to share it with others…as Ambassadors for Christ. (2
Corinthians 5: 18-20)
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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