Theological Statement, Part 2 - Jesus & the Holy Spirit
Theological Statement, Part 3 - The Bible
(Painting: "The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve," by William Blake, 1826)
The human
condition – Human
beings are a part of God’s creation of the natural world, and so we are— like
all animals, plants, stars, and angels—creatures (Gen. 1). However, Genesis
records God’s special intentionality in the creation of humanity—that we are
made in the image and likeness of God (1:26-27). This sets us apart from all
other creatures, both physical and spiritual. As God’s “image,” we were created
with a spiritual character that allows us to grow into the communicable
attributes of God himself—goodness, mercy, wisdom, love, and so on. We also
display abilities for reason and creativity that further set us apart from the
animal world and which reflect the nature of God himself. Further, Genesis
makes clear that we were called to be ruling beings—to administrate God’s
created order and so to represent the reign of God in both the physical and
spiritual world (1:28; 2:15). As such, humans are invested with an almost
unimaginable dignity—each one is valuable beyond any other priceless treasure
in creation, and all have the capacity and the call to grow into people of
remarkable holiness. Tragically, humanity as a whole has not embraced either
its identity or its calling. From the time of our earliest ancestors, as
Genesis once again relates, we have chosen to say “No” to God, to choose
ourselves and our own kingdoms rather than Him (Gen. 3:1-7). We call this
choice “sin,” by which we mean any transgression, or any failure to reach the
mark, of God’s sovereign purpose for us. The results of sin have brought about
what is known in theology as “the Fall,” of which we can highlight several
elements. (1) Because sin is fundamentally a refusal of God, humanity is cut
off from the relationship with God which was the fountainhead of the grace that
enabled us to grow in our likeness to the character of God. With that
empowering grace cut off because of our own choices, humanity becomes
essentially hardwired with a predilection toward further sin. This is what we
call mankind’s “fallen nature,” which all humans inherit simply because they
are part of the rebel race and share in human nature together (Ps. 51:5; Rom.
5:18-19). (2) Because human nature itself (apart from Christ) is now
fundamentally oriented towards sin, any further relationship with God is ruled
out. Without this, humanity lost the hope of everlasting life and suffered death—not just physical death, but
spiritual death—the loss of the participation in God’s grace, in which human
nature becomes truly alive (Gen. 2:17, 3:23; Jn. 3:36, 5:24; Rom. 5:12). (3) It
places us more directly under the power of evil, portrayed in Scripture as the
person of Satan. Sin, since it breaks our relationship with God, leaves us open
to other influences than those of grace, and the spiritual powers and social
structures of evil take advantage of this openness. Thus, when we chose to
rebel against God, we in effect placed ourselves under the flag of the enemy’s
camp. Satan’s rebel kingdom, though, does not recruit humans to be governors or
soldiers; it only makes us slaves (Heb. 2:14-15). As such, because of the Fall,
humanity was in need of three things: the healing of our nature from the disease
of sin (including atonement for our individual sin-acts), deliverance from
death, and freedom from the external powers of evil. All these things were
accomplished for us in the incarnation of Christ, in his death on the cross,
and in his resurrection.