Image of God
Not physical resemblance or merely rational/intellectual ability; rooted in the immaterial nature God gave us — rational, moral, spiritual, and immortal aspects. Sin corrupted but did not erase it.
Lesson 5 · Course 62
Logical Proof That God Created Mankind
Doctrine of people: Image of God (immaterial), creation views, theological implications of man’s origin, and three origin theories — Bible supports special creation.
At a glance
Summary
Lesson 5 treats the doctrine of people where biblical revelation and human concerns converge. Humans are part of God’s creation and bear His image in an immaterial sense (rational, moral, spiritual, immortal); the Fall corrupted but did not erase that image. Creationism (ex nihilo), deistic evolution, Gap theory, and three origin theories (atheistic evolution, theistic evolution, special creation) are surveyed — Scripture best supports special creation.
Quiz 5: 10/10 (100%) on attempt 1 (9m 26s). Essays Complete/Not graded. cmid 1099.
Big ideas
What to teach and remember
- Doctrine of people: biblical revelation and human concerns converge.
- Humans are part of God’s creation; Image of God is immaterial (rational, moral, spiritual, immortal) — not merely physical/rational capacity.
- Fall corrupted the image but did not erase it.
- Creationism: virtually everything created ex nihilo; deistic evolution: God withdrew after setting evolution in motion.
- Man does NOT have independent existence; Towns does NOT say five principal explanations for man’s origin.
- Gap theory explains apparent long age of the earth; believing the Bible’s origin of man IS important.
- Three theories: atheistic evolution, theistic evolution, special creation — Bible supports special creation.
Key terms
People, places, and words that matter
Creationism / ex nihilo
Virtually everything was created ex nihilo — out of nothing.
Deistic evolution
God withdrew from the process of evolution after setting it in motion.
Gap theory
One explanation for the apparent long age of the earth.
Atheistic evolution
Man as the product of blind, impersonal chemical and biological events through natural processes and survival of the fittest.
Theistic evolution
God began the creative process by bringing the first organism to life, then allowed evolution to continue, intervening at times to guide it.
Special creation
Man is a direct product of God’s hand, created from the dust and made in God’s image; Genesis as literal historical account. Biblical evidence best supports this.
Structure
Outline / timeline
- Doctrine of people: biblical revelation and human concerns converge
- Image of God: immaterial (rational, moral, spiritual, immortal) — not merely physical/rational; Fall corrupted but did not erase
- Creation views: creationism (ex nihilo) vs deistic evolution (God withdrew)
- Theological implications of man’s origin (8 points) — man contingent, not independent
- Three theories of man’s origin: atheistic evolution, theistic evolution, special creation — Bible supports special creation
- Gap theory as explanation for apparent long age; believing Bible’s origin of man is important
Must remember
Facts to keep straight
| Quiz 5 | 100% (10/10), attempt 1, 9m 26s, cmid 1099 |
|---|---|
| Image of God | Immaterial (rational, moral, spiritual, immortal) — NOT merely physical/rational capacity |
| Fall and the image | Corrupted humanity’s rational and moral dimensions but did not completely erase the image |
| Towns on man’s origin | Does NOT say there are five principal explanations for man’s origin |
| Independent existence? | No — mankind does not have independent existence; man is contingent on God |
| Bible’s support | Supports special creation over atheistic or theistic evolution |
| Gap theory | One explanation for the apparent long age of the earth |
Compare
Side-by-side contrasts
Three theories of man’s origin
- Atheistic evolution: man as product of blind, impersonal chemical/biological events; natural processes and survival of the fittest
- Theistic evolution: God brought first organism to life, then allowed evolution to continue, intervening at times to guide it
- Special creation: man a direct product of God’s hand from the dust, made in God’s image; Genesis literal — Bible best supports this
Creationism vs deistic evolution
- Creationism: virtually everything created ex nihilo (out of nothing)
- Deistic evolution: God withdrew from the process of evolution after setting it in motion
For the pulpit
Sermon hooks
- Image of God is not a face or an IQ — it is the immaterial self: rational, moral, spiritual, immortal.
- Sin damaged the image; it did not delete it.
- Man has no independent existence — every breath is contingent on God’s provision.
- Three origin stories; only special creation matches Genesis as history.
Quiz drill
Quiz drill / review · open to practice · 10 items
Quiz score: 100% · 1 attempt
1. The doctrine of people is important because the biblical revelation and human concerns converge at that point.
TrueBiblical revelation and human concerns converge at the doctrine of people.
2. Humans are part of God's creation process.
TrueHumans are part of God’s creation.
3. The ‘Image of God’ is humanity's physical and rational capacity.
FalseImage of God is immaterial (rational, moral, spiritual, immortal) — not merely physical/rational.
4. The Fall of Man corrupted humanity's rational and moral dimensions.
TrueFall corrupted rational and moral dimensions (but did not erase the image).
5. Creationism argues that virtually everything was created ex-nihilo, out of nothing.
TrueCreationism: virtually everything created ex nihilo.
6. Deistic evolution argues that God withdrew from the process of evolution after setting it in motion.
TrueDeistic evolution: God withdrew after setting evolution in motion.
7. One theological implication of man's origin is that mankind alone has independent existence.
FalseMan does NOT have independent existence; he is contingent on God.
8. Dr. Towns relates that there are five principal explanations for man's origin.
FalseTowns does NOT say there are five principal explanations.
9. One explanation for the apparent long age of the earth is the Gap theory.
TrueGap theory explains apparent long age of the earth.
10. Believing the Bible's explanation of the origin of man is really not that important.
FalseBelieving the Bible’s origin of man IS important.
Essay themes
If you preach or review
Image of God (Towns)
Dr. Towns explains that the image of God is not a physical resemblance, not merely humanity’s rational or intellectual ability, and not an unlimited ability to dominate creation. It is rooted in the immaterial nature God gave us. Animals share life and some immaterial abilities, but humans uniquely have personality and intellect. The image includes rational, moral, spiritual, and immortal aspects: we can understand truth, communicate and create, make moral choices, know and relate to God, and continue to exist eternally. Sin corrupted the image, but did not completely erase it.
Theological implications of man's origin (8 points)
1. No independent existence: man is contingent and continues to live by God’s provision, so he is never truly independent of God.
2. Part of creation: although distinct from God, man belongs to the created order.
3. A unique place in creation: being made in God’s image and given dominion sets humanity above the other creatures.
4. Brotherhood among people: all humanity is related through one original pair, so every person has a common human dignity and need.
5. Not the highest object in the universe: human value is great, but worship and ultimate glory belong to God alone.
6. Definite limitations: as finite creatures, we cannot know everything and are subject to error.
7. Proper adjustment in life comes from accepting our finiteness rather than pretending to be God.
8. Man is nonetheless something wonderful: he is God’s expressly designed creation and the highest creature, made in His image.
Three theories of man's origin
The first theory is atheistic evolution: man is viewed as the product of blind, impersonal chemical and biological events, developing through natural processes and survival of the fittest. The second is theistic evolution: God began the creative process by bringing the first organism to life and then allowed evolution to continue, intervening at times to guide it. The third is special creation: man is a direct product of God’s hand, created from the dust and made in God’s image, with Genesis understood as a literal historical account. The biblical evidence best supports God’s direct creative work rather than macro-evolution.