10 Important Bible Verses about Humanity (2023)

This article is part ofImportant Bible VersesSeries.

All comment notes adapted by ESV Study Bible.

1. Genesis 1:26–27

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, like us.

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. keep reading

Let's make man in our image. The text does not indicate the identity of the “we” mentioned here. Some have suggested that God could address members of His court whom the OT elsewhere calls "sons of God" (eg Job 1:6) and the NT calls "angels", but a significant objection is that man is not in angelic image made mankind, nor is there any evidence that angels were involved in the creation of mankind. Many Christians and some Jews understood “us” as God speaking to himself, since only God is creation in Gen 1:27 (cf. Gen 5:1); this would be the first reference to the Trinity in the Bible (Gen 1:2).

The term was discussedimage of god. Many scholars point to the notion, common in the ancient Near East, that the king was the visible representative of the deity; so the king reigned in the name of God. Since Genesis 1:26 connects the image of God with exercising dominion over all other creatures of the seas, heavens, and land, it can be seen that mankind is here endowed with authority to govern the earth as a representative or deputy. president of God. Rulers (see the note on Genesis 1:28). Other scholars who see the patternman and woman, concluded that humanity expresses the image of God in relationships, especially in a well-functioning human community, both in marriage and in society at large. Traditionally, image has been seen as the ability that distinguishes humans from other animals, the ways in which humans resemble God, as in the qualities of reason, morality, language, ability to be governed by love and devotion, and creativity. in all forms of art. All these ideas can be brought together by noting that thesimilarities(man is in many ways like God) allow mankind torepresentto govern God and build worthilyRelationshipswith God, with each other and with the rest of creation. This "image" and dignity applies to both "masculine and feminine" people. (This view is unique in the context of the ancient Near East. In Mesopotamia, for example, the gods created humans simply to do jobs for them.) The Hebrew term'Adam, translated asMann, is often a generic term denoting masculine and feminine, although it sometimes refers to the masculine as distinct from the feminine (Gen 2:22, Gen 2:23, Gen 2:25; Gen 3:8, Gen 3:9, Gen. 3:12, Gen. 3:20): becomes the proper name "Adam" (Gen. 2:20; Gen. 3:17, 21; Gen. 4:1; Gen. 5:1). At this stage, mankind is set apart as a species from all other creatures and crowned with glory and honor as ruler of the earth (cf. Psalm 8:5-8). However, the events recorded in Genesis 3 will have a major impact on mankind's state of creation.

2. Salmo 8:4-8

What is man that you remember him,
and the son of man, that you care for him?

However, they made him somewhat inferior to celestial beings.
and crowned him with glory and honor.
you gave him dominion over the works of your hands;
you put everything under your feet
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,
everything that passes through the paths of the seas. keep reading

Man's place in the created order. This passage is divided into two parts: first, the psalmist beholds the myriad stars and the bright moon and marvels at God's care for mankind (Psalm 8:3-4); Second, he marvels at the dominion God has given mankind (Psalm 8:5-8).

It is amazing that the God great enough to have made the heavens could actualize mere men; but it goes beyond recognizing him: he has the man in mind, he takes care of him. God's greatness does not mean distance, but attention to details, however small.

the celestial beings.The Hebrew may mean "the gods," that is, the angels in the heavenly court, or it may mean God himself. The ESV text takes the first option according to the Greek Septuagint (quoted in Heb. 2:7).crowned him with glory and honordescribes mankind as the royal representative of God.

This is reminiscent of Genesis 1:26.put everything under your feet.Paul connects this with the explicitly messianic psalm. 110:1 (1 Corinthians 15:25-27; compare Ephesians 1:22), reflecting a similar approach to Hebrews (Hebrews 2:6-9).

3. 1 João 3:1-2

See how much love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so do we. The reason the world doesn't know us is because they didn't know him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we shall be has not yet appeared; but we know that we shall be like him when he appears, for we shall see him for what he is. keep reading

The world does not know us.There are internal tensions between those who know and serve Christ and those who do not.

what will we beit means having glorified bodies that will never get sick, grow old, or die, and will be completely sinless. No one like that has ever appeared on earth (except Christ himself after his resurrection).we will be like him. For all eternity, Christians will be morally sinless, intellectually without deceit or error, physically without weakness or blemish, and constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. But "like" does not mean "identical to," and believers will never (for example) be omniscient or omnipotent like Christ, since He is both man and God.

4. Salmo 139:13-16

Because you formed my bowels;
You formed me in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I was fearfully and wonderfully made.
His works are wonderful;
my soul knows very well.
My frame did not hide from you
when they made me a secret
deftly woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my formless substance;
In thy book were written, every one of them
The days have formed for me
when there was none. keep reading

You even saw and loved me before I was born. These verses illustrate the point of Psalm 139:11-12 (the passage begins with for, showing the connection with the previous one) by describing a specific "dark place" where the Lord saw and cared for the singer, namely his mother's womb. God was active while the formless substance (embryo) was growing and developing; surely it was he who molded my insides and united me. God saw and even wrote in his book, each one of. . . the days that were formed for me. The worshiper realizes that the Lord showed His care for him even before his mother knew that she was pregnant. His personal life began in the womb, and God had already charted its course.

5. Romans 3:9-12

And? Are we Jews better off? No way. For we have already denounced that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

“No one is fair, no, none;
nobody understand;
Nobody seeks God.
All are lost; together they became useless;
nobody does it well
none." keep reading

Although God has promised the Jewish people to fulfill His promises of salvation (Romans 3:1-4), they have no inherent benefit because they, too, are under the power of sin. The Greeks here refer to the entire Gentile world as opposed to the Jews.

Paul focuses on the sinfulness of every human being, quoting Psalm 14:1-3, perhaps reminiscent of the preachers. 7:20. When Paul says that no one is righteous, no one seeks after God, and no one does good, he means that no man alone seeks after God or does any good that deserves salvation. Paul does not deny that people do some acts that are outwardly good, but those acts are still tainted with evil before salvation because they are not done for the glory of God (Romans 1:21). not of faith (Romans 14:23).

6. Ephesians 4:17–19

Now I say this, and I testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk like the Gentiles in the vanity of your mind. They are darkened in their understanding, forgetting the life of God because of the ignorance that is within them, because of the hardness of their hearts. They became insensitive and gave themselves over to sensuality, eager to practice all kinds of impurity. keep reading

Paul solemnly asserts in the Lord that his Gentile readers, as part of the new creation, are to no longer live like Gentiles (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10).vanity of your thoughts. . . darkenedBoth in antiquity and today, people who reject the knowledge of God are considered "enlightened" (cf. Heb 10:32). Your ignorance here is not lack of general education; some are brilliant in their own way, but that brightness is wasted and ultimately worthless when combined with hardness of heart against the truth of the gospel in Christ (cf. Matthew 13:14-15; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:8).

7. Romans 5:18-19

Just as a single transgression leads to the condemnation of all people, a single righteous act leads to justification and life for all people. For just as by one man's disobedience many were constituted sinners, so by the obedience of one many are constituted righteous. keep reading

Adam's transgression as the covenant leader of mankind brought condemnation and guilt upon all men. Likewise, Christ's one righteous act (whether his own death or his entire life in perfect obedience, including his death) bestows righteousness and life on all who belong to him.for all menSome expositors have defended universalism (the view that all will be saved) on the basis of these verses. But Paul makes it clear in this context that only those who "receive" (Rom. 5:17) the gift of God belong to Christ (see also Rom. 1:16-5:11), indicating that only those who believe have, be justified). Write"Why"shows that Paul's focus is not on the number of each group, but on theMethodof sin or righteousness passing from the vicarious leader to the whole group: the first "all men" refers to all who are in Adam (every man), while the second "all men" refers to all believers , all, the "in" are Christ".

8. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

For as death came through man, so also came the resurrection of the dead through man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive. keep reading

Christ's resurrection, based on the truth of the testimonies (1 Corinthians 15:4-8), changes everything. If God raised Christ from the dead, then Christ was really the firstfruits (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:10; Deut. 18:4; Nehemiah 10:35) or the first of many others also to be raised. . from the dead (See also Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:23; Col. 1:18.) The term “firstfruits” (Gr.apache) refers to an initial sample of an agricultural crop that gives an indication of the nature and quality of the rest of the crop; therefore, the resurrection body of Christ gives a foretaste of what the body of believers will be like.

in Adam all die.See Rom. 5:12, 14-15, 17; ef. 2:1, 5.in Christ all are made alive.See Rom. 5:17, 21; POMEGRANATE. 6:4; ef. 2:5-6. By divine appointment, Adam represented all mankind who would follow him, and his sin therefore affected all people. Likewise, Christ represented all who would belong to him, and therefore his obedience affected all believers.

9. Salmo 103:15-18

Man's days are like grass;
blooms like the flower of the field;
because the wind blows on him, and he goes,
and he no longer knows his place.
But the mercy of the Lord is forever and ever on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
those who keep his covenant
and remember to keep his commandments. keep reading

The song reaches its peak here: Amid the brevity of human life (Ps 103:15-16), God's unwavering love for His believers is eternal (Ps 103:17a) and bestows upon them the privilege of nurturing those who belong. to him to become people for generations to come (Psalm 103:17b-18). For the imagery of the grass and flower to the impermanence of life, see Psalm 90:5 and Isa. 40:7; for further reflections on the brevity of life, see P.S. 102:3, 11.the wind blows over it and it is gone.Wind dries plants in dry weather.

Jehovah's mercy is forever and ever.Compare Psalm 25:6; Psalm 100:5. Those who fear him (Psalm 103:11, 13) keep his covenant and remember to put his commandments into practice; they are the believers who believe the promises and keep the commandments (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:9; cf. John 14:15, 21; 15:10; Rev. 1:3; Rev. 3:8). ). The covenant of circumcision that Abraham's descendants were to "keep" included the promise that the Lord would be God to the descendants as well as to their parents. But this psalm goes even further: believers hope that God's saving love will be bestowed on their children's children's children. This is the supreme privilege which God bestows on his believers: though their lives are short and seem almost insignificant, they are nevertheless capable of contributing to the future welfare of God's people through their godly and godly education and care. pious. also Psalms 100:5; 102:28; in eg 34:7a God maintains an unwavering love for thousands (ie thousands of generations; cf. Deuteronomy 7:9) of believers (Exodus 20:6).

10. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old man is gone; Here comes the new one. keep reading

new creation. The salvation of a people who now live for Christ by living for others, accomplished by the power of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 3:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18) and the death of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14 - 15), is the beginning of the new creation that was destined to come in the midst of this wicked age (see Isaiah 43:18-19; 65:17-23; 66:22-23). This new creation is also the beginning of Israel's final restoration from God's judgment in exile (see the context of Isa. 43:1-21; Isa. 65:17-25).

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