Where Did I Come From?

Part 1 of 3 - The Doctrine of Man

As another has well said "The Scriptures clearly teach that the original man was the direct result of a creative act of God... being the masterpiece of creation." As such, there are many questions that we have asked concerning mankind, his origin, his overall composition, and his purpose.. How is he to be the masterpiece of creation?

Not surprisingly, the Scriptures provide us with the answer..

One of the biggest curiosities about man is concerning his origin. "Where did I come from?" is a question on the cusp of countless lips.

There are many humanistic theories concerning the origin of man. Probably the most common of our day is that of Atheistic Evolution. This theory holds to spontaneous generation, that is, all forms of life evolved from a more primitive, and simpler form of life. Cell matter must have evolved into more complex life forms, and then to fish, and then to birds, animals, apes and finally man. However, this theory neglects the fact that several "missing links" in the transitional stages have never been found. This theory, therefore, is built on supposition. It fails to adequately account for the origin of matter and life because it rejects God - the originator of matter and source of all life.

Another popular theory is that of Theistic Evolution. This seems to be accepted as the best of both worlds. This theory holds that higher forms of life evolved from lower forms, but that the lower forms were created by God. However, Scripture teaches the creation of the species, not their evolution. All fish, birds, animals and man were created in their order to reproduce "after their kind" (Gen 1:25), not to evolve to some higher form. A reptile can only produce a reptile, a monkey can only produce a monkey, etc. An animal simply cannot produce a man.

The final theory that we will observe is that of Theistic Creation. This theory (I call it a "truth", rather than a mere theory) holds to the Scriptural fact that God is the one and only life-source, the originator and maintainer of all forms of life, and the One who created all to reproduce "after their kind". God created the heavens and the earth, the universe of worlds and the galaxies (Gen 1:1). God created the archangels and the angelic hosts (Col 1:16-17; Rev 4:11). God created the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the animals of the earth (Gen 1:21-25; Jn 1:1-3). And finally, God created mankind - the highest creation of God on this earth - the masterpiece of His doings (Gen 1:26-31), made in the very image of God!

To be continued...