CREATED in GOD'S IMAGE - uw.hu

1 I A / '.-'S. CREATED . in GOD'S IMAGE . Anthony A. Hoekema WILLIAM B . EERDMANS PUBLISHING C O M P A N Y. G R A N D RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. T H E PATERNOSTER PRESS. CARLISLE, UK. Copyright 1986 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. First edition 1986. First paperback edition published jointly 1994. in the United States by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 255 Jefferson Ave. , Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503. and in the UK by The Paternoster Press Box 300, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 OQS, UK. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

2 Printed in the United States of America 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hoekema, Anthony A., 1913-1988. CREATED in GOD'S IMAGE . Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Man (Christian theology). 2. Reformed Church Doctrines. I. Title. 1986 233 85-29380. ISBN 0-8028-0850-6. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Hoekema, Anthony A. CREATED in GOD'S IMAGE 1. Man (Christian Theology). I. Title 233 BT ISBN 0-85364-626-0. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.

3 Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. To our dear children: Dorothy James David Helen Contents Preface ix Abbreviations xi 1. The Importance of the D o c t r i n e of Man 1. 2. Man as a CREATED Person 5. 3. The IMAGE of G o d : Biblical T e a c h i n g 11. 4. The IMAGE of G o d : Historical Survey 33. 5. The IMAGE of G o d : A T h e o l o g i c a l Summary 66. 6. The Q u e s t i o n of the S e l f - i m a g e 102. 7. The Origin of S i n 112. 8. The Spread of S i n 133. 9. The Nature of Sin 168. 10. The Restraint of S i n 187. 11. The Whole Person 203. 12. The Question of Freedom 227.

4 Bibliography 244. Index of Subjects 255. Index of Proper Names 258. Index of Scriptures 261. vii Preface T h i s is the second in a series of doctrinal studies. A n earlier volume, The Bible and the Future, dealt with Christian eschatology, or the doctrine of the last things. T h e present study will concern itself with theological anthropology, or the Christian doctrine of man. In this book I will attempt to set forth what the Bible teaches about the nature and destiny of h u m a n beings. Central to the biblical understanding of man is the teaching that m e n and w o m e n were cre- ated in the IMAGE of God.

5 I will present the IMAGE of G o d as having both a structural and a ftanctionalaspect, as involving m a n in h i s v thjxefoldj^a^tonjlup to Gpo^ toj^hejs^^nd^ojiatm'e and as going through four stages the original IMAGE , the perverted IMAGE , the re- n e w e d IMAGE , and the perfected IMAGE . I have based my study on a close examination of the relevant scriptural material. T h e theological standpoint represented here is that of e^vanjgeHcjHIIhrislianity from a . Reformed or Calvinistic perspective. I should like to express appreciation to my students over the years at Calvin T h e o l o g i c a l Seminary, to w h o m this material was originally presented, and whose responses and comments helped to sharpen my thinking on this topic.

6 I particularly w i s h to thank Professors John Cooper, Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., and L o u i s Vos, who read parts of the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. I am grateful to the Calvin T h e o l o g i c a l Library for the use of its facilities and, particularly, for letting me occupy an office in the library after my retirement. I w i s h especially to thank the theological librar- ian, Peter De Klerk, for his exceptional helpfulness. T h a n k s are due to the editorial staff at Eerdmans P u b l i s h i n g Company for their helpful advice at various stages of the writing, par- ticularly to Jon Pott and Sandra N o w l i n.

7 I also o w e thanks to my wife, R u t h , for her constant encourage- ment, for her perceptive c o m m e n t s on the manuscript, and for her help in putting the bibliography together. X. Above all, I want to thank the God who CREATED us in his IMAGE , and who continues to make us more like himself. We look forward eagerly to the day when we shall be totally like h i m , since we shall see h i m as he is. Grand Rapids, Michigan A N T H O N Y A. HOEKEMA. Abbreviations ASV American Standard Version Bavinck, Dogmatiek H. Bavinck, Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, 3rd ed. > Berkouwer, Man G. C. Berkouwer, Man: The IMAGE of God Inst.

8 J. Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed r ' JB Jerusalem Bible KJV K i n g James Version NASB N e w American Standard Bible NEB N e w E n g l i s h Bible NIV N e w International Version RSV Revised Standard Version TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (See Bibliography for full publishing information.). xi CHAPTER 1. The Importance of the Doctrine of Man 1. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of the doctrine of m a n . It has, of course, always been true that one of the most important ques- tions to w h i c h the philosopher addresses h i m s e l f is, What is manP^Jn o n e of his dialogues Plato pictures his master, Socrates, as a man obsessed with o n e central aim in his search for wisdom: namely, to know himself.

9 Various thinkers have given various answers to the question "What is man?", each one w i t h far-reaching implications for thought and life. Today, however, this question about man is being asked with a n e w urgency. S o m e have observed that people today are no longer m u c h interested in questions about ultimate reality or ontology, but they are vitally interested in questions about man. T h e r e are many reasons for this. One is that since I m m a n u e l Kant the problem of e p i s t e m o l o g y (how do we know?) has b e c o m e primary, whereas the problem of ontology (what is ultimate being?)

10 Has b e c o m e secondary. T h e risejaf existentialism as a philosophical, theological, and literary way of thinking has brought a n e w emphasis: namely, that man's e x i s t e n c e is more important than his e s s e n c e t h a t what is unique and unrepeatable about a person is more important for understanding h i m or her than what he or she has in c o m m o n with all other persons. E x i s t e n t i a l i s m , therefore, is a new way of asking the question "What is man?" As belief in G o d b e c o m e s more rare, belief in man is taking its place; and so we are w i t n e s s i n g the rise of a n e w h u m a n i s m.