Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.”
Man is a unique creation of God. By being created in the image of God, man has a spiritual capacity that makes us moral creatures who can know and worship God. We possess a soul. The soul is our spiritual being and our inner knowledge. Our physical body is where the Holy Spirit dwells when we accept Christ. We should take care of our bodies out of respect for God. Man has freedom of choice. Our soul is eternal, and it survives physical death.
Adam and Eve fell from grace. They couldn’t have known the total costs of their sins when they ate the forbidden fruit. Adam was the head of the human race, so when he sinned, all humans received a sinful nature from then on. Man is still created in the image of God, albeit a tainted version of his former self. As a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, God cast them out of the garden. With sin came all kinds of evil, sickness, and death, and the earth became a hostile environment for man to live in. Humanity still possesses a moral agency, but we must constantly choose between obeying God or disobeying Him.
As humans, we are totally dependent from the moment we are born. Even as we grow and mature, whether we know it or not, we still depend on God for food, shelter, and protection. As soon as we are old enough, we sin – it’s in our nature. It proves that we are spiritually helpless. Only God can restore our fellowship with Him. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for our sinful nature. Christ’s work of salvation includes everyone of all ages. We can only receive this sacrifice made on our behalf by accepting Jesus as our Savior.
Even though man has fallen from grace, all of mankind still should be treated with respect and dignity, because we all are image bearers of God.
