Transcript:

Hello this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

No philosophy or religion has a higher and more dignified view of human nature than what we find in the Bible. Yet, despite this, I find that many Christians, thinking that they are being faithful to Holy Scripture, have a very negative view of human nature. This negativity is wrong headed. The Bible tells us that God created us in His own image, fully righteous and holy—to be rulers over all God has made. We were not created sinful but good. In the words of Genesis 1:31, all creation was “very good”! 

As God declares at the creation of mankind:

26 …“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it….

Likewise, the great King David echoes this exulted status in Psalm 8:

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

 And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

 You have put all things under his feet…

What other creature has been given such significance! Men and women were designed to function like kings and queens over the whole kingdom of God’s creation.

Secularism teaches that humans are merely the latest in a series of cosmic accidents. The Bible teaches that humans are the pinnacle of all creation.

And that’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Psalm 8 (ESV)

1 O Lord, our Lord,

 how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

 you have established strength because of your foes,

  to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

 the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,

 and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

 and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

 you have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen,

 and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

 whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

 how majestic is your name in all the earth!

*Below, we are appending some basic catechism questions that go along with this Kingdom Perspective. A catechism is a classical Christian teaching device, helping both children and adults better understand the unique claims of the Bible. Below, you will find questions taken from both a children’s catechism and a more advanced catechism. For the full catechisms, you may go to our website by clicking here.

Questions for Kids: A Basic Catechism for Children

18. How are people different from the rest of creation?

We alone are made in God’s image.

19. Who were the first people that God created?

Adam and Eve were our first parents.

20. What were Adam and Eve like when God made them?

They were very good.

An Advanced Catechism

14. How did God create man? 

God created man, male and female, after His own image, (Genesis 1:27) in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness (Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24) with dominion over the creation. (Genesis 1:28)