Lesson for February 19, 2025
The Doctrine of Creation
Lesson 3
The Origin of Human Life
In our study of Creation, we have seen that there had to be an intelligent, organized Creator of the universe. The same is true of human life. God is the creator of human life, both in the beginning with Adam and Eve, and He continues to be the One Who creates human life.
The pattern God (the Trinity) followed in making mankind was Himself (“in our image”). The Hebrew word for image is “be tselem,” meaning a shadow image or likeness. Mankind is not created as a duplication of God, a blasphemous thought, but in His shadow image or likeness. “Shadow image or likeness” describes something invisible but real. God created human beings with an immaterial, invisible essence.
As the image of God, human beings are the only creatures who uniquely reflect God. God has essence which is real but invisible. As the shadow image of God, our essence is also real but invisible. And, like God, that essence can be defined only by its characteristics. Human characteristics include self-consciousness, mentality, volition, conscience, and emotion. From a theological viewpoint, the human soul is the real person, existing within a biologically living body. The human soul is perfect in its creation, but when linked with the sin nature, it becomes imperfect. Although this invisible essence is inferior to God’s perfect essence, the human soul is the element that establishes man’s superiority over animals.
There are four Hebrew words used in Genesis to describe the original creation of human life:
- Asah – to make or manufacture after a pattern – the immaterial essence of mankind, a soul. Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, Let Us make (asah) mankind in Our image according to Our likeness.” This was God’s plan.
- Barah – to create or to make something out of nothing – this cannot refer to the human body of Adam or Eve, therefore is refers to the immaterial essence of mankind, the soul. Genesis 1:27 – “And God created (barah) man in His own image, in the image of God He created (barah) him; male and female He created (barah) them.” This was the execution of God’s plan.
- Yatsar – to form from existing material – the body of Adam. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed (yatsar) man of dust from the ground (biological life) and breathed (naphach) into his nostrils the breath of life (soul life – neshamah hayyah); and man became a living person (human life- nephesh hayyah,).” This is a more detailed description of the execution of the plan in the case of Adam.
- Banah – to build or fashion from existing material – the body of Eve. Genesis 2:22 – “And the Lord God fashioned (banah) into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man and brought her to the man.” This is a more detailed description of the execution of the plan in the case of Eve.
Creation of Mankind after the Fall of Adam and Eve
The fact that all members of the human race were “in Adam,” means that we inherit his fallen nature at birth. Therefore, every person is born with a sin nature, along with Adam’s sin, which condemns us to spiritual death at birth. (Romans 5:12, 18,19; 6:6,12, 8:3-5; I Corinthians 15:22)
After the Fall of Adam and Eve, biological life began to be passed down genetically from the father and is “mother dependent” in the womb. The fetus that is formed in the mother’s womb develops the characteristics and looks of a human being, either male or female. The reason that a fetus, which is biological life, looks like a human being is that is what it will become when God imparts soul life to it. Obviously, the fetus is not going to look like anything other than a human being, even though in the womb, it is not yet a human being!!!
Since God cannot create imperfection, it would be impossible for Him to create human life inside the mother’s womb. If human life began at conception, the mother would have two sin natures residing in her flesh until the baby was born. God creates soul life and imparts it to biological life at birth, resulting in human life. When a fetus (biological life) emerges from the mother’s womb, God “breathes” soul life into biological life and human life is created. (Isaiah 2:22, 42:5, 57:16; Job 1:21, 33:4; Ecclesiastes 12:7)
The Origin of the Soul
There are two traditional “Christian views” regarding how, where, and when the soul originates. These two views are Traducianism and Creationism.
Traducianism teaches that the soul is a product of procreation. Human life is viewed as beginning in the womb at conception. The problem with this view, however, is that if the soul is formed genetically, this would mean that the soul is material and mortal, like biological life. But the soul of a person is immortal, therefore there is a problem with this viewpoint.
Creationism teaches that the soul is created by God, not by procreation. Among those who hold this view, there are varying thoughts on when God imparts the soul to biological life. Some say at conception; some say during the nine months of pregnancy, and others say at birth.
Let’s see what God’s Word says about when soul life begins. Here are a few verses which make it clear that the soul is imparted by God at birth.
Isaiah 42:5, “This is what God the Lord says, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath (Hebrew: neshamah – soul life) to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.”
Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath (Hebrew: neshamah – soul life) of the Almighty gives me life.”
In Isaiah 44:2, 24; 49:1,5, we have “Thus says the Lord who made (asah) you and formed (yatsar) you from the womb (mibeten)…..” “Yatsar” means to create life from existing material (biological life) awayfrom the womb.
In the Book of Job, we see several passages that refer to birth. (Job 1:21, 3:11, 10:19) In all these verses, the preposition “from” (“min” in Hebrew) is used with the noun “womb” (“beten” in Hebrew). The phrase “from the womb” is “mibeten” in Hebrew, a combination of our two words. This is important to note because the primary meaning of “min” is separation, as in out from or away from. Therefore, “mibeten” literally means separated from or away from the womb.
Now, let’s look at some Greek words in the New Testament that confirm the fact human life begins at birth, outside of the womb. When the Scriptures were translated from Hebrew into the Greek Septuagint, the translators used the Greek words “ek koilia” for the Hebrew word “mibeten,” meaning separated from the womb. The Greek Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Greek word “ek, meaning “out from” is used to represent the Hebrew word “min,” also meaning “out from.”
If these scriptures are not enough to convince us, certainly Jesus fully understood when human life begins. In John 3, we have a story about Nicodemus, a Pharisee that came to Jesus at night to inquire about salvation. In the process of explaining salvation using the “birth” analogy to Nicodemus, Jesus teaches that human life begins after birth (outside of the womb). Notice that Jesus did not say, “you must be conceived again.” Just as physical birth is the beginning of human life, spiritual birth is the beginning of spiritual life. Also, the angels rejoiced at the birth of Christ, not at His conception, which should be enough to convince us that human life begins at birth, outside the womb. (Luke 2:7-14)
God’s Word always teaches that birth, not conception, is the beginning of life. Conception can only produce biological life but only God can create human life. He does this by imparting soul life to biological life at physical birth. At the second birth (salvation), God imparts His righteousness and a human spirit to human life, producing spiritual life. God’s grace is continually operational in the life of believers from birth to eternity.
Summary
God is the Creator of our original parents, Adam and Eve. In their cases, God created biological life and soul life simultaneously, creating human life. God still creates soul life and imparts it to biological life at birth, creating human life.