Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

creators with God, and that man is also created in the image of the angels, which is an
un-Scriptural idea; and the third is an entirely gratuitous assumption, for which no
reason can be assigned. Why should such a self-exhortation be in the plural, except for
the reason that there is a plurality in God.
2. THE CREATION OF MAN WAS IN THE STRICTEST SENSE OF THE WORD AN IMMEDIATE ACT
OF GOD. Some of the expressions used in the narrative preceding that of the creation of
man indicate mediate creation in some sense of the word. Notice the following
expressions: “And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs, yielding seed, and
fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind” — “Let the waters swarm with swarms of
living creatures” . . . and, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind”;
and compare these with the simple statement, “And God created man.” Whatever
indication of mediacy in the work of creation is contained in the former expressions, is
entirely wanting in the latter. Evidently the work of God in the creation of man was not
mediated in any sense of the word. He did make use of pre-existent material in forming
the body of man, but even this was excluded in the creation of the soul.
3. IN DISTINCTION FROM THE LOWER CREATURES MAN WAS CREATED AFTER A DIVINE TYPE.
With respect to fishes, birds, and beasts we read that God created them after their kind,
that is, on a typical form of their own. Man, however, was not so created and much less
after the type of an inferior creature. With respect to him God said, “Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness.” We shall see what this implies, when we discuss the original
condition of man, and merely call attention to it here, in order to bring out the fact that
in the narrative of creation the creation of man stands out as something distinctive.
4. THE TWO DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF HUMAN NATURE ARE CLEARLY DISTINGUISHED. In
Gen. 2:7 a clear distinction is made between the origin of the body and that of the soul.
The body was formed out of the dust of the ground; in the production of it God made
use of pre-existing material. In the creation of the soul, however, there was no
fashioning of pre-existing materials, but the production of a new substance. The soul of
man was a new production of God in the strict sense of the word. Jehovah “breathed
into his (man’s) nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In these
simple words the twofold nature of man is clearly asserted, and their teaching is
corroborated by other passages of Scripture, such as, Eccl. 12:7; Matt. 10:28; Luke 8:55; II
Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:22-24; Heb. 12:9. The two elements are the body and the breath or
spirit of life breathed into it by God, and by the combination of the two man became “a
living soul,” which means in this connection simply “a living being.”
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