"He Is Just a Man" (Genesis 1:26-27) 12/29/24 11am

"He Is Just a Man" (Genesis 1:26-27)



These are the words whispered by the Church Mothers to the Pastor’s wife when he has gotten himself in trouble: "He is just a man... don’t leave your husband." These are also the words mouthed by the pastor himself as he counsels young couples who are getting married: "Your husband is just a man... you will have to learn how to forgive him."

Sometimes I am forced to wonder whether Christ or Tyler Perry and his movies have more influence over male and female interactions in the Church. If you leave it up to Hollywood or to your aunt Sarah, a man was made for mischief. He is going to cheat and then lie about it. He can’t help it because he is just a man.

Some have gone so far as to tell me that there is not a pastor who has not had at least one sexual encounter with a member of his church. This, they tell me, is all a part of being a man. Then I have heard some pastors say that they are pastors from the neck up and a man from the waist down.

Friends, I must admit that there are some who are sitting here this morning, who believe this “He is just a man” talk to the bottom of their hearts because their experience in life has proven this to be true. Friends, I have not ever met an Eskimo, but I am sure that they exist.

Neither have I met any cold-blooded killers (that I know of), but I am certain that they exist. Friends, it is hard to say that you are a Christian and that righteous men do not exist.

What we are seeing is the overwhelming number of men who do not know why they were created and who have no relationship with God at all—save one of future condemnation. Consider the following four points:

1. God Created Man in His Image

a. This is understood to mean that men were created in the moral, rather than the physical image of God. Remember, God is a spirit (John 4:24).

b. Adam and Eve could come together without shame, never having known sin, and without any necessary mediation between them and a holy God (Genesis 2:25).

c. Today, we don’t know anyone who has never participated in wrongdoing (Romans 3:23; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8).

i. The human race (of which fallen Adam is now the head—Romans 5:12) is now full of whoremongers.

ii. The image of God is still there, or rather the potential to be god-like in his morality is still there, but he is cut off from God because of sin (Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 4:18; Ephesians 2:1-2).

• This is just like the person who has the anatomy of a man but carries himself like a woman (Deuteronomy 22:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:26-27).

2. Christ Saves Men and Imparts His Image

a. The one that you refer to as being just a man has Adam’s image. He is subject to Adam’s fallen nature and has become a co-conspirator in Adam’s rebellion (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Psalm 51:5).

b. The Church’s business and the business of preaching are about making bad men good (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:11-13; Titus 2:11-12).

c. This is why Christ came to give His life for men who, because they were made in His image, still have the capacity to repent and have His image restored in them (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10).

d. Any man, woman, boy, or girl who says that they are of God and who have not yet repented of their sins is a liar (1 John 1:6; 2:4; Titus 1:16).

3. Christ Helps Saved Men Recover Authentic Manhood

a. The purposes of God in the creation of man (e.g., in the beginning, Genesis 1:26-27) will not be thwarted (Job 42:2).

i. The birth of a man begins with his salvation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

ii. The unsaved man is either not in church (Hebrews 10:24-25) or he is playing church (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

b. Christ’s work continues as this man learns what it means to have headship (Ephesians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:12-13).

i. He becomes a provider (1 Timothy 5:8).

ii. He realizes the holy mission of marriage, which is the creation of a godly seed (Malachi 2:15; Genesis 1:28; Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

c. Over and over in Scripture, men who have been saved are called:

- Men of God (1 Timothy 6:11)

- Child of God (Romans 8:15)

- Servant of God (Romans 1:1)

- Saints of God (Ephesians 1:1)

- Beloved of God (Colossians 3:12)

- Ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)

- Soldier of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3)

4. Christ Has a Special Punishment Reserved for the Person Who Is Described as Just a Man

a. The Scriptures teach that a special punishment has been “reserved” for pretenders (2 Peter 2:17).

i. This includes all classes of false teachers and prophets (2 Peter 2:1-3).

ii. It includes those in the middle class in our communities who prey upon those who have less (James 5:1-5).

b. The person who is described as being just a man is allowed to do the things that he does, and God set the punishment for these deeds aside for him (i.e., with his name on them) before He even created him (Jude 1:4).

Christ First, Christ Only, Christ Always