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Approaching the Mystery of Fallen Man
By Thomas Cosmades
Most people are familiar with the word “anthropos” and its numerous
appellations in the western languages.
As for its etymological meaning in Greek there are several intriguing
interpretations. One of its
derivations is from the verb
‘throsko’, directed to above, i.e., to God.
Christians traditionally have been inclined to find the proper
description of man in the Scriptures.
Man is God’s only creature looking upward and not down, as other
creatures do. According to the
Scriptures, man is created in God’s own image and was destined by the
Creator to be an upright-walking, upright-thinking, upright-behaving
creature. At the intrusion of
sin, this sublime creature was pulled down, becoming an earthbound person,
dominated by earthly thoughts and notions.
This is a clear indication of what man’s fall brought upon our whole
race. The basic lack in
understanding man’s person in creation and then in his fall and alienation
from his Creator is expressed in David’s psalm,
“What is man that you are mindful of
him, and the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the
heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor” (8:4, 5).
Christ’s opponents who were thoroughly puzzled with Jesus’ mysterious
personality, asked him “Who are you?”
(John 8:25). David
describes man in his natural setup by raising the question,
“What is man?”
In one case the confused Pharisees are asking a cynical question
to the sinless
Looking at the Scriptures, we see a number of upsetting descriptions of the
fallen mortal, man.
“Turn away from man in whose nostrils
is breath, for of what account is he?” (Isaiah 2:22).
In this context confer James 4:14b, Isaiah 57:20, 21; Genesis
6:5; Jude 12, 13; Psalm 146:3, 4; Jeremiah 17:5.
Jesus Christ humbled himself to ordinary manhood in order to elevate
us into the Creator’s true likeness.
Once the power of sin is broken and we are redeemed, we have a taste
of the perfect Man, with ourselves longing to be dressed with his glorious
state. Christ can bring this to
realization of looking above
‘throsko’. The Incarnate
Christ is entirely able to change sinful humans from their uncleanness to a
position of ‘heads-up’ before his father and the angels in heaven
(cf. Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; 20:9).
This flawless Person can restore every one he redeems to live for God’s
glory in his created purpose.
“Every one who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isaiah 43:7).
The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth with the statement,
“to the praise of his glorious grace”
(Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). To
display His holiness (Leviticus
The inspired Word carries us through the steps of God’s act, restoring us
depraved humans into the position of his genuine intention and purpose in
creation:
I. The durable wickedness of
the ravaging heart.
Sin in which we found ourselves as we came into the world was once committed
federally, then collectively and finally, individually
(cf. Romans
In the book of Ecclesiastes we are confronted with the picture of a poor,
but wise youth (cf.
Naturally, no human being can extricate him/herself from the fallen
condition of mankind. This
incredible achievement has been accomplished by God who came to our world
with the provision of redemption even for the vilest offender.
Let alone man’s incapability to disentangle himself from this debased
condition, he denies almost universally the fact of his depravity before the
holy Creator and his angels. There
is no fault in humans.
Especially in our time this is the most prevalent preaching.
Man is a paragon in the natural order.
Generation after generation, even though everyone can clearly see the
total bankruptcy and lostness of man, every single offspring of the human
family looks at man as the very best example in the natural order.
The main distress is that in spite of the authoritative revelation
concerning the tragedy of the fall and universal sin which emanated from it
the reality of original sin remains unknown to every succeeding human line.
II. The Incurable Imperiousness of the Reign
In human administration dictatorship has been an ugly and cruel phenomenon
throughout the ages. At this
very moment there are a number of dictators on earth enjoying their
forcefully-grabbed position. In
spite of knowing the ultimate doom of all dictators, they hold to their
position, becoming more obnoxious by the day.
The sinful heart knows its stormy turbulence and yet it clings to its
domineering despotism. Man’s
own heart within his chest is a cruel dictator over his whole being.
Just as so many dictators cannot be moved from their dogging reign,
our heart under ordinary conditions will never mellow and submit to the
authority which seeks justice and righteousness.
Every sinner continues his existence under the tyranny of the cruel
master which is the heart seeking to possess the whole being
en toto.
The Apostle Peter describes the lamentable condition with a catching
exposure: “They have eyes full of
adultery, insatiable for sin.
They entice unsteady souls.
They have hearts trained in greed.
Accursed children!” (2 Peter 2:14).
Every sinner is thoroughly aware of the imperiousness of his own heart, but
cannot do a thing to slip out of this dictator.
He can only cry out like Job,
“For you write down bitter things against me and make me inherit the sins of
my youth” (Job
Until every person recognizes that he/she is controlled by an incurable
imperious force within our personal and across-the-spectrum storms cannot be
comprehended. The unfolding
before our eyes of this dim dictum will reveal the sad condition of our
overall outlook. David who came
to see the dark condition of his heart prayed for purification:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
Our most upsetting encounter ought to be disturbance about the
pitiful condition of our inner world. We need to cry with the Apostle Paul
who knew the state of his arrogant days, finally coming to the realization
of the true condition of his heart:
“What a retched man I am! Who
will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Such a genuine
cry takes us to the next truth.
III. The Immeasurable Effectiveness of the Grace that Rescues
In the epistle to the Romans any reader will inevitably come across the
reign of sin, and death, its consequence.
The Almighty YAHWEH encountered this tyrannical double reign with the
one and triumphant reign which surpasses all forces of distress and darkness
combined. This is the
reign of grace which can be effective only through the reign of Jesus Christ
in the same heart (cf. Romans
The triumphant reign of the Lord Jesus Christ can only reach out over every
sinful heart and body by the way of grace:
(cf. Galatians 2:20; 6:14).
The evidence of the reign of grace is demonstrated over the
crucified flesh: (cf. Romans 6:8;
Thomas Cosmades – 2010
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