Human nature was created by God, is corrupted by sin and can only be renewed and recreated through the grace of God. Redemption was achieved by Jesus Christ taking upon himself sinful human nature on the cross, so delivering from the power and penalty of sin.
Human nature is created by God
God created humanity
Exodus 4:11; Isaiah 45:12 See also Genesis 1:26–27; Psalm 95:6, Psalm 100:3; Proverbs 22:2; Jeremiah 27:5
And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
God created human beings as male and female
Genesis 1:27, Genesis 5:2 See also Mark 10:6 parallel Matthew 19:4
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
God created human beings in his image and likeness
Colossians 3:9–10 See also Genesis 1:26–27, Genesis 5:1, Genesis 9:6; James 3:9
Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Human nature is created inferior to God himself
Psalm 8:3–5 See also Numbers 23:19; Psalm 144:3; Hosea 11:9
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place — what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.
Human nature is given life by the Spirit of God
Genesis 2:7 See also Job 12:10, Job 27:3; Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 57:16; Jeremiah 38:16
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
Human beings are dependent upon God
Jeremiah 10:23 See also 2 Chronicles 20:12; Psalm 16:2; Matthew 4:4; 2 Corinthians 3:5
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
Human beings have freedom to choose between good and evil
Deuteronomy 11:26–28 See also Deuteronomy 30:15–16, Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Jeremiah 26:3; Ezekiel 18:21–23
See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse — a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the LORD your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
The components of human nature
The soul
Psalm 116:7 The Hebrew and Greek words for “soul” are translated in various ways by the NIV, including “breath” and “life”. It refers chiefly to the principle of life. See also Mark 8:35–37; Luke 1:46; 1 Peter 1:9, 1 Peter 2:11
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
The spirit
James 2:26 The Hebrew and Greek words for “spirit” are translated in various ways by the NIV, including “breath”, “heart” and “mind”. It often refers to the identity-giving aspect of human nature. See also Job 34:14; Psalm 77:3, Psalm 142:3; Matthew 26:41; Luke 8:55; Acts 7:59; Romans 8:16; Hebrews 4:12
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
The flesh
Jeremiah 17:5 The Hebrew and Greek words for “flesh” are translated in various ways by the NIV, including “body”, “flesh” and “human nature”. The term can refer specifically to the frailty of human nature or to human nature in opposition to God. See also Genesis 6:3; Job 10:4; Psalm 78:39; Matthew 26:41; Philippians 3:3–5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
Human nature became corrupted by sin
Sin has its origins in the disobedience of Adam and Eve
Genesis 2:16, Genesis 3:1–6; Romans 5:12–19; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14; James 1:13–15
Sin affects human nature universally
Isaiah 64:6 See also Job 25:4; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:19; Romans 3:23
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
Human nature is trapped in its sinful condition
Romans 7:24 See also Genesis 6:5; John 8:34–36; Romans 6:16–17, Romans 7:5; Ephesians 2:3; 2 Peter 2:18–19
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Sin hardens human nature
1 Samuel 6:6 See also Exodus 8:15, Exodus 8:32; Psalm 95:8; Proverbs 28:14; Hebrews 3:8, Hebrews 3:15, Hebrews 4:7
Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way?
Human nature is mortal on account of sin
Romans 5:12, Romans 8:10 See also Genesis 6:5–7; Job 14:1–5; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Timothy 1:10
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Human nature can be redeemed through Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ took human nature upon himself
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus Christ mediated between God and humanity in his human nature
1 Timothy 2:3–6 See also Hebrews 8:6, Hebrews 9:15; 1 John 2:1
This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all — the testimony that was given at just the right time.
Jesus Christ makes possible the reversal of Adam's disobedience
Romans 5:19 See also Romans 5:12–17
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Jesus Christ makes possible a sharing in God's nature
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.