The nature of man is an intriguing topic. Here we use the word “nature” as defining the characteristics of mankind. The ways humans think, feel, or behave essentially “make up” or form the nature of man. In this article, we are going to look at how God describes the nature of man, and we’re going to study this topic verse by verse. So let’s see how God describes the nature of man.

Genesis 1:26-27 – “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

• This is the first sign of man we see recorded in the Bible. The characteristic we see here is that man, is created in the image and likeness of God. In other words, we are created in the way that he wanted us to be created. We also see that mankind was given authority and dominion over the animals.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 – “ and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

• Here we see that man has two forms. A physical and a spiritual form. The physical came from the dust of the earth, and the spiritual came from God. This is also another reason why there are no “ghosts” on the earth, because all spirits return to God.

Matthew 10:28- “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

• Fear is natural in a human. It is part of the nature of man. Man can and sometimes does fear another one of its own. But Jesus says not to be fearful of man. Jesus says to be fearful of God, who can not only kill the body but the soul as well. This kind of fear is not meant to be fear in a “scared” sense but in a “respectful” sense. Respect and obedience pleases the Lord.

Matthew 16:24-27- “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.”

• Another characteristic we see is that man has an end. In Genesis 1 we saw the beginning of man and now we see the end, judgement. Every man is to be judged according to what he has done (2 Corinthians 5:10). The fate of man is judgment. The end goal, is and should be, heaven.

The nature of man has so many more characteristics, but we do not have time to study them all. We see that man was created by God, and we will return to Him. We should respectfully fear the Lord, and the fate of man is to be judged.