Nay, the second Council of Sirmium, which was held in 351, pronounced an anathema on all those who denied this. The words of the Council are these:—“If any say, that the Father did not speak to the Son, when he said, Let us make man, but that he spake to himself, let him be accursed.”[183]
Epiphanius:—“This is the language of God to his Word, and Only-begotten, as all the faithful believe.”[184] And again he says, “Adam was formed by the hand of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”[185]
I observe more at large from Irenæus, that he rejects the notion of the Jews and Heretics, who supposed God spake to his angels. For disputing against Heretics, who attributed the creation of the world to angels, and powers separate from the one true God, he says thus:—“Angels did not make us, nor did they form us; neither was it in their power to make the image of God: none but the Logos could do this; no powers distinct from the Father of all things: for God did not want their assistance in making the things which he had ordained. For his Word and his Wisdom, the Son and the Holy Ghost, are always with him; by whom and with whom, he made all things freely, and of his own accord; to whom also he spake in these words, Let us make man in our image and likeness.”[186]
The testimony of Dr. Kennicott will be respected by those who are lovers of the truth. “God, says he, being about to create man, is introduced saying—Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; in consequence of which the historian tells us—so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. It is evident then, that God created man in his own image; this is mentioned thrice by way of emphasis, and to prevent, if possible, all possibility of misconstruction. Now what God did, was certainly what he proposed to do; God created man in his own image, that is, in the image of the Godhead, and therefore God proposed to create him in the image of the Godhead. But if God proposed to create him in the image of the Godhead, the proposal must have been made to the Godhead; because the words are—Let us make man in our image. And if the proposal be here made by God to the Godhead, it is absurd to suppose it made to the same Person that makes it; and consequently reasonable to think it made to the other two persons in the Unity of the Godhead.”[187]
The creature now to be made is man.[188] And God said, Let us make man. It is evident that God, by introducing the creation of man with this peculiar phraseology, intends to impress the mind with a sense of something extraordinary in his formation. The word אדם Adam, which is translated man, is intended to designate the species of animal, which is vastly superior to all the rest. Though the same kind of organization may be found in Man, as appears in the lower animals, yet, as one observes, there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the various members to their great offices and different functions, a dignity of mien, and perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures.
Man is a compound creature, consisting of two distinct essential parts, body and soul. The union of these constitutes man, for neither of them when separated can be so denominated. The body was made before the soul, and formed out of the earth, or, as עפר âpher implies, the dust. “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” He afterwards pronounced, Dust thou art. This led Solomon to affirm, “All are of the dust.” The Apostle adds, “The first man was of the earth, dusty,” as Ainsworth renders it. And we are said to “dwell in houses of clay,” and to have our “foundation in the dust.” Of the soul it is said, “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life:” רוח חיים ruach chayim, the breath of lives; i.e. animal, intellectual, and spiritual. While this breath of God expanded the lungs, and set them to play, his inspiration gave both spirit, understanding, and felicity. Thus we see that the soul and the body are not the same thing; the one is of the earth, the other is from God. The Rabbins say, “The form of the soul is not compounded of the elements, &c., but is of the Lord from heaven. Therefore when the material body, which is compounded of the elements, is separated, and the breath perishes because it is not found, but with the body, and is needful for the body in all its actions; this form (i.e. the soul) is not destroyed, &c., but continues for ever. This is that which Solomon by his wisdom said, ‘Then shall the dust return unto the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.’”
As the formation of man’s body was effected previously to the infusion of his soul, we shall attend to the same order, in attempting to elucidate this important and very interesting subject. The word ייצר jitzer, rendered he formed, observes Mr. Benson, is not used concerning any other creature, and implies a gradual process in the work, with great accuracy and exactness. It is properly used of potters forming vessels on the wheel; and Rabbi D. Kimchi says, that, when used concerning the creation of man, it signifies the formation of his members. Bishop Patrick intimates, that the body of man was made not of dry, but moist dust; and that this agrees with the Hebrew Jitzer, formed, which is used concerning potters, who make their vessels of clay, not of dry earth. Diodorus Siculus says, “Man was made out of the slime, or mud, of the Nile.” The word of the Lord once came to Jeremiah, saying, “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheel. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand!” A scene like this is presented to our imagination by the words of Moses; the Lord God formed, moulded, or modelled man, as a potter does; we see the work, observes Bishop Horne, as it were upon the wheel, rising and growing under the hands of the Divine Artificer!
But, to give the thing a stronger impression on the mind, we will suppose, says Judge Hale, that this figure rises by degrees, and is finished part by part, in some succession of time; and that, when the whole is completed, the veins and arteries bored, the sinews and tendons laid, the joints fitted, and liquor (transmutable in blood and juices) lodged in the ventricles of the heart, God infuses into it a vital principle, whereupon the liquor in the heart begins to descend, and thrill along the veins, and a heavenly blush arises in the countenance, such as scorns the help of art, and is above the power of imitation. The image moves, it walks, it speaks; it moves with such a majesty, as proclaims it the lord of the creation, and talks with such an accent and sublimity, as makes every ear attentive, and even its great Creator enter into converse with it: were we to see all this transacted before our eyes, I say, we could not but stand astonished at the thing; and yet this is the exact emblem of man’s formation.
The human body is an excellent piece of workmanship, the shape and contexture of it admirable, evidently superior to that of all other animals, and the brightest visible display of the wisdom of the Divine Architect. The erect posture, figure, stature, use of every part, and symmetry of the whole, cannot but excite admiration. The fabric of the eye, the texture of the brain, the configuration of the muscles, the disposition of the nerves, the construction of the bones; the veins and arteries, spread throughout the system, the former to return the blood to the heart, and keep that mysterious engine playing, which throws the vital fluid through the latter with prodigious force, to animate and invigorate every part; and many other important particulars, which we shall now proceed to mention and illustrate, are not only manifest proofs of the great excellence of this system, but also of the skill, contrivance, and consummate wisdom of God.
When we take a general view of the animal world, we find the numerous individuals which compose it, differing considerably in the phenomena which their economy exhibits. Man, and the higher orders of animals, are characterized by the constant performance of many complex and active functions; as respiration, digestion, circulation, &c. Torpid or hibernating animals display this singular peculiarity, that these functions are performed for several months, and suspended for several months, alternately. In another modification of animated matter, namely the egg, the evidences of vitality would not be exhibited, were not certain agents applied to evolve them, and, when thus called forth, they cannot be resumed after long suspension.