Page:Studies in the Scriptures - Series I - The Plan of the Ages (1909).djvu/180

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The failure to understand rightly what constitutes a per- fed man, the misapprehension of the terms mortal and im- mortal, and wrong ideas of justice, have together tended to this error, and mystified many scriptures otherwise easily understood. It is a common view, though unsupported by a single text of Scripture, that a perfeft man has never been on earth; that all that is seen of man on earth is only the partially developed man, and that to reach perfe&ion he must become spiritual. This view makes confusion of the Scriptuies instead of developing that harmony and beauty which result from "rightly dividing the word of truth."

The Scriptures teach that there have been two, and only two, perfel men Adam and Jesus. Adam was created in the image of God: that is, with the similar mental powers of reason, memory, judgment and will, and the moral qualities of justice, benevolence, love etc. " Of the eaxth, earthy," he was an earthly image of a spiritual being, possessing qualities of the same kind, though differing widely in de- gree, range and scope. To such an extent is man an image of God that God can say even to the fallen man, "Come, let us reason together."

As Jehovah is ruler over all things, so man was made a ruler over all earthly things After our likeness, let him have dominion over the beasts, fowl, fish, etc. (Gen. i : 26.) Moses tells us (Gen. 1:31) that God recognized the man whom he had made not merely commenced to make, but completed and God considered his creature "very good" that is, perfedl; for in God's sight nothing short of per- fection is very good, in his intelligent creatures*

The perfection of man, as created, is expressed in Psa. 8 : 5-8 : " Thou hast made him a little lower than the an- gels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet : all sheep and

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