The Creation of Man - Was man created purely in a natural state?

(Extracts from Francis Turretin, edited into modern English)

Was man created in puris naturalibus (a purely natural state), or could he have been so created?
We deny this against the Pelagians and the Scholastics.

1. What does puris naturalibus mean?

The phrase puris naturalibus means “in pure nature.”
It teaches that man could have been created:

• Without original righteousness

• Without holiness

• Morally neutral

• Neither sinful nor righteous

• Capable of choosing good or evil on his own

According to this view, righteousness would be something added later, not something essential to man’s original creation.

Turretin strongly rejects this idea.

2. Turretin’s main claim (in simple terms)

Man was not created morally neutral.
He was created righteous, holy, and upright from the beginning.

To deny this is to misunderstand both God and man.

3. The biblical foundation

Scripture clearly teaches that man was created with righteousness, not without it.

• Genesis 1:26–27 — Man was created in the image of God

• Genesis 1:31 — Everything God made was “very good”

• Ecclesiastes 7:29 — “God made man upright”

• Ephesians 4:24 — The image of God includes “true righteousness and holiness”

• Colossians 3:10 — The image involves knowledge after God

Turretin argues:

The image of God cannot be separated from righteousness and holiness without destroying the image itself.

4. Why man could NOT have been created in pure nature

Turretin gives several careful reasons.

A. God does not create moral disorder

If God had created man without righteousness, then:

• Man would lack moral direction

• Man would not be rightly ordered toward God

• Man would be unfinished as a moral creature

But God does nothing defective or incomplete.

A rational creature without righteousness is not “very good.”

B. Moral neutrality is impossible for a rational being

Man was created:

• With understanding

• With will

• With affections

A being like this must be oriented either toward God or away from Him.

There is no middle moral state.

To be without righteousness is already to lack conformity to God.

C. Righteousness is natural to man’s original state

Turretin makes an important distinction:

• Righteousness was natural to man as created

• But it was not essential (it could be lost)

So Adam’s righteousness was:

• Given by God

• Proper to human nature as God designed it

• Not self-generated

• Not unchangeable

This avoids two errors:

• Pelagianism (man makes himself righteous)

• Roman Scholasticism (righteousness is a later supernatural addition)

5. Refuting the Pelagians

The Pelagians argued:

• Adam was created morally neutral

• He became righteous by choice

• We are born the same way

Turretin answers:

If Adam created his own righteousness, then:

• Obedience would be self-generated

• Grace would not be needed

• Sin would be only imitation, not corruption

Scripture denies all of this.

Adam fell from righteousness, not into sin from neutrality.

6. Refuting the Scholastics (Roman Catholic theology)

Many Scholastics taught:

• Man was created in pure nature

• Original righteousness was a superadded gift

• Its loss only removed a bonus, not man’s true nature

Turretin responds:

If righteousness was merely an added gift, then:

• The Fall did not corrupt human nature

• Sin becomes only a lack, not a ruin

• Grace repairs less than Scripture claims

But Scripture teaches:

• Man fell from a righteous state

• Human nature is now corrupted

• We need regeneration, not moral improvement

7. Why this doctrine matters

This is not a minor issue.

It affects:

• Original sin

• Total depravity

• The necessity of grace

• The work of Christ

If man was not created righteous, then:

• The Fall is minimized

• Sin is weakened

• Grace becomes optional

• Christ becomes an assistant, not a Savior

8. The Reformed conclusion (Turretin’s position)

Turretin concludes:

• Man was created righteous and holy

• This righteousness belonged to his original condition

• It was not self-produced

• It was not a later addition

• It was lost through the Fall

• It must be restored by Christ alone

Adam was created upright.
We are born fallen.
Only Christ restores what was lost.

9. Teaching summary (for class or personal study)

Key Points to Remember:

• Man was not created morally neutral

• Righteousness was part of God’s design

• Neutrality is a myth

• The Fall was a real fall from holiness

• Salvation requires new creation, not moral effort