I believe:
God is the creator of everything (Gen 1:1-31). He is unique from His creation (John 8:23), yet actively involved in creation (Ps 139:7-10). He created man (Gen 1:27) and gave man dominion over the rest of His creation (Gen 1:28-30). God had no need to create man, for He is self sustaining (Job 41:11; John 5:26), but He created man because He desires a relationship with people (Jer 9:23-24; John 17:3) and wants them to bring Him glory. Man exists to glorify God (Isa 43:7; Eph 1:11-12). God does not need glory (Acts 17:24-25), but people are to glorify God in all they do (1 Cor 10:31).
Man was created in the image of God (Gen 1:26). This does not mean that men are demigods, but that they are like God and represent Him. Man is not God and is therefore not identical to Him. Man, however, is a reflection of God (Gen 5:1) and is the pinnacle of His creation. Man is most like God in God’s moral, mental, relational, and spiritual aspects. Man’s created nature means that he is dependent on God (Rom 9:21), was created with a purpose (Eph 2:10), and that he is accountable to God (Matt 25:13-40). While man is in fact created, he is also uniquely a person (Gal 6:7-8), not a thing, having the ability to be relational and to think.
A person is defined by his essence (Gen 9:6), not his function. This is why all people are equal in God’s sight (Gal 3:28). Everyone, men and women, are created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). While everyone is equal in God’s eyes, people do have different distinct roles and functions (Eph 5:25-33). Man’s being is dualistic (Eccl 12:7, Matt 10:28) and is comprised of two parts: the body (Gen 2:7) and the spirit (Isa 42:1). While these distinct parts exist, man is unified in his person (Mark 12:30).
When God first created man, God declared His creation very good (Gen 1:31). When sin entered the world with Adam and Eve’s rejection of God (Gen 3:1-24), mankind became separated from God (Gen 3:23-24; Rom 6:23). Sin is anything moral beings (people and angels) feel or do that is contrary to the holiness of God (James 4:4). Sin is a failure to be satisfied with God and an attack on Him personally (Ps 51:4). God himself did not sin (2 Cor 5:21) and He is not to be blamed for sin (Deut 32:4). However, God did ordain the presence of sin in the world (Gen 3:1-19; Job 1:6-12), even though He takes no pleasure or delight in it. God himself did not create this sin, but rather He ordained that it would come from the voluntary choices of human beings and of angels (Gen 3; Isa 14:12-15). All men are sinful (Eph 2:1). Sin created a separation between God who is holy and people who are not. Man is totally depraved. Man inherits both guilt (Rom 5:12-21) and moral corruption (Ps 51:1-4) from Adam’s original sin (Gen 3:15). Due to this depravity, man is unable on his own to believe in Christ (John 6:65). He is unable to see the kingdom of God (Heb 12:14). He is unable to glorify and please God because he is unable to submit to God’s law (Rom 8:6-8). He is unable to understand God’s truth (Rom 1:25). Sin is not outside or independent of a person. Rather, sin begins in the heart and exists in the person’s very nature (Ex 20:17). The penalty of all sin is death (Rom 3:23). While the committing of one sin is enough for a person to be deemed a sinner worthy of death (Rom 2:11-12; James 2:10), there are differing degrees of sin (Ezek 8:6,13; Luke 12:47-48). God punishes sin because He is righteous (Rom 3:26). Jesus’ death is the means by which we can be saved and made right before God (1 John 1:9).