WHAT IS MAN???

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psa 8:4)

THE CROWNING WORK OF GOD was the creation of man. Everything else led up to this wonderful creation. Hear the marvelous words again. "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion . . ." (Gen. 1:26-27).

THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MAN AND THE BRUTE CREATION have proved a stumbling block to the evolutionist. Viewing apparent progression in various forms of life, the uninformed scientist concludes man was the result of a natural progressive process. Independently of purpose, and without the involvement of a Creator, man is thought to have evolved over a lengthy period. The seriousness of this heresy has escaped the attention of many. If random evolution is the "mother of us all," then morality, or the judgment of right and wrong, is something to be determined by every individual. Rather than supporting the false postulate that man evolved from a lower form of life, the similarities between man and some of the brute creation provides evidence of God anticipating His crowning work, humankind.

SCRIPTURE DECLARES THAT the world was created as an arena for mankind. From the higher vantage point, it is a stage upon which the drama of redemption is being enacted. Although man was made from the dust of the earth, it is not his mother. The earth owes its existence to God's purpose for man, and therefore is not an end of itself.

AFTER THE FLOOD
Following the flood, humanity received a fresh start. The mandate to replenish the earth would be given, as the human enterprise resumed. Had the divine image been destroyed? Indeed, it had not. Capital punishment, for instance, was instituted because of God's image within man. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man" (Gen. 9:6). Those who oppose capital punishment only reveal their fundamental variance with God. If it is true that God's image is found in humanity, the effrontery of the malicious taking human life is the ultimate rebellion against God. That is why it is not treated lightly. Human life has value because it has come from God in a special way. Men and women are still in the similitude of God, and thus must be respected (James 3:9).

AS SEEN IN THIS TEXT, the divine image was not destroyed when sin entered the world. Its presence, though marred, became the basis for valid and productive rationality.

THE IMAGE AND GLORY OF GOD
When dealing with confusion in the church, the Spirit reminded the thoughtless of the divine imagery in man. "For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God" (1 Cor. 11:7).

THE MARVEL OF THIS STATEMENT is that man is the "glory of God" as well as His image. Here is where God is made known in a unique way. If you were afforded the benefit of seeing and studying an angel, it would be overwhelming. Their might, wisdom, and glory would be staggering. Yet, you would not see as much of God in that angel as enlightened eyes can see in people, particularly the redeemed of the Lord. Divine qualities are found in humanity that are not found anywhere else. Affinity with God is offered to the race of Adam that has not been afforded angels like Michael and Gabriel. Man is an extension of God himself, capable of transcendent things when forgiven and blessed by God.

THE OFFSPRING OF GOD
The thought of God having "offspring" is striking. One term describing Adam is "son of God" (Luke 3:38). Paul dealt a devastating blow to idolatry when he reminded the Athenians and Stoics that even certain of their own heathen poets had perceived this. "For we are also His offspring." (Acts 17:28-29).

IT IS INEXCUSABLE TO THINK of man in isolation from God, and yet we are continually challenged to do so by the world. Sadly, even the professed church joins in this conspiracy of Satan to rob the soul. Forgetting that we are God's offspring constrains men to consider the problems and difficulties of life as though there was no God or relationship with Him. The Spirit well says that it is "God with Whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13), and again, "the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Psa. 14:1; 53:1). Proper thought requires that God Himself be a primary consideration.

IN THE SIMILITUDE OF GOD
The early church soon began to drift from the Lord. It became easy for some to claim identity with God without living by faith. James, the brother of our Lord, wrote to correct this condition. He found believers railing on their fellow man, and quickly brought them to task for it. Because man is in the image of God, James resorted to reason. "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God" (James 3:9). There is something to consider.

– Given O. Blakely