The Meaning of Man
Job 7:17 "What is man that You magnify him, And that You are concerned about him,
Psalms 8:4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?
Psalms 144:3 O LORD, what is man, that You want to know him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?
What is man that we should be mindful of ourselves?
Who are you, and where did you come from?
What is your value to yourself? To others?
What is your purpose in this world?
Where do you get your answers from?
It has been said that the unexamined life isn’t worth living.
May I challenge all of you this morning to reflect on your value as a human being. May you fully become aware of who you are, so that you may fulfill your real purpose. May you leave here today with a full understanding and a deep desire to fulfill that purpose, and know beyond a shadow of doubt that your God given life is most certainly worth living.
The value of human life is slowly but surely being diminished. In today’s society, a number of factor’s contribute to this problem.
1. The elimination of public worship which forces people to look to their fellow man for purpose, hope, and answers to the tough questions of life.
2. The superiority of technology, which has given mankind false hopes for the future, blurring the lines of reality, and redefining what it means to have a productive life.
3. The growth of government bureaucracies, enabling human authorities to remove individual freedom’s for the so-called good of the many.
4. The impact of today’s mass media and advertising industry, which has successfully confused the boundaries between necessity and luxury.
All of these influences, as well as others, have contributed to the declining value of the individual human life. New developments in the evolutionary based life-sciences such as biology, psychology, and sociology have increased the ability of the few to be able to manipulate the masses through the public media and education system. Artificial insemination, test-tube babies, abortion, the chemical control of behavior, euthanasia, and genetic engineering have taken the answers to the questions of human value and dignity to an all-time low.
One contemporary Christian philosopher (Bill Dembski) warns us that according to the modern sciences the, “motions and modifications of matter are sufficient to account for all of human life… Contemporary [scientists] think of humans only in terms of neurological systems and computational devices.”
The elimination of God as a serious consideration as to our origin has affected our world to the point of despair as to our destiny – our individual future as well as the future of mankind.
Nothing times nobody doesn’t equal everything. Matter cannot be turned into meaning unless matter, and therefore mankind was created with some type of intentional purpose by an outside intelligent being. How can the building have any real purpose on it’s own unless it looks to the architect for it’s meaning and value?
But today, the building, after having stared through the microscope and gazed through the telescope, has proudly declared that it has no architect.
How foolish can mankind get? Will you join the multitudes today? Or will you realize this morning that the only road you can take that will give you any real hope for the future is the path that will take you through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
The obvious implication of, “In the beginning, God,” is that all of created reality is completely dependent upon God. Our existence is totally dependent on the purpose and desire of our Creator.
As created beings we must not go to extreme of the architects son – that is nonsense. We must go to the Creator. What did He say?
Read Gen. 1:26-28
Notice that His Word tells us that we were not created like the other creatures, we have been created after His likeness and in His image. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What does it mean to be LIKE God?
Likeness means that we have been created similar to God – in His likeness.
Image means a reflection, something that represents the original.
Notice that this means that we are similar to God, in that we represent who He is on earth. Notice also, that this image is to be reflected in a three-fold relationship – with God Himself, with each other, and with the other living and non-living part of creation that we call “nature.” That is, the animals, the plants, and the rocks and minerals. These three relationships mean that:
1. We have authority and dominion over ALL the other creatures and the WHOLE earth. We have been given a relationship with nature to rule OVER nature.
2. We have been given a relationship with other human beings in order to reflect God’s relationship to Himself. We have different functions within our society, but we are equal in value. God exists in three persons who are equal in essence, but different in function.
3. We have a relationship with Him that reflects His relationship to us. He desires to be with us, and we desire to be with Him. We can only love, because He first loved us (I John 4:19).
Because we have been created similar to, and as a reflection of God in His own image, we have abilities, attributes, and characteristics that are similar and represent God that lead us naturally in accomplishing our purpose.
1. Like God, we have the ability to reason and think logically. No animal has ever debated the merits of capitalism over communism. There is no such thing as the history of canine philosophy. Beavers still build dams the way they always have, birds still build nests the way they always have. Man is always developing new ways to build, live, and to use technology.
2. Like God, our unique existence gives us free will, an individual determination, and the ability know right from wrong. Only humans have a standard of right and wrong that can be discussed and contemplated. Animals react to fear and instinct, and the expectation of reward and pleasure. People realize a moral responsibility to outside relationships such as to each other and to God. People realize that there are consequences to their actions that go well beyond their need for food and avoidance of pain. We think about forgiveness. We think about sacrifice. We think about responsibility to mankind as a whole. We put people in jail with the hope of restoring that person to a right relationship with other people. We consider those who give their lives for others, to be hero’s. We consider those whose who possess high moral attributes as people that we want to be like. Animals know nothing of this sort.
3. Our use and understanding of language and communication is similar to God and reflects His likeness. Tell a five year to “go and get me the small green book from the shelf.” The concepts that are necessary to understand that simple statement are light years beyond those of the smartest adult animals.
4. As a reflection of God’s image, we have an awareness of the future. We plan for the future. We don’t just migrate or hibernate for the winter. We plan our finances. We analyze our failures and mistakes to prevent unnecessary tragedy. The notion of permanent marriage requires planning and discussions between two people that monkey’s and ape’s will never know. We discuss the pro’s and con’s of idea’s for community development. We know that death is imminent. We plan ahead for that day, but at the same time hope that it won’t be tomorrow.
5. We have a creative aspect like God. We can see this in our music, our literature, and our architecture. Animals don’t read books. Animals don’t enjoy designing buildings for efficiency as well as beauty. These concepts don’t exist in the animal world. We don’t just grow vegetable’s, we create a garden of flowers and bushes that let people know our personalities.
6. We have emotions that are a reflection of God. We watch our children grow up and we are with them through the trials and triumphs of their early lives. We are sad when they loose a friend. We experience joy during those special moments of accomplishment. We are proud of them as they develop into mature, responsible adults.
7. We reflect God as a fellowship of unity. We are social creatures that are not designed to be alone. We were created male and female, not solely for the purpose of reproduction, but to exist with one another as a single family under the headship of the Father.
8. We have a sense of community that surpasses that of animals. We are aware of others AS OTHERS like us – with value and feelings. Even as individuals, we have a desire to be at one with each other as experienced in human marriage, in a church, or other organization such as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, our favorite social groups that we belong to such as neighborhood groups for the community, and political parties for our nations. We have a desire for fellowship that bonds us together in unity even when we are thousands of miles apart.
9. We have a desire to fit in among other people regardless of where we are. We adapt to our environment in ways that other creatures cannot conceive. Monkeys live the same way all over the world. People live differently even within their own people group.
10. We are like God in that we have a desire to worship. Worship is that which we have set apart in our lives that gives real meaning to all the different aspects of our lives.
a. It is only through worship of God in a personal relationship that we can bring the other relationships into focus. Everything else is part of the creation. Everything else is temporary, and serves God’s purpose. Everything else only has value, meaning, and purpose in light of God, who gave us our lives.
b. When we were created, as a reflection of God, we were given a spiritual desire to be united with our creator. God has a desire that every person be united as one, just as He is One. John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
c. Worship of God, our Creator, brings our lives into unity. As individuals, our lives come into focus. People today live their lives with split personalities. One life for work. One life for play. One life with their families. One life for church, or whatever brings them purpose and meaning. God did not intend for you to add Him to your life. As you worship God, all the areas of your life come together, and unify your purpose.
d. As a whole, we should glorify and worship God together as a unified creation. This brings the whole purpose of creation into focus.
We were blessed by God and given a mandate, which indicates that we are creatures that are responsible as stewards, and are accountable to God. Therefore, like God, we are capable of making decisions and have been given moral authority to issue instructions that we can expect to be carried out. We have the moral authority to rule within the guidelines of our Creator.
These verses have been referred to as the cultural mandate. We have been given a mandate that MUST includes all three of these relationships functioning properly in our lives in order for us to reflect the image of God.
Whenever we forget, ignore, or emphasize one relationship to the exclusion of the other, we are neglecting our God given purpose for existence – and therefore we are diminishing ourselves as human beings created in the image of God.
Now, lets talk about the priority of these relationships.
Our relationship to God is certainly the most important – certainly to God; however, the other two (our relationship to each other, and to the earth and it’s creatures that God gave to us) don’t exist without our relationship to God.
Is it possible to overemphasize our relationship to God? You can so heavenly minded, that you’re no earthly good. From the beginning of time until the late 13th century AD, most of mankind overemphasized the worship of their gods, including the one true God. Entire groups of people neglected their fellow man and his personal value for their idea of glorifying God. For centuries, people lived to the neglect of human intelligence, literally sacrificing their children and even each other at the altars. For centuries people misunderstood their relationship with God, trying to appease His wrath, living in fear. Industry and technology were squashed, because nobody would give their fellow man the opportunity to use God given intelligence and reasoning a chance.
After the Roman Catholic church took over the helm of western society, the genius of the early Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans was shoved back and people were once again encouraged to deny their God ordained humanity to “keep the purity of the church.” Total control of the people was maintained by the church through the sacraments. The Bible was only allowed to be read by people who had the right stuff. Wars were fought between entire civilizations all in the name of God. The humanity of people, and his ability to use natural resources was kept in check.
Then something happened. God used the crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries to wake people up. All of the hidden intelligence of the ancient scholars and great Godly minds alike was discovered and the renaissance was born. Unfortunately, God had been given a bad name, and mankind overemphasized his humanity at the expense of worship.
When we overemphasize our relationship to our fellow man, our very desires to exist socially with one another in love and fellowship eventually loose their meaning. Our goal in life, our primary purpose, our ultimate hope for existence becomes lost. Our concern for the planet is forgotten, our desire to use earth’s resources with care are lost. I am reminded of the age of humanism; the renaissance, the enlightenment, and the industrial age that swept the world from the 1300’s to the end of the 1800’s. People used their new found freedom from religion to decentralize God from their lives and exalt man. Look how good we are. Mankind is getting better and better in every day and in every way. But World War One, and WW II fixed that problem. But instead of turning to God, mankind gave up on God and himself. Now, for the last hundred years, we have looked to the creation for answers.
When we overstress our relationship to nature, we ignore the value of our fellow man, and our communion with God. Animals and the environment become the end to our means, instead of the means to our end.
Mankind today is overemphasizing this third relationship to the extent that we have become slaves to the material of the earth.
We have become slaves to our own technology to the extent that we can have everything we need, without ever leaving the house. Our flesh has become so pacified by our luxury and entertainment that we can’t live without it. Mankind has no meaning anymore, except what he makes out of his creation. We are furious when people interrupt our little world of things, entertainment, and amusement.
Man today cannot live without toys or his own inventions. We have, as a race of people, come 180 degrees and reversed the priority of God’s purpose for us to our own destruction.
We worship the ground we walk on. We worship the animals. We worship each other. We worship our houses. We worship our fishing boats. We worship our businesses. We worship our buildings. We worship our doctors. We worship our flying machines. We worship our bodies. We worship our entertainment. We worship our sports. We worship our own intelligence.
We have declared the deity of the dolphins, the monkeys, and the spotted owls.
We are slaves to the machine and the computer.
And now, our feelings, our philosophies, and our fun have destroyed the foundation of our very existence and taken over our purpose and meaning.
And now, the results of our intelligence have brought us into slavery. And he is a lifeless tyrannical slave owner who is ruthless, demanding, and unforgiving.
Application:
We must recognize the value and purpose of the creation for what it is. It is for our use, to be cared for.
• This means that we must have dominion OVER the creation. We cannot and must not allow the creation to enslave us.
• This means that we must respect the creation and use it’s resources wisely. We are the stewards of God’s creation. It is all His in the first place. Serving God first and establishing our relationship with Him gives to us the freedom to enjoy and conserve.
• This means that we must stop placing personal value on material things. They belong to God. What we have made with our own hands, is the grace of God in action because he gave to us the intelligence and the ability to use His creation wisely.
We must recognize our fellow humans are creations of God after His likeness, and in His image.
• This means we MUST love our fellow humans.
• This means we have a responsibility to our fellow man to set the example. There is no excuse for a child of God to mistreat, ignore, or hold unforgiveness against another - regardless of their standing before God. When we mistreat others, we are distorting the Image of God in them and in us.
We must recognize who we are, by KNOWING God in a personal relationship.
• This means that if you don’t have a personal relationship with God, you have destroyed your own purpose, and have no hope.
• This means that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for you life – if you place you life back in His hands.
