THE POSITION GOD HAS FOR MAN

Psalm 8:1-9 “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

In verse 4 David asked the question “What is man?” That’s a very interesting question. One of my favorite writers, Dr. Warren Wiersbe writes “. . . Charles Darwin said man is an animal. Sigmund Freud taught that man is a spoiled child. Karl Marx believed man is an economic factor.” Are they right? I have to admit that I have seen some people who act like animals and I have seen some people who look they are fully grown, but in actions they are like a spoiled child. And in the culture in which we live, we often are nothing more than a number. But is that what man should be? How does God answer the question and cry of David?

Since God created man, he looks at His creation in a different light. To Darwin God would say that man is no animal but that He had created man “. . . in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26)

To Freud God would say that man was not a spoiled child but a crowning act of creation, mature in every physical, mental, and spiritual way.

To Karl Marx God would say that man is not an economic factor but one created in His own image and created to worship and bring glory to Him.

Here in Psalm 8 we see a glimpse of what God thinks of His creation. In fact, notice in verses5-8 what the Psalmist wrote about the position that God has given to man: “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.”

Here in this issue of CHALLENGING CONCEPTS and the next two, we will look at the position God has given to man. And remember, man did not and still does not, deserve anything from God. It’s all by grace.

I. THIS POSITION WAS GIVEN BY GOD THE FATHER

Notice what we read in Genesis 1:26-28 “And God said Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

It is interesting to me that God created man on the same day as He did the cattle, beasts of the earth and everything that creeped upon the earth. But there was one major difference. Man was created in the image of God. Man was created by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and was created to bring glory to Him.

In writing about the crowning creation of God, Mathew Henry wrote “His understanding saw Divine things clearly and truly; there were no errors or mistakes in his knowledge; his will consented at once, and in all things, to the will of God. His affections were all regular, and he had no bad appetites or passions. His thoughts were easily brought and fixed to the best subjects. Thus holy, thus happy, were our first parents in having the image of God upon them.”

Man did not evolve but was created fully grown with perfect capabilities. Adam’s intelligence is seen in the fact that he gave names to all the creatures that God created. Adam was told to dress the garden in which he lived but was not told how to do it. That means that Adam was a very smart creation of God. I love what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

God created man to be able to fellowship with him and did so in the beautiful garden in which man lived. But something happened that marred God’s image in man, and that was sin. Dr. Wiersbe said “His mind can’t think God’s thoughts; his emotions are wrapped up in sin; his will is rebellious; and his spirit is dead."

This is a far cry from what God intended man to be. This is why the world is in the condition it is in. God’s wonderful, crowning creation is now at enmity with God. But thank God He does not leave mankind in that condition. In next week’s CHALLENGING CONCEPTS we will see what God the Son does about man’s position.

That’s my view: how about you?