God Made Us Special
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Key Verse: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” Selected Scripture: |
‘WHAT IS MAN?’ This subject is so all-important to those who would know the Truth, and have the full benefit of the same in its influence upon their hearts and lives. The Bible view of man does not speculate, but properly, as the voice or revelation of God, speaks with authority and emphasis, declaring the beginning, the present, and the future of man. Hence, the Bible view is the only consistent one, and the only truly scientific and orthodox view of this subject.
The true Bible view gives God the glory for his original creation—Adam—in the Divine likeness. “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: let them [Adam and Eve] have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the foul of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth.”—Gen. 1:26
Here the Bible makes it clear that, in God’s original plan, mankind would be perfect—in God’s likeness—and be crowned with glory and honor. The Apostle Paul, speaking of Psalm 8, says, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” (Heb. 2:6) God was mindful of the original purpose spelled out in Genesis 1:26, and that, in the time to come, he would send Jesus Christ to restore that which was lost in the fall of Adam.—Acts 17:31
The Psalmist David recognized the intricate beauty of God’s special creation, man. He says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Ps. 139:14) In himself, although fallen from original perfection, David saw clearly the handiwork of a powerful Creator, and praised God as a result.
In the first verse of Psalm 8, we read, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” The Prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse of the God of the universe, asking us the questions, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.”—Isa. 40:12-14,21,22
What a wonderful Almighty God we have who condescends to look upon us. We are told to look to the heaven which is but the work of God’s “fingers.” (Ps. 8:3) The psalmist again reminds us that the heavens “declare the glory of God.” (Ps. 19:1) We are also told that we are made a “little lower than the angels,” yet crowned with “glory and honour.” (Ps. 8:5) It is God’s purpose to have man be given dominion over what he [God] has made. “How excellent is thy name in all the earth!”—vs. 9