Ps. 8:3-9 “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which...

Ps. 8:3-9 “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou are 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 honor. 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, all the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

Job 7:17 “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?”

CONFLICTING ANSWERS GIVEN:

--The Evolutionist: Man is merely an animal with a higher intelligence

--Christian Science: Man is only spirit; nothing about him is material

“Man is not matter, made up of brains, blood, bones, and other material elements…Man is spiritual and perfect; and because of this, he must be so understood in Christian Science.” –Science and Health, p. 471.

CONFLICTING ANSWERS GIVEN:

--The Evolutionist: Man is merely an animal with a higher intelligence

--Christian Science: Man is only spirit; nothing about him is material

--Materialists (Jehovah’s Witnesses): Man is all material and mortal, and not spiritual

HOW DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBE MAN?

MAN IS A WONDER

Ps. 139:13-16 “For thou hast possessed my reins; thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

MAN IS A WONDER

--Conception, the beginning of life—what a wonder!

--The DNA, program of the physical being—what a wonder!

--Growth of the embryo—what a wonder!

--Complexity of the human body—what a wonder!

--Mere chance cannot explain

MAN IS A WONDER

MAN IS A SPECIAL CREATURE OF GOD

--He is not the product of evolution

Gen. 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man…”

Mt. 19:4 “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female…”

MAN IS A WONDER


--He is not the product of evolution

--He is unique among God’s creatures

--The earth was made for man; no place like it in the universe

--Man was made to be God’s special friend

MAN IS A WONDER


MAN IS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

Gen. 1:26, 27 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him”

Acts 17:29 “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”

MAN IS A WONDER



--Man is the only creature made in God’s image

--Man’s spirit, not his body, is made in His image

Jn. 4:24 “God is a spirit…”

Lk. 24:39 “A spirit hath not flesh and bones”

Heb. 12:9 “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”

MAN IS A WONDER



MAN IS A DUAL BEING—FLESH AND SPIRIT

--His body created from dust; shall return to dust (mortal)

Gen. 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”

Gen. 3:19 “…for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return”

MAN IS A WONDER





--His flesh has a nature similar to animals (with appetites, passions, instincts, etc.)

MAN IS A WONDER






--God put an immortal spirit in that mortal bodyZech. 12:1 “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.”

MAN IS A WONDER






--God put an immortal spirit in that mortal body

--The spirit returns to God at death Eccl. 12:7 “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”

MAN IS A WONDER




--The spirit has a divine nature, with differing qualities to that of animals

>Creative intelligence

*Ability to invent, create

*Ability to raise standard of living

MAN IS A WONDER





>Creative intelligence

>Ability to think, reason in abstract terms

>Conscience (sense of right & wrong)

>Religious inclination

>Esthetic nature

MAN IS A WONDER





--These two natures are distinguished in Bible:

Mt. 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

MAN IS A WONDER






2 Cor. 4:16 “…but though out outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

MAN IS A WONDER






I Pet. 3:3, 4 “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning…; but let it be the hidden man of the heart…”

MAN IS A WONDER






2 Pet. 1:13, 14 “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle…”

MAN IS A WONDER






Mt. 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

MAN IS A WONDER






--These two natures often come into conflict:

Mt. 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

MAN IS A WONDER






--These two natures often come into conflict:

Rom. 7:22, 23 “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind…”

MAN IS A WONDER




MAN IS A FREE MORAL AGENT

--We are creatures of choice

Josh. 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and for my house, we will serve the Lord”

MAN IS A WONDER






--Man has a sense of right & wrong, and the ability to choose between them

Deut. 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live”

MAN IS A WONDER






--Man has a sense of right & wrong, and the ability to choose between them

--God gives us incentives, but will not force us to do right

Rev. 22:17 “And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”

MAN IS A WONDER





--Man must choose:

>Which master to serve

>The narrow way or the broad way

>Which destiny will be ours

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD

Ps. 8:6-8 “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; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea…”

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD

--Man does not own this earthPs. 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof”

I Tim. 6:7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out”

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD

--Man does not own this earth

--We are stewards of the earth, of our body, spirit, time, money, other possessions

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD

MAN IS A RESPONSIBLE CREATURE

--Choice & stewardship implies responsibility

I Cor. 4:2 “It is required of stewards, that a man be found faithful”

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD



Col. 3:25 “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong that he hath done”

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD



>Animals not morally responsible

>Animals have no condemnation nor hope

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD



--Excuses offered to avoid accountability

>Alcoholic (“disease”)

>Homosexual (“born that way”)

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD




>Adultery (“unhappy marriage”)

>Bad conduct (“environment”)

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD




--We are accountable to laws of nature, man’s laws, God’s laws

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD


MAN IS A SINNER

Rom. 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD


MAN IS A SINNER

--Not born that way, but by choice turned from GodRom. 3:12 “They are all gone out of the way”

MAN IS A WONDER





MAN IS A STEWARD


MAN IS A SINNER

--Not born that way, but by choice turned from God

--In need of God’s grace & forgiveness

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