What is Man? (Genesis 1:26-28)

What is man?  Even though the question seems to be not a practical one but a philosophical or academic one, a person’s practical life is determined by his or her view of man.  In this post-modern generation, three kinds of view of man are mostly predominant.  The first is the view that man is nothing but an animal evolved from the low species.  Those who have this view treat man as a sexual and psychological animal with instinct or id.  Therefore, they view man’s life as a survival game.  The second view is that man is just a matter or material.  Bertrand Russell once said that man is simply the outcome of accident collocations of atoms.  According to this view, life has no meaning or no purpose.  It is a collection of random accidents.  Third view is that man is a social and political animal. Those who have this view treat a man as a part of a big society.  Man should be managed by social engineering.  Whether we agree the above views or not, we are constantly influenced by them through media or academia.

But according to the Bible none of these popular current ideas captures what man is essentially.  The Bible tells us God created man, especially in the image of God, as the crowning work of God’s creative activity.  Unlike our common sense, only the Bible places man in a very special position in this world.  All secular views on man treat man just another entity in nature.  But only the Bible tells us that man occupies a position of very highest significance in the creation order.  It tells us that man was created as the major event of the sixth day of the creation week, as the climax of God’s activity.  In a sense all created things prior to man’s creation were the background for man’s creation.  All the created things prior to man’s creation were created by the formula of the “And God said” and “Let there be.”  But when God created man, he said, “Let us make man in our own image.”  He paused and counseled and deliberated.  And today’s passage tells us that only man was created in the image of God, and that he was granted dominion over God’s creation as God’s steward or vice-regent.

In Psalm 8:3-8, the Psalmist praises God when he understands that God elevated man’s position so highly. 

³ When I consider your heavens,
   the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
   which you have set in place,
⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
   the son of man that you care for him?
⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings^[c]
   and crowned him with glory and honor.
 ⁶ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
   you put everything under his feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
   and the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the air,
   and the fish of the sea,
   all that swim the paths of the seas.

When he contemplates the magnificence of the universe, he knows how great it is.  But God put man above all the nature and universe.  Indeed God views man as his crowing act of creation.  In modern generation, human life is treated so cheap like garbage.  A person’s life can be viewed as dispensable, disposable, and expendable. He or she is viewed as one of 4+ billion people in this world. But only God views man so highly.  Human worth can be found only when one accepts that God created man in the image of God with a special position in this universe.

Look at verse 26.  “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  There have been some sectors from the early church fathers to Catholic theologians that try to distinguish the word “image (selem)” and the word “likeness (demut).” But the Reformers rejected the distinction between the two terms and regarded them as interchangeable words.  Then, what does it mean that God created man in the image of God and in his likeness?  Wayne Grudem says that it simply means that man is like God and represents God.  Therefore, in order to understand what the image of God, he says that we have to find who God is through the Bible.  J. I. Packer lists the five things: Rationality, creativity, dominion, righteousness, and community.  According to Calvin, it is knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.  Reformed scholars have tried to understand the image of God through a “restoration hermeneutic,” determining precisely what it is that fallen man is restored to through Christ.  Obviously, intellectual ability, moral purity, creativity, ability to make moral and ethical decisions, relationship, and desire for God and eternity will be include in the image of God.  By the way I especially like Robert Reymond’s insight.  In his systematic theology book, he says that the image of God should be understood both in terms of entis and also in terms of relationis. The image of God is inherently given, but it is being developed in relationship.  The image of God should be thought of not just as something static and given, but also as something being developed or achieved in relationship, especially loving God and our neighbors.

The image of God endowed in man is a tremendous gift from God. We love to listen to music or enjoy watching movies or viewing arts.  We enjoy all kinds of creative activities.  We cry when we hear so beautiful melodies.  Or look at modern inventions: Automobile, TV, ipod, iphone, airplane, or computer. Several weeks ago, two Jeopardy champions and the computer Watson that IBM team had constructed competed each other.  Even though the computer won, they say that the powerful computer cannot be matched with a human brain.  The computer can process billions of things only in one task but any normal human brain can process them, while doing multiple tasks.  Or see the human spirit that sacrifices one’s life for meaningful things.  Or we laugh at sarcastic banters, humor, and innuendo behind comedies such as Everybody Loves Raymond or SNL.  Or look at mother’s love or love between husband and wife.  You can see the image of God in man.  No one can deny that he or she has been entitled with special abilities that can create, discern, reason, enjoy, feel, love, or decide, unlike animals.

The second part of verse 26 and verse 28 explain why God created man, especially, in the image of God.  Let’s look at verse 26 and 28 again:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

German theologian Helmut Thielicke says that man’s creation was God’s great decision or his risky decision after serious deliberation.  The reason is that the world will be put into man’s hands and, as a result, the future of the world’s history will be made by him when God entrusted the world to him.  God told man, “Here is the world in front you.  I entrust everything in it to you.  Create a new history according to my plan and for my glory as my representative or my office-bearer.”  Theologians call the relationship between God and man at this as the relationship between God and his vice-regent or that of owner and steward or that of main worker and coworker.  God started the creation work but it was not his main objective.  The creation was his starting point.  He wanted man to join his creation plan as his coworker until his plan would be completed.  God wanted man, who had been created in his image, to fill the earth and create his kingdom on earth until man enters the true rest, which is called, the Holy City in Revelation.  Indeed God’s plan was a risky one because it would be carried out by man.   Like a parent who watches their children’s play or sports game, God’s heart might be anxious, proud, joyful, and fretful.  But he entrusted the world into man’s hands.

Theologians call God’s mission on man “cultural mandate.”  Man is to use his dominion over the environment sensibly and selflessly, harnessing all its resources and potential for God’s glory.  So from the beginning man is called to create culture and civilization.  He is called to develop, create, manage, explore, study, and research.  In other words, all human activities -- whether they may be science, economy, agriculture, arts, or politics -- are parts of God’s given mandate.  According to this truth, the dualistic view that distinguishes secular works and spiritual works are not biblical.  According to the Bible, all human activities are godly.  Even such mundane works like eating or drinking can be spiritual if they are done for the glory of God.  Even household chores such as cooking, cleaning, arranging furniture can be spiritual.  Or family life such as having sex or raising children can be spiritual.  School study or career can be spiritual if one does for the glory of God.  All artistic expression can be spiritual if the purpose of those activities is for the glory of God.  One theologian says that culture was prior to the fall.

However, as you know well, man fell and sin entered the world.  Man did not rule the nature as God had planned.  Instead man destroyed, abused, and mismanaged because of their greed.  Especially after the Industrial Revolution, man over-explored and developed without consideration for the future.  Fishermen over-fished and some whales become extinct.  Automobiles and factories polluted the world.  Therefore, the cultural mandate was attacked by environmentalists who claimed that the mandate contains a destructive worldview.  However, the mandate was not given to justify to man’s greed to misuse or destroy nature, as depicted in the movie Avatar.  Development, exploration, pursuit of advance of technology and science, or even economy is not evil by itself.  God gave this mandate so that man could create the kingdom of God on earth using all his spiritual, mental, moral abilities.

Culture by itself was not sinful.  But when sin entered the world, culture became the instruments that express man’s sinfulness. Instead of building the kingdom of God, man began to build the kingdom of man.  Man glorified himself and expressed his distorted images.

 

Therefore, Christians used to have three kinds of attitudes toward culture.  First, separation from culture (counter-culture).  Those who view the worldly culture as evil want to separate from it.  To them, godly culture can be developed only in church or Christian community.  Therefore, they avoid any cultural activities such as watching movies so on.  This model is seen in the monastic movement, groups like the Amish Mennonite communities and to some extent the Anabaptists as a whole.  Many Bible verses also support this view, too.  Second, identification with culture. They seek to identify with the culture and take an active role in and among those not professing to follow Jesus; which includes taking roles in government, working and closely associating with those outside the church and essentially working and living before God in every aspect of life, knowing that even the worldly culture given by God.  Many Bible verses also support this view, too.  Third, transformation of culture.  Those who espouse this view believe that the kingdom of God has come through Jesus’ death and resurrection and that, therefore, the structures of life can be converted and changed.  Therefore, church is seen as the social context in which the redeemed reality is realized.  Therefore, those who espouse this view not only preach the gospel and but pray for anti-abortion, or correcting social illness.  Many Bible verses also support this view, too.

Then, what kind of attitude should we as a Christian have toward culture?  I believe, first, we should not view culture by itself as evil.  As I said before, any human activities can be spiritual, such as marrying, studying, having children, or having a career.  If a medical student studies hard to cure men’s sickness, and by that, if he or she wants to glorify God, his or her study will be spiritual.  If a doctor or dentist wants to alleviate men’s suffering for the glory of God, his or her practice will be spiritual.  Or a person wants to have a business so that he or she can support God’s work.  Then his or her economic activities will be spiritual.  If one keeps his or her health by exercise so that he or she can serve God better, then his or her exercise can be spiritual.  Second, I believe that we should not use cultural mandate as a movement.  God gave a cultural mandate for his plan and his purpose and his glory.  But sometimes we can use our mandate as our ideal or goal.  I admire those who participate in anti-abortion movement or social service or politics.  But sometimes we may try to exercise cultural mandate even though God did not warrant it.  Therefore, it is very important to be sensitive toward God’s purpose and his leading through the Bible study and prayer.  Third, our all human activities should be done in the relationship with God and people.  Without love for God and human mankind, human activities can be harmful and toxic.  Fourth, God’s mandate can be done only through the born again Christians.  Therefore, church’s main goal is always to preach the gospel and save the people.

In conclusion, God created man in the image of God to expand the kingdom of God.  He wants us to expand the kingdom of God throughout our utmost efforts.  God hates those who squander their time and talents idly or misuse them for their selfish purpose.  God gave all these wonderful qualities in man so that we may enlarge our intellect and minds and love and care for this world.  Let us be confident that everything we do is in God’s purpose and will.  Whatever we do, let us do it with all our hearts and for his glory.  Then God will accept our efforts and use us to expand his kingdom on earth.