What is Man, that Thou art Mindful of Him?

Part 2 of 3 - The Doctrine of Man

The Psalmist asked, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Ps 8:4). The simple answer is, man is MANY things..

As we saw yesterday, man is a created being. God said, "Let us MAKE MAN in our image, after our likeness" (Gen 1:26-27). The word "create", as used in the Genesis account, means "to make something out of nothing, to bring into existence". The word "make" means "to fashion or form as a potter forms a vessel of clay". Thus, man is a created being (Gen 2:27; Rev 4:11; Ps 139:14-16; 104:30; 1 Cor 11:9; Isa 45:12). He wholly owes his existence to God: "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (Job 33:4).

Man is a dependant being. The fact that man owes his existence to a Creator makes him a dependent creature. He is not self-existent, and thus cannot be independent. Whether realizing it or not, he is totally dependent upon God for his very breath. It is in God alone that "we live, and move and have our being" (Acts 17:23-31). The Psalmist has rightly said, "For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light" (Ps 36:9).

Man is an intelligent being. Man possesses reason, intelligence, imagination, and the ability to express his thoughts in language. This is of course far superior to the mere animal creation that some believe we sprang from. They are simply creatures of habit and instinct (Gen 2:15; 2:19-20; Isa 1:18; Matt 16:7; Gen 11:6; 8:21; Job 35:11; Rom 1:21).

Man is a free being. God created man with a free will, and the ability to choose right and wrong. This fact makes man a moral (and therefore responsible) creature. Just as God created the angelic hosts with the power of choice, He likewise created us. Man is not a robot, a machine, or a will-less creature. God desired a creation that would respond to Him willingly and freely. This necessitated man having a free will (Jn 7:17; Heb 3:7, 8, 15; 4:7; Jn 1:12-13).

Man is a moral being. Because man has a free will, he is therefore a moral creature. God placed a moral conscience within us to give us a moral sense, and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. This too is a faculty that no mere animal has. Before the fall, man was created in a state of innocence, purity and uprightness. He was ignorant of evil. In this upright state, his conscience was inactive until he sinned. The moment he sinned, his conscience began to work and his thoughts began to accuse and excuse him. Yet, this conscience is not a perfect moral standard. The only true standard for conscience is the Word of God, as interpreted by the Holy Spirit (Jn 8:9; Acts 24:16; Heb 9:14; Rom 2:15; 1 Cor 8:7; Tit 1:15; 1 Tim 4:2).

Man is a loving being. God is love, and love must have an object to exert itself, as well as an object that can reciprocate that love (1 Jn 4:16-19). The created universe, with all its glories, simply cannot respond to the love of God. The brute creation cannot enjoy or reciprocate God's love either. It would be completely un-pleasurable for God to create an unresponsive, un-affectionate, and will-less being, unable to reciprocate the love bestowed upon him. Thus, man was given these capacities. The answer to the heart cry of God was the creation of a loving mankind! He was created by love, for love, and to love (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25-27).

And finally, man is a triune being. There are 2 basic theories pertaining to man's composition: the Dichotomous Theory says that man is 2-fold, consisting of a spirit/soul combination and a body. The Trichotomous Theory says man is 3-fold, fully distinguishing between spirit, soul and body. What does the Bible say? The Bible tells us that mankind was created in the image of the 3-fold Godhead.. thus man too must be 3-fold: man is a spirit, has a soul, and is housed within a body (Heb 4:12; 1 Thess 5:23; Gen 2:7; 1 Cor 2:14-3:4; Matt 22:37; Deut 6:11; 4:29; Mk 12:30). The spirit of man is that part that is joined unto the Lord, perfected at his salvation (Heb 12:23; 1 Cor 6:17). The spirit is conscious of God, and capable of knowing God (Jn 4:24; Prov 20:27; Job 32:8; 1 Cor 2:11; etc). The faculties of the spirit of man are conscience and communion. The soul of man is the seat of his mind, will, carnality, intellect and emotions. This is the self-conscious part of man. This is the place where evil is derived (Mk 7:20-23). This is also the source of man's self image (Prov 23:7), man's will (1 Chron 29:9; Exod 35:5, 29; Ps 9:11), and man's overall attitude, good or bad (Isa 65:14; Acts 2:46; Prov 25:20; Ps 14:1; 102:4; Prov 23:7; Jer 32:40; etc). Often times, in Scripture, the English words for "soul" and "spirit" are used interchangeably. Their meanings in the original languages, however, do often differ. The body of man is the sensory and world-conscious part of him. This aspect is simply the physical aspect of man, similar to the brute creation. The Bible calls the body a house (2 Cor 5:1), a tabernacle (2 Cor 5:1-4; Jn 1:14; 2 Pet 1:13), a temple (Jn 2:21; 2 Cor 5:19; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19-20; 1 Kgs 8:27-28), and a sheath, that is, the place that houses a sword (Dan 7:15, margin). The Bible says that the body of man is earthy (1 Cor 15:47; Ps 103:14; Gen 2:7; 3:19), is a body of humiliation (Phil 3:21: "vile body"; Job 19:25-27), and is governed by the senses. In due time, God will redeem the body of the believer from all corruption and mortality, making it like the Lord's glorious body (Phil 3:21; 1 Thess 4:15-18; 1 Cor 15:51-57; 2 Cor 5:1-5)! Hallelujah!

To be continued...