What Is Man?

January 28, 2007

Introduction

(Psa 8 NKJV) O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! {2} Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. {3} When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, {4} What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? {5} For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. {6} You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, {7} All sheep and oxen; Even the beasts of the field, {8} The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. {9} O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

“What is man?” The question of the psalmist as he stood gazing at the heavens is still a matter of some mystery today.

On the one hand we see man feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and singing the praises of God. On the other hand we see him ignoring his starving brother, bombing his enemies, and cursing God with every breath. You and I are members of the same human race to which Cain, Judas, and Adolf Hitler belonged. “What is man?”

Body

I. The Man We Were—We Are Creatures

A. We were created by God.

1. . We are the direct result of God’s creative activity.

(Psa. 8:5) “For You have made him a little lower than the angels,”

2. “You have made us,” said the psalmist.

(Gen 2:7 NKJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

According to scripture our existence is not the result of blind chance or some mindless natural process

3. Our existence is, therefore, purposeful. Our lives have meaning.

B. We were crowned by God.

1. The psalmist emphasizes the exalted state humans share by virtue of God’s creation.

We are a “little lower” than divine, crowned with “glory” and “honor.”

2. Our worth as humans is not relative to our perceived value to our fellow humans.

Our worth is absolute, established and proclaimed by the God who made us.

II. The Man We Have Become—We Are Fallen Creatures

A. The devils lie was just that, man lost, he didn’t gain by heeding the devils advise.

1. Man became afraid of His Maker

(Gen 3:9-10 NKJV) Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" {10} So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

2. He paid the price for his disobedience.

(Gen 3:17 NKJV) Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

B. The Bible is very clear concerning the fallen state of man.

1. While declaring the dignity which man has by creation, it is also clear to expose the degradation to which he can stoop.

a. The Bible does not whitewash the sins or shortcomings of anyone.

(1) Cain killed able.

(2) Noah became drunk

(3) Abraham lied about his wife.

(4) Jacob – who became Israel – was a cheater.

(5) Moses – in a moment of anger – struck the rock.

(6) David – commits adultery and murder.

(7) David is not a good father to Tamar who was raped by her half brother and David did nothing about it.

(8) And the list goes on.

2. The New Testament makes it very plain that man in a sinner.

a. Paul makes it plain in Romans

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; . . .23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

3. John says the same thing in a different way.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

B. According to the scriptures people are personally responsible for the evil which we do.

1. It is characterized as rebellion against God.

(1 Sam 15:23 NKJV) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

2. It is the source of many of the great tragedies which befall us and rob us of our joy.

Our lives are something far less than they could be because we are something far less than we could be.

III. The Man We Can Be—We are Redeemed Creatures

A. The man we can be is really the man we were created to be.

1. In Christ we are a new creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is a sense in which redemption is recreation. It is the recovery of our created natures.

2. The final biblical portrait of redeemed humanity pictures the saved back in God’s presence, free to partake of the tree of life

Revelation 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

B. This was the purpose for which Christ came.

1. Jesus believed in man. He was able to look beyond our perversities to see our possibilities.

2. The common people heard him gladly because to Him they were not common. He was constantly reminding people of their worth in God’s eyes.

Conclusion

A famous artist once took his easel to the heart of Paris. He secured a studio overlooking a back street. His attention was captured by a man below—a common derelict, dirty and unshaved, spending most of his days in a drunken stupor. He decided to paint him, but not as a bum. He painted him clean, well-groomed, an image of self-respect. Then he showed the portrait to the man. “That’s not me,” he said. “It can’t be.” Replied the artist, “When I look at you, this is the man I see.” “If that is the man you see,” said the derelict, “then that is the man I will be.”

I. What is man?

II. Who are you? What have you chosen to be?

III. Are you a son of God?

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