What Does it Mean to be Human?

Main Point:  Because only humans are created in the image of God, only humans can fulfill God's plan for
fellowship with Him and stewardship of His earth.

Outline:

1. Because God created only human beings in His image, it means that you and I are special.
2. Because God created humans especially for fellowship with Him, He pursues a personal relationship with us.
3. Since God also created humans to be stewards of this planet, our work is defined and blessed by Him.
4. Because of God's perfect design, each person finds meaning in life (fellowship with God) and purpose in life (steward of the earth).

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." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26-27 NIV)

1. Because God created only human beings in His image, it means that you and I are special.

God created only humans "in His image" (Genesis 1:27, NIV).  Does this mean God has a physical body?  No, for "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24 NIV)."  God is not A spirit for that would mean He is localized.  But God is everywhere-present.  Does this mean that man has the ability to be in all places at the same time?  God could not have created beings of flesh and blood who could be everywhere-present, as God is.  Humans can only be in one place at one time.  God could not have created a brain with infinite wisdom, as He has.  The human brain has remarkable
capacities and capabilities, yet with limits.

Made "in His image" (Genesis 1:27, NIV) means that God gave us those qualities that He could pass on to us in our mortal bodies: the capacity to think, a will to choose, emotions, morality, the ability to love and hate.  All of these things He possesses and He created them in us.  These things separate us from the animal kingdom to be sure. But then God made something very special in us.  He made a spirit inside us that could somehow connect with Him, know Him, and have intimate friendship with Him.

Of all God's creatures, men and women are set apart for His plan and purpose. Consider if Beethoven had decided not to practice the piano at such an early age.  Suppose he said one day, "I'd rather play outside..."  What would the world of music be without him?  What a waste for one so talented to take up -- say quilting -- instead!  Or if George Washington pursued accounting instead of the military?  What a waste for one so brilliant?  What if Dr. Jonas Salk had pursued writing short stories instead of biology?  Perhaps today we would only be reading about a fictional account of a miracle drug for the crippling disease of polio.  What a waste!  Consider if Mrs. Wright had insisted her two boys get a regular job instead of wasting all that time inventing airplanes?

It would be a terrible waste for the skills and abilities these individuals possessed to have been used in any other way.  Likewise, all of us have been set apart for God's special plan and purposes.  To pursue anything else would be a terrible waste of all God's creative power and divine majesty in creating you!
 

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Cor. 1:9 NIV)

2.  Because God created humans especially for fellowship with Him, He pursues a personal relationship with us.

Do you suppose God made fish for fellowship with Him?  They're good listeners and they don't mind when you get mad and tell them they're all wet...but they cannot love you.  I'm sure, though, that God made dogs for fellowship, don't you?  I had a basset hound named "Charlie Dog" once.  She "woofed" and wagged her tail when I got home from work, never complain even when I told her she smelled like a dog.  And basset hounds are loyal to the end, but bassets hounds cannot truly love you...it's all instinct, built-in programming.  How about birds? Birds can learn to talk -- teach them to say "I looooove you, you're so special!"  But it would not be love...God made wonderful creatures to be our "friends" in a sense.  But they can never have fellowship, companionship, shared interests, or dialogue with God.

God calls each person to a special relationship of love.

Love is not a feeling of euphoria nor a sexual impulse nor romance, though all of these may accompany love.  Love is first and foremost a decision of the will.  It is a commitment to another person.  It is a head-felt and heart-felt decision to do whatever it takes to meet the genuine needs of another person, expecting nothing in return.  That is a tremendously high standard for love -- one that God has established in how He loves us.

Because of His special creation of humans and because of His love for us, He has given us the capacity for loving Him.  God loving you and you loving God.  This is a most special fellowship that only humans can enjoy with God.  In the beginning, the Bible says that God used to spend the cool part of the day with Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:8).  Even after Adam and Eve sinned, God pursued them in the garden.  Even in our sins, God pursues this relationship with us.  The Bible says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8 NIV).  Even in our rebellious state, God sent Jesus into the world to put an end to the sin barrier between us and God.  Yes, God has called you to a special relationship of love.  Have you answered Him?
 

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."  Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (Gen. 1:28-30 NIV)

3.  Since God also created humans to be stewards of this planet, our work is defined and blessed by Him.

Did God have a purpose for us on the earth?  In the KJV, Genesis 1:18 reads "...God said to them 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it."  So part of our mandate from God is to be fruitful -- meaning we are to have families. Next, God told us to fill the earth -- He made it big enough and rich enough to handle a world full of people (note the word "replenish" in 1611 when the KJV was authored actually meant "to fill up" something, not "to refill" so do not be confused).

We are to populate and fill the earth with people. God also said for us to subdue the earth.  Literally we are to bring it under subjection to us. You and I, then, are the stewards of God's green earth.  He put us in charge of His special creation.  In fact, He goes on to say specifically we are to rule over every living thing on this earth.  Next time someone asks you what you do for a living, you can tell them, "I'm in charge of God's green earth, how about you?"

God did not give ownership of His earth but stewardship of it.

It is always important for us to keep in mind that God is God and you're not.  Life is a lot less stressful that way.  It also reminds us that this earth is not ours.  Though we have been given charge over it, we have not been given possession of it.  God created the heavens and the earth.  They belong to Him.

Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.  I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.  I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,  for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.  If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.  (Psa. 50:7-12 NIV)

Our stewardship and rule of His earth means we must understand and manage all of its varied systems and processes.

You've just gotten out of college and, knowing all things, find your way into a job as the CEO of Consolidated General Diversified Enterprises.  After spinning around in the genuine leather executive chair behind the 100% mahogany wood desk, what will be the second thing you do as CEO?  What in the world IS "Consolidated General Diversified Enterprises"?  What do we make or do?  You'll have to understand what goes on at CGDE, how it operates, and what results from it so that you can manage it well.  In the same way, as the CEO collectively of planet earth, we people must understand what goes on, how it operates, and what results from it.  In this way, and only in this way, can we obey the command of our Lord to fill the earth and subdue it.

God then ordained work as a holy vocation when it fulfills His command of stewardship.

God blessed humans and gave us specific stewardship of this planet. This defines most every job as part of a holy calling.  A preacher's job is no more holy than an accountant nor is a sanitation engineer any less holy than a music minister (Note I am not comparing a music minister's work to garbage).  The point is -- since God commanded us to rule over the earth, He conferred a holy status to all occupations that work toward that end.  Kind of puts a whole new perspective on that boring, day-to-day monotony, doesn't it?
 

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. (Gen. 1:31 NIV)

4.  Because of God's perfect design, each person finds meaning in life (fellowship with God) and purpose in life (steward of the earth).

As special creatures made in His image, each of us finds meaning in life through the fellowship God designed for us.

Life apart from God's creation has no meaning at all.  "Who am I?" rings with a hollow and chilling wind, never to be answered.  With the understanding of God's creative handiwork, each of us finds the answer to life's most basic question in a personal relationship with the One who created all things.  God provides meaning and meaningfulness to an otherwise meaningless existence.

Fulfilling God's command to rule His earth as good stewards also provides for a purposeful life in a wide variety of pursuits.

A life with meaning is joined by a life with purpose.  When we understand God's purposes for our life, we can then go about our work with the blessing of God on it.  Even the most mundane of jobs -- I'm sure many of us could graciously volunteer our own job as the most mundane -- but even the most mundane of jobs takes on a fresh, newness when we know that it is part of God's grand design.  Our time is not wasted when we use it to fulfill God's command to rule the earth.

In conclusion, understand that God created this universe, this earth, and all life on it with a perfect design so that each person can find meaning and fulfillment in it.  Pastors, painters, accountants, tax collectors, teachers, production line workers, each of us has a special part to play in the grand mosaic of God's plan.
 

End Notes

1. image (Genesis 1:27)

English:  an imitation of a person or object; an exact likeness.

Greek: 6754. tselem, tseh'-lem; from an unused root mean. to shade; a phantom, i.e. (fig.) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, espec. an idol:--image, vain shew.  In Vine's Expository Dictionary it says, "This word means 'statue'...This word signifies an 'image or copy' of something in the sense of a replica."  (W.E. Vine, In Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Thomas Nelson Publishers,  copyright 1984, p. 244.)

Analysis:  Clearly God could not have created an exact likeness of Himself since He alone is God (Isa. 43:11 and many others).  So He must have created a physical man and woman endowed with certain attributes which He possesses and could create in a physical person such as His will, emotions, reason, morality, and the ability to love or hate.  In our initial creation, humans were but a shadow of an infinite, holy God.
 

2. fellowship

Greek: 2842. koinonia, koy-nohn-ee'-ah; from G2844; partnership, i.e. (lit.) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction:--(to) communicate (-ation), communion, (contri-), distribution, fellowship.

Analysis:  The English definition seems sufficient to capture the basic meaning of "koinonia."
 

3. subdue

Greek: 3533. kabash, kaw-bash'; a prim. root; to tread down; hence neg. to disregard; pos. to conquer, subjugate, violate:--bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, bring into subjection.

Analysis:  Man is not to overcome the earth -- Jesus did this spiritually (John 16:33) and will do it physically as well (Rev. 19:11-20:5).  The Greek word emphasizes to bring under subjection, to rule over, to take dominion.  The English definition "to tame" is an acceptable way of understanding this word.
 

4. good

Greek: 2896. towb, tobe; from H2895; good (as an adj.) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masc. and the fem., the sing. and the plur. (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adv. (well):--beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favoured]).

Analysis:  That the Hebrew word "towb" is used for good in the widest sense indicates the completeness of good which God pronounced upon His creation.

© 2001, Randy Lariscy.