​What is it about humanity that makes us the object of God’s special attention? So far we’ve seen that God created man for his glory and in his image. These two realities should be the starting point of all our thinking about what it means to be human. But the creation story doesn’t end there...
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According to Genesis 1:27, God not only made man in his image, but he also made us “male and female”. The two sexes were a part of God’s design, not the product of culture. God wanted humanity to be comprised of two complementary but different sexes. This has a number of implications.

First, God made us male and female so that we can have harmonious interpersonal relationships. When Adam first met his wife Eve, God instructed him that they will form a unique and exclusive bond, becoming one in marriage (Gen. 2:24). This is the most intimate relationship we can have. It reflects the unity of the Trinity and becomes the basic building block for human society. Marriage is not cultural – it is creational. There are occasions when people do not marry (Jesus and the apostle Paul were not married), but God’s norm for humanity is unity in marriage.

Second, it means that men and women have equal worth, personhood and importance. God’s image is not something that was bestowed exclusively or especially on men. 1 Peter 3:7 instructs men to show honour to their wives, because they are fellow heirs of the grace of life. In 1 Cor. 11:11-12 Paul makes it clear that men and women need one another. Gal. 3:28 states emphatically: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Exalting one sex over the other would be a betrayal of God’s design.

Third, God has a unique role for each of the sexes. According to 1 Cor. 11:3 the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is head of every man. Paul later explains that, when God made Adam first (Gen. 2:7), it was indicative of his leadership role. Eve was made as a helper for Adam (Gen. 2:18). This does not indicate levels of importance, but it does indicate different roles. Men are called to provide, protect and lead. Women are called to help, nurture and support. This is not a cultural norm, but a biblical one.
 
Why are these things important? Society has abandoned God’s original design. We find men oppressing and abusing women, women vilifying men and young people abandoning marriage. Some are even abandoning their born sex, claiming that they can define who or what they want to be. The tragic result? Divorce, depression, confusion and in some cases even suicide. Happiness is not found in abandoning God’s plan, but in embracing it.
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Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

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​Our understanding of humanity will have a big impact on how we answer this question. Why does humanity matter? More importantly, why does humanity matter to God?

As we’ve pointed out before, we are God’s handiwork, made for his glory. This explains the reason behind why we were made and it reveals the purpose for which we were made. It doesn’t, however, explain how we were made. What makes us unique? How did God fit us to be instruments for his glory?

Genesis 1:26 gives us the answer: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” Man was uniquely created in God’s image – no other creature in God’s creation was made in His image. But what does it mean to be made in God’s image? Believers have pondered this question for centuries, and while they may differ on some of the details, they’ve generally come to identify three key aspects of God’s image in man.

First, it means that we represent God. In the ancient Near East the king was considered the visible representation of the nation’s deity. Therefore the king ruled on behalf of God. In v. 26 we see that man is given dominion over creation, which points to man representing God in ruling creation. Our place in the food chain is determined by our relation to God as his image bearers.

Second, it means that we can have a relationship with God. In v. 27 the pattern of male and female is said to be part of the image. This implies that man, in the image of God, was made to be relational. We were created with the capacity to have meaningful relationships with one another and ultimately with God. By God’s design no man is an island.

Third, it means that we bear a resemblance to God. We do not bear a physical resemblance to God, because God is Spirit. However, we were made with characteristics that we share with God and not with other creatures: reason, morality, language, creativity and the like. When God created man He communicated or imparted some of his own attributes to us (though to a lesser degree): holiness, righteousness, love, kindness... There are other attributes that God did not communicate to us, like immutability (unchangeableness), but those attributes that God did communicate to us enable us to resemble or reflect God in the world.

Because we bear this resemblance to God (reflecting his attributes) we can have meaningful relationships with God and others, as well as rule over creation as God’s representatives. Clearly we are more than just highly evolved animals: God made us as his image-bearers. Tragically this image was marred and distorted by the fall (Genesis 3), but when we think about what it means to be human, we should not forget God’s original design: image-bearer.
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Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

​While David looked up at the stars, contemplating the majesty of God’s cosmic creation, he paused to reflect on his own place within it. It gave him perspective: a glimpse into how frighteningly small human beings are. Given our almost imperceptible size on the grand stage of the universe, why would God care about man?

Why did God make us? God did not make man out of some sense of need. God is absolutely independent and does not need our prayers, efforts or offerings. Acts 17:24-25 states: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Why, then, were we made?
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In Isaiah 43:7 God explains that He made us “for my glory”. God has made us and God saves us so that we “might be to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:12). As the Westminster Shorter Catechism states: “What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” This answer also reveals that our glorification of God is not a one-sided affair: we get to enjoy God as we glorify him! Jesus said: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10). That abundant life is found in knowing God, with whom there is “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11).

So what is man? We are God’s handiwork, made for his glory. If that is the purpose for which we were made, how ought we to live? If that is what it humanity was made for, how human are you?

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter