God Made Man Unique

Uplook – February 2024 — Grace & Truth Magazine

God Made Man Unique1

Creation
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1 ESV ). He placed the earth in the universe at a time and in a place that was perfect for human life (consider vv.9-27,31). The universe was also created having the exact physical constants needed to make the natural laws operate just right for mankind. God created a star – the sun – to provide the necessary light and heat. He gave the earth a tilt and a spin so the heat would be distributed and that there would be zones habitable by man. He created it to have days and nights, seasons and years (v.14). The earth was also created with a magnetic field that protects life from the charged particles and radiation that the processes of nature produce in space. And uniquely, “God created man in His own image” (v.27), “a little lower than the heavenly beings [angels]” (Ps. 8:5), and having “dominion … over all the earth” (Gen. 1:26).

Consciousness
Man is obviously created with consciousness, but researchers disagree on whether other creatures can rightly be called “conscious.” Ancient thinkers considered that human consciousness was due to human souls and that animals are not conscious and do not have souls, but in Scripture we see that both have souls (called “spirits” in Eccl. 3:21).

What is the soul? It is “the seat of the sentient element in man, that by which he perceives, reflects, feels, desires” and “the seat of will and purpose” 2 (consider Acts 4:32; Dt. 11:13). By these criteria we see that our pets have souls, but 1 Thessalonians 5:23 makes it clear that man differs from animals by having three parts: “spirit and soul and body.” At death “the dust [the body] returns to the earth, and the spirit returns unto God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7; see Gen. 3:19). The spirit and the soul are difficult to distinguish from each other (see Heb. 4:12).

Language
Language is uniquely human. God gave humans a unique mouth structure that makes possible the complicated sounds that transmit meaning. This ability permits humans to transfer to others our knowledge, culture and thoughts.

God uses language to communicate with man. It works this way: God the Holy Spirit placed truth to be received by us into the minds of spiritual men who wrote it down as Scripture (see 2 Tim. 3:16-17). They wrote it in the language of those to whom it was directed, not in English or any other modern tongue. God later blessed us with gifted people to accurately translate the Scriptures into the words of our present-day Bibles! Interestingly, our Lord Jesus, who appeared as a Man, is Himself called “the Word” in John 1, and He shows us the Father (14:8-9)!

Our language changes as it is passed down through generations. Thus French, Spanish, Italian and other so-called Romance languages started with those who spoke Latin. Similarly English, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages had a Germanic origin. The Hebrew languages underwent various changes and became Aramaic, the language “commonly spoken in Palestine when our Lord was on earth.” 3 Thus our Lord’s actual words in Matthew 27:46 are not the English, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me” but the Aramaic “Eli, Eli, lama, sabacthani.”

Intelligence
God gave us, unlike animals, an intelligence that enables us to understand how nature works and how to use that understanding to accomplish things beyond our biological capacity. We invent machines that can fly faster and higher, above the atmosphere – something birds cannot do. We have invented machines that enable us to transmit information great distances beyond the range of our voices – radio, telephone, television and the internet – and we have even created machines that can learn!

We can and we do pass on to other generations what we learn from our experiences. We exchange our thoughts with others, get their help with our problems and obtain the benefit of their wisdom. Knowing this, God tells us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together … but encouraging one another” (Heb. 10:24-25).

Spirituality
Human beings are so created that they can foresee the consequences of their actions and therefore, unlike animals, are responsible for what they say and do. We have moral norms. These norms teach us to believe that we should do unto others as we would want them to do unto us (see Mt. 7:12). We learn what is right and what is wrong, and when we do not do what we feel we ought to do, we have a sense of guilt.

Being spiritual beings, we do not want to feel guilty. Therefore we tend to excuse or justify our actions. Subconsciously we know that it does not work and that we need a deliverer to take that guilt away. God favors us by providing the one true Deliverer, Christ Jesus. If we accept the deliverance that He offers, we “become the righteousness of God” in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Man uniquely can be saved! Scripture nowhere speaks of God saving angels or animals!

Why Did God Show Such Favor to Mankind?
Thus far we have spoken much about the uniqueness of man but we have not provided an explicit answer to the biblical question, “What is man, that You [God] are mindful of him” (Heb. 2:6). Some excellent answers are found in Scripture:

• God is “rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4).
• God loves us with a “great love” (v.4).
• God wants us as His “friends” (Jn. 15:14-15). Abraham, for example, “was called a friend of God” (Jas. 2:23).
• God wants us to be with Him in “His eternal glory in Christ” (1 Pet. 5:10).
• God made us “in His own image” (Gen. 1:27).
• God seeks “true worshipers who will worship [Him] in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23).

In eternity, we will be able to worship Him perfectly and uniquely!

ENDNOTES
1. Adapted from the special issue of Scientific American; “Humans, why we are unlike other species on this planet: Sept. 2018, pp.29-94. Quotations from it are not cited because much of its explanations are based on evolution. Promoting evolution is not the purpose of this article, as it is unscriptural.
2. Vine, W. E.; Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words, Vol. IV, p. 54. Oliphants, Sept 1952.
3. A New and Concise Bible Dictionary, G. Morrish, 114 Camberwell Road, S. E. S. p.66

By Alan H. Crosby