One of the most perplexing questions known to man can be found in Psalms 8:3-4. The poet David asked,
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"
Some say that man is only the highest point in the evolutionary tree. God's word tells us that man is much more than this. What is man's purpose? What makes him different from the animals? What gives man a moral standard? The answers to these questions lie with God - as we recall in the book of Psalms, David directed these great thoughts and questions to God Himself.
As we attempt to analyze ourselves, we ask these same questions. The Bible provides the answers to us.
The Different Stages of Man
Man as he was (Genesis 1:26)
What was the state of man in the beginning. He was in the image of God. He was created by God in this state. Before sin entered into the world, man was pure, holy and righteous. In his original state in the garden, he did not have any wants. All was provided for him. Man walked in unity with God. But then, sin did enter into the life of man. A new stage of man came about.Man as he is (Isaiah 59:2)
Man, now separated from God, was lost in sin. Spiritual death is just that - separation from God (Romans 6:23).Man as he can be (Ephesians 2:13)
How fortunate we are, though, that what man lost through sin can be regained in Christ. Man's image can be restored through God's plan of salvation (Romans 6:18). And how important it is for us to remember that that kind of person we are at the end of this life will determine our state in the last stage we must each enter.Man as he will be (Matthew 25:46)
Why is God so conscious of man? It is not because of what we are in and of ourselves, nor is it what we feel that we may have earned in regards to God's attention or notice of us. To the contrary, God takes notice of man because He sees what man can be. God sees a potential "new man" in each one of us.Though man once lived without sin, if we have ever sinned (and each of us have), then we cannot be "man as he was." And if we have yet to obey God's plan of salvation, we are not yet "man as he can be." If we are in this condition, we can only be "man as he is," man is a lost condition. Let us remember that each one of us will enter into eternity in that final stage of "man as he will be," either in a saved condition or in a lost condition. Make the right preparation in the life - prepare for the right condition by obedience to God's will. This is the condition He wants for us in that final, eternal stage.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
