DAY 1: WHAT IS MAN?

 PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL

30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM

September 1, 2023.

Topic: WHAT IS MAN?

Bible Reading: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7-8

Verse for Meditation: Psalms 8:4 NKJV

What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

The question, ‘what is man?’ is quite confusing. It would have been different if the question was, ‘who is a man?’ We use ‘who’ when referring to a person, so what then is the psalmist asking here?

‘Who is a man?’ is a question of identity actually. But ‘what is man?’ is a question about the lifestyle of that man. ‘Who are you?’ is a question that addresses one’s internal essence and personality. But ‘what are you?’ is a question that addresses one’s external qualities and attributes. So the psalmist was asking a rhetorical question about what is in the life of a mortal man that the Creator is mindful of?

Man, as used here, refers to mankind; the entire human race. So, ‘what is man,’ is never a question of a person’s identity, but a question of why the Creator is very much concerned about the entire human race; the fallen man.

Now back to the creation story, God had an intention to make man in His own image. This is deeper than what you think, because in Isaiah 14, Prophet Isaiah wrote about the fall of Satan.

Isaiah 14:12-15 NKJV

12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who are weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

What gave Satan the guts to say, “I will be like the Most High”? No doubt, it was because of God’s intention of making man in His image.

The psalmist wrote, “For You have made him a little lower than the angels…” (Ps. 8:5). ‘Angel’ in the Hebrew word is ‘malak’, which means ‘messenger’. But the original text used for angel here is ‘elohim’ and not ‘malak’. So man was made a little lower than God, this was what angered Satan. Another place in the Bible where you can find the fall of Satan in Ezekiel 28, where he was called ‘the anointed cherub’ (vs. 14), and this is deeper than just being the anointed cherub. In terms of ranking, he was next to God until God decided to make man that will be next to Him, “… a little lower than Elohim…”

The Message Bible puts Isaiah 14:4 in a clearer sense, “… I’ll take over as king of the universe!” That is rebellion! Satan rebelled against God!

But this is not about Satan, but about man. God created man in His image is deeper than what you think it is!

There’s one other thing you need to see. God’s intention was to make man in His own image, but He ended up creating man in His own image. ‘To make’ is different from ‘to create’, both in Hebrew and English definition. ‘To make’ is to produce something from an already existing material, but to create is to bring something into existence. Yes, man was formed from the dust of the ground, but that is man’s body. God is Spirit (Jn. 4:24); so man being created was his spirit. God looked around and saw that there was nothing in heaven and on earth that could be used to make man in His own image, and so He ended up creating man; that is, man came out of God. So whatever God is in dominion, man is!

PRAYER:

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, I’M ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR SUCH A HONOUR TO BE CREATED IN YOUR OWN VERY IMAGE. THANK YOU FATHER!

DECLARATION:

I LIVE BY THIS CONSCIOUSNESS OF A MAN BEARING GOD’S IMAGE.

Bible Reading Plan: John 1:1-34; Romans 1; Proverbs 1