Our sense organs 45

What is man?
Having learned of the many astonishing details
of our body discussed in Part 1, there is no doubt
that a human being is a masterpiece of design
and construction. It would thus be foolish to
assume that we developed from matter by means
of blind material processes. Since the beginning
the burning question has been: What is man? If
we deny the fact of creation, we stumble around
in the undergrowth of evolutionary thought systems
without getting to the truth. When considering
the works of the Creator, one inevitably
must infer that He exists, since “God’s invisible
qualities ... have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made” (Rom 1:20). It
follows directly from His works that God exists.
But what about the other source of information,
the Bible? Can we believe everything written
there? Notwithstanding widely held opinions, the
Bible is not merely an ancient collection of human
ideas gathered over a time span of 1,500 years.
On the contrary, God used about 45 people whom
He selected to transmit His thoughts to us: “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). This assertion is
underlined by Peter in 2 Peter 1:21: “For prophecy
never had its origin in the will of man, but men
spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.”
When Jesus prayed to his Father, He also confirmed:
“Your word is truth” (John 17:17), and
Paul stated “I believe everything ... that is written
in the Prophets” (Acts 24:14). We base our further
deliberations on these fundamental assertions
which affirm the truth of all biblical statements.
(Two other books by the present author
deal more fully with the veracity of the Bible,
namely So steht’s geschrieben (It is written);
[Hänssler-Verlag, Neuhausen], and Questions I
have always wanted to ask [CLV, Bielefeld]).
The Bible is the only source which describes and
encompasses all aspects of humanity. In the very
first chapter we read that we were created in the
image of God.
Man: The image of God?
1 The creation of man was based on a preconceived
plan: “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”
(Gen 1:26).
The plan was immediately implemented:
“So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God He created him; male and female
He created them” (Gen 1:27).
This plan entailed and established several facts,
namely:
– This plan was implemented after all the animals
had been created. Man was thus a distinctly
new creature, not related in any way to
the animal kingdom, despite all evolutionary
ideas in this regard.
– Not only God the Father was involved in this
creative act, but also the Son and the Holy
Spirit, as indicated by the plural form.
– Man was made to rule over the (physical) creation.
He is its regent, having been given the
responsibility of its upkeep. His task is to care
for all of creation.
What does it mean, to state that man was made
in the image of God? God created man according
to His own ideas and thoughts, in His likeness,
reflecting God’s own properties and qualities. We
were made for communing with God and with
our beloved spouse. We bear God’s seal and His
handwriting, as it were; we were made to serve
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