Throwback message: What is man?

Editors Note: This is a throwback message from Olin Williams, written for the June 2018 issue of the Biskinik. We hope that Pastor Williams will be back with a new message soon.

We find in Psalms 8 verse 4, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (KJV)

Why is the human being so important to God? The scripture teaches us that man was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

Man is a reflection of the triune God, which created him. Being a reflection of the triune God, man has three functions. He has a body, soul and spirit. The body is the material part divinely formed from the dust and the immaterial parts (spirit and soul) were formed from divine inbreathing (Genesis 2: 7).

Second, the soul is the seat of emotions. The spirit is the intellect or conscience and spiritual understanding.

Man was structured as a type of the Old Testament tabernacle which was structured in three parts: the outer court (body), the Holy place (soul) and the Holy of Holies (spirit).

Each section of the tabernacle possessed its own light. The sun shone into the outer court. In the Holy place, a candlelight illuminated it. In the Holy of Holies, God’s Shekinah glory filled the place. God invested in man through Adam this glorious privilege and potential to be commissioned to reflect the character of the triune God on the earth.

This was wrecked by the sin of disobedience and caused the fall of man.

Man became a sinner and wandered in search of reconciliation with God.

But the second Adam (Jesus Christ) came to redeem fallen man. It is the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit who sheds light on our darkened faculties to allow us to see our need of a Savior. This brings us to the redemption plan of God to redeem man to full salvation. Salvation is of the Lord.

Man in his lost state searches for God through religion and attempts to create salvation through his own efforts. However, being in a state of total depravity because of the fall, mankind cannot accept God unless God draws man to Himself. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him,” (John 6:44, KJV).

Jesus said in (Matthew 22:37 KJV), “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

Total salvation is not merely physical religious works, not just religious emotions or mental religious understanding, but an enlightenment of all three.