Music In a day full of conflicting opinions and ideas, the Word of God stands true, and the Bible is the source for absolute truth. In these days of confusion and questions, it is so important to know what the Bible says. In today's study, let's ask the Lord to open our heart and mind as Scott Pauley leads us into Scripture to help us discover God's absolute truth. Where did man come from? More important, why is he here? What makes him distinct from the rest of the creation, from everything else in the world? And perhaps the most important question, where does he go when he dies? Now these are basic questions about humanity, and the truth of the matter is, if you want to get the answers, the right answer, the only answer, you've got to ask man's creator. You see, when you start talking about humanity, it leads you very quickly to talking about deity. You've got to go beyond man to the God who made him. Because man is simply a reflection of the image of God. Psalm 8 and verse number 4, we read these words, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beast of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. You see, when people want to talk about man and build man up, they miss the point because as you study man, it leads you to the God that created man. Man is the crown of creation. He's unique. In the words of Scripture, God is mindful of him. Aren't you glad God thinks about you today? And then the Bible says that God visits him. Aren't you glad that God visits you? That He desires fellowship with you? I think this is one of the most humbling passages in all of Scripture as it relates to the way God made us. And all through the Word of God, God is connecting us to Him. Psalm 103 verse 14, He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 139, 1 and 2, He knows our thoughts. That's right. Your secret thoughts today that no one knows and that you don't express, God knows them. Matthew 10, verse 30, He knows the number of hairs on our head. John chapter 2, verses 24 and 25, Jesus said He didn't need anybody to testify what was in man. He said, I know what is in man. If you want to understand man, study his Creator. If you want to know something about humanity, study the Word of God. Today we're talking about what the Bible says about man. Not what man says about man, not what you think about yourself, or not what picture someone draws of what the perfect man is supposed to look like, but rather, let's look in the mirror. And the mirror is the very Word of God. We must begin where God does in Genesis chapter number 1. In verse number 26 the Bible says, 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. So God created man in His own image. In the image of God created He Him, male and female created He them, and God blessed them. And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Now, why are we starting in Genesis chapter 1? Because you've got to begin where God begins to reveal something about man and his original intent. These are foundational truths to understanding ourselves. If you want to understand you and you want to understand mankind around you, then you must go to God. I was in an airport the other day and I was sitting doing some studying, I had my Bible open and my computer open. And to be honest with you, it was kind of oblivious to what was around me. And a lady walked up to me and she handed me a card. She obviously saw my Bible, and she was a kind Christian woman, and she handed me a card that was a little promotional thing for a website on creationism. And I thanked her for it. And I thought how interesting it was that the moment she saw an open Bible, she immediately connected that with the Creator. She saw in me someone that would understand that God had created the world. So we've got to begin talking about man by saying God created him. Everything begins with God, including man. In the beginning, that's the point of creation. God created, that's the person of creation. And the word created means out of nothing, to make out of nothing, so that's the power of creation. We didn't give him anything to work with. In fact, God made man out of the dust of the ground and breathed in his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. So, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, that's the product of creation. Everything that you see, God created. But the prize of creation, now that's another thing, the prize of His creation was man. Why was man the highest of the created beings? Because in man, God created the ability to fellowship with the Creator in a way that is beyond anything else in the creation. Now the heavens declare the glory of God, the earth showeth His handiwork, all of creation does what the Creator says, but we have the ability to have a family relationship with Him, to know Him intimately, to enjoy Him personally. And so that ought to make you think about how special it is that God has created us as we are. That's also the reason why when God made trees and birds and water, there's no record that the devil did anything. But when God created man, immediately the devil went to work. When God created this being that had the capacity to fellowship with Him as well as to obey Him, then the devil saw in that the ability to truly hurt the heart of a loving God. You see, what the Creator wanted more than anything in the world was He wanted fellowship with His prize creation. He wanted fellowship with man. So these opening verses give us these opening truths. God created us. He created us in His own image. We'll talk more about that. He created us in His own image and He blessed us. He created us in His own image and He blessed us in order to make us fruitful so that we would accomplish on this planet what God Himself has given us to do. And it makes me think, even now, just reflecting, am I fulfilling what God desires in my life? You see, the Bible says in Him we live and move and have our very being. He is as close as your breath, my friend. God gave you life, God has sustained your life, God has a purpose for your life. Don't just think about man, think about God. You'll notice that man was created after everything else was created. Why was that? Because God is a God of order. Man was only created when the earth was ready for him. Isn't that beautiful? He is literally the crown of creation. Everything that God created, He said, that's good, that's good, that's good, that's very good. The only thing that was not very good was for a man to be alone. So, gentlemen, aren't you glad God created a helpmate? And he gave Adam Eve, what a beautiful thought, taking a rib from his side. Someone said, not out of his foot to be trampled on, not out of his head to be lorded over, not out of his hand to be manipulated by, but out of his side to be close to, out of under his arm to be protected, and close to his heart to be loved. So God created man and woman after everything was ready for them and watch this, just before the work was to commence. We'll talk more about that next time, but God created man at the end of the creative week, just prior to the day of rest. and just prior to all of the work that God had created man to accomplish. I tell you, my friend, today, as you think about your life, as you take your breath, even now at this moment, would you ponder what a wonderful Creator we have, what a mighty God we serve. Indeed, the psalmist was right. Oh, Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. Repeating what other people have said about the Bible is not enough. We must know the biblical reason behind what we believe. 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