Who is man in the sight of God?

Answer  
  

In the sight of God, man is a primary concern and the object of His love and compassion. In Psalm 8:3–8, David marvels at the majesty of God as the [Creator of the universe](Creator-God.html) who yet looks on humans with such caring attention: “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents” (NLT).  
  

Compared to the greatness of God, man is small and insignificant. In the above passage, the Hebrew word translated as “man” refers to humankind in general and underscores the impermanence and weakness of humanity. Nevertheless, in the sight of God, man is treasured and deeply loved (Deuteronomy 7:6; Psalm 103:13; Matthew 6:25–33\).  
  

A reason that God values humans so much is that He created them [in His own image](image-of-God.html) and likeness (see Genesis 1:26–27; 9:6; Ephesians 4:24\). This doesn’t mean that we physically look like God but that we are made to resemble and reflect God’s image mentally, morally, and socially. God set humans apart from the animals to rule over His creation (Genesis 1:28; cf. Psalm 8:6–8\). In God’s sight, man is entrusted with managing and taking good care of the earth and everything in it. Humans have the intelligence to reason and choose, reflecting God’s intellect and freedom of will. We are made to replicate the holiness of God and mirror His triune nature through our inborn longing for relationships and building communities. From the beginning, God designed us to be His representatives in the world and to have dominion over every other creature.  
  

Sadly, we humans tend to have a distorted view of ourselves. We often esteem ourselves too highly, unaware of our utter helplessness apart from God. We grow “wise in \[our] own eyes” (Proverbs 3:7; see also Proverbs 12:15\), but the Lord sees us for who we truly are (Proverbs 16:2\). We may think we are self\-sufficient, financially secure, and have everything we need. But without the Lord, we are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17\).  
  

God humbled the children of Israel in the wilderness, feeding them with [manna](what-was-manna.html) so they would learn to trust and depend on Him and His Word daily to supply their every need (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4\). He does the same for us today (John 15:4–5; 2 Corinthians 3:4–5; Philippians 4:11–19\). God wants us to depend wholly on Him for everything in this life (2 Corinthians 6:17–18; Job 12:10; 34:14–15; Acts 17:24–28\).  
  

So precious in the sight of God is man that the Father sent His one and only Son to die on the cross so that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16\). We were helpless and hopeless to save ourselves (John 6:44; Romans 3:10–18; Ephesians 2:8–9, 12\). For this reason, Jesus humbled Himself and became a man (Hebrews 2:7, 9\). He chose to experience suffering and death, just as we do. Jesus “tasted death for everyone” (verse 9, NLT). He took on our nature and became like us, minus the sin and rebellion that taints our existence. Through His death, Jesus broke the power of death for us (Hebrews 2:14–15\) so that we might experience eternal life (John 11:25–26; 1 John 5:11–12, 20; Romans 5:21; Hebrews 5:9\).  
  

When we [receive Jesus Christ](receive-Jesus-Christ.html) as Lord and Savior, we are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12–13\). Through faith in Jesus Christ, we become God’s sons and daughters (Galatians 3:26; 4:4–5\). In the sight of God, any man or woman who is in Christ is forgiven, cleansed, and set free from sin’s dominion (1 John 1:7–9; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 8:1; Galatians 5:1; John 8:36\). God now sees us as righteous, holy, and redeemed in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:21–22\).  
  

