Job asked this question (7:17) as did David (Psalm 8:3,4). I would surmise that every thoughtful human being since creation has asked it. In one way we ask it indirectly when we ponder the question how shall we live?, because to answer that question we have to come up with a concept of what we are and what expectations we have of ourselves.
There are many misconceptions about man. For example, to the ambitious warmonger, man is only cannon-fodder with strategies and outcomes thought of only in terms of numbers (eg. Lk.14:31).
To the evolutionist, man is but the accidental product of some lower form of life. Some get more joy out of trying to prove they are descended from a baboon than they get from the concept they are children of God, created in His image. Bertrand Russell used to tell his children to call out to people as they passed by in their car “Your mother was an ape!” to try and convince them of the evolutionary idea.
To many, even whom we would label religious, man is by nature a child of Satan positively inclined to evil; and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defence or excuse (Pendleton’s Baptist church manual).
To many secular people man is a law to himself and the measure of all things. Therefore he makes a thing right by thinking he is right. In effect, this makes a god of every man.
It is obvious that man is free to think just about anything of himself, and therefore man is not an authority on man!
From one viewpoint man is very insignificant. In size he does not compare very favourably with the whale. In age he cannot compete with the California redwoods. In physical strength he is no match for the elephant. In speed he is no match for the horse or the cheetah. But those comparisons do not really tell us who man is. It is in the Bible that God declares to us who we are.
So we learn that man is a dual being, flesh and spirit. His terrestrial nature is seen in Gen. 2:7 where we discover we were made from the dust. This portion of man is decomposable and perishable, biodegradable if you will, and will return to dust (Eccles. 12:7). We would be foolish and premature to think this is all there is to man, for appearances don’t tell everything. Eccles 3:19-21 asks the question as to the destiny of man’s spirit, and Eccles. 12:7 answers it – it returns to God. Paul compares man’s body to a tent in 2 Cor. 5:1 (which houses his spirit), and Jesus warns us that there is more to death than the dying of the body (Matt.10:28), for the spirit lives on to be judged by God.
Further, we learn man is created in God’s image. In a world of living creatures man is unique (Gen. 1:26,27). Man may not match it with the whale, the elephant, the trees, the horse or the cheetah at one level, but there are things about man that are intriguing and unique. Since God is spirit (John 4:24) and a spirit is more than flesh and blood (Lk 24:39), man is in some way a spiritual being. He was given spiritual intelligence and a divine life. He was made to know and enjoy his Creator (Ps. 95:6,7: 100) and to walk with Him (Gen. 5:24). Man has an intellect with which he thinks, reasons, understands and believes. Man is the only one of God’s creatures endowed with the intellectual and volitional powers of self-cultivation. The bee made honey as good a thousand years ago as today. Centuries have passed but the monkey has not improved his standard of living. Man alone possesses the wherewithal to improve his conditions and society.
Man was given emotion with which he despises (2 Sam. 6:16), desires (Rom. 10:1), loves (Matt.22:37), trusts (Prov.3:5), hates (Rev. 2:6) etc. Man was given a quality of will with which he determines (1 Cor. 7:37), intends (Heb. 4:12), purposes (Acts 11:23) and obeys (Rom. 6:17). He was given another faculty called conscience which condemns or exonerates (1 John 3:20,21). So, truly, man was fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14). He is an intellectual and moral being, capable of companionship with his Creator. Truly, God has magnified him.
Man’s position in God’s creation is that of a tenant or steward. The earth is the Lord’s (Ps.24:1) but He entrusted it to man for his use, giving him dominion over every other created thing (Gen. 1:26,27). He gave us everything for our enjoyment (1 Tim. 6:17; Acts 14:17) and He expects us to use this world to our comfort and happiness and then leave it behind. We bring nothing into the world and carry nothing out ((1 Tim. 6:7), so man should not put his trust in these earthly blessings, but in the God who provides them. This is where the rich fool got his worldview all mixed up (Lk. 12:15-21).
Sadly, man is a sinner. God did not create him as a sinner, but he became such through his own volition (Gen. 3:1-6). Man is not a sinner by heredity (Eccles 18:20). An infant can inherit the fruits or repercussions of sin but not the guilt of it. Sin is not an inherent quality, but either a transgression of law (1 Jn. 3:4) or omission of duty (Jas. 4:17). Neither can be inherited. It is sin that makes man the shame of the universe.
In spite of man’s sin, man is a creature upon whom God has set His heart. God hasn’t given up on man even though man sins against Him. What a glorious distinction and what consolation. Man sinned, but God still loves him. What wonderful love! God gave His Son as a sacrifice for man’s sins – what marvellous giving! Man was given the gospel, the power to save his soul – what redeeming power! God desires man’s salvation and pleads for it – what beseeching interest!
Man is a slave. That is, he either serves sin or righteousness (Rom.6:16-18). He is a being through whom either God or the Devil can work. We can be workers together with God (2 Cor. 6:1) and can tell the Devil to get behind us (Matt.16:23). So man can be tempted and must make a choice between the flesh and the Spirit of God (Rom.8:1,4).
Finally, man is eternal (Matt.25:46). The body will die but the spirit will live on…somewhere. His eternal condition depends upon whom he serves in this life. Man must choose what he will do with Christ. And what will become of those who obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ?