BiblicalInsights.net

The wonder of God can be defined as: “inquisitive awe in the pursuit of an understanding of all of the perfections of God that comprise His magnificence.”  Anthropological wonder is the wonder of God as seen in His creation of human beings.  In Ps. 139:14, “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  A human being, created in the image of God, is a cause for inquisitive awe.  What does being created in the image of God tell us about ourselves?  Human beings alone sustain a unique relationship to deity.  We are created “in His image” and “in His likeness” (Gen. 1:26,27).
The Creation of Humanity is Unique.
The divine Godhead is involved in the creation of human beings.  Humans are not the product of blind change and randomness as affirmed by biological evolutionists.  People are not an evolutionary accident.  We are created with divine intent and purpose.  God who is eternal, self-existing,  and infinite in all of His perfections brought into being a human being that is both physical and spiritual in nature and so, created and finite.  The superiority of God and sovereignty of God over His creature–man–is expressed in this relationship between the Creator and the creature.  God is a person and He has created human beings in such a way that they can have a relationship with Him.  Human beings are person too!  Human beings reflect God’s presence in the world and are evidence that God exists by virtue of the fact that they are created in His image.  No other part of God’s creation has this distinction.  This separates human beings from animals and all other forms of life.  God expressly forbids idols made of wood, stone, silver, or gold as the means of bearing His image.  All idolatry is strictly forbidden by God.  Human beings were given dominion over the earth and all other living things.  They are the crown of God’s creation.  God created them male and female.  Both male and female bear the image of God.  Sexual identity/gender identity is God-given and part of the design of God for human reproduction.  This is part of the created order and is being contradicted by those who suffer from gender dysphoria and choose to contradict God’s created design.  Human beings are dualistic in nature and consist of an “outer man” (physical in nature) and an “inner man” (spiritual in nature).  The physical body is a wonder.  The soul of man, intimately bound to the body, is given by God at conception and together, body and soul, make up a human being.  The fact that human beings possess a soul is another reason for the distinction between humans and animals.
In His Image
There are several aspects of humans that indicate that they bear God’s image.  First, humans have intellectual likeness to God.  In Ps. 139:1-6, David affirms that God is all-knowing.  Humans have intelligence (Job. 35:11), but are not infinite in knowledge.  Humans know more than the beasts of the field or the fowls of the air.  The powers of rational thought possessed by humans are part of the image of God.  Animals do not reason.  They function on the basis of instinct.  No animal has ever written a book!  Second, bearing the image of God means that there is a moral likeness to God.  God is holy (Isa. 6:1-3).  God is love (I John 4:8,16).  Humans are moral creatures.  The spirit of a human being is manifested in conscious thought, self-awareness, and self-reflection.  We have a conscience–a moral arbiter or umpire that either approves or disapproves of words and actions taken by us.  Animals are not moral creatures.  Humans are morally responsible to God because God created us.  God through various covenants has expressed His will in laws that He ordains.  This power to make laws is an expression of God’s sovereignty.  Human beings have always been accountable to God according to the covenant that they lived under at the time of their human sojourn on the earth.  God’s laws constitute objective moral laws.  These laws are recognized universally.  For instance, it is universally understood that murder and rape are wrong (sinful because they violate God’s laws).  Third, being created in the image of God means that humans have volition or the power to choose.  Responsibility to God implies the ability to respond by choice to either obey God or disobey Him.  Volitionality is essential to morality.  God possesses free-will.  God chooses and no one tells God what to do (Rom. 11:34).  “Who hath known the mind of the LORD, or who hath been his counsellor?”  Human beings have free-will.  All sin is the result of choice (James 1:14-15).  Love is a matter of choice.  If there is no free-will, there can be no love!  God desires that we obey Him because we love Him (Mt. 22:36-39; John 14:15, 23).  God is love and He has created humans with the power to love Him and others.  Love is the greatest human virtue (I Cor. 13:13).  If love were properly understood and applied, it would solve most, if not all, of the social problems facing humans today (I Cor. 13).
Truly God has created human beings with such distinction that it inspires wonder.  What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visiteth him?  (Ps. 8:4).  We marvel at how God has created us.  He made us in His image.  We have a created order and design that reflects God’s wisdom and power.  Using our minds, hearts and wills, we can established a spiritual and covenantal relationship with God following the terms and conditions of the New Testament (the law of Christ) and enjoy fellowship with God.  We can prepare to live with God eternally which is the reason He created us (Rev. 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”).