Mensa Otabil - You are God's Image (10/31/2025)
We’re continuing our study of Psalm 8, and we’re looking at verse 5: «For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor.» Previously, David had asked the question, «What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you should visit him?» This is an answer to the question: «You have made him a little lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor.» Here, the psalm introduces us to the unique role that God has placed human beings in within His creation. What it’s saying here draws from the first chapters of the Book of Genesis, where God created man in His image and likeness.
The first thing you note here is the statement, «You have made him,» and that’s important. God made us; we didn’t make ourselves. We didn’t just happen to be; God made us. This is the truth at the heart of Christianity: we are God’s creation. God made us; we are intentionally made by Him. Then He says He made us a little lower. I want to explain something here a little bit, because if you just ponder what the psalm is saying, considering all the universe and everything in it, why is man important to God? What is it about human beings, who seem frail and insignificant, who don’t seem to matter in the larger scheme of the universe?
It says that God has made him a little lower. In the New King James, it says «a little lower than the angels.» The word that is translated as «angels» in the Hebrew is the word " Elohim.» If you remember when we looked at the names of God, we came across the name «Elohim.» Elohim broadly is used for God; sometimes it’s also used for other deities, sometimes for angels, and even sometimes for human judges. How to translate Elohim is always a difficulty — some translate it as angels, and some as God.
But if you look at this psalm in the context of Genesis chapter 1, the Bible says that God created man in His own image and likeness. The conclusion we come to is that God has made man a little lower than Himself. Why? Because He created man to be like Him. He didn’t create us to be like angels but like God. That’s a very important truth: in the creation of God, there is nothing that resembles God more than us, human beings. He made us to be like Him, although lower than Him.
Then He says that, after God has made us a little lower than Himself, He crowned us with glory and honor. The word «crown» means to surround, to cover. So, God has covered us with glory and honor. You know, when you look at yourself, you may think that your life doesn’t mean much, but God has crowned you with glory and honor. He has poured it around you, and in spite of all the struggles you have and maybe some shameful things you might have done or some disgraceful things that have happened to you, God has still crowned you with glory and honor. You are special; I am special; we are special in God’s scheme of things. Human beings have inbuilt dignity and honor, and it doesn’t matter what kind of human being they are-they need to be treated with dignity and honor because they represent the image of God.
That is why the psalmist says that God is mindful of us. The sun, the moon, and the stars-that’s not the image of God. They reflect the glory of God, but in themselves, they are not the image of God. The animals-they are grand, they are beautiful, but they are not the image of God. The solar system and the planetary systems-none of them is the image of God. You and I, human beings, occupy a very special place in God’s heart and mind, and that is why He is mindful of us.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, you have made me to be like you. Teach me to manifest Your glory and honor in all I do. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.