Are we humans, or animals, or both?
This week, an article popped up on Yahoo News that caught my eye. According to scientists, orangutans share 97 percent of their DNA with humans! They are more closely related to us than previously thought. Chimpanzees share 98.5 percent of their DNA with humans. Chimpanzees use coconut shells as a cup to drink water, they'll crack nuts with small logs or rocks, and they can walk upright. If tickled, chimpanzees giggle! But unlike humans, they have the ability to giggle while exhaling and inhaling. Try it out!
But seriously, are we 98.5 percent chimp and just 1.5 percent human? Interestingly enough, scientists did a study on a soil-dwelling worm called a nematode. Scientists found that the nematode shares 75 percent of its DNA with humans. If anyone asks you what you learned today in church, tell them, "I am 98.5 percent chimp, 97 percent orangutan, and 75 percent worm."
God created man in his own image.
Here is what Genesis 1:25 (NIV) tells us about animals. "God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."
Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV) tells us how God created man. "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' "
Next week, we're doing to talk about man's responsibility in creation, but look what God says in Genesis 1:31 (NIV) after he creates man. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day."
Man is unique among everything created by God.
According to God's word, we are unique among everything created. So after God creates animals, he declares everything to be, "good". But after he creates man, he declares everything to be, "very good". Why the difference? Why is the creation of chimps and orangutans good, while the creation of man is very good?
Our answer is repeatedly emphasized, four times, in Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV) when God says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Emphasis added) Unlike animals, we've been endowed with a capacity to reflect the image of our creator! We reflect his very likeness, his character, his attributes, his righteousness, and his holiness. This is what makes human life so special, so unique, and so sacred! We are the only creatures in all of creation capable of reflecting God's holy character and glory.
The human tragedy is that we identify more with chimps than with God, who created us to be holy. So here is the thing about chimpanzees and about animals in general. They live in the flesh, in the moment. They are hard-wired to follow their desires and thoughts, their fleshly cravings and their natural instincts. Chimpanzees do not transcend their animal nature. They descend into it. But here is what is unique about human beings. God endows us with a spiritual capacity to transcend the flesh!
Humans are endowed with the spiritual capacity to transcend the flesh.
Ephesians 2:1 (NIV) speaks of a time when humans were, "...dead in your transgressions and sins." Ephesians 2:3-5 (NIV) elaborates on this theme. "All of us also lived among them (the disobedient) at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) continues, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
We have the capacity to elevate ourselves in order to transcend the cravings of our sinful nature, to transcend our desires and thoughts, to be God's workmanship, and to do good works that trillions of animals and creatures cannot.
Galatians 5:19-25 (NIV) explains it this way. "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
It's that last phrase that captures what is so sacred about human life. It's that we can live by the Spirit of the living God. We can live holy and righteous lives! We can be godly!
This is why in Colossians 3:5 (NIV) Paul says, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:10 (NIV) tells us to, "...put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
Unlike animals, humans have the capacity to be godly.
We have the capacity to know God. With what we learn, we can magnify his character and his likeness in our lives. This is what sets us apart from the rest of creation. We can exercise moral discernment. We can write laws, punish wrongdoing, develop standards, and live with restraint. God's Holy Spirit convicts our conscience in regard to sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment. Scientists may tell us that we're 99 percent chimp, but if we lived 99 percent like a chimp, we'd be institutionalized or thrown in jail.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will." 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
I'd like to make one more point about Genesis 1:26. The only way we can reflect God's image is in community. Earlier in the series, we described how the Godhead is a trinity, a plurality. In other words, the Godhead exists in community. God is social. God doesn't exude his holy character as a lone entity. He exudes his character within the holy trinity-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It isn't any different for us. When God creates us, he creates us to reflect his image in community. In Exodus 34:6 (NIV) God is described as, "...the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love..." These are relational qualities that can only be reflected in relationships. God wants his holy character to permeate our relationships. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV) says, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."
Don't be a chimp!
So let's get practical, lest this become a dull lecture. First, don't be a chimp. Philippians 3:19 (NIV) describes the philosophy of most people and animals! "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." Friends, we were created for something much greater than food consumption, alcohol and drug abuse, lust, pornography, sexual addiction, materialism, greed, video gaming, and endless television. We were created to reflect God's holiness in holy relationships. God has given us his Holy Spirit to elevate us beyond our cravings, desires, and sinful nature! Why would we rob ourselves of our true humanity?
1 Corinthians 6:12-13 (NIV) says, "Everything is permissible for me-- but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me-- but I will not be mastered by anything. 'Food for the stomach and the stomach for food'-- but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body."
Live for becoming holy, as God is holy.
Second, let's live for holiness. 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NIV) says, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' " We are no longer living in ignorance! Our highest calling in life is to be holy, like God. It's not to be CEO, President, MVP, or Miss America. We can be all of those things and still miss our highest calling-- to be holy! We were created to be holy.
Love is for holiness.
Third, love is for holiness. It strikes me that a lot of men these days only know how to "take" beautiful wives, but they haven't learned how to "make" their wives beautiful. So you have all these men over here claiming to love their wives. But what a lot of men really love is their own desires. They are living for the flesh, and when their wives don't fulfill their desires, they begin looking outside the relationship for someone who will. Our culture teaches that love is purely for sexual gratification. Love and sexual gratification are virtually synonymous.
But this is not what the Bible teaches. Love is for sanctification, not sexual gratification. Ephesians 5:25-28 (NIV) describes what it means to make your wife beautiful. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself."
Men, if your love isn't reflecting God's holy character, then it isn't true love. If your love isn't making your wife more beautiful in holiness, it isn't true love. Call it sin, call it self-centeredness, or call it narcissism, but don't call it love. True love has holy, not selfish, intent. It's for the sanctification of others, not for your self-gratification. Selfish man, be holy! Love holiness! Desire holiness! Crave holiness in your marriage. If you do, I guarantee your wife will love you like you've never been loved.
Child-bearing is a great honor and privilege.
Fourth, child-bearing is a great honor and privilege. In the Bible, when God brings forth human life, he declares it very good. So how is it that people call it very bad? I saw on CBS News last week that 35 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. 350 out of 1000 births are terminated. We don't honor mothers as we should, we ridicule motherhood, we abandon young mothers when they most need grace and support, we treat stay at home mothers as losers, and we roll our eyes if anyone has more than a few children. There is no greater dignity, honor, and responsibility than childbirth! Be fruitful and multiply is a divine mandate to husbands and wives.
Holiness is the purpose of parenting.
Fifth, holiness is the purpose of parenting. Malachi 2:15 (NIV) describes God's purpose in marriage. "Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring." Chimps have offspring, but only human parents can have godly offspring. More than anything else, God desires godly offspring who will magnify his character. Producing godly offspring is a divine mandate to parents.
And if childbearing is not possible, there is adoption, foster care, and fighting for the life of the unborn. Through Compassion International, you can be a spiritual father to a young person. You can invest yourself in our children's ministry here at church. There is no greater calling than to cultivate godliness in children. Cultivating holiness is the purpose of parenting.
Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ.
Last, let's keep our eyes on the perfect image, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) says, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being..." Colossians 1:15 (NIV) says of Jesus that, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Colossians 3:10 (NIV) says that we are all, "...being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." We live in an image conscious culture. There is only one image we should be concerned about. We should be concerned about the image of God and becoming fully like him, reflecting his perfect character.