Man is the crowning jewel of God’s creation, a volitional being equipped with a mind and a heart, to whom the Lord God gave the earth as his dwelling place. Moreover, he was chosen by God to reflect His holiness on earth, to act as God’s deputy regent on earth, caring for the rest of God’s creation as God Himself would. Man was designated by God to rule the earth, to fill it and to keep it. This was his original vocation. Of all His creatures, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

As God’s deputy regent, man is to faithfully represent His Maker on earth, so that the glory of God may shine in him.