Psalm 8:5
5 For thou hast made him a little [ma`at] lower [chacer] than the angels, ['elohiym] and hast crowned [`atar] him with glory [kabowd] and honour. [hadar] KJV-Interlinear
5 Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty! NASB
Although the word for angels, ‘elohiym,’ is a word for the plural of gods, this does not have the specific reference to the God, but to authorities. And has been used in describing angels and even man in several passages, Ps 82:1; 97:7; 138:1; Ex 21:6; 22:8-9.
And so man being nothing more than dust and, and certainly far beneath the level of God, is also made with limitations lower than the capabilities of angels. But this is a temporary state of humanity. For at the resurrection, man will be elevated to a level much higher than the angels.
Our level is said to be a ‘little’ lower than the angels, so whatever the differences are between us, in the grand scheme of things, they are slight in nature.
We might think that our differences are great since none of us can disappear from being seen, none of us can travel to and from heaven, none of us can see those who have passed away (deceased people), and angels seem to possess great strength and abilities, and so forth.
But whatever the characteristic differences are between man and angel, they are stated here as being little differences.
And you might think that this places us in a higher state than mere dust, but in reality that brings angels down to more near our level as far as creation goes.
However, man is made with physical limitations like the animals of the world, but unlike the animals, man has a soul and therefore has an everlasting life. So, though tied to the earth for now (for a little while), man is a little lower in physical limitation, than the angels, but are more near the angels as far as everlasting life is concerned.
Nevertheless, God has given us dominion over the earth, and has crowned us with glory and honor.
Even though only dust, man has been given dominion over the earth. That comes with the glory (beauty, splendor, brilliance, talent) and honor (respect, reputation, principle) of the elevated promotion over all that is on the earth or in this world.
Whether it be the command over the animal life on the planet, or the ability to discover the secrets of science and technology contained within and developed from the earth, all are included in the honor given to man to seek out and discover and invent to his hearts content.
And while there are some who would place even more limitations on themselves (do not wear colors, do not use electricity, do not use doctors, do not fly because you did not get wings, etc.), these attitudes only demonstrate a further ignorance of Gods will and purpose and permission for mans elevated position.
Mans only problem is that though given great honors, man generally uses them for bad purposes, and thus the many boundaries and constraints (life span, establishment principles, etc.) placed on humanity are there for our own protection, lest we destroy ourselves sooner than history intends.
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