PART 2 – “IN GOD’S IMAGE”

PART 2 – “IN GOD’S IMAGE”

By: Jack Guyler

As we look at Genesis 1, we see God very busy creating the sun, earth, moon, stars, galaxies, plants, animals and humanity.

God made something extra special on the last day – human beings: male and female.

The Genesis account is clear that humans didn’t just evolve or get here by accident, but that they were intentionally planned and created by God. This is the second clear message in Genesis 1-2 (the other is that the universe isn’t here by accident but by intentional design).

“We never read that the heavens bear the image of God. Genesis does not deny what chemistry tells us – that all life has a material substrate of common elements. Genesis affirms that life has a chemical base, but it denies the reductionist addendum of the materialist – that life is nothing but chemistry.”

- John Lennox, 7 Days That Divide the World

The traditional western view here is that God made woman from the man, but the Jewish understanding is that humanity is only complete and whole as male and female. Both together make up humanity. This is important in a day when we talk a lot about gender equality. Even in church history, this has been an issue. Even today there are parts of the church that make women subservient to men or don’t allow them in certain roles. But as we look at scripture we see that this is not the case. In fact, the Hebrew understanding is that each balances and makes the other whole. Think of a teeter-tooter. Scripture teaches that the genders are very distinct and unique. Though they are quite different, each are needed to complete God’s purpose for humanity. One is not better or more elite than the other.

God made man, male and female. He made both in His image. Humans alone are the image bearers of God. All of creation reflects the Creator. Just like a painting reflects the artist, the music the musician, the movie the director, the book the author, creation reflects God. And for those who have owned a dog, you know there is nothing that quite reflects and shows the unconditional love of God quite like they do. But it is only humans who bear the image of God. What does this mean?

• We reflect the attributes of God – love, mercy, justice, holiness

• We are stewards – we are called to care for all God has made and to shape and develop creation.

• We have unique ability to develop relationships with God and others

• Dignity and Value – we have an innate dignity and value, regardless of skin color, gender, race, nationality or circumstance

• As humans, we have been commissioned to be light and salt for God in a dark world. We alone are called to be his witnesses – of His love, grace and forgiveness.

• To be human means we uniquely or have an additional level to think, reason, empathize…to hear and sense God…to conform to God and to be transformed into the people God wants us to be. We have the capacity for community and relationships with God and others that all of the rest of creation doesn’t quite have. Now, as an animal lover and having had many pets, I know they have a capacity for love, they can think, they certainly have feelings and they can be very relational; but humans have been given this capacity at a higher level.

As humans, we have been called to act in the place of God in our world. God is not absent from our world, but He does partner with us for the benefit of our world.

A second thing I want to point out is that human beings have worth in the eyes of God without even doing anything – note it says in 1:27 that God made humans in his image and then said at the end of the day that everything was very good.

We live in a world of performance and live with anxiety about what others think of us, including what God thinks about us. But here we are reminded from the beginning, that we started out on firm footing with God – greatly loved as His image bearers (much like a parent loves their child from the womb…nothing a new born can do will get you to love them more, because you already love them with all of your heart).

Third, I want to point out the difference between the God that Genesis is describing and revealing and the gods worshiped in the ancient world such as in Egypt, Canaan or Mesopotamia. The God of Genesis thought out the creation of human beings and placed them in the center of His creation in the Garden of Eden and created them in his image while the gods of the ancient civilizations saw humans as an after-thought.

Humans in the Genesis account are seen to be stewards, partners with God gifted with liberty and dignity while humans were seen by the gods as servants, required to do menial tasks, to live in fear if they were sacrificing enough to the gods and lived in fear of punishment.

Only the Genesis account in the ancient world paints a picture of a God who saw humans as valuable and with dignity. The message of Genesis 1-2 is that God created everything and everything He created, including human beings were very good.