Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28
Date: July 31, 2011
Speaker: Sean Higgins
I’m a still-recovering Christian Gnostic. Tonight I hope to see the foundation about life on the planet and build on it next Sunday night.
Genesis 1:26-31 is undoubtedly one of the three most important paragraphs in all of God’s Word. Though it is the longest, most detailed description of any day in the creation story, it is astonishingly short for the significance of truth it contains. Without this paragraph, the question, What is man? cannot be answered accurately. It reveals truth about man, his place and purpose on the planet, as God finishes His part in filling the creation He’s formed.
It it hart to estimate how much we need a renewed understanding of these things. Here we learn about man’s created value. This is where true esteem comes from. Here we learn about man’s created capabilities. Here we learn about man’s created purpose. Here were begin to learn about our being fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
As amazing as all of God’s creative work in the previous days of week one, this paragraph is the climax, the peak of the story. Not only does the creation of men get the most attention in that Moses uses the most amount of space to describe it, it now becomes apparent that all of the other creative elements are for man. The light was made for man to work and to set the pattern of his life cycle. The atmosphere was made so man could live and breathe. The dry land was created for man’s home and for his sustenance. Even the birds and sea creatures and land animals are placed under man. Man is the masterpiece and crown of creation.
And for the first time, a part of God’s creation is made “in His image.” As we’ll discuss, for whatever that “image” means exactly, it doesn’t mean less than that man is framed in a unique way and with a privileged place.
This paragraph, at least a correct understanding of it, would change our laws: we would stop killing babies and we’d certainly be more concerned about human babies instead of baby whales. This paragraph would give us a new understanding for living on a green planet; we would recycle as stewards not because the trees are our family. This paragraph would help us recognize that men and women are different; they are not made the same though they both have value in God’s image. We would educate differently, work differently, live differently.
New things in verse 26 grab our attention like a pop-up book.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (verse 26)
Every other time in chapter one, “And God said” is followed by a creative word, “Let there be [light (v.3), an expanse (v.), etc.].” But in verse 26, “And God said” is followed by a conversation.
The obvious question is: who is God talking to?
It wasn’t that God was talking to Himself per se, because He doesn’t go on to say, “Let Me make man in My image.” It also wasn’t that Gods were talking to each other, because in the following verse the pronoun is singular again, “God created man in His own image” and not “in the image of Gods they created him.”
Most scholars (many of whom are, unsurprisingly, Jewish scholars) think that God was talking in the heavenly court to angels. But, nowhere in the Bible does God “counsel” with the angels. Also, men are nowhere said to be made in the image of angels.
There isn’t much evidence in Genesis one itself related to the Trinity (maybe verse 2 where the Spirit of God hovers over the face of the waters). But the plural is unmistakably clear. Not only is it clearly “Let us make man,” the image is our image and the likeness is our likeness. I’m not sure exactly what Moses was thinking about, but knowing what we do now in light of the rest of Scripture, it is easy to envision the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in their eternal relationship, talking and deliberating with one another about the plan.
Here now is the first part of that plan in verse 26: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . Forests of trees have been sacrificed to make the reams of paper it’s taken to print the books and articles written on the subject of the words “image” and “likeness” and what that means about man.
Even though “image” and “likeness” may have nuanced differences, Moses clearly uses them as synonyms. The key word seems to be “image” as it is repeated two addition times in verse 27. “Likeness” (to be like, to resemble, but not the same as) seems to be a way for Moses to stress what image is.
So what does image mean? An image is a form or reflection or representation of something. A penny has the image of Abraham Lincoln’s head on one side. That image represents Lincoln, but it obviously isn’t actually Lincoln himself. At the right angle you can see your image in the water as it reflects your face. You’re not in both places, but the water shows what your face looks like.
So men are a reflection of God Himself. They are made in such a way as to show something about God. They are not God, but the bear a resemblance to Him in such a way that by viewing man we get a picture of God. Sometimes we talk about how the Bible represents God anthropomorphically, that is, with human characteristics. “More accurately, a human being is theomorphic, made like God so that God can communicate Himself to people. He gave people ears to show that He hears the cry of the afflicted and eyes to show that He sees the plight of the pitiful (Ps. 94:9)” (Waltke).
But what part or parts about man represent God? In particular, what is man? What is it about man that separates him from the rest of creation since he’s the only part made in God’s image?
Bearing God’s image doesn’t mean that men have life. Birds and fish and animals have life. Being made in God’s image doesn’t necessarily mean that man has a body. Again, the animals have physical bodies, and, God doesn’t have a body, or thumbs. Other suggested definitions for “image” range from:
On one hand, it seems like Moses doesn’t give a precise definition; he just states the fact. But I think two things must be included in what it means for man to be made in the image of God from this context.
First, that man is made in God’s image means that man is made for RELATIONSHIP. I think that because it is the Triune God that discusses making man. The three Persons are conversing. Our God was a personal God before He created, with eternal relationships between the Persons. Though each Person is different, there is an enjoyment of one another in unity. And the basis of human relationships is the relationships between the Godhead. Creatures live together, fish travel in schools, but they don’t fellowship as friends.
The relationship aspect also seems to be the point of saying male and female He created them in verse 27. The emphasis is not only that both men and women bear God’s image, but that they do that together in relationship, so marriage in 2:18-25, resulting in kids, then cultures. Man is personal and interpersonal. He is a social creature made for community, not isolation, just like His Maker.
No other religion has a God like this. Other religions cannot account for relationships where persons have equality but uniqueness.
Second, that man is made in God’s image means that man is made for RESPONSIBILITY. Unlike the other parts of creation that are made for certain smaller tasks, man is made for oversight and stewardship and making and progress. As soon as God decides to patter man after Himself He says Let them have dominion . We are made for relationships and we are made for responsibility.
In making man for dominion, that is, for ruling, God has assigned man a place over creation, though man is part of creation. It is not (necessarily) arrogant to act like we are better than birds. It is arrogant to act like we are better than God. And keeping in mind our position before God helps us maintain the proper perspective of our job regarding His creation.
So God’s eternal plan was revealed and accomplished. He made us to work. He made us to be unique. He made us for relationship and responsibility. Of course things including rationality and ability to communicate are important for relationships and responsibility, but those are the two broad ways men reflect God that stand out in the passage.
Verse 27 stands out in the flow of this paragraph, interrupting God’s discourse with the narrator’s (almost) lyrical summary.
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (verse 27)
Three times in verse 27 the word bara ( created ) is used. Only God is the subject of bara in the OT; only He creates like this. The only times bara is used in Genesis one relates to brand new things or new stages of creation, like the universe (v.1), living things (v.21), and now humans.
Also notice that image is again the emphasis. God created man in His own image and then the exact same thing is said again in the opposite order, in the image of God He created them . That not only clarifies why man is the way he is, but even more, I think the repetition and syntax celebrate man. God is exalting over this finishing touch.
The last phrase in verse 27 could be problematic in light of chapter two. Why? Because this verse says male and female He created them , in addition to God said to them and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply . Whereas chapter two describes that man, that is, Adam, was created first. Only after Adam named all the animals did God create Eve.
But actually, seeing 1:27 as the general work of creation solves the fact that God said it was not good for man to be alone (2:18), but at the end of day six God said it was very good . So there really is no problem, and in fact, the more detailed description of how God created man and then woman in chapter two emphasizes even more that man is the focal point for God.
Man is not broken down by species or made “according to its kind,” rather, man is designated by sexuality. Sexuality “is not an accident of nature, nor is it simply a biological phenomenon. Instead it is a gift of God” (Hamilton, p. 138).
At some point later on day six, God addressed the first couple.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (verse 28)
Like with the birds and the fish in verse 22, blessing precedes the commission to reproduce. The mandate to multiply was energized and empowered by God.
Blessing them, God said to them , the first act of speaking with His creation (since in verse 22 His commission to birds and fish was not to the birds and fish) and then a string of five imperatives:
The first three assume relationship and are linked to procreation, to reproduction, and the final three are related to responsibility, with the middle command (“Fill the earth”) functioning as the hinge, since the more humans the easier for cooperating and taking dominion.
The commission to reproduce would have been especially meaningful to the first two people on the planet. [This was the first application of the principle “focus on the few to reach the many,” where the many are a result of the first couple. This is also why Genesis 1:28 is not the poster verse for one28, because we’ve got to get you married before we get you obeying this.] The genealogies in Genesis (5, 9, 11, 25, 36, 46) provide testimony to the obedience and fruitfulness of Adam and Eve.
For the emphasis on life and abundance in chapter one, this verse should not be used as a basis for believing that you must have as many children as possible, especially if the pregnancy or labor threatens life. Remember that at this point, there was no sin, no death, and no pain in child birth! Things are different after the fall. This verse should not make barren couples feel guilty or ashamed.
And yet, this verse should confront those who think they don’t want any kids, or who are going to wait as long as possible so that kids don’t get in the way. Genesis 1:28 does indeed confront that selfishness by reminding us that God’s intention and command was that we be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Even with 6.8 billion people we haven’t filled the earth. There’s no need to get worried about overpopulation.
Men and women were to have children, raise children, and send out their children.
The second facet of God’s mandate for man in Genesis 1:28 relates to his image-bearing responsibility on and over the earth. Men were made not only to enjoy creation, but also to work it and keep it. God commanded men to subdue the earth and have dominion over the animals, establishing divine cause for exploration and study of the earth and using that knowledge to develop it. In other words, God commissioned us to change the world.
Nancy Pearcey describes this “Cultural Mandate” in her book Total Truth.
In Genesis, God gives what we might call the first job description: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” The first phrase, “be fruitful and multiply” means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws. The second phrase, “subdue the earth,” means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music. This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations—nothing less.
To our shame, we have largely ignored our human calling to “to order, develop, and embellish God’s splendid creation, to realize the multifarious potentialities which were embedded within it.” (David Hageman, Ploughing in Hope, 29). Christian young people are often the worst culprits of laziness and low aspirations. More pagan young people have vision for accomplishing goals, even if only out of pride. Christians—on the OT, God-fearers—should be the most eager, motivated, and wise workers. We recognize that changing the world isn’t a burden; it’s a privilege. We should be the best teachers, the best scientists, the best artists, the best widget-makers because we have the proper perspective on what it means to be human.
The Cultural Mandate involves making and shaping everything on earth as God’s image-bearers. To that end, God has given each one of us different desires and talents to be used. No matter what our skill or skill level, we are to take God with us we go, build, and organize. Sometimes it is said that the only thing we can do on earth that we can’t do in heaven is evangelize. Not true. Man was given a purpose on the planet before the need to evangelize existed. When we die, we will find the culture in heaven is already in place. We dare not waste our limited time opportunity here.
I think Adam and Eve would be proud of the world wide web, zippers, recycled paper, the interstate highway system, MacBook Airs, and the wheel. In the mandate to fill the earth, we anticipate society and cities and culture as well as government. In the mandate to subdue the earth, we anticipate science and technology, research and development, schools, art, music, architecture and agriculture, and medicine after the fall.
Here are couple of stray implications that come out of this paragraph.
Those who are always asking their teachers if they’ll use this or that piece of information later in life are not thinking right. That question betrays a low vision of what they’re pursuing or hoping to accomplish in life. The response should be, “Wow! I better figure out a way that I can use this later in life because this is really amazing that God has made the world to work in this particular way. How can I use that for God’s sake, to show off His image?” When we ask “What is the minimum amount I need to know to pass the test?” that is a pathetic, superficial outlook on your God given purpose on earth.
What are we doing to change the world? Or at least, how are we preparing now to change the world later? Are we working to figure out our God-given skills so that we can maximize our image-bearing? What are we dreaming about? What is the direction of our lives? Is the image we’re bearing in those pursuits an accurate reflection of God?
We are not worthy to enjoy the condition of our first father, who was to live in a pleasant setting without having to work hard. Nevertheless, before sin entered the world, and before we were condemned by God to painful and difficult work, it was necessary for men to occupy themselves with some work. Why? Because it was against our nature for us to be useless blocks of wood. (John Calvin quoted in Ploughing in Hope, 41, emphasis added)
God chose to reveal Himself most in men. While every intricate part of the universe shows God’s handiwork, men and women are the only parts of creation that bear His image. There is nothing like a man. What is man? He is the imago Dei, the image of God.
There will be more to talk about once sin enters the world through Adam. Before the fall, we were made in God’s image. After the fall, Christians are transformed into the image of God’s Son. Before the fall, we were commissioned to take dominion over the earth. After the fall, we are commissioned to make disciples of all nations. But there are human responsibilities that existed before sin. Christians should be better equipped to fulfill them.
This passage FRAMES OUR BELIEFS about:
What a privileged position and serious responsibility He’s given us. Our primary work is to worship in our work by bearing His image.