Created In The Image Of God Series

In the Beginning. That’s where it all started and where God created all things. Now, I have no interest in dating when that creation may or may not have happened. Everybody has a theory.

For me, it’s enough to believe that God created everything. That this world as we know it was not an accident, and that every creature that has ever populated the world was placed here for a purpose, even if I don’t understand what that purpose might be.

I love the words of David as he prays to God in Psalm 139:13–16 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

This is the first week of our series “Who Am I?” And over the next few weeks, we will be looking at our identity. Our identity as a creation of God, our identity as a new creation of God, our identity as a part of God’s family

Let’s go back to the scripture that was read for us earlier, Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.”

So, the first thing that pops out at us is this is the first time the creation process is done in consultation.

Listen to what happened earlier in the story of creation. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And then we read in, Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

And so it goes, God spoke the world into being, and He spoke, and the oceans were formed, and things began to grow, and He spoke, and the world was populated with creatures of all different kinds.

But then we hear the words, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” It does not say, God, said, “Let me make human beings in my image to be like me.”

There have been different thoughts here concerning the use of the plural.

It has been suggested by some that perhaps this was like the Royal we. According to Wikipedia, The royal we is commonly employed by a person of high office, such as a monarch or other type of sovereign.

But in most cases, it is not appreciated. British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was mocked for her grandiose pronouncement, “We have become a grandmother.”

It was a term used by Rutherford B. Hayes when he was the US president, and in response, senator Roscoe Conkling stated, “Yes, I have noticed there are three classes of people who always say ‘we’ instead of ‘I.’ They are emperors, editors and men with a tapeworm.”

Personally, I wonder, if this was the case, then why wasn’t the “royal we” used in the earlier statements of creation?

Others have speculated that perhaps God was speaking to the heavenly hosts, the angels, and seraphim when he made this statement. But this would imply the heavenly hosts would have had a hand in the creation process and that they had been created in God’s image. And there is nothing in the scriptures to support either of those.

The third option that has been suggested is that this is the first reference to the Trinity. And God the Father is addressing the rest of the Trinity.

And there is evidence that each part of the Godhead was a part of the creation process. At the very beginning of the Old Testament, we read these words, Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. So, at the very beginning, we are introduced to the Holy Spirit.

And at the very beginning of the New Testament, we read these words, John 1:1–4 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

If we continue reading, we discover that John is introducing us to Jesus. Let’s pick up his account in verse 14, John 1:14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.