IN THE BEGINNING
GENESIS PART 1 – ANTEDILUVIAN HISTORY
THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION: IMAGO DEI
GENESIS 1:26-31
INTRODUCTION
- As we begin our second look at Genesis 1 today I want to revisit a few of the things we talked about last time in order to clarify some things and to bring up some things that I failed to mention. I talked about the fact that the Creation week, for the most part, is not subject to scientific scrutiny because it is not natural, repeatable, or testable. And someone mentioned to me after the service that the same is true with evolution. I thought this was a good point, so I wanted to bring it to your attention before we move on. The theory of evolution is not subject to scientific testing on many levels either. In fact, that’s why it’s called evolutionary theory, because it will never be able to be called a scientific law; at least based upon the scientific method. There are so many problems with evolutionary theory that some scientists are now suggesting that life did not evolve on this planet but came to this planet from outer space. That’s not a joke. Some are truly suggesting this.
- So again, keep in mind that although we would be ridiculed by many in the scientific community for believing in Creation ex nihilo by a sovereign Creator, we actually have the most plausible explanation for things being as they are. That’s why some have cleverly stated that they don’t have enough faith to be an evolutionist or an atheist; because the things some of these scientists theorize are absolutely astonishing. There is no scientific shame in being a creationist.
- I also want to remind you that I think that both the Day-Age Theory and the Young Earth Theory are acceptable interpretations of the Genesis 1 text. Honestly, as I did even more reading and studying this week my appreciation for the Day-Age Theory grew enormously. I still lean towards a Young Earth position, but I’m willing to change my mind on that. So in reevaluating some of these positions, I also reevaluated how I wanted to present this week’s information to you. I’m going to focus on the big ideas in the text rather than the particulars such as the length of the Genesis days – not because the particulars are not important, but because I want to provide an overview and leave the details to a discussion another time.
- Last time we talked about creation in general. Our purpose was to emphasize the fact that God created everything we see in this physical universe out of nothing. Remember, the theological Latin term is ex nihilo. Today, we are going to focus in on the creation of man and woman. There is another Latin theological term to describe what we are going to be discussing, and it is imago Dei. Imago Dei, as you might guess, means “image of God.” What do we mean when we say that man and woman were created in the image of God? That’s our topic today.
- In order to answer that question, we are going to start from the very beginning. What we are going to notice is that each day leads up to the pinnacle of God’s creation on day 6: mankind. Then, once we arrive at that pinnacle, we’ll take a look at how Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes the creation of man. Let’s start by reading Genesis 1:26-31, and we will reference other verses in the chapter as appropriate.
[READ GENESIS 1:26-31]
- As we look at what it means to be made in the image of God, I want to answer a few preliminary questions first. The first question is: why did God create anything in the first place? The reason I want to address this first is because the answer to this question informs our understanding of what it means to be made in God’s likeness. The second is: what did he create and how did he create it? We know from last time that God created everything ex nihilo, now our purpose will be to look at what he created on each day and how that relates to day 6. Some of the “how” questions will be addressed on each day as well. So here is the answer to that first question (Why did God create anything?). It has a simple aspect and a profound aspect.
GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE BECAUSE HE WANTED TO DO SO, IN ORDER THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE GLORY FROM HIS CREATION
- There is a well known passage in Psalm 19 that illustrates this beautifully: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
- When we look up into the sky and look around at the world we live in the glory of God is shouting out to us. And the psalmist who wrote these words wrote them in a time when many pagan religions worshiped what they saw in the sky and in the world around them. The sun, moon, and stars were set up as gods themselves. Various animals were also given god-like status and worshiped.
- In fact, that was still the case in the New Testament time period. In Romans 1 Paul warns unbelievers that the wrath of God is upon them by saying this: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
- The eternal power, wisdom, and nature of God is clearly visible in creation. So not only does creation point to a Creator but it also tells us about the Creator – that he is worthy of worship and honor and glory. That’s exactly what Revelation 4 depicts those in heaven as saying: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
- So the answer to “Why did God create the universe?” is very simple: because he wanted to do so. It was his will and pleasure to create it. Additional reasons beyond that are unknown to us, but we know at least that much otherwise this universe wouldn’t exist. The result of his willing to create is that his creation is a means by which he receives glory. Don’t forget that as we move along.
- Now let’s talk about what God created and how he created it.
GOD CREATED EARTH AS A SUITABLE DWELLING PLACE FOR MANKIND IN SIX CONSECUTIVE CREATION “DAYS”
- Remember “days” could mean literal 24 hour days or day-ages depending upon how you interpret this text. What I want you to notice most, however, is how these days progressively make Earth more suitable for the existence of life in general and especially human life. These days are typically divided into “forming” days and “filling” days.
DAY 1 – FORMING: LIGHT NEEDED TO ALLOW HUMAN LIFE
- I am of the mind that once the reader gets to v.3 they are to understand what is taking place as if they were on the earth watching each occurrence. There are some who disagree with this, but I think this is the best way to understand the text. So, in v.1 God creates the heavens and the earth. This includes our planet and all of the planets and stars in every solar system in the universe. Then, in v.2 the focus is narrowed to the earth: the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. We are now talking about what it looks likes on the surface of the earth.
- So when God says “Let there be light,” he is not at that moment creating light (he has already done this) but commanding that light penetrate the darkness on the earth. It says God separated the light from the darkness and called them “Day” and “Night” accordingly. Light and darkness are not called “Day” and “Night” in outer space, but on earth. Again, light from stars, including our own sun would have been brought into existence in v.1. In v.3, that light is commanded to penetrate the darkness on the earth and therefore provide a distinction between day and night on our planet. We’ll talk about how that affects the meaning of day 4 when we get there.
DAY 2 – FORMING: ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS NEEDED TO ALLOW HUMAN LIFE
- Moses writes: And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
- Here God separates the sky from the waters on the earth. Whatever the conditions were, it is apparent that there was no breathable atmosphere in place. So God forms such an atmosphere so that the plants, animals, and humans he is about to create can survive. Moses could not have possibly known the scientific ramifications of this, but it is amazing that by the Spirit of God, he gets it right. God creates the sky (that is, what we see when we look up – the atmosphere) before he creates advanced life. We can already see that the purpose of these days is to prepare the planet for God’s image bearers.
DAY 3 – FORMING: LAND & PLANTS NEEDED TO ALLOW HUMAN LIFE
- In vv.9-13 Moses describes the third creation day as the day in which God separated land from the seas and placed plants on the land. Children learn at a very young age that plants, through the process of photosynthesis, help replenish what? Oxygen. Land animals and humans cannot live without land or oxygen. Oxygen was already present, but the right balance was not. Before those creatures who need land and a stable atmosphere to survive are created, God designs the planet to be able to accommodate them.
DAY 4 – FILLING: LUMINARIES GIVEN PURPOSE
- Some interpreters hold that the sun, moon, and stars were created here on day 4. Others claim these bodies had already been created in v.1 and that they are given a specific purpose here on day 4. I am in the latter group. It does not say that God created the sun, moon, and stars here. In v.16 it says: And God made the two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night – and the stars. The word “made” there is different from the word “create” in vv.1, 21, & 27. Whereas, “create” means to bring something into existence and is only used to describe an action of God, “made” can signify the fashioning or appointing of something already created.
- And I think that is what it means here. The reason is because of what Moses describes God doing on this day. He places the luminaries in their proper place and designates them as indicators of signs, seasons, days, and years. The sun rules the day and the moon rules the night. They were already created in the initial creation event. Light from these luminaries became visible on the earth on day 1. Now they all can be clearly seen in the sky and they are given a special purpose.
- There is an unmistakable reference to the Hebrew calendar here. Remember, this book is a part of the larger work of the Pentateuch. What Moses is saying here on day 4 is that God put the luminaries such as the sun and moon where they are in order to help man keep track of the days and appointed times he would later reveal in his law. Here it is again: the creation days are all anthropic. That is, they are all focused on making earth “man-friendly.”
DAY 5 – FILLING: SEA ANIMALS & AIR ANIMALS CREATED
- This day and the first part of the next are pretty self-explanatory. On day 5, v.21 says: God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
- On day 2 God had separated the sky from the waters. Now he fills them both.
DAY 6 – FILLING: LAND ANIMALS CREATED
- On the first part of creation day 6 God created all of the land animals. Like the plants and the sea and air creatures, these animals were made according to their kinds and designed to reproduce as such. So from day 1 to day 6 God has been preparing the planet for the arrival of humans. Now we arrive back at v.26 which we started with earlier.
DAY 6 – MAN CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
- Man is the only creation of God which is said to be created in God’s image. The whole creation week has been anticipating this event. Now the pinnacle of God’s creation has been made.
- At this point we need to revisit our earlier claim. Remember we said that the reason why God created this universe was to display his glory. Now let’s tie that into this idea of the imago Dei. If God created the universe for his glory, and designed planet earth for mankind, there must be a glorious purpose for mankind. Because we are made in the image of God, and because this earth, in one sense, was created for us, we are capable of glorifying God in ways that other parts of the Creation cannot. This is what it means to be God’s image bearers: we glorify him in the following ways...first:
BECAUSE WE ARE MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE, WE GLORIFY HIM BY EXERCISING DOMINION ON THE EARTH
- This much is supremely clear in the last part of chapter 1. God gives mankind dominion over all other creatures. Now because of what happens in chapter 3, this dominion looks different now than it did then. We will talk about the effects of the Fall on the image of God in man at a later time. But still today it is obvious that mankind rules this earth. That is by design.
- Make sure you have a balanced view of this. There is a tendency today to over-emphasize nature’s place on God’s planet. Are we to take care of nature? Yes. Are we to rule lovingly and carefully over plants and animals? Yes. But we still rule. This planet was designed for our dominion. Humans are infinitely more important to God than the rest of creation. That does not mean the rest of creation is unimportant or should be abused. But men and women are the crown of God’s creation. Don’t feel like you have some obligation to be equal with wild animals or plants.
- We glorify God by exercising authority on this planet, as we were designed to do. Secondly:
BECAUSE WE ARE MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE, WE GLORIFY HIM BY ACTING AS MORAL AGENTS
- This point, and the last point, are implicit in this creation account along with chapters 2 and 3; whereas, the dominion of man is very explicit – both in this passage and on into chapter 2. These things are not directly stated, but rather implied. Human beings have a sense of morality that nothing else in creation has.
- In Romans 2 Paul describes Gentiles who did not have the Jewish law, and yet did what the law required simply by heeding their conscience. There is something inside of us that knows, on a fundamental level, the difference between right and wrong. We are going to see in a few weeks, that even though we have this morality, we are incapable of rightly applying it since we are enslaved to sin; but it’s still there.
- Our morality is horribly skewed by the fall but nothing else on this planet or any other has even a skewed morality. Everything in nature acts on instinct, without regard for consequences. Humans are different. Yes, we have instincts; but we are also aware of the moral implications of acting upon those instincts. This distinction glorifies God, because on a basic level we reflect God, who defines morality, by being moral creatures. Thirdly:
BECAUSE WE ARE MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE, WE GLORIFY HIM BY ACTING AS SPIRITUAL AGENTS
- As creatures who have both body and soul, humans alone were designed to relate to God on an intimate level. All of God’s creation is under his authority and obeys him, but he relates to mankind in a special way. We are designed to have fellowship with God.
- As spiritual agents we were also designed to exist for eternity. Whereas plants and animals die and go out of existence, our souls continue to live. One day our souls and bodies will be reunited and we will exist forever. The redeemed will exist forever in Heaven with Christ, and the unredeemed forever in Hell apart from Christ. Plants don’t go to Heaven or Hell. Animals don’t go to Heaven or Hell. Humans have a unique spiritual component.
- All of these distinctions bring up for us a very important point of application. I want to close with a consideration of:
HUMAN DIGNITY IN LIGHT OF OUR BEARING GOD’S IMAGE
- Because men and women bear the image of God we have intrinsic worth. Human life is precious. Each and every person is important to God. All people are worthy of respect and dignity. Even in our fallen state we retain value in the eyes of God. An understanding of how precious human life is in light of us being image bearers informs how we think about so many crucial issues. Hot topics such as abortion and euthanasia, if they are to be approached from a biblical perspective, must be rejected in light of God’s image in us. How we treat the poor, the handicapped, and the elderly in our society is directly related to how we understand God’s image in all people. Keep in mind this week, as you go about your life, that every single person you see bears the image of your Creator.
