We continue a series of messages entitled Creed: 9 Essentials to the Christian Faith. We are exploring the beliefs that form the theological center of Christianity. It is a series devoted to the discovery of what you believe and why it matters. Each of these beliefs serves as lynchpins to the Christian faith, so that if you were to remove one of them you would see the Christian faith crumble. We have given four reasons why your beliefs matter over the past several weeks:
1. Beliefs Matter to God (June 24)
2. Beliefs Matter to Your Church Family (July 1)
3. Beliefs Matter to Your Family (June 17)
4. Beliefs Matter to You
Today I want to explore how and why you were created. Knowing where we came from answers the question, “Who Am I?” If I am the product of an evolutionary chance, than I have no unique identity. My hope is infuse each of you with a sense of worth and dignity and purpose about why you are here on earth.
Today’s Scripture
“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.’
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 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.’” (Genesis 1:26-28)
Overview of Genesis 1
One of the first things that strike readers of the Bible is the brevity of the story of creation. For those of you who remember using Yahoo as a search engine before the advent of Google, can remember how Yahoo would jam everything on to the front page of their site. In contrast, Google has as its front page, a stark and bare-face page with no advertisement. Google’s search engine page is clean and simple. This is similar to the account given to us in the Bible of the beginning of time. The Bible gives just two chapters to tell the story of how all things came into existence. In contrast, the Bible gives thirteen chapters to tell the story of Abraham.
The Bible’s creation account is introduced simply: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). For all the controversy surrounding the origins of the universe in our day and in biblical times, this account is described by one Jewish rabbi as “tranquil [and] undisturbed by … dispute…” The Bible simply presents the account of God’s creation of all things, and humans in particular, with no reference to the controversy surrounding it. Further, it offers no argument for the existence of God. Instead, it simply presumes He exists.
As we overview the beginning of the Bible itself, take special note that God Himself is all over the place in this account as He is mentioned thirty five times. God is the main character in this story as He is throughout the Bible. Now, this one introductory verse (Genesis 1:1) is followed by seven paragraphs describing each of the days of creation. Each paragraph is devoted to a day of activity where the universe is created. You can easily see the paragraph divisions for you’ll see the repeated phrase, “And there was evening and there was morning, the … day.”
Throughout the creation account, God makes eleven statements that call objects into being. The shortest of God’s statements is found in verse three, “Let there be light.” God speaks three times on Day Six which is our focus today. It is here that the Bible’s describes the creation of humanity. Of the six days of creation (remember God rests on Day Seven and is silent), Day Six is the most significant. More space and detail are given to Day Six than any of the previous five days. God performs two acts of creation on Day Six – He first creates animals, or what the text calls “living creatures” in Genesis 1:24-26, and second, He creates humanity. And while it would benefit us greatly to examine the entire scope of creation, I want to focus specifically on God’s creation of humanity.
For while this story from Genesis 1 shows the significance of the creation of everything, the focus of the story is clearly on the creation of humanity. It’s as if the storyteller, Moses, takes the camera and zooms in to allow us to inspect mankind’s origins more closely.
1. God Created Humans
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man…” (Genesis 1:26a).
The Bible simply states God’s creation of humanity with stark simplicity. Where in verse twenty-six, we hear the voice of God, in verse twenty-seven, we hear the voice of Moses, the narrator of our story:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Verse twenty-seven is an embedded poem that repeats itself for emphasis. The word “create” is used three times in this verse and the repetition is to emphasize and reinforce this. What makes the use of the “create” is this even more telling is that it is used only three times in the chapter itself. The first time is in Genesis 1:1 where everything is created from nothing. The second time is in Genesis 1:21 where God created “every living creature that moves…” And then the word is used three times in verse twenty-seven. Moses uses the word “create” sparingly and does so here to tell us of humanity’s special beginning. To be sure, we are given more details about humanity’s origins a little later in Genesis: “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21-22). Putting it together, God created Adam, the first man, from dust. And Eve, the first woman, was created from Adam’s rib.
Take Special Note: God creates all things from nothing. God created stuff, or what the Bible calls, “expanse” in Genesis 1:6. He first creates materials and secondly, He organizes these materials. His creative work involves two kinds of works here. He first creates materials and secondly, He organizes these materials. Adam and Eve, were made from material God created.
Again, God creates all things from nothing. An artist will start with paint. A flower arranger with start with flowers. And an engineer starts with concrete and steel. God is quite different. Because He is infinite, He creates everything that is created from nothing. Paul would say it this way: “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17b). “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Stuff wasn’t in existence but it now exists because of God. This is different from the Big Bang Theory as the Bible goes beyond it. Small stuff was together before the Big Bang and then the earth and everything was formed. God did not start with even small stuff.
1.1 God Consults within the Trinity Before Creating Humans
Note carefully the words in verse twenty-six. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). In telling the story of creation, we continually read where God creates everything as if He running errands. Yet, when it comes to the creation of man and woman, God pauses to consult with the Other Members of Trinity before proceeding. This is unique. Only in the creation of mankind does Scripture refer to God’s thoughts before He acts. Notice carefully God’s statement in verse twenty-six where His intentions precede His action described in verse twenty-seven. Verse twenty-six prepares you for something momentous about to occur. Consequently, humans are set apart from the rest of creation. Humanity has a special dignity about them that none of God’s creation shares. You are placed on a pedestal away from trees and animals.
1.2 There is a Line of Distinction between God and Us
God is the Creator and humanity has been created. If you were to closely examine other Ancient Near Eastern texts of about the time of Genesis, you would come across the Sumerian King List. This document appeared shortly after 2,000 BC and it lists the names of the rulers over ancient Iraq and neighboring dynasties. When you trace back the list, you find that the earliest kings on the list were reported to be divine. You will not find this in the Bible. Indeed, the Bible places a distinction between humans and God that is never erased. He is God and you are not. There is a gulf between God and you.
There is at least two take-away’s from God’s distinction from you. First, because God is utterly different from you and He is an authority over you. Second, God has unique ability to save us because He is utterly different from you. God is not a man and powerless to save us. Because He is not a man, He has the power to save us. Because He is not a man, there is hope for us. The first truth we learn is that we are created by God.
2. God Created Humans in His Image
The second truth is this: God created us in His image. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26).
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
The Bible tells us that mankind is the crowning achievement of all of creation. To say this, may sound self-serving. Someone may think, “If we were giraffe, then we would say that giraffe are the crowning achievement of God’s creation.” But the Bible tells us that humanity is the crowning achievement of God and superior to all forms of created things. It does so first by telling us we are made “in his own image.” No animal is said to have been made “in his own image.” The Bible communicates to us that humanity is God’s piece de resistance. Consequently, there is a rock solid, irreducible significance to every human being. Every one of the seven billion people in the world and counting are significant because they are made in the image of God. Part of your significance comes from the dignity of work that God has given us. As God gives both men and women “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28b).
The Bible comes to us with a creation account to explain, “how things really are.” That is, Adam and Eve, were the first two people, historically were the first two people to exist. There are sincerely held differences regarding to evolutionary development yet the Scripture is explicit that God created the first humans, Adam and Eve, that you cannot hold to the truthfulness of the Bible and still hold that human being are the result of a long evolutionary process. To take the Bible seriously, you cannot say, “I believe in Christ but I believe the beginning of the Bible to be myth.” This is not how the Bible presents itself. The first truth we have learned is that we are created by God. Secondly, the Bible tells is that we are created in God’s image.
3. God Created Us Male and Female
The third truth is this: God created us male and female. “…male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27c). When the Bible discusses the creation of “living creatures” in Genesis 1:24-26, you’ll find no note of gender even though animals have gender. It’s only when humanity is discussed than the Bible takes special note of their gender. God created humans not simply men. The word is “them” in verse twenty six so Eve is referred to as well as Adam. The Bible is without parallel in ancient Near Eastern literature when it gives attention to the creation of women as well as men. Sexuality is not an accident of nature but it is by the direct act of God.
Three Take-Aways
1. How You Treat People
Recently, I went to obtain my Texas Driver’s License. There are few places where you can view the wide diversity and weirdness of people that waiting in line at the Driver’s License Bureau! Have you noticed how we instinctively want at least one chair of space between us and the next person? The city is the place where there are more people than plants. The country is the place where there are more plants than people. And since God loves people more than plants, He has to love the city more than the country. God loves people because of their inherit dignity and worth. Be true to your Bibles by loving people. There are 2,095 people per square mile in Tarrant County. And there are 3,486 people per square miles in North Richland Hills, TX. This doesn’t count the numbers of people who might be here on a workday. There is more “images of God” per square inch here than in most of Texas. How can God’s love be not be more intensely focused on this place? Should Christians’ love be more intensely focused here than in the country?
“With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:9-10).
There should not be a “get lost” to your attitude. Because people are made in the image of God, we should treat people with a kindness and reverence that few of us truly practice. Again, there should not be a “get lost” to your attitude. Because people are made in the image of God, there are no ordinary people. The first lesson is How You Treat People.
2. The Value of Life
Where does the idea of civil rights come from? Thomas Jefferson? Our constitution famously says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” No, civil rights go back further than Thomas Jefferson. Few people know the subject of Civil Rights better than Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You see, the founding fathers were really influenced by the Bible. The whole concept of the imago dei, as it is expressed in Latin, the "image of God," is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected. Not that they have substantial unity with God, but that every man has a capacity to have fellowship with God. And this gives him a uniqueness, it gives him worth, it gives him dignity. And we must never forget this as a nation: there are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God.”
Civil rights come from the Bible’s creation account where God creates people in the image of God. If you don’t believe in the image of God, where do human rights come from?
As I mentioned several weeks ago, Feng Hiannemi is a 22-year-old Chinese married woman. At seven months pregnant, she recently was dragged out of her relative’s home because of China’s one child policy. Because she was pregnant with a girl and she was too poor to pay the $6,400 fine that would give her the option to keep her child, Chinese officials aborted her baby in the seventh month of her pregnancy. According to her NBC phone interview: “She was blindfolded, thrown on a bed, and forced to sign a document that she couldn’t read with the blindfold still on her eyes. Then two shots were injected into her belly. Thirty hours later, on the morning June 4, she gave birth to a dead baby girl.” But the country’s rulers soon found it too difficult to feed the huge population – so they adopted a harsh policy that allows urban citizens to have only one child, and rural couples to have two, if the first child is a girl. If you do not believe that people are created in the image of God, then you cannot protect the unborn, the newly born, “senile” old people, and the disabled.
The beginning of the Christian church confronted the Greco-Roman world where Aristotle taught that some races were born to be slaves. The early Christians sought to rescue the newly born as they were totally against abortion and infanticide. The early Christians cared for the poor and they cared for women in contrast to the culture around them. They supported widows when the culture said that if widows don’t remarry, you are worthless. The early church said to these widows, “You don’t have to remarry. We’ll support you.” So evangelicals are not one issue people. If you believe in the dignity of human life, then the circle of protection for human life expands. If you believe we are here by chance, the circle continually contracts where fewer and fewer people are protected.
The first lesson is How You Treat People.
The second lesson is The Value of Life.
3. Why Did God Create You?
You were placed here on this earth to honor and glory of God. “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” (Revelation 4:11).
