We are created in God’s image, marred by sin, yet through Christ we are renewed to reflect His likeness, dignity, and purpose.
Friend, before we begin, let me speak a word over your heart: you are seen by God, shaped by God, stamped with the likeness of God. The One who paints sunsets with colors that refuse to quit also formed you with care that refuses to fail. Have you ever stood before a mirror and wondered, Who am I, really? Or felt the ache of the moments that didn’t honor who you were made to be? We all know that ache. Yet Scripture whispers a steady truth: from the first breath of humanity to the fresh breeze of new life in Christ, God has given us identity, dignity, and a calling that still stands.
Imagine a child handing you a crumpled drawing from school—the lines wobbly, the colors outside the edges, the paper worn from a backpack and a bus ride. You don’t trash it; you treasure it. Why? Because it bears the artist’s heart. You and I bear the Artist’s image. Even when life scuffs us with scars and stains, the imprint remains. That is why our lives carry such wonder, worth, and work. We were made in God’s image, entrusted with His commission, and—though we have known deception and disobedience—Christ is here to renew us in righteousness and true holiness.
Wayne Grudem put it simply and beautifully: “The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God and represents God.” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology) That means your everyday moments matter. Your decisions, your words, your worship—they all echo with the purpose of the One who made you.
Today, we are turning to the Scriptures that tell our story with clarity and kindness. We will see our origin, our fall, and the grace that restores what we could never repair on our own. And as we read, ask yourself: Where do I see the fingerprints of God on my life? Where have I listened to lesser voices? Where is the Spirit inviting me into renewal?
Scripture Reading
Genesis 1:26–27 (KJV) 26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Ephesians 4:23–24 (KJV) 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Genesis 3 (KJV) 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Opening Prayer Father, thank You for forming us in Your image and calling us by Your name. Where shame has silenced us, speak Your truth. Where sin has scarred us, apply Your mercy. Renew the spirit of our minds by Your Word. Clothe us in the new self, created after You in righteousness and true holiness. Jesus, be the lifter of our heads and the healer of our hearts. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our wills to respond. We yield this time to You. Make Your likeness shine in us again, for the glory of Your great name. Amen.
Genesis opens with a bold word. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” That changes everything. Before there was work to do, there was a word over us. We were made to reflect our Maker.
Image means resemblance that shows up in real life. We can know God. We can think and choose. We can speak and create. We can weigh right and wrong. We can form families and shape culture. These are small ways that point to a greater Source.
“Male and female created he them.” That line settles our worth and our work together. Both share the same likeness. Both carry the same charge. This is not a ladder with one above the other. This is a team formed by God’s wisdom.
The image shows up in community. God speaks in the plural, “Let us.” Humanity comes as “them.” We are made for relationship. With God. With each other. With the world we touch every day.
The image also sets the tone for how we treat people. Every face we meet carries a weight we should honor. The young and the old. The strong and the weak. The neighbor who is easy to love and the one who is hard. Worth is not earned by gifts or gain. It is stamped by God.
This likeness is a calling, too. It is more than status. It is a way of life. We carry the family resemblance into the world so that God’s wisdom, goodness, and care get seen in small reflections through us.
Right after the image comes a charge. “Let them have dominion … over all the earth.” Dominion is not a grab for control. Dominion is wise care. It is steady hands that serve the life of the world.
This charge touches every corner of life. We tend the ground and guard the garden. We order what is wild and protect what is fragile. We bring shape to raw material. Fields and fish. Birds and beasts. Minerals and music. Numbers and names. We take what God made and help it flourish.
This is why work matters. Not only the work with a title and a desk. The work of cleaning a room. The work of cooking a meal. The work of writing code or lesson plans. The work of fixing leaks and forming laws. The work of raising children and serving neighbors. Work is a way we answer God’s first charge.
Words matter here, too. Naming is part of rule. Clear words bring order. Truthful words protect. Gentle words heal. Just words set things right. Our speech is a tool for tending the world.
Dominion also means limits. We serve under a King. We receive the world as a trust, not a toy. We ask what brings life, not what feeds pride. We care for the land, the waters, and the creatures as gifts on loan.
When “male and female” stand side by side in this work, the world is blessed. Partnership is built into the plan. Each person brings strength the other needs. Together we carry the charge God gave at the start.
Genesis 3 shows where the path bent. A voice questioned God’s word. Desire reached for what God had withheld. Fruit was taken. Eyes were opened. Shame rushed in. Hiding began.
The garden changed that day. Fear entered human hearts. Blame made walls between people. The ground now pushes back. Thorns and thistles answer the hand. Bread comes with sweat. Bodies wear down and return to dust.
Even then, God spoke and acted. He asked questions that invite truth. He named the cost with clarity. He made garments for the man and the woman. He sent them out to work the ground that once was easy. The charge to tend did not end. It now runs through pain and patience.
The likeness did not vanish. People still think and build and love. We still seek justice and beauty. We still long for God. Yet our mirrors are smudged. Our power to rule bends toward self. Our work can harm what it should heal. Our words can twist what they should straighten.
This is why we need mercy and wisdom for daily work. We need help for our hands and our hearts. We need truth that cuts through lies. We need covering that shame cannot pierce. We need strength to keep tending what resists us.
Now the garden grows quiet, and another voice enters the scene ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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