20240915 Genesis 1:26-28 – Imago Dei

We define ourselves in diverse ways.

This is a scientific description:
Human beings (Homo sapiens) are a species of bipedal primates characterized by their highly developed brains, which enable abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. They possess a complex nervous system and an intricate structure of muscles and bones that allow for advanced dexterity and mobility.

There are other ways we can understand who we are. We can use a technical scientific definition. We can also connect our identity with what we own, what we do, what others think of us. It has been said that you are what you eat. Some of us might not voice it out loud but believe these identity statements about ourselves: I am a loser, I am not good enough, I am a mistake, I am an accident.

How we view ourselves is important. Researchers have shown that the way we view ourselves affects our mental health, our social interactions, our ability to overcome challenges, our ambitions and likelihood of success, even our physical health.

How we understand human beings affects not only our lives but also how we treat others. When Europeans started to colonize the Americas, they treated the native people like animals. This is a quote from one of those colonialists about Native Americans:

"They are incapable of learning […] They exercise none of the humane arts or industries […] About the age of ten or twelve years they seem to have some civilization, but later they become like real brute beasts… [the Indians are more stupid than donkeys and refuse to improve in anything.”

There were attempts by the Spanish to outlaw the association between the natives and animals, which shows this was a real problem. Colonialists inflicted real horrors on the natives. There are reports of slavery, torture, and burning them alive. Whether it was the Holocaust of WWII or the slave trade, how we view human beings affects behavior. You must view other humans as your inferiors to treat them so abominably.

Because so much is at stake from a human-flourishing standpoint, I am excited to talk about Genesis 1:26-28. Genesis 1:26-28 is a biblical declaration of human identity. This text helps to correct the view we have of ourselves and others and how we treat each other. Tied with who God says we are, this text also teaches God’s will for our lives.

On day six of the Creation week, the author shows us that humanity is the crown jewel of creation. These verses are a statement of biblical anthropology. We will look at our Human persons (Genesis 1:26a) and Human work (Genesis 1:26b-29). It is who God made us to be and what God made us to do.

First, we look at who God made us to be in Genesis 1:26a.

In Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The two important identity words are “image” and “likeness.” They communicate kingship and sonship.

First, “image” of God implies kingship.

God makes humans in his image so that humans can rule. In the Bible, this word “image” often refers to idols. Idols or images were physical representations of invisible gods. Idols represented a god’s rule over a particular territory. It would be like building a statue of a king as a marker of this King’s rule over a land. In every Belgian school, there are images of the king and queen of Belgium. It acknowledges, even if symbolically, that the king is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian army. As images, human beings are a declaration of God’s rule where we find ourselves. Because we are living images, we must rule as God rules. We must manifest his character in our lives.

Second, “likeness” implies sonship.

In contrast to the vegetation and animals made according to their kind, humanity is made after God’s kind, according to God’s likeness. Likeness is passed from one generation to the next. Like a father to humanity, God passed down his likeness to them. The likeness of God stresses relationship and sonship.

This interpretation is confirmed by Genesis 5:1-3: “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God… 3 When Adam became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth…” In Luke 3:38, we read that Enos was the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. In contrast to the animals, God made humanity to be his children.

The rest of the Bible offers a more nuanced view of our relationship with God. Because of our sin, we are separated from God. Only those who are born again by faith in Christ benefit from the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God in Christ and have the privilege to be called sons of God. But by being made according to God’s likeness, all human beings are made to have a relationship with God.

Application

Flowing from this, I want to offer three implications on how we live, the glory of God, and human dignity.

How we live.

We are made in God’s image to rule. We must rule as God rules. No other creature represents God or has this responsibility. We must reflect God’s character in all things. This is a call to holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, compassion, love, and patience. Jesus was called the image of God. He shows us what it is like to be fully human. His rule was self-sacrificially loving. These are the kinds of kings and queens that we are called to be. Because we are sinners, we want people to look to Jesus and not to us, and still, we do want to live our lives as much as possible to be living theological textbooks for the world to read.

During the Second World War, a Polish priest named Maximilian Kolbe turned his monastery into a temporary hospital. When his town was captured by the Nazis, he refused to sign a document that would have given him privileges granted to all who had ethnic German ancestry. He helped hide two thousand Jews from the Nazis. In 1941, he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. After a prisoner tried to escape, to deter further escape attempts, a camp commander picked ten men to be starved to death in an underground bunker. When one of the men was selected, he cried out “My wife! My children!” and Kolbe volunteered to die in his place.

Kolbe was a sinner like you and me, and he was made in the image of God to rule as God’s representative. His life was a theological textbook that teaches us about God, who is merciful, compassionate, zealous for righteousness. He was willing to count other people’s needs above his own even if it meant a sacrificial death. Kolbe's death mirror's God's love and Jesus' death for the forgiveness of our sins.

The glory of God.

The word glory means weightiness or importance. For the last 15 years or so, there has been a worldwide phenomenon of people bearing Leo Messi’s name on their backs. These fans declare Messi’s importance or glory on every continent as they wear a shirt that bears his name. Human beings are made in the image of God to rule. We bear God’s image. Because of this connection, we must be like God. Our rule reflects God’s rule, his glory, and his importance. God is Holy, so we must be Holy. It was God’s choice to show his importance in the world by making human beings to spread and fame his name in all the world.

It is tragic when we think of the evils of capitalistic overconsumption, pollution, and the oppression of humans by others. There is evidence everywhere that human beings have a corrupt nature that hinders our ability to take care of each other. We are to live to show that God is great.

Human dignity.

Dignity is the quality of being worthy of honor or respect. Both Genesis 9 and James 3 draw out this implication from the concept of being made in God’s image. Genesis 9:6 makes this point:
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

The capital punishment demonstrates the unique value of human life by demanding an exact equivalent to the death of the victim. In practice, it is complicated. I’m not advocating for the death penalty in Belgium. But this truth stands. James 3:9: With [our tongue], we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. Here again, this truth that humans bear the image of God should impact how we treat each other. James concludes that how we treat human beings made in God’s image should overlap with how we treat God himself. Ouch.

Western North Carolina is a beautiful part of the world. It draws tourists from the eastern United States, known for its mountains and amazing autumn leaves. It is so beautiful that when tourists drive those mountain country roads, they slow down to allow the beauty to sink in and create traffic jams.

We are quick to marvel at the beauty in nature or a cute puppy. Genesis 1 teaches us that every human has infinite worth. It invites us to stop from time to time when we meet other people to remember their dignity as image bearers.

We are quick to marvel at the beauty in nature or a cute puppy. Genesis 1 teaches us that every human has infinite worth. It invites us to stop from time to time when we see each other, when we see a stranger we will never see again, and just marvel at the fact that they are made in the image of God. The bully at school, the harsh teacher, the unreliable colleague, the grumpy neighbor, and your fellow church member are all made in God’s image, and that is worth pausing to marvel at what God has done.

Second, we look at the work of mankind in Genesis 1:26b-28.

God has created human beings who have a unique relationship with Him and a unique responsibility towards the created order. Genesis 1:26b-28 gives us particular commandments.

Genesis 1:27 mentions once more that God made man in His image and that mankind is male and female. In Genesis 1:28, the command follows: They are male and female so they can multiply and spread. They are made in God’s image so they can have dominion.

We are rulers who represent God and His reign. This command to multiply and fill the earth is a call to increase the representation of God’s glory and rule. This command is like the Great Commission for Christians to make disciples of all nations. We are to multiply Christians and fill the whole earth with Christians. In the world before sin, the commission was to have children and teach them to be like God.

Today, it still involves having children, but the real multiplication happens through gospel proclamation. In a world of sin, we stand condemned before a Holy God. All have sinned, and no one can stand righteous before God. The good news of Jesus is that He made a way by being the way. He died for the sins of the world so that all who turn from sin and trust in Him would be enabled to live for God’s glory. We are fruitful and multiply through gospel proclamation, so that more people would turn to Christ and worship God.

The Bible promises that there will be a day when this worldwide worship service will take place. Isaiah 66:22-23 reads: “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.” This future day is what we are made for. It is anticipated in Genesis 1:28.

Conclusion

We saw that human beings (Homo sapiens) are a species of bipedal primates characterized by their highly developed brains, which enable abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. They possess a complex nervous system and an intricate structure of muscles and bones that allow for advanced dexterity and mobility.

This definition is quite flattering but has nothing on the biblical definition. It says nothing about what we are worth, how we need to treat each other, and the glorious call God has on all our lives. It is not supposed to.

God made us in His image, so we cannot put a price on human life. We each have a responsibility to rule and manage in a way that reflects His character. As His representatives, we are to spread His glory. Even after sin, every human is still made in the image of God and possesses intrinsic dignity. We also know that something is not quite right with us, and we fail in our roles as rulers.

As we go beyond Genesis 1 and have the whole picture of God’s revelation, we learn that Jesus is the image of God. Once we become Christians, God is conforming us to the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We entrust ourselves to God, deny ourselves, and make ourselves available to the ordinary means of grace, which are prayer, Bible study, worship, and community.

Together, we fail and learn to live like Jesus, ruling self-sacrificially. We also look forward to the future where Genesis 1:28 will be fulfilled once and for all in the new heavens and new earth.