Genesis 1:26-28 - CREATION OF HUMANS

During the month of December, we will post excerpts from previous Christmas studies each Wednesday to prepare our hearts for the celebration of our Lord's incarnation.

Genesis 1:26-28 - CREATION OF HUMANS

Susie: Why are we startingD a Christmas study with creation? When our sovereign God created the world and placed people in it, He knew they would sin. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all present as man was formed from dust and woman from man’s rib. And before the creation of the world, the God-head had the plan for mankind’s redemption – the baby Boy who would be born to die as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Genesis 1:26-28 - 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.

Susan: God said, “Let US...”. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all present when man was created. It was a collaborative process.

Susie: The God-head, the Trinity, fashioned man in their own image. What exactly does that mean?

Susan: People were given the ability to reason, to communicate through speech, to make choices, and to be creative. People are also relational beings. God is a relationship within Himself -the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Susie: Humans need meaningful relationships among themselves and with God.

Susan: Before they sinned, the man and the woman were in perfect unity with one another and with the Father. They were what we, as Christians, shall be on the New Earth when Christ returns.  

Susie: However, as we will see, our relationship with God and each other was tarnished by the sin of the very first man.

Susan: Animals are instinctual and often act on impulses related to their physical needs, their appetites.

Susie: People were given dominion, rule, over all other earthly beings (animals, fish, birds, reptiles, bugs, etc.) because of our ability to reason, because we are created in the image of God. And because we are created in the image of God, humans have a relationship of equality and willing submission to one another.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Susie: God did not just create a brotherhood to satisfy the need for relationships. Nor did He create only a sisterhood. He created both male and female or they would not have been able to obey the command in the next verse!

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Susan: Once God had created both the man and the woman, then He blessed them and told them to have a family. He encouraged them to enjoy their marriage relationship and all that implies. Man was supposed to protect and direct the earth in an orderly manner to bring glory to the Creator.

Susie: The animals were created for the benefit of mankind, and people were to rule over them. In the Garden of Eden God gave man and woman equal authority over all of creation. God did not intend them to exercise this authority over one another. We are to rule over the animals, but we are to submit to one another as unto Christ.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?

People were created in the image of God. We have attributes and qualities the animals cannot possess. We were intended to be a reflection of our Maker, but sin has tarnished our ability to reflect. The only cleaning agent that can wash away the grime of sin is the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross to pay the debt of our sin. We cannot be “good enough” to purchase the cleanser. The only way to appropriate that which will make us clean and restore our ability to reflect our Creator is by trusting Jesus, believing He was God incarnate (Son of God), died to pay our sin debt, and was raised to life and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6 KJV)