The mystery of being made in the image of God.
So God created everything.
The universe.
The Earth.
Light.
Day and Night.
The sea and the sky.
Dry land.
Plants.
Sun, moon, stars.
Fish, Birds.
Animals of the earth.
And then…
Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God created mankind. Note this!
God is the Creator.
Man is the created
But there’s more! So much more! God created mankind in His own image! What does that mean?
God is the Creator of mankind.
But because God created man in His own image man is also a creator!
So how does this work out in real life? In what way is mankind a creator, like God? And in what way is he different from God as a creator?
Way back in 1979, Bob Dylan sang:
Man gave names to all the animals.
In the beginning.
Long time ago.
Let’s look at Genesis 2:19:
19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed
every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens
and brought them to the man to see what he would call them.
And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
Take note as to what God did:
God waited to see what man would name the animals. He did not override Adam’s choices.
What is the significance of Adam’s work in naming the animals?
Adam completed the animals’ creation when he named them!
What is the difference between God’s Creation and Adam’s creation? What is the difference between God as Creator and Adam as a creator?
God is almighty, infinite, and can create Ex Nihilo, out of nothing. As He did for everything that was made. The entire universe, and everything in it.
Adam, mankind, is finite, limited, created. He has to use the materials already created by God to create new things. They are new! New things, new ideas. New visions. But they can only be brought to life, to reality, by using materials God has already created.
That is what has been happening in our world ever since. People make stuff, create stuff, all the time. You too! You create new things, new ideas.
Some of them are good. But not all of them!
That’s because we are sinners. We do bad things.
Always we create.
Because we are made in God’s image.