Created in the Image of God
What Genesis 1-2 Reveals about Our Fundamental Human Nature
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” -Genesis 1:27 (NIV)
Three Fundamental Questions
Did you know that everyone on Earth wrestles with the same three basic questions about our lives? It’s a universal experience that people want to know who they are (identity), where they fit (belonging), and why they’re here (purpose).1 Thankfully, the Bible gives us compelling answers to these questions of identity, belonging, and purpose — and it does so in the opening pages of Scripture.
Today we’ll focus on the first two chapters of the Bible. These opening pages reveal some truly profound truths about the nature and purpose of human beings, and the truths they establish serve as an important foundation for the rest of the Biblical story. So let’s dive in, and as we do, let’s pay careful attention to what we learn about God, what we learn about ourselves, and how God is calling us to live in Genesis 1-2.
In the Beginning (Genesis 1:1-25)
The first verse in the Bible makes it clear that the Christian worldview is fundamentally different than the secular, evolutionary claim about the origins of our world. The Bible teaches that we are not a product of random chance (as some believe); we are intentionally created by the Lord God who transcends both time and space.
The rest of Genesis 1 reveals the way that God created everything in our universe, including light and dark, day and night, the Sun, moon, and stars, plants and animals, and everything in between. He did this by speaking the world into existence. Let there be light. Let the land produce vegetation. So on and so forth. And at every stage, the Bible tells us that God paused, looked down on his creation, and “saw that it was good.” In fact, the Bible repeats that phrase six times in the story of creation.
God created a fundamentally good world. And why can God declare it good? Because it was a world without evil, a world without death, and most importantly—a world without sin. The fact that it was made by an all-powerful, all-knowing, and fundamentally good God, combined with the fact that it was wholly free from any source of corruption, sin, or evil, is what made it a fundamentally good world.
That being said, something seemed to be missing: God’s crowning achievement of creation.
Created in the Image of God (Genesis 1:26-27)
As a final act of creation, God created people — men and women like you and me:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)
The Bible tells us that human beings are created in the image of God. While the Bible never explicitly tells us what that means, there are some important clues in each of the three passages that use this phrase about human beings.
In the passage I just mentioned, Genesis 1:26-27, the image of God is connected with mankind’s purpose and position in the world. People are made in the image of God “so that they may rule over” all the living creatures of the earth. In the following verses, God commissions humanity to multiply, subdue the earth, and rule over it. The image of God is therefore closely related to humanity’s purpose (to rule) and our position (above other creatures) in the world. In the next chapter, we see that God also wants mankind to work and care for the earth, to follow his commands, to live in community, and to exercise our creative capacity by leading our mark on the world. In other words, God did not just create us on purpose; he created us for a purpose.
In Genesis 5:1-3, Adam is said to have a child (Seth) in his own image and likeness, the same words used to describe people being made in the image of God. Just as children bear a family resemblance to their biological parents, so people who are made in God’s image bear some resemblance to their Heavenly Father. It seems more likely that this resemblance is more a matter of character, attitude, emotions, and nature as opposed to physical similarities.
In Genesis 9:1-7, God reiterates his plan and purpose for humanity to Noah in the immediate aftermath of the flood. In this passage, he allows humanity to kill and eat any animal they desire for food, but they must never kill another person, since everyone is made in the image of God. From this, we learn that being made in God’s image means we have dignity and value and deserve to be protected.
In summary, the Biblical context seems to associate being made in the image of God with being created to achieve God’s purpose in the world, to reflect his heart and character, and to rule over his creation as his ambassadors. But it also serves as an important reminder of the basic dignity and value that all people possess simply because they are human beings made in the image of God.
What Do We Learn about Human Beings?
We are the pride and joy of the God who made the universe, our world, and everything in it. How do we know that? While everything else God had made up to that point was good, human beings are called very good. That’s an upgrade!
Another key point is that we are created for community. In fact, the one time God says something is “not good” is when he’s talking about Adam being alone (Genesis 2:18). We are made to be in close relationships with other people. After all, we are created in the image of a God who exists in community (Father, Son, and Spirit) — a triune God who declares “let us [plural] make man in our [plural] image.”
Those are two of the key truths God wants us to encounter from the creation account — we are made in God’s image (with all that entails), and we are made for community.
But back to those three fundamental questions I started with at the beginning. Genesis 1-2 speaks some important truths into each one of those questions, too:
When it comes to our identity, we learn that we are God’s beloved creation, human beings created in the image of our Heavenly Father.
When it comes to the place where we belong, we see how we’re created to be in a close relationship with God and to live in community with God’s people.
And when it comes to our purpose, it’s to obey God and fulfill the mission he’s giving us — to be fruitful, multiply, and care for the world he made.
Those three truths are the bedrock foundation for the rest of the Biblical story. Knowing that, what are you hearing God calling you to know, believe, or do differently as a result of these passages? What is the call to action from Genesis 1-2?
For an in-depth exploration of these questions (and the Bible’s answers), check out the book 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin.