Genesis 1:27

It says,

then God said, let us make man in our image.

So man is being set apart here. God is not just creating ex nihilo, but first, in verse 26, he is deliberating before he makes man. So Moses is also setting apart the creation of man by shifting from the third person to now the first person, let us. And then, in our verse for this evening, man gets the only poetic lines in all of the chapter, which provides us this end emphasis for the creation account. So Moses is painting this picture for us that man is the apex of creation.

He is the crown of creation that God is setting apart. And notice, too, how when God makes the animals, he makes them after their own kind. Like begets like. But here, for man, man is not created after a kind, but he's created after the very image of God.

The image of God, as it were, is the blueprint for man. So then, the question for our text this evening is, what does it mean to be made in the image of God? So as we look to answer this question, let's read our verse together. Genesis 1 verses, sorry, 1 verse 27.

So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them.

So during our time tonight, I just want to draw out three things from this text. I think there's three things that we can learn from this text that speak to what it means to be made in the image of God. One, we are images for God's worship. Two, we are images of God's reign. And three, we are images for God's family. So images for God's worship, images of God's reign, and images for God's family. First notice there are images for God's worship.

Images for God's worship

So Moses is not here just using the word image arbitrarily. But if we let scripture inform how we understand this word, it provides some meaning. And so this word image is used throughout scripture to speak of images or idols of false gods. So it was common in pagan practices in the ancient Near East to set up this image that represented the god. And these images were used as tools for worship.

But God, here in Genesis 1, instead of creating an idol that represented him and commanding that to be used in worship, here he's making man as his image. Also, we see in the law, because we are God's image, this is why images of God are forbidden, because God has already made his ultimate image.

And so to add a little context, What we see in Genesis chapter 2 is that after God has created man, he immediately places him in a garden. He puts him in Eden. Now we don't really know much about the garden. We know roughly where it is, we know roughly how big it was, but what we know for certain is that the Garden of Eden was a temple, the very temple of God's dwelling. You ask, well, how do we know it's a temple? Because it's called a garden.

Well, one clue is this tree of life that's planted in the middle of the garden. And this tree of life stood for the very blessed life of God. Likewise, in the temple and in the tabernacle, there was this menorah, the seven-branched lamp that was crafted like a tree with buds. And it stood for the very light and life of God.

Another clue, maybe a little bit stronger, is that the language that God charges man with in Eden, God tells him to work it and to keep it. Well, the only other time that these words show up together is in Numbers 27. where God instructs the priests as they serve in the very presence of God to work and to keep. So Adam is being charged by God as his image to have a priestly role. Thirdly, notice this language that is used in chapter three where God walks in the garden in the cool of the day. Well the only other time that this language is used of God walking is when God walks with his people in his temple.

So man here in Genesis is placed in this temple and as God's image he has the purpose now knowing God and worshiping God. And one of the reasons we can know God is that as his image we reflect his character and we reflect his rationality. God speaks to man, man can know God's words and respond in obedience.

Man is a creature, but he's also a rational and volitional creature. C.S. Lewis would famously draw this distinction when he talks about that man, like the animals, he has a belly. He has passions and desires. But also as a creature, he has a mind. So like the angels then, he's a rational creature. But what makes man unique is this blending of the two, which C.S. Lewis calls the chest. So man can rule his desires through his mind, through the chest.

So the question here for us this evening is, if as image bearers we are created for God's worship, For knowing God, and as Paul will later argue, we ourselves are temples of the living God by the presence of the Holy Spirit. And we're members of the new covenant temple, the church.

But then the question is, how are we ordering our lives? Are we solely ordering our lives seeking after our career? after success or pleasure? Or are we ordering our lives after what we were made for? Are we centering our lives around knowing God? And are we letting our minds be renewed by the washing of the word and ourselves be transformed into this renewed image, the very image of Christ who's bringing us back to the Father? Secondly, notice from our text that we are images of God's reign. So there's kingly language also throughout this chapter.

Images of God's reign

In verse 26, it is said that man will have dominion over all the creatures. And then in verse 28, God calls man to subdue the created order. And it was also common in the ancient Near Eastern world that these kings would set up for themselves images, images of themselves that were to represent their authority, power, and rule over their people. And it was also viewed that this king was a divine representative of the gods. Well, here in Genesis, Moses flips that on its head and argues that actually it's all of humanity, both male and female, that reflect the image of God. And as images of God, they have this kingly role of ruling.

But sadly, in the next couple of chapters of Genesis, we'll see that Adam failed in his kingly role. He failed to guard the garden. He failed to rule over it. He failed to protect this temple that God had placed him in. He did not keep it as a holy place and set apart.

But in Christ, as Christians, we are called to be image bearers of God, to rule over our temple, So this is the New Testament's argument, that because of the Spirit's work in you, you are now a temple set apart unto God. God's presence dwells in you.

So we are called to put to death what is trying to stain and mar the very presence of God. This is what Paul is arguing for in Ephesians chapter 4. He's using this image, this language of image and likeness, and he's arguing that you are called to put off, you're called to put to death what Adam failed to do. put to death the works of the flesh, these deceitful desires. And now you're called to put on, to be renewed in righteousness and holiness.

So you are fulfilling this image kingly role because you are made in the image of God. And as you rule over your sin by the Holy Spirit, And so now you're being transformed from the marred image into now the renewed image, which is ultimately Christ, the new Adam, the final Adam, who is triumphed over sin and death, conquering for us.

Images for God's family

Finally, notice from our text that we are images for God's family. So the image of God is not just connected to man, but the end emphasis of our text is that the image of God is tied both to male and to female. So we see here the complementary nature of man and woman. Man is showing us, or Moses here is showing us, that the image of God would be incomplete without men and women. And also this image-bearing relationship between man and woman is supposed to be fruitful and life-giving. So God will call them in the next verse to be fruitful and multiply. These images are supposed to beget other images, and then they would spread in God's glory over the earth. So Paul, when he references marriage, this image-bearing relationship between male and female, he says that there's this mystery, that it's profound.

Well, if Keith is here, he would say the only mystery in Genesis chapter 2 is that where's Adam's dad? He's supposed to leave his father and mother, but he has no father and mother. Well, Paul says, no, there's a greater mystery. What is this mystery? Paul says marriage, this covenantal union between man and woman, gets its profundity from what it is imaging, what it is foreshadowing. Paul's arguing that our human marriage is pointing to Christ's relationship with the church. Our marriages are here to be pointing to the sacrificial love that Christ has for his church, and how the church joyfully submits to the headship of Christ.

We see this too in the Song of Songs. The Song of Songs, you see Solomon, this king coming from the line of David, this son of David, echoing to the Messiah, and he's showing his love to the beloved, and he's overcoming and conquering all the barriers to intimacy and love. And then their love is depicted in this garden-like setting, like they are back in the innocence of Eden. So we see the bridegroom is overcoming all of our sin, and he's winning us with his love so that we can be with him forever.

Christ is the perfect image

So the grand declaration of the gospel for us this evening is that Christ is the perfect image, that in Christ the image is being restored. That Christ, the perfect image of God, the true worshiper of God, the faithful king, the bridegroom of the redeemed family, He's calling us back to Himself.

And by His Spirit within our own hearts, He's remaking us after His own image from one degree of glory to another. Will you pray with me? Gracious God and Heavenly Father, Thank you for all of your love and your care for us. Thank you that you have stamped your image upon us. Lord, we confess that our sin has marred this image, but thank you for the work of Christ, who's come as our final Adam, bringing us back to the Father, renewing us after your likeness and image. And Lord, we thank you that one day we will stand before you in your presence, knowing you perfectly and worshiping you fully for all eternity. In Jesus' name, amen.