JAN 16

Genesis 2:7-15
Memorise Ephesians 4:24
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground”

Back in Genesis 1:26-27, we had already seen how God made man in His own image to have dominion over the world. However, we still have not fully explored what it means for man to be made in God’s image. At the most basic level, to be made in the image of God means that we were made in His semblance. Yet we know that God is a spirit with no corporeal form. Therefore it cannot be referring to the image and likeness in a physical sense. Rather, it is the spiritual aspect of God that man is modelled after – of our spiritual inner man, and not the physical outer man. There are certain attributes of God that we certainly cannot have, such as His omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. These are known as the incommunicable attributes of God. Yet there are certain other attributes, such as His holiness, His knowledge, His love, His consciousness and self-awareness, His creative ability etc. These are known as the communicable attributes of God, and can be found in man. Therefore, what it means for man to be made in the image of God, is that he is capable of having these communicable attributes of God in him, for he is made as a being that is separate and distinct from the animals. Man is self-aware, and capable of learning, of communication, and most importantly, of having a relationship with God.

And so God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground. Out of inorganic matter, God crafted man with all his intricate details and amazing biological processes, and simply breathed life into him, and from then on, man had both a physical body and a living soul. When Adam was first created, he was morally perfect, innocent from any taint of sin, but had the ability to choose sin. He was able to have fellowship with God, and communicated freely with Him in the Garden of Eden. God placed him in there with the simple task of tending and keeping the garden, and blessed him with all the pleasant fruits that were good for food.

However, we know that man soon fell into sin, and from there, sin entered into the world, and the image of God in man was forever marred and tainted by sin. Yet through the promise of God’s salvation through Christ Jesus, this image can be restored, and what happens is we can put on the new man, “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”.

Thought: Does my life reflect the image of God?

Prayer: Lord I thank You for making me, me!