Bible Discussion Thread

Man

- A Creature of God

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."

-Performance Issues

i.Low resistance to temptation

Genesis 3:13 "And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, the

serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."

ii.High level of corruption

Genesis 6:12 "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon

the earth."

Puzzle

In light of these issues, what is the meaning of "in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."?

Hi Nstew. In Genesis 1:26,27, these words, "Let us make man in our (his) image, after our likeness", firstly tells us that God made us in a completely different way that he had made the animals ( Genesis 1:20-25). In other words, it was not only our different appearances, but that humans would receive a spirit from God, that could enable man to be in tune with his Maker, align with His Will in all things, & converse with Him by word and spirit.

Genesis 2:7, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul", and Proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly." These verses tells us that when God breathed the breath of life into man to give him life, that man also received a spirit from Him that would always remain in him as the Lamp of God, giving him a direct connection to his Maker & keeping him open & accessible to the LORD's Gaze.

To be made in God's Image, also involves representing His Likeness in the World; not in appearance, for God is Spirit, but by His Attributes. And these could include our capacity to rule, enjoy deep meaningful relationships with others, exercise the ability to reason, intelligence, speech, moral consciousness, creativity, rationality, & choice (you might think of others as well). All these are within the Character of God & which He has also given to mankind alone so that we might always enjoy fellowship with God & with others in His Creation.

But of course, the bad news is that when sin entered into man, all those Godly traits have been severely marred & we now reflect a very very poor Image of the Glorious Holy God. Man is now sin-affected & sin-consumed, falling way short of the Glory of God. But Jesus stepped in, bringing us redemption to the Father, giving us His Spirit, & causing that we now live a new life by His Power that will even conform those traits to His original design.

Super nice third paragraph Brother Chris!

Amen.