Genesis 1:26-31 | The Imago Dei (2)

King David asks a thought-provoking question in Psalm 8:3–4

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?” (NLT)

Stephen Hawking asks a similar question.

“We are such insignificant creatures on a minor planet of a very average star in the outer suburbs of one of a hundred thousand million galaxies. So it is difficult believe in a God that would care about us or notice our existence.” Stephen Hawking

Our passage today answers King David and Stephen Hawking’ question.

Scripture reading

Genesis 1:26–31 “26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

From this passage, I would like to address three questions:

Why Is Being Created in the Image of God Significant?

How Do We Reflect the Image of God?

What Does It Mean to Live as Image-Bearers of God?

(1) Why Is Being Created in the Image of God Significant?

The doctrine of the image of God is significant because it answers a fundamental two-part question: Who am I, and why am I here? It reveals both the nature and purpose of humanity.

“Image of God” (Imago Dei) appears 2x in Genesis 1.

v.26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

v. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.”

The image of God as a phrase is applied only to humans. Therefore, humanity is to be distinguished from the rest of earthly creation.

Definition. Human beings were created to reflect the character of God and commissioned to carry out his purposes in the world for the glory of God.

I found the illustration of a mirror helpful. We are created to reflect our maker.

(2) How Do We Reflect the Image of God?

(A) We are made for relationship - with God and one another.

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

The God of the Bible is in himself eternally relational.

What do the plural pronouns ("us" and "our") mean? A couple of possible interpretations:

First, many theologians see this is a reference to the the Trinity, God in three persons, is by nature relational.

The world was made by a God who is a community of persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit eternally existing in a loving unity.

A second possible interpretation is Genesis 1:26 is not referring to the Trinity but rather God is addressing the divine council or the heavenly court (c.f. 1 Kings 22:19-22; Ps 82:1; Ps 89:5-7)

“…when [God] came to created Man He took counsel with the ministering angels.” Tanach notes.

As humans, we use this sort of language with regularity. A mother could announce to her family, “let’s make dinner”—and then proceed to do so herself, for their benefit, without their involvement in the event. (Lexham Bible Dictionary)

This portrays God as involving the angelic beings in the announcement of humanity's creation, though God remains the sole creator: “So God created man in his own image.” (Gen 1:27)

Both views affirm that we are made for relationship - with God and one another.

If Genesis 1:26 is referring to the Trinity, then our relationships are meant to pattern the Trinity - a loving unity and other-centered . We see this in John 17:20-24 – where Jesus prays for His followers to be one as He and the Father are one, showing that human relationships should mirror divine love, unity, and self-giving.

If Genesis 1:26 is referring to the divine council or heavenly court, this still presents Him as a relational being—one who involves others in His plans, even though He alone is the Creator.

The bottom line: We were never meant to be isolated individuals but part of a community. We are not machines. Relationships are essential for every single one of us: Vertical & horizontal.

Mark 12:30–31 “30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

(B) We are made to represent God in the World.

In Genesis 1:26 we read the following: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””

Genesis 1:28 “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

Psalm 8:6–8 “6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”

“Dominion refers to the rulership over creation God granted to humankind in virtue of their being made in his image.” (Lexham Survey of Theology)

What these verses tell me is that you and I were created to rule, to carry out God’s purposes in the world for his glory. This answer the question, What on earth am I here for?

Just as God is the ruler of all creation, humans are to exercise dominion over the creation as his representatives.

Scripture is very clear: Humans are to exercise dominion over the creation as God’s vice-regents or representatives.

“…this does not give humans permission to exploit and destroy the creation for selfish gain. Rather, we are to exercise dominion over the creation as God would take care of his creation—with love and concern for its welfare.”

To have dominion is that they would serve as God’s vice-regents, managing and stewarding and caring for the world under God’s lordship

Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

In his book, 10 Words to Heal Our Broken World, Scott Allen tells the following story:

Pokomchi, a Mayan people in the highlands of Guatemala—one of the poorest groups in that nation. The Pokomchi are subsistence farmers, and corn is their staple. Yet Arturo noticed that every year at harvest, rats would eat as much as half of the crop. Arturo [my college] wondered why they didn’t protect the crop from the rats. They replied, “Rats have always eaten the crop this way. It was like this for our grandfathers, and our fathers, and will be this way for our children as well.”

Missionaries had come to the Pokomchi villages, and some of the tribe were followers of Jesus. Churches had been planted. Many missionary organizations would consider this group “reached” and move on to the next frontier. Yet they remained in abject poverty with one of the highest infant mortality rates in the Western Hemisphere.

If the Bible had been translated into their native tongue, they were unable to read it, so for them, it remained a closed book. Arturo began to question them about their local language and learned that they had no word in their language for “dominion.” For them, the idea that human beings were to rule or have dominion over the animal kingdom was completely alien. Instead, it was the opposite. What we call “nature” was more powerful than they were. So powerful, in their minds, that they were largely helpless in the face of it, and this shaped the way they thought about something as simple as rats eating their corn crop.

So Arturo began to teach them from the Bible, starting in Genesis, chapter one. He taught them that God had created them in His image. He is the great King over all, and because we are made in His image, we too are created to rule over His creation. Arturo then asked the Pokomchi: Who has dominion over the corn crop at harvest? You, or the rats?

Arturo could see the lights go on, and a whole new idea—a new mental space that never existed before—came into their minds. They answered, “The rats.”

“Is this what God wants?” Arturo responded.

“No.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

With that simple question, a remarkable transformation happened in the village. The farmers developed simple corn cribs that protected their crop from the rats, and the food supply doubled. Infant mortality rates plummeted, and the Pokomchi farmers began to innovate in completely new ways. One word, dominion—human authority over creation—transformed an impoverished village. (Scott Allen, 10 Words to Heal Our Broken World: Restoring the Meaning of Our Most Important Words)

Like an ambassador in a foreign country, we are made to represent God in the world.

(C) We are made to reflect God’s character in our lives.

Adam and Eve where given a moral command and were expected to follow it:

Genesis 2:16–17 “16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

Adam and Eve were made in the image of God to reflect God’s righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:24 “ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Again, I found the illustration of a mirror helpful. We are created and given the capacity to reflect our Maker’s moral character.

Righteousness

Holiness

Truth

Love

(3) What Does It Mean to Live as Image-Bearers of God?

Let me share three implications

(A) All human beings are made with inherent worth and dignity

Psalm 8:3–5 “3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

You are not a mistake or a burden!

The doctrine of the Imago Dei tells us that every person that crosses our path must be treated with sacredness.

James 3:9–10 “9 With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

Disdain

Contempt

Screaming at each other

Using people to get what you want

Exploiting people for profit and pleasure

Instead, we ought to treat everyone with respect and kindness.

Human rights stems from the Imago Dei, the image of God. It doesn’t come from a secular worldview who believes that we evolved from animals.

All human life is precious. We call this, the sanctity of human life.

This includes the unborn, people with disabilities , and the elderly. No one is a mistake and no one is a burden! Every life is precious

Genesis 9:6 “6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

Human rights stems from the Imago Dei, the image of God. That’s why racism is an evil from the pit of hell.

Thankfully, the message of the gospel tells us that in Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled. First to God and to each other.

(B) All human beings are made to worship their Creator

Human beings were created to reflect the character of God and commissioned to carry out his purposes in the world for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

We can enjoy _____ to the glory of God!

Our work is meant to worship God

Our creativity is meant to worship God

Our recreation is meant to worship God

Our rest is meant to worship God.

Our eating is meant to worship God

Our gatherings are meant to worship God.

(C) All human beings are made to be dependent on their Creator

Let’s go back to the illustration of a mirror. Mirrors cannot produce their own image. They simply reflect whatever they are pointed to. In the same way you and I cannot produce the image of God in us. We are meant to turn our lives to God and reflect his glory to the world.

Where is your glory and significance going to come from?

A fellow human being (relationship)

A degree or a title

A career

A family

Material things

Money, power and sex (the unholy trinity of our society)

Painful consequences take place when we replace our Creator with his creation.

Conclusion. Jesus is the only perfect image of God, yet he was trampled beyond recognition.

Isaiah 52:14 “But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.” (NLT)

Pray for Guatemala Trip