Made in God's Image

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.” 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)

What does it mean to be created in the very image of God? In this passage, this word “image”  means a resemblance or a representative figure. The idea is that the world will experience the presence of God in relationship with us because our essence is created in the likeness of God.

Further, David Platt points out that we’ve been created to enjoy God’s grace in relationship with him and that we have a capacity to know God. There is no other created being that has the capacity to know God as we do because we were actually created in God’s image.

“The image of God refers to the immaterial part of man. It sets man apart from the animal world, fits him for the dominion God intended him to have over the earth (Genesis 1:28), and enables him to commune with his Maker. It is a likeness mentally, morally, and socially.” S. M. Houdmann

2 Peter 1:2-4 reads: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

In our created state, we are created like God – mentally, morally, and socially. However, through the original sin that happened, mankind became sinful. But by God’s mercy, when we place our faith in Christ, by His grace, we are able to participate in the divine nature of God – to resemble Him and to relate to Him like no other created being.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which occurs when we accept Christ as our Savior, spiritually returns us to our original state. Christ’s death on our behalf allows God to see us as righteous, allows the Father to fellowship with us as He did with Adam and Eve before the fall. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit allows us to live by and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control – to emulate the Father. We are returned to a state of being like-minded with the Father and to move according to His Spirit. And as Platt says, we are able to fellowship with the Father in His grace.

It is astounding to think that the holy, Creator loves us so deeply, desires an intimate relationship with us, and has actually fashioned us in His image.

My prayer today is that we will truly receive the fact that the God of the universe loves us immutably, that we are created in His very image, and that we can do all that we are called to do and can affect the world for His glory and all of our good.

Amazing!