Imago Dei (Part 1)
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We’re almost to the pinnacle of creation. Thus far we’ve seen the creation of light, the separation of the waters between those in the heavens and those on earth, the forming of land, the creation of vegetation, the creation of the sun and moon and stars, the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air, and then living creatures to fill the land as well.
And we stopped. We stopped last week part way through the 6th day. Today we’re going to finish the 6th day.
Before we get there, let’s pray:
Holy God, the creator of all that is - as we gather this morning we humbly pray that you will speak to us in a way we can understand. Open to us your word spoken so long ago -
your word that is power,
your word that creates,
your word that is life itself -
Grant us understanding and recreate in us that intimate relationship between your word and its creation,
renew in us life that is in you,
and grant us your strength to be agents of change in a world that we know is broken and hurting.
Speak through your word as we read it to understand. Speak almighty God, your servants are listening - In the Name of Jesus, the Word made flesh, we pray. AMEN.
Let’s read God’s Word:
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.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
The grand entrance of humankind. And note what makes it different than all of the rest of Creation. Up to this point God has created all the “other” but nothing that reflected the divinity itself. In all that God has created God still does not see God’s own self in the creation, until this point.
The work does not resemble the one who creates it; instead it takes on the form as the creator commands. Yet it is decidedly other - even in its living nature all life at this point created by God is dead. What I mean by that is because it is created, it is conditioned, and though it arises out of the total freedom of God it does not have that freedom but it is limited in its freedom.
Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1–3 The Image of God on Earth (Gen. 1:26–27)
Only that which is itself free would not be dead, would not, as a creature, be alien or torn away. Only in that which is itself free could the free Creator behold the Creator
As we read the biblical narrative we note a distinctive difference in the way that it introduces the creation of humankind from all God’s previous creative activity. Before it has been, “And God said, ‘Let there be __________’, and there was ‘________’.”
Now God says,
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
What is immediately evident is that God in this instance seems to address the community - what community? Why is God using the plural here?
Luther suggested that it was a foreshadowing of Christ and the Trinity - and this is how Christians have traditionally interpreted this verse. Though admittedly this is not what it would have meant to the original author. Still, it would seem to make sense as God continues in verse 27 and seems to be singularly responsible for the creation of humankind.
We read in Colossians about Jesus,
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
When we examine the totality of Scripture the evidence for Christ’s presence at the creation is unavoidable.
Returning to our verse:
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.
A second thing that I note right away is that there is a sense of thoughtfulness that we have not seen previously in the creation narrative. There is a considering, almost a more intentional planning. Whether that is true or not it is evident that there is a specialness to the creation of humankind. We are different, set apart from the rest of Creation.
Humankind is created as the last of God’s creation, it is the new work of God. Humankind, male and female, go forth as God’s image in God’s creation. Saying that means that humankind is like the Creator in that it is free.
The creature, that is you and I, are free in that we exist in relation to one another, and that we are free FOR another. Freedom is not something I possess for myself, but for the other with the other, and in relationship to another.
“Freedom is just not something I have at my command like an attribute of my own; it is simply something that comes to happen, that takes place, that happens to me through the other.”
Bonhoeffer, D. (2004). Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1–3. (M. Rüter, I. Tödt, & J. W. de Gruchy, Eds., D. S. Bax, Trans.) (Vol. 3, p. 63). Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
We, as humans, differ from all other plants, animals, and all other creatures in that God is in humankind as the very image of God in which the free Creator looks upon the Creator’s own self. That’s what theologians speak of when they speak of the indwelling of the Trinity in Adam.
With that freedom also comes great responsibility.
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.”
We are given our own sense of Lordship, if you will. But again the freedom of that is not over the others, but for the others. This planet and all of its plants and animals that dwell upon it are at the same time under our lordship and also without which we would cease to exist.
This is how our freedom differs from the freedom of God. Our freedom of having dominion over the planet is at the same time bound to the planet. The more we have dominion over the planet the more it is ours, and the more we are bound to it. God on the other hand is decidedly other, which makes the Creation in God’s image that much more astounding.
The remainder of this day of creation as recorded says:
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.
So why does this matter?
It is clear from the beginning that we were created for relationship.
We were created for relationship.
We were created for relationship.
You and I were not meant to be alone. We are meant to be in relationship with one another, with the rest of creation, and with our Creator! Not only do we have our freedom for our relationship with the rest of creation; it is also for our relationship with one another; and ultimately in our relationship with the Creator God in the Trinity.
Our “Freedom” is not ours.
Our “Freedom” is not ours.
This is perhaps the most profound thought within this passage. We are given our freedom for others. It is given for the purpose of subduing the earth and having dominion over every living thing. That dominion though is not as a tyrannical despot, but as one who tends to the creation. And the success or failure of our dominion impacts us directly as the world for which we care is also the world in which we live.
We are the image of the Creator Loving God
We are the image of the Creator Loving God
Think about that. Is that the image we project? Too often for me it is not. I hurt people whether I want to admit it or not. And, if we’re going to be honest we hurt people both unintentionally, but also too often intentionally. We reach out in our pain to inflict pain on others.
In our season of Lent, it is a great time to reflect and look inward at our own intentions and our relationship with God. Are we letting God’s light shine through or are we seeking our own glory? God’s way or our way?