Here’s to simpler times!

Genesis 2

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our own image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule …. God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.”

First, let’s consider “in our image and likeness”. This separated man from the rest of creation. This was God separating man and woman from other living creatures as having lineage from God; a chip off the ol’ block. Theologians divide God’s attributes into two categories; communicable and incommunicable. The former are attributes He shares with us or gives us the capacity to experience. The later are uniquely His and only His attributes. We are not sovereign, infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent or omniscient. We do however have a capacity for reason, intellect and emotion.  Additionally, God created with enlightenment to speak and communicate, discern truth, gain knowledge and pursue justice.

The morality of it all

God also shares with us moral attributes such as love, show mercy, goodness, and righteous indignation. So, certain attributes of God’s Sovereignty are untouchable to us. But we do have a capacity to experience some of God’s attributes. Not, of course, to the full extent as God (for example God has full knowledge, we have the capacity for some knowledge) but what we share is astounding, when you stop to think about it. Passages such as “You have the mind of Christ” and “Be imitators of God” and “Be Holy for I am Holy” make more sense to us when we understand the communicable attributes of a God, (I Cor 2.16; Eph 5.1,2; I Peter 1.16).

Man and Woman

God created male and female. He blessed them as partners, man and wife, (2:24) and entrusted them with responsibilities to be fruitful and to subdue and rule over God’s creation. Subdue and rule, I believe, implies not just maintaining order but producing value and mining its resources.  I say this because the parable of the talents indicates God’s design for us to be faithful stewards of resources and produce a positive return.  Also, this partnership of man and wife, male and female, was what God blessed and called good, very good. The Fall in chapter 3 will mar and spoil the bliss of these inter-connected relationships of male, female, man and wife and living creatures and all of creation.

It’s never easy

Nevertheless, God will redeem a large remnant of humanity throughout different ages right up to the end times. And for this remnant of redeemed followers of God, He will place His Spirit within their hearts and give them the capacity to bear His likeness and image. But because of the Fall, it will always be a battle for us. Therefore, Paul instructs us to “work out our salvation in fear and trembling.” Yes, it’s not easy to bear the likeness of God in our fallen bodies but Paul also says, “For it is God who is at work in You, both to will and to work for His good pleasure,” (Philippians 2:12,13). For His good pleasure! He works in us and declares, behold, it is good, very good. Amen!