The Imago Dei – Part Two

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. — Genesis 1:26-27 . . . the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. — Genesis 2:7

The sanctity of life. The image of God. What else was involved in this unique process of God creating us in His own image? What distinguishes man from all other forms of life? What else makes us different and more important to God than the animal kingdom or the environment? We’ve already discussed that by design we were made after God’s image and likeness, “The Imago Dei.

But also notice that God gave mankind authority over all His creation. He gave us the rule. God gave man and woman dominion. In God’s order, all of His creation is subservient to His highest creation, human beings. But God also did something else to distinguish man from all other creation. Although man’s physical body was made from the dust of the ground and because of the fall will return to the dust, our soul or spirit is God-breathed. The soul of man, therefore, is not of this world and will one day leave its earthly mortal dwelling and return to God (Ecclesiastes. 12:4). This cannot be said of any other of God’s living beings. Job expresses this uniqueness well, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). Although the human body came from dust, the fact that it contains the image of God, has received ordained authority from God and its soul from God, makes it holy.

Chuck Colson said being made in the image of God means that we “find our ultimate identity and worth in reflecting our Creator.” Blue skies, mountains, trees, the sun, moon and stars — the birds, the cattle on a thousand hills — all point to God as the Creator (Psalm 19). Only man, however, who alone is made in His image and likeness, can reflect the essence and nature of God. Therefore, men and women and children created in the image of God — every human life — must be considered as precious, regardless of race, color, size, shape, economic status and yes, even their faith. God has put his fingerprint on each and every soul. A portion of God rests in each human spirit and extends to every member of the human family.

Upon death, every person will be judged (Hebrews 9:27). But until that time, God has called you and me to reflect His image through respect, dignity and the love of Christ to every human being and if possible, show them the way to the Savior of the world, who alone can save their souls. Never forget that all human life, from beginning to end is precious because it is created in the image of God. Maranatha!

Pastor Don