GOD CREATED HUMANKIND IN HIS IMAGE

Genesis 1:26-2:3

Key Verse: 1:27

The most gracious heavenly Father, thank you so much for your overflowing blessing 2014 and presence and for giving us 2015! I repent my lack of faith and unfaithfulness 2014! Help me to be faithful before you! Thank you so much for giving me the key verse Matthew 28:18-21, Genesis 1:26-31 for 2015! Help me to prepare this Bible study and sermon inspired by the Holy Spirit! May I have clear direction for your glory through today’s Bible Study and sermon! Thank you! I pray in Jesus name Amen!

-Knowing who we are and the original purpose of our creation are very important. Today’s passage describes man’s creation, which is the climax of God’s creation. When God created other creatures, God just proclaimed But when God created man, Trinity God gathered together and consulted and concur in it and dedicated and devoted it together. Man was made in God’s image and likeness to be God’s steward. Only man can have soul,which is enable to have communication with God. God originally created man to walk with Him and depend on Him and work for Him. There is the purpose of life in Him.

1. What plan did God have for humankind (26)? What do you learn about creation order (Ps 8:4-8). What does it tell us that God created man in his own image (Eph 4:24; 1Jn 4:7)? What is different man against animals, which were created at the same day? What is God’s purpose of man’s creation?

26Then 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.”

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:

7 all flocks and herds,

and the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air,

and the fish of the sea,

all that swim the paths of the seas.

24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

a) Man’s creation was a profound work of God. Trinity, God consulted to create man together. They wanted to create man as their own image to rule over every living creature. When we compare with the other animals like a lion or a tiger, we are not much strong and power. When we compare with elephants, we are not bigger than those ones.

b) But God specially glorified man. “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him rule over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet” (Ps8:4-7) God had special plan for man to rule over the other creatures as God’s purpose. God established creation order; God-man –creatures. Without God, man become like one of animal. Without God, there is no man’s ultimate purpose.

“God created in his own image. What is God’s image? We can think about God’s image as Almighty, creational artist, Power, Holiness, love, faithfulness, gentleness and so on. Actually God’s image is broad.

- God is Spirit. -God created man as spiritual being. Only man can have fellowship with God because man was made as spiritual being. So even though every environment is perfect, human being cannot be satisfied without the fellowship with God. Because we are spiritual being. So when we study the time of primitive age, we can see the trace to worship something wherever human beings had lived. We cannot find the trace of worship from monkey, lion, tiger, and eagle’s societies. Only we can find in the human’s history. When our relationship with God is intimacy, our true thirst can be quenched and have true peace. When we stand before God who created us with his purpose, we can find who we are.

-God is omnipotent. His wisdom and intelligence is limitless. God created man who had intelligence and knowledge as God’s divine attributes. Think about how much developed our technology is compared with other animals since the primitive age. Some brain scientists mentions human being only use just within 10%.

How many creatures were in the Garden of Eden? There could be more than millions. If he named each of them, he could remember what he named. He was genius. God made us genius. God gave us creative intelligence. Man constantly wants to develop our life and culture with intelligence. This potential is almost limitless.

- God has emotion. God created us as emotional being, When we have joy, we smile and loudly laugh. When we are sad, we cry. Our emotion should be exposed rightly. When it does not be exposed, inner sickness will happen.

- God is noble. God created us to Seek righteousness and noble. Our instinct seeks noble life. We want be treated as noble man or woman. When we are treated badly and humiliated, we are angry and not happy because God’s image is damaged in us.

- God’s image is also the community. God himself is Trinity God. What God made us is to have community each other. We cannot live alone. (Ex-cast away-Tom Hanks) That is why we need to have community. That is God gave us new command “ love each other”.

2. What command did God give human beings as his blessing (28)? What does it tell us about God’s mission for us? How did God provide food for his creatures (29, 30; Mt 6:33)?

28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

God’s intention to man was to bear much fruitful and blessing instead of barren and curse when he created. Think about trees, which beat many fruits, the others which are barren. God intends the human race to be multiplied by generation indeed,

As an owner of vineyard, which one is good? (Jer29:11-14)

a) -Life itself is God’s amazing thing. When God created life, he made the lives to keep their seeds and to increase their kinds. Especially this verse describes to be filled with God’s children who have God’s image. If Adam and Eve had babies, they were God’s image. Before sinned, human beings delivered babies, they were God’s image. After human beings sinned, meaning can be changed.

- First, regeneration comes us through our preaching Jesus. We are transformed into God’s children, who have God’s image, from the Slave of Satan. When we are transformed as God’s image, we can experience true joy and blessing. As well as God’s kingdom will be expanded in this world.

Second, God’s image can grow inside us through our prayer and His words. God created us as His image outwardly as well as inwardly. In order to grow, we have to eat spiritual as well as physical food. We have to grow until we resemble like God. It is sanctification process.

b) the word “subdue” in Hebrew is “kabash” .He confirms what he had before said respecting dominion.

It means to develop and rule over the things that are not pioneered for God’s purpose and will. It teaches us to develop resources, farming, mining, geographical discovery, and scientific invitation, etc. human beings have been challenged new environment and impossible things for God’s glory and for human being’s development. However those who don’t know this God’s great blessing, are afraid other natures and serve God’s creatures as gods such as sun, big trees, even cows and animals.

c) Its means to be good stewards in God instead of my selfish purpose. The true owner of the Garden of Eden was God. God made us to rule over according to God’s will. But the natures of this world were destroyed due to men’s greed.

Romans 1:21-25 teaches us.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator

Verse 28 is God’s great mission as well as blessing upon us. Mission is real blessing from God. Mission makes man's life meaningful and blessed and powerful. Mission enables man to live for God's glory. Without mission, one becomes flesh, an object of God's curse.

The miserable thing is that man lost God’s mission and blessing since Adam sinned. There are two ways of our lives; missioned mind or none. The other words are whether we live for God or live for my selfish will. God created man as missionary for Him. As soon as we are regenerated as new God’s people, God’s mission is revived. “preach the gospel to the end of the world.”

We should practice verse 28, which is God’s blessing and mission. Matthew 6:33 promises God’s amazing provision if we seek first his kingdom and righteousness.

d) God provided food for man and animals. We clearly learn the priority between mission and bread problem. Just Living for bread is like animals. It is cursed itself. When human beings sinned, they lost God’s mission and purpose. Currently people focuses on how we live in this world easily and comfortably. There is not true happy in them. Jesus already promised “Seek His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33). We should take care of our practical matters. But the matter is first priority.

3. After he created man, God saw, “It was very good” (31). What do you learn about the absolute of human life and our life purpose?

31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

a) God’s creation was perfect. All things were made according to God’s great plan. There was not mistake at all.

b) When creatures stand before God, they can find their own purpose. “It was very good.” In this world, people judge according to their own judgment or comparison with the other. Everything God created is unique and special purpose. People’s eyes and our corrupted eyes make God’s special things degrade. When we find myself only before God who created me for His special purpose, we can find how much precious I am.

4. What did God do after he completed his creation work (2:1-3)? What is the meaning of the Sabbath day (Ex 20:10, 11)? Why do we need the Sabbath? (Lk6)

1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

(kadesh,) -with the Hebrews, is to separate from the common number, he might engage us in the consideration of his works.

He had the same end in view in the appointment of his own rest, for he set apart a day and selected it to remaind Him for this special use.

For God did not command men simply to keep holiday every seventh day, as if he delighted in their indolence (laziness); but rather that they, being released from all other business, might the more readily apply

their minds to the Creator of the world. Lastly, that is a sacred rest,

which withdraws men from the impediments (obstacle) of the world, that it may dedicate them entirely to God.

God separated and distinguished it from the rest of others. He has consecrated it and set it apart for himself and his own serve and honor to commemorate the work of creation. To the honor of the great Creator, who is therefore worthy to receive, on that day, blessing, and honor and praise, from all religious assemblies.

a) Sabbath day is the day of worship God and to have a spiritual fellowship with God. From Jesus ‘day, Sabbath day was the day of Jesus’ resurrection because Jesus is the Lord of Sabbath. Working without rest makes us inefficient and exhausted. We should diligently work for 6 days and need rest through worship with God. Keeping the Lord Day is to keep our spiritual life from secular world. It is different between God’s people and worldly people.

In conclusion, we studied how God created human beings wonderfully according to his plan and purpose. God gave us his mission as the blessing. He gave us Sabbath day for true rest.