Lesson 1: “Let Us Make Man In Our Image”

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Text Under Consideration: Genesis 1-2

Scriptural & Historical Context: 

No dates are given for the events recorded in our text. By taking the genealogical information recorded in Genesis, we can know that Creation occurred at least 4000 years before the birth of Christ, but since no date is given in Scripture we would be foolish to assign one. What is affirmed throughout Scripture is that this world had a beginning; it was created by God in the span of six days (Genesis 1; Exodus 20.11; Psalm 19.1; etc.).

Key Verses & Events:

• God creates the world and all life in six days by His word.
• God creates male and female in His image (Genesis 1.26-27). Man is created from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2.7) and woman from man’s rib (Genesis 2.21-22).
• Man is placed in the garden and instructed to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2.17).
• Marriage is instituted by God (Genesis 2.24).

The Story

1. God is the all-powerful Creator who brought everything into existence by His word, and creation itself testifies to His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1.20).
2. Man is uniquely created in God’s image (Genesis 1.26-27), setting humanity apart from all other created things.
3. The “image of God” involves God’s Spirit/breath being placed within man, connecting human life to the divine — and salvation would later be achieved through the giving of that same Spirit.
4. Man reflects God’s likeness through dominion and life-giving, mirroring God’s own power and role as Creator (Genesis 1.28).
5. Holiness is the primary aspect of God’s likeness man is called to emulate — both Testaments command, “Be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11.44; 1 Peter 1.16).
6. Marriage reflects the unity of God — just as the plural God is perfectly united, husband and wife become one flesh (Genesis 2.24), pointing toward divine unity and man’s unity with God.
7. God’s Word is life-giving power, not merely speech — and Jesus is that Word made flesh (John 1.14).
8. Obedience to God’s Word sustains life, while disobedience brings death (Genesis 2.17), establishing a principle carried throughout Scripture.
9. The gospel story is rooted in Creation — who God is, what man is, and the relationship between them sets the foundation for everything that follows.

The gospel story begins by introducing us to God. Significantly, God is introduced as the all-powerful Creator who brings all things into being by His word. This point is key for a couple of reasons. First, the created world bears testimony to the “eternal power and divine nature” of God (Romans 1.20). And since the world bears witness to the Creator, we should honor Him. Second, God created through His Word and the Word would become flesh (John 1.1-4,14). God’s means of creating life would be the means by which He gave new life!

Our main focus in this lesson is on the uniqueness of man’s creation. Genesis 1 records how the world and all life were created by God’s word, but after all other things had been made “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’.” (Genesis 1.26) The fact of man’s creation in God’s image will shape the rest of the gospel story.

A few points from the text show us the significance of man being made in God’s image. First, consider that the word translated as “Spirit” in Genesis 1.2 (Hebrew rûaḥ) is also translated as “breath”in Scripture (see Genesis 6.17). The idea seems to be that man is created with God’s Spirit within (see Job 27.3; 32.8). Significantly, as we will see salvation is achieved through the giving of God’s Spirit (Ezekiel 36.25-27; John 3.5). Second, the idea of “image” is that of likeness. Thus, man being in God’s image indicates that we represent His likeness on earth. God’s instructions to man in Genesis 1.28 show how man is in God’s likeness: “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’.” Genesis 1 presents God as both all-powerful and as the giver of life and His initial charge to man are to 1) produce life (be fruitful and multiply) and 2) exert dominion. Man bears the likeness of God! However, there is one aspect of God’s likeness that man is consistently called to emulate: His holiness. Both the Old and New Testaments declare that God’s people are to “be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11.44; 1Peter 1.16). Man is created in the image of a holy God and therefore should bear His holy likeness.

Some consideration must also be given to the institution of marriage, for it also shows how man is created in God’s image. The doctrine of the Trinity and Godhead are not fully developed in the Old Testament, but they are present from the beginning. First, the word for “God” in Genesis 1.1 is ʾĕlōhîm, a plural noun. Second, we’ve already seen how God used plural pronouns when declared how He would make man in His image (Genesis 1.26). God is a plurality, but perfectly united (see John 10.30). Now consider that in marriage two distinct beings (man and woman) “become one flesh” (Genesis 2.24). Marriage is a testimony to the unity that exists in God, and ultimately to the unity that man should share with his God (see Ephesians 5.31-32). Marriage being an aspect of how man is created in God’s image also shows why the relationship is hallowed by God and is to be honored by man (Matthew 19.3-9; Hebrews 13.4).

Finally, we must note the relationship between God and His word. Genesis 1 shows that God’s word is more than mere speech, but the very power by which He creates and gives life. That doctrine is developed further in John 1 where we see that Jesus is the Word and “all things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1.3). And if God’s word gave life, then it would stand that following His word would sustain life. Thus, we should not be surprised that the result of disobeying God’s word was death (Genesis 2.17). Man was created in the image of God, but to remain in His likeness would require adherence to His word.

For Further Consideration

1. Read Matthew 22.20-21. Likeness implies ownership. If taxes were to be paid to Caesar because money bore his likeness, what does it mean to “render… to God the things that are God’s”?
2. Read Matthew 5.48. Jesus defines our true potential as being perfect like God. Given that we are created in His image, this makes sense. Do you believe you can be like Him? Do you believe in your true potential? If not, why not?
3. God forbade Israel worshipping the likeness of anything in heaven or on earth (Exodus 20.4). How does our creation on God’s image help explain His prohibition against idolatry?