At the beginning of the bible in the book of Genesis, it is revealed in 1:26 that human beings were made in the image of God, “ And God said Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have domination over the fish of the sea …and over all the earth and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” The Bible teaches us that there is one God, this God consists of three distinct persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible speaks of the Father as a fundamental source of the universe ( 1 Corinthians 8:6), the Son as the mediator through whom the Father works to create and maintain the universe (John 1:3), and the Holy Spirit; the Father does everything by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). The main purpose of this essay is to prove that man was made Imago Dei ('in the image of God'.)
Why did God create us? We were created in God’s image to serve him. One of the attributes of God is love, God created us as humans because he loved us so profusely and because he wanted us to serve Him. God is love (1 John 4:8), and his sacrifice on the cross for our sins is the ultimate act of his love and mercy towards us. God has both communicable and non-communicable attributes. The non-communicable attributes are reserved for God alone; they are omnipotence (Psalm 33:9), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-12), omniscience (1 John 3:20), eternal (Deut. 33:27), immutability (Malachi 3:6) and self-existence (God is the source of life and does not need anything for his existence). Whereas the communicable attributes are shared with those in a relationship with God. We can find examples of these attributes in the scripture text which highlights the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5: 22-23 states: “ But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” We can’t become God, but we can become similar to him by practicing his communicable attributes.
Genesis 5: 1-2 says, “This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.” This text states that man was created in God’s image. The day that God created man, he blessed them and made them in his image and likeness; naming them mankind. There is no valid reason behind mankind but through God. Nowadays, many of us do not live in God’s image, however, as Christians, we should believe in God’s word and share his word with non-believers.
Genesis 1:27 gives us more evidence that man was created in the image of God, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them”. We were created to look like God, think like God, reflect God, and be like God. That image was broken when sin entered The Garden of Eden and was passed down to us today, from Adam and Eve. God is not like us, he has no sin in him but he wants us to be just like him.
If we do not love our neighbor or friend we cannot profess our love for Christ. The Lord our God is an honest God, he is always truthful to man and asks that we be like him, this is proven in Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” The Bible then goes on to say in Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord but they that deal truly are his delight.” From this text, we can see that God requires us to be truthful.
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In the text John 1:17 which says, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,” tells us where truth originates from which is through Jesus Christ. Without knowing God, we will not know how to be honest. God knows that we all make mistakes, but he is always there to pick us up and put us back on track when we come out and be truthful. The text John 8:32 says “And ye shall know the truth and truth shall make you free.” The Bible is filled with stories like this, which talks about truth setting us free.
One of these stories is the story of Esther. Originally, Esther lied about her nationality because it would be dangerous for her if anyone found out that she was a Jew. After becoming the Queen, Esther heard that King Ahasuerus wanted all Jews to be killed, she instructed all Jews to fast with her for three days and then she requested a banquet with the King to tell him that she was also a Jew. When Esther spoke up and told the truth about her origins, she was able to save her people because the king spared their lives.
From the moment God created Adam and Eve he created each and every one of us in his image and likeness. The dictionary states that the meaning of likeness is the semblance, guise, or outward appearance of someone or something. When God created man he gave us a sense of authority and leadership just like him however we are not the same as God as he is the ultimate and superior being. Even though God created other creatures of the world, in the bible it states that we are the only ones he created in his image and likeness. The attribute I’ll be focusing on is goodness. Goodness involves showing kindness and hospitality towards others. It is more of an act than a feeling. God expressed his goodness in many ways as should we. If we were created in God’s image, it’s only natural that we possess certain qualities like him. In many scriptures, God pleads with us to show goodness to our fellowmen by being kind and showing forgiveness just as he did with us. Some examples where the lord speaks about goodness are Matthew 5:15-16, which states: “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candle stick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.” Another scripture is Romans 12:21: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” God wants each and every one of us to reflect all his qualities as we were made in his image and likeness therefore we must mirror his actions.
The Communicable attribute of patience, in this case, is the ability to bear provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, but still be able to maintain your composure and a firm level of understanding. The Bible describes patience as closely related to both mercy and compassion, but “How do such a mighty God and men share this trait?”. In the text (Nehemiah 9:30), the bible, speaks of God’s patience towards the sinful Canaanites. The Canaanites did not listen to God, even after his warnings, and for that, they fell into misfortune. Yet God still showed them mercy in the end, displaying a level of patience no man could achieve.
Although man is the inferior being, Genesis 29:20 shows that we can, despite our flaws, also display a great level of patience. In this verse, it stated that Jacob served Laban for seven years to marry his daughter Rachel, but because he loved her so much it only seemed like a few days. Human beings can in fact show a great deal of patience. But this patience usually tends to involve some sort of reward or faith that there is something to be benefited from as a recompense for our hardships.
In Timothy 1:16, it describes God’s patience as an example to others. After all, how can human beings be taught a virtue from God without it first being displayed to us? As God teaches us and we learn from him, our example can also be used as a learning tool for others. This shows that God’s image is not just something we are born with, but can be developed. If we are able to understand this thing called patience, it would mean that we were created by God with the capacity to do so in the first place.
The purpose of this essay is to understand what it means to be created in the image of God. The purpose of human life is seen in the first chapter of Genesis, where man is first mentioned: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Although humanity has fallen short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) His awesome mercy and love, would not discourage His great plan for mankind. God’s image is meant to be enjoyed, his truthfulness, mercy, love, goodness, and patience are the key attributes that have impacted mankind.
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