On the sixth day of creation, after making all the land animals, the Bible tells us: "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (Genesis 1:26)
To whom is God speaking when He says, "Let us make mankind in our image"? In my opinion He is speaking to the other two persons of the Holy Trinity: God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. If He were only saying, "Let us make man," He could have been giving instructions to any created being residing in heaven with Him. The angels, for example. But He clearly says man is to be made "in our image". Nowhere in the Bible are we told that we are made in the image of angels. Instead we are told that the angels are "ministering servants sent to serve those who will inherit salvation." (Hebrews 1:4) There is no indication in the Scriptures that anyone other than God is able to create life, so I think since He uses the plural words "us" and "our", He can only be speaking to the other two persons capable of creating life with Him.
Do I fully understand the nature of the Holy Trinity---how there is only one God and yet that one God exists in three persons/holds three offices/performs three ministries? No. Do I understand exactly what it means that we are made in God's image? No. We could spend a great deal of time puzzling over these things and not come to any firm conclusions. Scholars throughout the ages have been unable to puzzle these things out. I think that, in the here and now, these are things we must accept on faith. Then someday when we see our Redeemer face to face, we will understand.
"So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:21) The author of Genesis goes out of his way to repeat the fact several times that we are created in the image of God. No other creature can claim this great honor, not even the most intelligent of animals, not even the highest-ranking angels of heaven.
Just as He did with the animals, God blesses the humans. "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:28) God isn't giving man license to do as he pleases with the created world. The dominion that the Lord bestows upon mankind is an enormous and solemn responsibility. We are to rule over the world and the animals just as the One who created us in His image would rule over it. Would God be cruel and neglectful toward the animals He so lovingly made? Would He carelessly manufacture goods in such a way as to pollute the air and the water? Would He extract fossil fuels in a way that presents a danger to life on earth? Would He ruin the habitats of millions of animals? Would He engage in industrial practices or hunting practices that cause entire species to become extinct? As those who have been made in the image of God, and as those who have been tasked with such a great responsibility, we should seek to carry out the duties of our dominion in a way that doesn't disrespect our God.
I want to stop here for a minute to mention how deeply the Lord comforted me earlier this year with the passage of Genesis we're studying today. For the fourth time in my life I had to have a dearly loved dog put to sleep. Not once has a dog of mine ever passed peacefully in its sleep. I've always had to make the heartbreaking decision that there are no good days left ahead of them and that it's more merciful to let them go. Every time I find myself in that situation, I feel like I'm playing God. I feel like I don't have the right to make a life and death decision for my pet. I didn't create dogs; God did. I didn't give life to the animal kingdom; God did. It feels wrong to me when I have to take steps to release them from their suffering. But back in January, when I had to let my sixteen-year-old pup Buffy go, the Lord brought to my mind the words of Genesis 1:28. He reminded me that He gave mankind dominion over the animal kingdom. This means He trusts me enough to allow me to make heart-wrenching decisions for the pets He has placed in my care. This means that---uncomfortable as it may make me feel---I do have the right and the authority to release a terminally ill pet from this life. I was given that right and that authority by God Himself. God did not give us the right to mistreat the animals, but He did give us the right to make thoughtful and humane decisions regarding their welfare. If any of you have ever had to make a decision like this, or if you ever have to make such a decision in the future, I hope the words of verse 28 will comfort you as they've comforted me.
It was God's best plan from the beginning that man would not eat the animals and that animals would not eat each other. He never wanted any of us preying on each other. "Then 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 used for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground---everything that has the breath of life in it---I give every green plant for food.' And it was so." (Genesis 1:29-30) Before man fell from grace, nothing on earth ate meat. I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian and I'm not telling you that you will be holier if you become a vegan or a vegetarian. It's not a sin to eat meat because after the great flood God gave man permission to eat meat in Genesis 9, perhaps because something about the environment had changed so drastically that man (and many of the animals) could no longer obtain enough nutrients from vegetables and fruits. The great flood came about because of man's appalling sinfulness. Every bad thing that has befallen humans and animals in this world is a result of man's depravity. But God has promised to reverse the polluting effects that sin has had on this world.
The prophet Isaiah foresaw the day in which God would restore the world to its former Eden-like state. Isaiah knew a day was coming when no human or animal would ever prey on another living creature again and he said, "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox." (Isaiah 11:6-7) The Apostle Paul, through inspiration from the Holy Spirit, spoke of a day in which the creation would be redeemed, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21) When man fell from grace, he took the created world and the animals down with him. The pollution of sin filled the earth and affected everything on the earth. But the righteousness of God will restore all things to their original state of perfection and glory. Those of you who studied Revelation with us will recall that when the Lord Jesus Christ reigns over the earth forever, we will revert back to a vegetarian diet. The curse of sin will no longer be present. Sin itself will no longer be present. This world will be perfect and beautiful and peaceful.
As God completed the sixth and final day of creation, He looked upon it and was satisfied. "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning---the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31) God does everything well. It was man who ruined and perverted the perfect world the Lord placed him in. This is yet another example of our inability to achieve righteousness on our own. We can't make it through a day without messing up somehow. Without the Lord, we will never be all we were intended to be. Without the Lord, we will never achieve righteousness. He is the One who does all things well. Without Him we are nothing.
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