Truly Human

Our sermon text today is Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 through 31.

Genesis 1:26–31

That's page number 1 in the Pew Bible.

If you're here and you're new to Christianity or if you're exploring spiritual things, this is a great time to be here at Trinity.

This fall we're walking through the opening pages of the Bible to learn who God is, who we are, and what story we find ourselves in.

And there's so much in these early chapters of Genesis that we're going to take a couple of weeks for each one just to make sure we don't miss the richness of what is here for us in God's word.

So we're back in Genesis 1 this morning, now focusing on verses 26 through 31.

So let me pray for us and then I'll read.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, indeed there's no one like you.

None greater in majesty, none greater in mercy.

We pray that by your spirit this morning we would be able to see more of you and more of who we are and who you've created us to be in your image.

We ask this in your name, Lord. Amen.

Amen.

Genesis 1 verse 26.

Genesis 1:26

Then 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.

So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

And God blessed them.

And said to them,

And God said,

And God said,

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.

And God said,

And behold,

And behold,

And behold,

I've given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit.

You shall have them for food.

And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth,

everything that has the breath of life,

I have given every green plant for food.

And it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made.

And behold,

it was very good.

And there was evening and there was morning,

the sixth day.

Flannery O'Connor,

the great southern fiction writer,

once said,

In the long run,

a people is known,

not by its statements or its statistics,

but by the stories it tells.

What story are you telling about you?

About us,

humans.

Or as the ancient Hebrew poet wrote in Psalm 8,

What is man?

Humanity.

That you are mindful of him.

Last week we saw that the beginning of the biblical story here in Genesis 1 starts with,

God.

And a God who's not some distant,

cold deity,

but a God who brings order from chaos,

and a God who fills the lifeless with life,

and a God who invites the weary in to rest.

But what about us humans?

Who are we?

Now I probably don't have to convince you

that this is an important question.

Most of us have asked at one point or another,

Who am I?

What am I here for?

For some of us,

it's a fleeting thought that we just sort of brush aside in our busyness.

For others,

it becomes a gnawing concern.

But how we answer that question

is sort of like the rudder of a ship

turning that seemingly small thing,

answering that seemingly small question,

vastly changes the direction,

the trajectory,

the outcome of a life.

So who are you?

What story are you telling?

There are lots of stories

on offer today.

On the one hand,

are you the result of nothing more than time,

and matter,

and energy,

and chance?

In other words,

are you basically the lucky accident

of a cold cosmos,

a collection of atoms that just sort of happened?

And one day,

will dissolve just as meaninglessly?

Or on the other end of the spectrum,

are you a divine spark

trapped in the material world?

Trying to get out,

maybe caught in a cycle of birth and rebirth?

Maybe some kind of spirituality

could get you unstuck

so that the real you

could get out of all this material,

dark stuff we call matter?

What story are you telling?

And you know,

the funny thing is,

both of those two ideas

that I just mentioned,

both of them are ancient

and modern at the same time.

On the one hand,

this materialism,

that we're just sort of matter and chance,

and on the other hand,

what we might call Gnosticism,

that we're sort of a spirit

stuck in this dark world,

they've both been around

for thousands of years,

and both in their own way

are still around today.

Don't think that one is new

and one is old.

But the reality is,

there's a better story to tell.

And one that actually makes better sense

of what we see and feel and know.

And it's found right here in Genesis 1.

The true story of what it means to be human.

So this morning,

I want to point to three things

that we see here

about who we are as human beings.

who you are.

So, first,

who are you?

You are the result

of the intention of God.

Look at verse 27.

Verse 27 reads,

Then God said,

Let us make man.

Now, the word man here

is a general term.

It carries the sense of all humanity.

So this passage is talking about

all humankind.

But here in verse 27,

something sort of unique happens.

Now, up to this point in the chapter,

God has just spoken

and it was, right?

The sky,

the seas,

the earth,

the stars,

the animals,

let there be,

God said,

and there was.

But here,

for the first time

in Genesis 1,

we hear God

deliberating,

as it were.

We're given a brief glimpse

into God's own

inner

eternal intention.

There's this pause

in the narrative

and we hear God say,

let us make humanity.

As if to drive home the point

that what God is about to do here

is done consciously

with deep design.

There is a rich,

personal purpose

of God unfolding here.

You are the deliberate

result

of the intention

of God.

But who is this us

that God speaks of?

Let us,

it says.

Who is us?

Now,

some have thought

that God is speaking here

to perhaps

the heavenly court

of angelic beings.

God is,

after all,

the creator

of all things seen

and unseen.

Perhaps God here,

presumably having already

created those heavenly beings,

at some point

is now addressing them.

Let us.

And yet,

the problem

with that view is,

as these verses

plainly show,

God doesn't create humanity

in the image of angels,

nor are the angels

created in the image of God.

No,

God creates humanity

in the image of God.

The us

and the our

of verse 26

refer to God alone.

So who is this God?

I like how Old Testament scholar

Derek Kidner explained it.

He said,

what we're dealing with here

in verse 26

with this us

and our

is a plural

of fullness.

In fact,

the Hebrew word for God

is also grammatically plural

as well

to express the fact

that God is,

well,

God.

There's a holy fullness

in God.

and you see this fullness

will be unfolded

and revealed

throughout the whole

of scripture

as God progressively

reveals more and more

of that fullness

of who he is to us.

Sort of like an acorn

that has all of the DNA

of a fully grown tree

so that DNA

packed into this us

and our

of Genesis 1 26

will grow

throughout scripture.

Or as a mountain range

sort of seen from afar

grows in detail

the closer and closer

you get.

So God's fullness

will become clearer

and clearer

until

in the dawning

of the New Testament

we get to see

the full picture.

And what we see

from the perspective

of the New Testament

in the whole Bible

is that God's fullness

is what we've come

to call the Trinity.

That the one God

eternally exists

in three persons,

Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit.

Now,

did the human author

of Genesis 1

intend in his human mind

to communicate

the fully fledged

doctrine of the Trinity here?

Maybe not.

But standing where we stand

from the place

of the New Testament,

the tree fully grown,

the mountain up close

and personal,

it's not hard

to look back at Genesis

and see what the Holy Spirit

has inspired.

because what do we see

in Genesis 1?

There is God

and God's Spirit

and God's Word

all at work

in creation.

And this God says

in his fullness,

let us make humanity

in our image.

Friends, you see,

you are the result

of the deliberate intention

of the very triune God

we worship and praise.

And that means

that you are not

merely the accident

of time

and matter

and chance.

The triune God

has created you

with deep intention.

You are here

for a reason.

You have a place

in the divine story.

God,

the author

and director

of all things,

has not just put out

a casting call,

but God's actually

chosen you

for the part

that you are to play.

humanity.

But what is that part?

This brings us

to the second point

we see here

in Genesis 1.

You are not just

a result

of the divine intention.

Second,

you are a bearer

of God's image.

If verse 26

that we just

were talking about

is God's intention

for humanity,

then in verse 27

we see God's creation

of humanity.

Look at that verse again,

verse 27.

So God created man,

created humanity

in his own image.

In the image of God

he created him,

male and female

he created them.

Now,

you have to imagine

how these words

would have first sounded

to the people of Israel.

Living in the wilderness,

having spent

generations in slavery,

still homeless,

outside the promised land,

and here comes

this language

language

of God's image

to them.

Well, you see,

in the ancient world,

that's how kings

would have described

themselves.

The king

bore the image

of God.

He was the offspring

of the gods,

the son of the gods,

ruling on earth

in the stead

of the gods.

He alone

possessed

that kind

of dignity.

You know,

today it's not

that much different.

It's still

the rich

and the famous

and the powerful

that we think

have the real

dignity

and honor

and glory

and worth.

But that

is not

true.

Friends,

we have forgotten

who we are.

The world says

only the kings

are made in God's image,

but Genesis 1

says that

every man

and every woman

is the very image

of God,

possessing

unsurpassed

dignity

and worth

and value.

And just to drive

it home,

the end of verse 27

says,

male and female.

He created them

as if to say

this dignity

of bearing God's image

is not limited

to only one part

of humanity.

Male and female

equally

and fully

bear the image

of God.

This was

unheard of

in the ancient world.

could there be

anything

more revolutionary

and liberating

than that thought

all of us

created

in God's image?

All of us

possessing

a dignity

beyond imagination

and beyond

calculation.

Whether male

or female,

young or old,

rich or poor,

all races,

all nationalities,

all abilities,

all people

without exclusion,

all of us

bear God's image.

C.S. Lewis

ends his great sermon

The Weight of Glory

by saying,

you've never met

a mere mortal.

Humans are creatures,

yes.

We are not God,

but we are all

creatures made

in the image of God.

And this has deep

ethical implications.

This makes all

the difference

in how we live

and act

and treat one another.

Because all humans

are created

in God's image,

the church

says no

to racism,

to sexism,

to ageism,

to really any way

of thinking

that takes one

category of people

and says they're

not worthy

of value

and respect

and worth.

We reject that

outright.

And because all

humans are created

in God's image,

we celebrate

the dignity

and intrinsic

worth of all people,

even those the world

would deem poor

or useless

or inconvenient.

Isn't it funny

that today

we live in a time

when that idea

is loved

and celebrated.

We want to say

yes to that.

And here in the Bible

is the very ground

for being able

to say and do that.

how must that

have struck

those Israelites,

poor,

homeless,

knowing nothing

in their past

but slavery?

How does it strike you?

Friend,

regardless of how

your job

or your looks

or your ability

or your wealth

stacks up

to those around you,

you possess

something

that even

the angels

do not possess.

You bear

the very image

of God.

So lift

your head

high.

You have

a dignity

that nothing

in this world

can give

and nothing

can take away.

As evidence

of that dignity,

look again

at verse 27.

Do you notice

something odd

about that verse

in the rest

of chapter 1?

It's written

in poetry.

Now it doesn't

rhyme.

Hebrew poetry

didn't rhyme

but it was about

rhythm

and repetition.

So our English

translations rightly

set it off

in verse.

The first poem

of the whole Bible,

what does it

celebrate?

The creation

of humanity

in God's image.

church.

Something so

beautiful

is happening

here

that it can

only be expressed

in art,

in verse,

in poetry.

God is singing

over his people.

And near the end

of the Old Testament

we find the same

thing.

The little prophetic

book of Zephaniah

Zephaniah 3:17

chapter 3

verse 17

says,

God will rejoice

over you

with gladness.

He will quiet

you by his love.

He will exalt

over you

with loud singing.

You are a bearer

of God's own image.

You have a dignity

that nothing

can take away.

Now there's been

a lot of theological

discussion over

what exactly

this image of God

refers to.

Is it referring

to the way

in which we

resemble God

or does it refer

to the way

in which we

as humans

represent God?

In other words,

as bearers

of God's image,

do we resemble

God in some way

that the rest

of creation

does not?

Maybe our capacity

for reason

or morality

or maybe our capacity

for beauty

and art

or for language

or for love

and relationships?

And historically,

the church

has actually pointed

to all these ways

in which we

resemble God

because you see

the family traits

of the triune God

are all over us

humans.

God is,

after all,

perfect in knowledge

and goodness

and beauty

and love

and we,

his image bearers,

reflect this

in a creaturely way.

Yes,

we're not God

but we reflect this

in a unique way

amidst all creation.

We bear God's image

and likeness.

But the other way

of seeing the image

of God

is that it refers

to the way

in which we

not just resemble God

but the way

we represent God.

That is,

the way

in which we

as humans

are God's

representatives

amidst creation.

You see,

when an ancient king

would conquer a city,

often he erected

an image of himself

in the middle of town.

Put a statue there

that looked just like him

as if to say,

this is now part

of my kingdom.

The image represented

the rule of the king.

But when God

created the world

and wanted to

inaugurate his kingdom

in the midst of creation,

he didn't make a statue

or a graven image.

He made humans.

Humanity would represent

God's loving rule.

Male and female

would take up the office,

the role

of image bearers.

That means we are

the envoys,

the stewards,

the vice regents

of the king

ruling on his behalf.

And that brings us

to our third point.

Who are you?

You are the result

of God's intention.

You are the bearer

of God's image.

But third,

you are the recipient

of God's commission.

In verse 28,

God blesses humanity

and then God

gives them this command.

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 everything

that moves on the earth.

You see,

God created us

not just

with immeasurable dignity,

that is in his image,

but also with a thrilling

responsibility.

Subdue

and have dominion,

God says.

Go forth

into this creation

and create

and steward

and enjoy

and make something

of it

for my sake.

Use all the dignity

and the gifts

I've given you

and make creation

sing my praise.

I have sung

over you.

Now you unleash

this creation

that I've made

and make it sing

for me.

I'm extending

my kingdom

through you.

Subdue

and have dominion.

Those words

are rich,

are they not?

With authority.

In fact,

when you study

the use of those words

throughout the rest

of the Bible,

they are words

used of kings.

It is a royal office

God has placed us in.

But how are we

to use this authority?

Well,

I think it's pretty clear

from Genesis 1

as his image bearers,

we are meant to carry out

this commission

in a way

that God would.

And as we look

at Genesis 1,

how does God

exercise his authority

over creation?

Well,

it's in a way

that brings life

and flourishing

and even joy.

The commission here

in Genesis 1.28

is not a license

to use

and abuse creation

for our own

selfish purposes.

No,

it's a calling

to steward

the created order

on behalf

of the one true king,

the living God.

We have to care

for creation

because it's not

our own,

it's his.

if I were going

away on a trip

for a month or two

and I asked you

to house sit for me,

what would I do?

Well,

I would hand you

the keys to the home

and probably give you

some instructions

on how to care for things

and feed the fish

and then I would give you

functional authority

over the house.

You would have

the responsibility

and the privilege

of living there

and making the decisions.

But how would you

approach this job?

would your next step

be to call

the local construction guy

and say,

hey,

there's a lot

of free materials

over here,

you can come scrap them,

tear them down

and just give me the money,

just forward it

right into my account.

No,

ultimately the house

isn't your own,

you'd probably take

extra good care of it

knowing that I was

going to return.

And that is meant

to be our approach

to this world

that God's made

and placed us in,

to care for it,

to steward it

and yes,

to have authority

and responsibility

for it,

knowing that it belongs

to God

to bring out

its best

for our king.

So what do you make

of God's commission here?

Oftentimes our lives

feel like a series

of disconnected

and ultimately

insignificant events,

don't they?

Many of us,

if we're honest

or bored

or frustrated

with our everyday lives

and we long

for a deeper meaning

to what we do.

Alan DeBotten,

the British essayist,

published a book

a few years ago

called

The Pleasures

and Sorrows of Work.

It's actually

a very beautifully

written book

and at the end

of that book

he steps back

and asks the question,

what is our work

really for?

And DeBotten

is actually

a very thoughtful

unbeliever

and he's quite honest

at that point.

He says,

you know that

at the end of the day

the importance

of work

isn't

its enduring value,

he says.

Because for him

time will eventually

wipe everything away.

No, he says,

perhaps in the end

the enduring value

of work

is in its capacity

to distract us

from the inevitable.

Let death find us,

he says,

as we are building up

our matchstick

protests

against its waves.

Is that all

we can say

about our future,

our labors

as humans?

Building up

matchstick

protests

against the waves

of oblivion.

But Genesis

gives us

a much

different story

and one

that makes

much more sense

of our desire

for significance.

Our work

is part

of God's

commission

to cultivate

creation

for his

eternal glory.

Each of us,

whether we

want to think

it or not,

is a culture

shaper

for the king

in our homes,

in our offices,

in our neighborhoods

here at church.

And the work

that matters

to God

isn't just

what we might

call spiritual

work or church

work.

No.

Engineers,

craftsmen,

teachers,

artists,

manufacturers,

managers,

builders,

cleaners,

all of this

is the unfolding

of God's

commission to care

and cultivate

his world.

So friend,

take up your work

with purpose

for if it's done

for God,

it's no mere

matchstick

on the shore.

it's a monument

to the living

eternal God,

a shaping

and stewarding

of his

world.

But here we have

to pause,

don't we,

and take stock.

If we're honest,

this commission,

this responsibility

we have

as humans

made in God's image,

we haven't always

carried it out

the way we should,

have we?

Genesis 1

is the beginning

of the story

and how have we

lived out

this dignity

and responsibility

we've been given?

Too often,

we've not treated

one another

as bearers

of God's image

and too often,

we've labored

for our own sake

and not for God's sake.

We've used creation,

not cared for it.

God created us

to rule under him

but instead,

we've rebelled

and we've lived

our own way

with no reference

to God

in God's world

and the result

isn't joy

and flourishing,

it's decay

and death

and loneliness.

Dignity lost,

authority squandered.

And so,

is that the end

of the story?

Humanity begins

with great expectations

but we end

in ruin

and decay.

What starts

with a bang

ends with a whimper

as T.S. Eliot

once wrote.

Is there any hope

for us?

Can we begin again

maybe,

go back to the start?

But as we look

over human history,

has there been

anyone

able to live

like this?

The way Genesis 1

says we were created

to live.

Amidst all the wreckage

and ruin,

maybe if there was one

there could be hope

for us

but where do we find

such a one?

But friends,

the good news

of the Bible

is that there is.

There is one

who came

and bore the image

of God perfectly.

Who used all

his authority

to bring life

and to heal creation

and to fulfill

the commission

of God.

At long last,

a true human.

Who is this one?

And,

could it be

that if we were

somehow

connected to him

or united to him

or somehow

invited into his presence

maybe we too

could be healed

and repaired

and maybe even

forgiven

and maybe put right.

Maybe somehow

this image of God

in us could be repaired.

But what would that take?

What would this

truly human one

have to do

to rescue us

and lift us up

with him?

That is the story

of the New Testament.

God the Son,

the second person

of the Trinity,

took our full humanity

into himself

and he bore

the image

of God

perfectly.

Jesus lived

a perfect life

of dignity

and life-giving

authority.

But after three years

of public ministry,

he would go

to his death

and Pilate,

the Roman governor,

would declare

at Jesus' trial,

what would he say?

Behold

the man.

Were truer words

ever spoken

because indeed,

Jesus was the true human.

Behold

the man.

And yet,

at that moment

when Pilate

uttered those words,

Jesus had actually

been stripped

of his dignity

and his authority.

So that our dignity

could be restored,

Jesus was losing his

and then hung naked

on a cross.

And so that our authority

could be repaired,

behold the man,

he was made powerless

and died.

But on the third day,

Jesus,

having laid down

his dignity

and having laid down

his authority,

took it up again.

Jesus,

fully God

and fully human,

rose from the grave

and rising,

he began

a new creation

so that those

united to him,

connected to him

through faith

by the Holy Spirit

would receive

forgiveness of sins

and would be

renewed in the image

of God.

And Jesus ascended

to the right hand

of the Father

so that united

to him through faith

we might be restored

in God's commission

to care

and steward

for God's creation

once again,

now under the leadership

of a good king.

So friends,

what story

are you telling?

The invitation

to us this morning

is to unite

our story

to the story

of Jesus

and through

living faith

in him,

our risen king,

our true lord,

the living,

true human,

we can be restored

to the dignity

and authority

that God created us

to have

in the very beginning.

And that gift

of grace

through Jesus Christ

will know

no end.

The end

of the story.

The Bible

ends with heaven

and earth

being united

at last.

those in Christ

seeing God

face to face

and Revelation 25

says and they

will reign

forever

and ever.

What began

in creation

and was lost

in Adam

has been

regained

in Christ

and has offered

to us now

to live out

in this age

and on

into the age

to come.

So you see now

what it means

to be the church?

Here,

now,

in New Haven?

it means

through Christ

to bear

God's image

to show

the world

together

what it means

to be truly

human,

to be a sign

of what's in store

and then

to invite

everyone

to join in

because it's

on the basis

not of

what we do

but on what

Jesus

has done.

The image

of God.

Let's pray.

Father,

we pray

this morning

that you

would help

the things

that you

have been

teaching us

in your word

here in Genesis 1

to sink down.

Lord,

many of us

here this

morning

do not

feel dignified.

God,

if we're honest,

we feel ashamed

and embarrassed.

Help to fix

our eyes

on Jesus

who for us

and for our

salvation

out of love

came and bore

all the shame

for us

so that we

might be

renewed.

Father,

many of us

are feeling

powerless

and stuck,

feeling like

our day-to-day

is just a dead

end.

But Lord

Jesus,

if you reign

on your throne

as you do

and if we

are your people,

your body

on earth,

then surely

none of our

labor is in vain.

God,

I pray

that you

would help

us as a

church

and as

Christians

to catch

a fresh

vision

for how

you're

using

our

lives,

even in

the mundane,

to make

much of

you.

And Father,

I know

there are

some here

this morning

who,

Lord,

aren't quite

sure what

to make

of all

this.

God,

I pray

that you

would give

them the

courage

to ask

for clarity,

to ask

for the

opening of

their hearts,

that God,

if you are

real,

and if it

is true,

you've made

us in your

image,

and if it

is true

that Jesus

has come

to heal

that image

and to

make us

new,

Lord,

I pray

that they

would have

the courage

to ask

you to

reveal that

to them.

And then

I pray

that you

would give

them the

courage

and the

desire

to step

into it

by your

spirit.

Lord,

we ask

all this

in the

name of

Christ.

Amen.

Well,

the song

that we're

going to

close with

this morning

is Jesus

Shall

Reign.

This is a

song about

Christ being

the true

king and

how his

kingdom will

spread throughout

the whole

world and

how we,

his followers,

get to be a

part of that

work and

get to share

in that joy.

So let's

stand and let's

sing this

together in

response.

so let's