What does it mean to be made in God’s image?

Perhaps you could turn with me now to the book of Genesis.

If you're using a church Bible, it's on page 3.

! We're going to be asking the question this morning,

what does it mean to be made in God's image?

And that takes us to the second part of day 6.

So Genesis chapter 1 and at verse 26,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

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.

So God created mankind in his own image.

In the image of God he created them.

Male and female he created them.

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.

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 yours 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.

God saw all that he had made,

and it was very good.

And there was evening,

and there was morning,

the sixth day.

Amen.

This is God's word.

And this takes us to some of the most fundamental teaching

that we're going to find anywhere on what it means to be human.

It touches so many of our biggest questions about life and humanity.

What does it mean to be a human?

Are we, as a lamppost recently told me,

just all sawdust?

It was life random, meaningless,

and that's our best future.

Are we just naked apes,

which some of us grew up hearing?

We have evolved to survive and thrive,

but we're just one among many of the creatures.

Or it's what God says wonderfully true.

Are we image bearers with profound glory and worth

because of that?

What defines our identity as people?

How would you answer that?

It's become something of a modern battleground.

When we think of all the questions

down at the street level,

but also that make their way up

into sort of government legislation,

are we defined by gender and sexuality?

Think about all the tensions around race and ethnicity.

Even questions of,

am I truly human when I have value to society only,

or is there something more?

And over all the confusion,

above all the competing voices,

we come to a text like this.

We come to Genesis 1,

and it gets to the heart of things

because this is God speaking to us.

And he says to each one of us,

you are made by God,

and you are made for God.

As we think about the implications of this,

we understand every person born and unborn

is a little miracle of God,

and that every life truly should matter.

And today, I think in every day,

every generation,

but in this day,

we certainly need to hear the Bible's clear teaching

on the nature and the value of human life.

And so as we come to Genesis 1,

so we're kind of jumping into the second part of day 6,

and the message is remarkable.

If this is something that's new to you,

it might even seem shocking.

If we were to ask God himself,

what is the highlight?

What's the greatest thing in this universe

that you have created?

What's the center of your masterpiece?

God wouldn't point us to the galaxies.

He wouldn't point us to the mountains.

He wouldn't direct our attention to the great beasts.

He would say, you and I,

we are the crown and the pinnacle of God's creation.

And Genesis 1,

and the way the days work themselves out,

is intended to show us just that.

Days 1 to 6 reveal that we have a God,

and he is eternal,

and he is good,

and he makes with order,

and he makes with beauty.

And do you know what else we know?

We know that he makes the world just right

for you and I to live in.

Here is this wonderful environment

for us to live and love and work,

and to enjoy and to worship our God.

And we're clued into the fact

that there is something special and significant

in this second half of day 6

with a series of firsts.

So right into our text,

verse 26,

then God said,

let us make mankind.

This is the first time we discover

that God deliberates.

There is a decision within the Godhead.

This becomes,

as we get to our New Testament,

an early clue that our God is Trinity,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Another clue that there is something remarkable

going on in verse 28,

God blessed them and said to them,

this is the first time God speaks

to something else that is living

and establishes relationship with them.

And then it's only

once male and female have been created

that God can look at all he has made,

verse 31,

and declare it to be very good.

Now that there are people

who display his image in the world,

now that the masterpiece of creation

is complete,

the artist can stand back

with the deepest sense of joy

and satisfaction.

It's a remarkable text.

Our topic is vital.

We're only going to be able

to scratch the surface,

but what we're going to do

is we're going to think about

what does it mean

to be made in the image of God?

And then really importantly,

to begin to think about

why does it matter?

So three ideas to do with

what does it mean

to be made in the image of God?

The first is this,

we are made to represent God.

Just to hear,

let's hear verse 27 again.

So God created mankind

in his own image

and the image of God he created,

the male and female he created them.

Why use the language of image?

So let's just think really basically,

of the truth,

images are created

to image someone.

Okay, we live in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is a city full of statues.

You know, you can think of John Knox

or you can think of David Hume

or you can even think of Greyfriars Bobby.

And all of those images

are created to make us think

of the person or indeed the dog

and their qualities.

Genesis 1 is saying

that God has now created

eight billion living statues.

Each one of us designed

to display his glory

so that as we look on one another,

we are thinking

or we are to think of God

and his glory and his rule.

That gets us to the idea

behind image and likeness

that the folks that first wrote

and then heard Genesis 1

were familiar with.

They lived in a day

when kings ruled over vast regions

and what that king would do,

he would set up a number of icons

or statues in his empire

as a way to say,

I am the king

and don't you forget it,

you owe me honour and loyalty.

Back in 1979,

the statue that's up on the screen

was discovered by a farmer in Syria.

It's the Tel Fekiria statue

and what's interesting,

so it's a statue of an Assyrian king

and what's interesting

is that the inscription on the back

in both Assyrian and Aramaic

contains the word for image and likeness.

So this is a familiar idea.

Back in Egypt,

so God's people Israel,

they had been slaves

and in Egypt,

they were used to hearing Pharaoh

talk about himself

as the image of God.

And so when Genesis comes to be written,

it takes this idea

and it makes it true and living

and applies it to God as the king

and us being made in his image.

And that means that you and I,

we are those who are made

to represent God in his world.

It's there in verse 28,

be fruitful, increase in number,

fill the earth, subdue it, rule over.

It's the purpose of that language

of be fruitful and multiply

so that the glory of God

would spread and fill the earth

as his image bearers

would spread and fill the earth.

This language is saying to us

that by God's design,

every single person,

not just a king,

not just the elite,

but every person

would have this royal role

and dignity upon them.

Psalm 8,

humanity is crowned

with glory and with honor

because we are appointed

to represent God

in his world,

to reflect something

of his glory

in this world.

And it's wonderful

that we don't need to

create our own identity.

As we read God's word,

we discover

we have a wonderful

God-given purpose.

each and every day

of our lives

to live for him

and for his glory.

So we're made,

first of all,

to represent God.

Secondly,

we are made for

relationship with God.

So in English,

we have a couple of expressions

that remind us of this.

We say of someone,

you're the spitting image

of your father

or your mother.

Or we talk about someone

being a chip

off the old block.

And so we take

family language,

we take relationship language,

and we say there is image

and likeness there.

And so Genesis 1,

again,

is revealing to us

that in a general sense,

every person

is a child of God

by nature of being

created by God.

Now,

we still need to be saved

through faith in Jesus

to become children of God

through faith,

but all of us

are made,

our original design

is that we would know

and enjoy relationship

with God.

That's one of the greatest

privileges of our life

to discover that.

What kind of relationship

are we invited into?

Well,

first of all,

it's a personal relationship.

So remember back

in verse 26,

there's that,

there's the moment

where God deliberates

and he says,

let us make mankind.

Here is the personal God

creating people

in his image

for personal relationship.

We are created

in a unique way

for a unique relationship.

Just to remind ourselves

that that says to us,

God isn't a distant God.

God isn't unconcerned with us.

We're not just here

randomly and by chance.

We have this,

we're made for a personal

relationship with God.

Secondly,

we're made for a covenant

relationship with God.

I don't know if you noticed

that covenant language

is right here

in verse 28

because we're told

God blessed them.

That's covenant language.

God blessed

Adam and Eve,

the first people.

Humanity was designed

by God to flourish,

to enjoy representing God

on the earth

and to enjoy life

with God.

We weren't made

as slaves.

Life under God

is not drudgery.

This is the way

to freedom

and joy

in life

to know

our God.

And the creation story

does this for us.

It reveals,

and we'll see this

in future weeks,

that we are made

for relationships.

We're made for relationships

with other people.

Did you notice

it's as the community

of male and female

that we image God?

Marriage,

family,

friendship,

community,

church,

society,

these are all

God's good idea.

We're made for relationship

with the created world.

We hear the instructions

to rule over,

to subdue.

There is agriculture here.

There's care for creation.

There's a relationship

that we're supposed to have

with the created world,

and we'll think about that.

But fundamentally,

you and I are made

for relationship

with our creator God.

So that we are most

truly human

when these relationships

are right,

and especially

as our relationship

with God is right.

And we will see

that when people break

that relationship

with God,

everything else

begins to fall apart.

That sin,

as it comes into the world,

has a fracturing effect

on relationships.

So we are made

to represent God.

We're made for relationship

with God.

And thirdly,

as we think about

Genesis 1,

what does it mean

to be made in the image

of God?

It means we are made

to live a righteous life.

And here we need to think

just for a moment

about the role

of an ambassador

or an embassy.

I know some of you

have to visit embassies

for visas and passports

and such things.

But you think about

an ambassador or a visa

or an embassy,

what are they doing?

On the one hand,

they speak

and they represent

a particular nation,

a prime minister,

a president.

They are to represent

their values.

It becomes,

in a sense,

also a little colony

of home

in a foreign country.

And what Genesis 1

is saying to us

is that as image bearers,

God created us

to live like Him

and to rule like Him,

to display His values

on the earth,

to make a paradise

on the earth.

God creates Eden

as paradise,

as we'll see.

And the intention was

that as people lived

under God's rule,

that paradise would spread,

that the glory

would fill the earth,

that it needs us

to live a righteous

kind of a life.

So God gives the direction.

You rule,

you fill,

you subdue.

God's in charge.

And when life is going well,

people respond

gladly and obediently.

And it's in that context

that creation

is described

as very good.

And the condition

of the first man

and the first woman,

Adam and Eve,

was also very good.

They were created

without sin.

They were originally

holy and righteous.

And they were created then

to do God's work

in God's ways.

not to abuse

one another

or the environment,

not to exploit

or to destroy,

but to live

in the world

in such a way

to reflect the care,

the goodness,

the just rightness

of God

as creator.

It's the natural question

at this point

becomes,

why is the world

so messed up

and broken?

Why is there so much damage

to the environment?

Why is there so much damage

done to other image bearers?

And we need to understand

that that is not the way

God designed us

to be as image bearers.

To go back

to the analogy

of a statue,

if we are statues

representing God's image

and glory,

then that statue

has become cracked.

There are pieces missing

and the paint

is fading.

Rico Tice memorably

describes people

as both the glory

and the garbage

of the universe.

Capacity for beauty

and destruction

almost at the same time.

So for us

it becomes really important

if we are to truly

understand

what it means

to be made

in the image of God,

there is a point

where we need to understand

that we are not

the way we are supposed to be

and we need to find

where can a perfect image

be found?

And to recognize

that God in his kindness

has given us one.

There is one

who has lived

in this life

and he has perfectly

imaged God to us

and his name

is Jesus,

the Son of God.

That's why Emily

read for us

from Hebrews chapter 1

Hebrews 1:3

verse 3,

Jesus,

the Son of God,

he is the radiance

of God's glory

and the perfect

representation

of his being.

Jesus is the perfect

image bearer.

And the story

of the Bible

in one hand

becomes a story

of God's great

restoration

and renewal process.

That Jesus comes,

the perfect image bearer

and he comes

to live the perfect life

that we don't

and to die

in our place

for our sins

and to give us

forgiveness

and new life

so that we might

be restored

and renewed

and reshaped

into his perfect image.

Colossians 3 verse 10.

Colossians 3:10

That process is ongoing,

won't be complete

until final glory.

But by faith,

when we trust in Jesus,

we are being restored

and one day

we will be perfectly

restored

to God's original

and good design.

So that's something

of what it means

to be made

in the image of God.

But we need to ask ourselves

a really important question.

Why does it matter?

So what?

What's so significant

about Genesis 1?

Let's think about it

for a moment

personally.

Take this as a chance

to kind of pull back

and get the big picture

of who we are,

to get a God's eye view

on your life,

your purpose

and your destiny.

Because it's here

in Genesis 1.

We'll also take

a few minutes to think

what does this say

to us culturally?

How does Genesis 1

help us to think

about the various isms

that we have

within society?

What impact

does it have

on value of life questions,

on environmental concerns?

And we can use this text

to help us to think

about our mission

as the church as well.

As we bring

the good news

of Jesus to people,

how much can these themes

help us?

So again,

there's loads that we could say,

but we're going to talk

about design.

We're going to talk

about dignity.

We're going to talk

about direction.

And we're going to talk

about destiny.

So let's think,

first of all,

about design.

So like the rest

of creation,

we discover in Genesis 1

that as human beings,

we are designed

with goodness,

with order,

and with beauty.

we discover

that God has made us

and he has made

our physical bodies.

God has given us

our biology.

God has given us

our gender.

Psalm 139,

God knits us together.

We are fearfully

and wonderfully made.

And we discover

at root,

you are designed

by God

and you are dear

to God.

not a product

of chance,

not haphazard.

And that has

some really important

implications

for some of the

big questions

that are going around

in our day.

Perhaps we think

about the issue

of transgenderism.

And we recognize

biblically

that it is wrong

to say that we are

free to destroy

or to remake

our bodies

based on our own

personal desires.

And we discover

this essential

basic truth

that sex and gender

belong together

by God's good design.

One of the ways

that we can love

people well

is to speak

the truth in love.

If you have any

people who are

wrestling with those

and you want to

talk about that,

do come and speak

to me afterwards.

But it reminds us

that at base

our physical bodies

matter to God,

therefore they should

matter to us.

They are given to us

as a gift

and so we should

care for our bodies.

You know,

sleep,

exercise,

diet,

those are all

good things

for us to think

about.

It's important

for us to recognize

that we have

been created

with that sexual

differentiation

of male and female

in part to speak

to the wonder

of our God,

unity and diversity.

We've been created

the way that we have

to allow for

the be fruitful

and multiply

to take place.

So we have been

made by God's

good design

and we should

give thanks

and we should

protect that

reality.

Related to that,

secondly,

to be made in the

image of God

is to give us

fundamental dignity.

I think that's one

of the radical

teachings of Genesis 1

and this is,

so remember,

so the people

had been slaves

for over 400 years.

Their families

had been slaves.

No value,

no dignity.

Only the king

really counted

and here is God

speaking into that

and saying,

listen,

every single life

matters.

Every single

one of us,

every single person

on our planet

is made in God's

image,

carefully fashioned.

Everyone has value

and dignity

to borrow

from C.S. Lewis.

You will never,

ever look at

a mere mortal.

And I think

most people

in our society

recognize this,

but here's something

that's really

important.

That people,

according to God,

are made in His

image is the

only solid

foundation

for saying

that those

isms are wrong,

that we react

against.

Racism,

sexism,

tribalism.

We can only say

those are

objectively wrong

if we accept

that God

has made us

and God

says that

everybody

matters.

If it's just

what society

thinks,

on any given

day or generation,

we find ourselves

on profoundly

shaky ground.

Think about

what happened

in Germany

in the 1930s

and 40s.

Why can we

say

that the

Nazi movement

was evil?

Why can we

say that it

was profoundly

evil to

destroy

Jews

and gypsies

and people

with disabilities?

it's because

of this

objective

truth from

God

that we

are made

in the

image of

God.

Why can we

say that

abortion is

wrong,

that assisted

dying is

wrong?

Because we

have this

objective

truth that

comes from

God Himself

that says,

I create

life and

every person

is an image

bearer and

life has

worth that

must be

protected.

Think about

the storyline

of the

Bible.

We have

the eternal

Son of

God

becoming

an embryo

in the

womb of

Mary.

There's the

value of

human life,

that God

became one

of us

in order

to save

us.

Another way

being made

in the image

of God

matters is

to do

with

direction.

How are

we supposed

to live

in this

world?

How are

we to

handle our

responsibility

of caring

for this

world?

And again,

Genesis 1

sets some

principles to

give us

direction.

And it

takes time

and care to

think about

how we work

out these

principles,

but we

remember that

principle that

we are to

care for the

world like

God.

We are not

masters here,

we are not

the kings and

queens,

God is the

true king and

we serve

under him.

And we

are called

as people

to practice

good stewardship.

So that

requires care

and attention

over a whole

range of

ethical choices.

And I think

again it's

really good

that we're

much more

aware now

than perhaps

we used

to be

of some

of those

ethical

choices.

You know,

how we

shop,

how we

eat,

how we

spend,

how we

save.

They impact

our environment,

the impact

on the lives

of others.

So we

need to

give

attention.

Recycling,

reducing waste,

concern for

habitat loss.

Those are

things that

should concern

us as

Christians.

And it

should concern

us too to

think of

the social

impact of

how we live

in the world

day to day.

What do my

choices,

big and

small,

mean for the

welfare of

other people

made in the

image of God?

How do

my actions

and my

choices

help to

care for

the poor,

the weak,

the vulnerable,

who are

also made

in the

image of

God?

So we're

to care for

the world

like God,

but secondly,

we are placed

in communities

to reflect

God.

And again,

I don't know

how much

you have

thought about

that,

but again,

by God's

design,

we are

placed where

we are

in our

circles

in order

that something

of God's

glory and

goodness and

kindness and

care and

truth and

justice would

be known to

the people in

the rest of

that circle.

Life in our

home and our

family,

where we go

to school or

work or

university,

the neighborhood

that we live

in,

the church

that we

are placed

in,

become places

in which to

show something

of God's

love and

justice and

kindness to

the people

around us.

We're not

just a bunch

of individuals.

We are

created in

communities

so that people

might look at

us and see

something of

God in us.

Think about

that as we

are confronted

tomorrow with

the difficult

calling or

as we think

about those

tough family

relationships that

we have and

maybe the

awkward flatmate

but also to

think about our

life as a

church as we

look to welcome

people in,

as we want to

break down

barriers.

The fact that

we are made

in the image

of God and

that everyone

is made in

the image of

God can set a

direction for

how we live

day to day.

Here's the

fourth and

final thing for

us to think

about this

morning, why

it matters to

be made in

the image of

God.

It speaks to

our destiny.

Now if our

operating principle

is that we

come from

nothing and

we're made by

no one and

we have to try

and create our

own identity and

figure out how

life works and

in the end

there is

nothing, I

think we

recognize that

doesn't offer

great hope,

maybe it

doesn't offer a

solid motivation

for wanting to

make this world

a better place.

And so we

need to hear

and to keep

hearing God's

better story,

the true story

of what it

means that we

are made as

image bearers.

Now as the

story progresses

we discover

Genesis 3, we

discover the

reality that as

people we have

fallen away from

our God because

of sin, life is

not right now

paradise on

earth and we

know this.

But we also

have this

wonderful reality

that through the

goodness and

grace of our

God, he is in

the process of

restoring fallen

image bearers

through his son

the Lord Jesus.

that we

recognize at a

particular point

in time in

history the

Lord Jesus came

into this world

to display

perfectly the

glory and love

of God for us

and the place

where we see it

most clearly is

as he dies on

the cross, his

body is torn

and beaten as

he bears our

sin and the

wrath of God

that we deserve,

we are seeing

God's commitment

to renew and to

restore image

bearers.

And when we

place our faith

in Jesus, we

are united to

him and then

God sets to

work at

restoring and

renewing that

image that his

spirit comes to

live within us,

to begin that

process that will

be complete one

day.

But we can say

the moment that

we trust in

Jesus, if you

trust in Jesus

today, you

become a new

creation, that

God's spirit

comes to live in

your heart, so

now all of a

sudden, you're

more able to

represent God in

his world.

Not perfectly,

but God is

working in us.

And now we

begin to enjoy a

relationship with

God that we

never had before.

We call him our

father.

He speaks in the

Bible, we speak

in prayer, we

enjoy his love.

And the spirit

works in us to

make us more and

more righteous.

So it does become

true that people

can look at us and

see something of

God and his

character.

And one day there

is the promise that

Jesus will come

back.

And this world

that seems so

fallen and broken

to snow, it will

be restored.

And that for those

who trust in Jesus,

we will be with

Jesus, and we

will be made like

Jesus for all of

eternity.

And so the answer

to the questions

about human image,

about human

identity, they

find their most

basic answers here

in being made by

God, being made

for God, and being

made for life with

God.

God.

And that starts

by trusting in

Jesus, the perfect

image of our God.

God.