Made in His Image

Made in His Image

By Apostle Felix

26  And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 
28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 1: 26 – 28

The creation of man was a more significant act of divine wisdom and power of God than that of other creatures. With the rest of creation, God was simply saying, ‘Let there…. And it was.’ God commanded the rest of creation in existence but when it came to creating man, God turned from command to council. The Bible in Genesis 1: 26 tells us there was a dialogue concerning man’s creation. A deliberate consultation was transacted between the Godhead and a conclusion was reached that this man had to be made in the image and likeness of the Godhead – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Man’s creation was not an afterthought or an improvement on less species God had created. You are not an improvement on a monkey version to a human version. You are an original species whose template is God Himself. An evolutionist is a disillusioned person whose perception of man has been distorted by mere, demonic oriented views. The agenda behind evolution is to engender mankind from not believing in the blessing. The anatomy of the blessing is strongly connected to understanding that man has been made in the image of God.

Satan’s temptation of man to eat from the tree was predicated on his desperation to see man loss the blessing. The blessing upon man was constantly reminding satan of God’s authority and power in the earth, the enabling power to have dominion over all creation. It was a reminder of God’s creative and sovereign power. Man’s jurisdiction power was the blessing. The loss of the blessing meant the loss of the domain. The blessing was a big threat to satan and his kingdom. The blessing has the ability to inhibit satan’s activities in the earth. What is the image of God then?  

Image, according to Genesis 1: 26 is an interesting word to study. Image can easily be mistaken to mean, to look like. But the original Hebrew word for IMAGE, TSELEM means representing the original, or possessing the same characteristics as the original species. God is the Originator of all living things, including humans. However, with man, God created him in His image. With all creation, God was simply saying, ‘Let there be….’ With the rest of all creation, God was impersonal but when it came to man, God was personal. He said, ‘Let us make man in our image and likeness.’ The creation of man is personal and intimate. God decided to replicate Himself, and allow His image live in humus body for the purpose of legality. The image of God has got nothing to do with physical appearance, but more to do with characteristics and qualities of God. Man, therefore, was made to possess characteristics and qualities of God for the sole purpose of dominion.  God’s image denotes our capacity to rule over creation and be in relationship with God and other humans and to exercise reason, intelligence, speech, moral consciousness, creativity, rationality, and choice. Man is the only species that has unique qualities that resembles God, the Creator. An elephant can be big in size and mass but is and should be subject to humans.