We Are Made in the Image of God, part 3

Whose image do we bear? How should that impact our lives?

God said in Genesis 1:26 that He uniquely made men and women “in His image.” He didn’t say that about the plant life or the animal kingdom. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and we reflect on the goodness of God when we look around and the splendor of His creation. However, men and women are uniquely made in God’s image. We will find our purpose as we celebrate the image of God in each person. We have seen how we are created in God's image in our design, our differences, and our discernment. Today, we will look at our dominion and our destiny. We will finish with our response to these truths.

Our Dominion
 
Fourth, we can see God’s image in our dominion. We are responsible beings, and we have been given the authority to rule the earth, the animals and the plants. God told mankind in Genesis 1:28 to “subdue the earth” and “have dominion.” Genesis 1:26 says, “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every creeping thing.” John Macarthur explains, “Man’s very posture, standing upright, distinguishes him from four–footed beasts and creeping things. The animals’ natural posture directs their gaze downward, toward the earth. Man, on the other hand, is naturally positioned to look upward, toward the heavens, where he can contemplate the glory of God displayed there.”[1]
 
Genesis 2:15 describes how God gave Adam the job to “tend” and “keep” the Garden of Eden. Adam was also tasked with naming the animals in Genesis 2:19. When people move to a place that is desolate or underdeveloped, and they begin to cultivate the area, this is accomplishing our responsibility to “tend” and “keep” this world. Our dominion involves placing farms where there was once undeveloped land. “One young man complained to his pastor about the things going on in the world. ‘I could make a better world than this,’ claimed the young man. The pastor responded, ‘That’s just what God wants you to do.’ God has placed us in an unfinished world, a universe in the making. We are responsible to control, protect, and develop it.”[2]
 
It includes domesticating animals and training them for our benefit. Proverbs 12:10 (NLT) reads, “The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.”  We should never be cruel to the animals under our care, but we should recognize them as gifts from God.
 
When Jesus walked this earth, He exercised dominion over the animals, which may give us some insight into how God originally intended man to demonstrate dominion in the Garden of Eden. In Mark 11:2, Jesus demonstrated dominion over a wild donkey, one that had never been ridden. He rode this untamed animal into Jerusalem. In Matthew 26:34, Jesus predicted Peter's denial three times before the rooster crowed, showing dominion over the actions of the birds. In Matthew 17:27, Jesus directed Peter to find a coin in a fish's mouth to pay their taxes, exercising dominion over the fish.
 
Sin distorted everything, including man’s original dominion over this earth. Martin Luther observed, “I am fully convinced that before Adam’s sin his eyes were so sharp and clear that they surpassed those of the lynx and eagle. He was stronger than the lions and the bears, whose strength is very great; and he handled them the way we handle puppies.” Luther states about Adam’s intellectual powers, “If … we are looking for an outstanding philosopher, let us not overlook our first parents while they were still free from sin.”[3] Our capacity may be different today, but the image of God is still seen in our dominion.
 
Our Destiny
 
Fifth, we can see God’s image in our destiny. We are eternal beings, just as God is an eternal Being. God has no beginning and no end. Mankind had a beginning but will have no end. Our eternal destiny is a fundamental part of being made in God's image. Hebrews 9:27 states, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Animals, as much as we may love them, do not have an eternal destiny. They have life, they have personality, but they do not have eternal spirits that will go out into eternity like humanity.
 
Our Response
 
Understanding the value of every human life should impact every person in life-altering ways. First, because all mankind is made in the image of God, both males and females have equal value and worth. Galatians 3:28 states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
 
Second, each ethnicity has equal value and worth.  Acts 17:26 declares, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…” We often wonder what the answer can be to racial strife and division in our country and around the world. Paul states that Jesus is the answer:
 
Ephesians 2:13–15
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
 
When people give their lives to Jesus Christ, He not only tears down the wall of separation between holy God and sinful man but also between two people surrendered to Jesus as well. Our hearts toward our fellow man become right where we begin to see the value that God has placed in every life. We should see the value of other people and treat them with dignity, honor, and respect.
 
Third, because human life begins at conception, and those babies are made in the image of God, they should be given the same chance to live that each of us has had. Exodus 20:13 says plainly, “You shall not murder.” This means only God has the right to number our days.
 
We are infinitely valuable to God, not because of what we can do for society, but because of who we are. Notice how the Psalmist describes life in the womb:
 
Psalm 139:13–16 (NKJV)
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
 
Luke’s Gospel describes the story of when Mary, who was carrying Jesus in her womb came to the home of Elizabeth, who was carrying John the Baptist in her womb. Luke 1:41 says, “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Elizabeth tells Mary “…the babe leaped in my womb for joy” in Luke 1:44.
 
These verses help me to see that it is right to protect the lives of the unborn. Christians should be unashamedly pro-life, from the womb to the end of life. Proverbs 31:8 says, “Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die.” Each is made in the image of God and infinitely valuable to God.
 
Lastly, because we bear God’s image, we belong to God. Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:19-21). That answer was not just to pay your taxes. Included in that answer was the truth that you and I bear the image of God. Jesus said give your taxes to Caesar but give your heart to God. You belong to Him. You are made in his image.
 
“Dear God, thank You for creating me in Your image. I am infinitely valuable to You. I pray that I would see every human being in light of Your Word. Help me value every person the way You do. I also pray that I would see that I belong to You. I give myself to You. Thank You for loving me and saving me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
 
* This is part 3 in the series “We are Made in the Image of God”.


[1] John MacArthur, The Battle for the Beginning (Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group, 2001), 165–166.
[2] Brian L. Harbour, Notable Harbour Doctrine Collection, vol. 5 (WORDsearch, 2009).
[3] Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis Chapters 1–5, vol. 1 of Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia, 1958), 62, 66.