LESSON 3 – IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
Genesis 2:5 through 2:25
Preparing for Lesson 3
I hope some of you looked up the movie trailer for Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan that I described in Lesson 2. With the deployment of the fictional Genesis Device, a barren and rocky astroid became a lush, green, living planet. It was completely transformed “in the twinkling of an eye.” Of course this man-made planet imploded shortly after its creation but the point is that this movie clip pretty much represented the picture I had painted in my mind of how God caused everything to come together to create our planet and the entire universe. I found it entertaining and I hope you did, too.
In preparation for Lesson 3, please read Genesis 2:5 through 2:25. Keep in mind that chapter 1 gave a broad overview of the six days of creation, while chapter 2 focuses in on the creation of Adam and Eve,
both of whom were created in the image of God. We’ll discuss exactly what that means in this lesson.
Lesson 3 – In The Image Of God
The opening verses in Genesis chapter 2 provide a recap of God’s work during the six days of creation, and further describe the seventh day of rest. However, verse 2:7 has caused confusion for some.
“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living being.”
Critics have said that chapter 2 describes a whole new story of the creation of mankind, as if it describes a new or separate human line, but that is not so. Verses 2:4-24 should be seen not as contradictory but as complimentary for the creation story in chapter 1 and it provides more detail concerning the creation of man.
The first description of the creation of man was given in Genesis 1:27.
“And God created man in His own image, in the image
of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Exactly what is the image of God? Image is the translation of the Hebrew word tselem which, according to Strong’s, is a masculine noun meaning “illusion or resemblance, thus a representative figure.” God is a spirit being: He has no physical body. He is eternal and immortal: He had no beginning and will have no end. He is the ultimate authority over the universe and He is perfectly righteous and just.
What then is the implication for man who was created in this perfect image?
Of all the creatures living on earth, mankind alone has been given the ability to hear and meditate upon God’s Word, and we alone have the God-like qualities of loving goodness and beauty. We have the capacity for forgiveness, are able to use logic and reason to solve problems and we can experience spiritual growth or decline.
Like God, humans are spiritual beings, but unlike God, we have physical bodies. Having been created to have dominion over the earth, a physical body was necessary in order for us to be perfectly suited for this mission on earth. The spiritual part of man is not eternal but it is immortal. However, the physical body is mortal and it will die.
We have not been relieved of our mission to exercise authority over the earth but because of the Fall, we can no longer carry out this assignment with true righteousness and perfect justice.
Although God’s image in man was seriously marred in the Fall, it was not destroyed, and through His grace, He has given mankind the potential to bring the perfection and righteousness of His image to come to fruition in us.
God formed the first man from the dust of the earth. A closer look at the word translated dust shows that this is actually, well, dust. Science has told us that all of the elements in the human body also exist in the soil. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen make up the majority of the human body while trace amounts of the remaining elements make up the rest. There is nothing fancy about the chemical elements that make up our bodies. As stated in the Life Application Study Bible, “The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with His breath of life. When God removes his life-giving breath, our bodies once again return to dust.”
I have to wonder what it would have been like for Adam when consciousness first came to him. Everything was new and beautiful and perfect. Trees filled with leaves gently blowing in a breeze; lush meadows with fragrant wildflowers (and no weeds!) with butterflies and birds flitting around. In my mind, I also see a gentle stream meandering along its way. What a lovely picture.
The animals in the garden were surely aware of this new creature with two legs. Were squirrels, rabbits and deer, as well as other animals we have not even thought of, sitting nearby watching as he awoke? (I know with certainty that if there was a cat in the garden, it would have been sitting on Adam’s chest staring directly into his sleeping face as if willing him to wake up!)
I believe God placed a great deal of knowledge into Adam’s brain. Adam was able to give scientific names to all of the animals based on their individual characteristics. He understood the needs of the various types of plants. He knew how to walk, how to eat and how to communicate. He almost surely had the mind of a genius and was a perfect physical specimen.
Consider the difference between this picture of perfection and the picture conjured up by evolutionists. They see the first man as an ape-like creature, barely able to stand upright and with no understandable language with which to communicate. They depict him as being fearful of everything he encountered, from water to fire. I much prefer to think of my first ancestor as being a genius.
At some time after this, God decided that Adam needed a helper, a companion suitable just for him. Why did God delay in creating Eve? Some scholars suggest that it was to give Adam time to realize he was different from the animals.
In carrying out his assignment to name the animals, Adam would have spent time observing them, becoming acquainted with their characteristics and considering their social order. And he would also have realized that none of these animals were like him. God saw his need and realized that it was not good for the man to be alone, so He created a helper for Adam.
When God created Adam, He formed him from the dust of the earth, but we read in Genesis 2:21-22 that God put Adam into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs with which He fashioned the woman.
This About This: This does not mean that modern men have one less rib than women have; I looked it up. All human beings have 12 sets of ribs (a total of 24 ribs). Think of it this way: If a man loses an arm in a car accident, that does not mean his children will be born with only one arm. So no worries: men have all of their ribs.
Why did God use one of Adam’s ribs instead of creating Eve from dust? J. Vernon McGee says Dr. Matthew Henry gave the best answer to this question when he said that God didn’t take her from his head to be his superior, or from his foot to be his inferior, but He took her from his side to be equal to him; she is to be the other half of man.
Eve represented the completion of Adam. Together they are one flesh. This is the basis on which Christians take the stand that from the beginning, marriage was and is intended to be the monogamous, heterosexual union of one man and one woman.
At the end of Genesis 2:22, God brings the woman to Adam. One can only imagine what he might have said. I would suggest that he said something like, “Wowza!” but considering his highly developed brain, Adam was probably a little more reserved in his verbal response.
In any case, Genesis 2:23 describes the event further, and one phrase in this verse has led to another interesting consideration. The portion of the verse in question reads, “…and she was taken out of Man.” Because the language states that woman was “taken out of Man”, some have speculated that Adam was a hermaphrodite; that is, he possessed both male and female reproductive organs. In fact, this is the position taken in the Midrash Rabbah, which was like a Jewish commentary on the Torah. (Keep in mind that the Midrash Rabbah is known to have incorporated folklore and historical anecdotes, and it certainly was not inspired as are the Scriptures.)
Think About This: Why do men have nipples? Could it be that the Midrash Rabbah was right? Probably not. According to the Postgraduate Medical Journal, “Embryos are always female in their early stages, and males only differentiate from the female prototype after a few weeks.” No, God knew all along He was going to create a mate for Adam, and He did so in His own timing.
Adam and Eve were perfectly suited for one another; they were happy and in perfect harmony. All of their needs and wants were provided for and life was good. They just had to do a little gardening and remain obedient to God. But that didn’t work out, and it will be the subject of our next study: Lesson 4: Original Sin (Part 1): It Wasn’t About The Fruit.
Think About It, Talk About It
Why do some people believe the creation of a second human line is described in Genesis 2?
What are some ways in which the likeness of God is seen in man?
Why did God create Eve from Adam’s rib instead of creating her from the dust of the ground like He created Adam?
Sources
Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, NASB, AMG Publishers, Inc.
Holman Bible Dictionary
Hughes, R. Kent, Preaching the Word – Genesis
McGee, J. Vernon, Through the Bible – Genesis through Deuteronomy
Postgraduate Medical Journal, January 2011
Ryrie, Charles, NASB Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition