So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
GENESIS 1:27
The story of human history begins not with humans, but with God. He existed before time, before creation, before humanity. In His infinite glory and wisdom, God decided to create, and He did. He spoke, and creation came to be.
As originator of all things, God used His divine artistry to create the heavens and the earth and everything in them, including humans. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
All of His creation was good, and the people He created—the only bearers of His own perfect image—were good. In fact, it says in Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”
Being made in the image of God, who is Spirit, does not mean that we look like Him (although Jesus did take on human form—Philippians 2:8). It means that we share several key characteristics with Him. Like God, we have an intellect, emotions, a will, and more. And like God, we are fundamentally relational.
From the beginning, people were created to be in relationship. “It is not good for man to be alone,” said God in Genesis 2:18. But this relationship was not only with each other. Humans were intended to be in relationship with God. From their very creation, God spoke with them in the garden where He’d placed them.
And as soon as He had created them, “God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). He gave them authority to fill and rule over the earth. He supplied them with food. He even gave Adam the authority to name all the animals. His everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) gave us our existence as humans and gave us meaning and purpose.
As bearers of God’s image, we were created to reflect His glory. Everything about our lives and our story is meant to point to God and fulfill His eternal purposes. Our story is part of His story. We have an amazing part to play, but ultimately God is in control. Our worth, dignity, and purpose all derive from our relationship to the Sovereign Lord.
Unfortunately, as we’ll see in the next reading, something disrupted our peace with God early on. Sin crept in.