Sunday May 17, 2015 | Greg Boyd
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
What does it mean to be “made in the image of God?” Most people think it’s some unique attribute of being human – like our ability to speak, or to love. And while that may be part of the picture, there is much more to it. The living God breathed his life into us, brought us into his temple, and invited us to rule and reign with him by being living examples of his character and love to all creation!
In ancient near-east culture, the phrase “made in the image of” was not uncommon. Often it was applied to statues of their gods. When these statues were made, the sculptor was to let the gods work through them to sculpt some attribute of a god. Then there was a “mouth-washing” ceremony, which often happened in temples that faced east or in gardens or rivers, in which the spirit of that god was “breathed into” the mouth of the statue. From that point on they believed that the god inhabited that statue, so the people would “feed” the god through rituals and ceremonies, and the god would then hopefully take care of the people. These statues were said to be “made in the image of” their gods.
So are we supposed to be statues of God?! Actually, in a manner of speaking, yes! The author of Genesis 1 describes God speaking everything into existence – except humans, who he came down and formed out of the earth. Then the text says he “breathed” his spirit into us, and put us in a garden with rivers in the east. This would have communicated to the ancients that God was saying, “this is my temple – I’m present here, and I created you to inhabit you.” It was a big twist on their understanding of “being made in the image of” – God sculpting and inhabiting us instead of the other way around!
But more than that, God is a “living God” – an intentionally redundant phrase that communicates that we are not just lifeless statues when he inhabits us. This is a very important aspect of being made in the image of God – we have a God who lives and moves, and we are to do the same! A living God needs a living representation of him, and we are to mirror his capacity for life, love, faithfulness, passion, etc. As Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is man fully alive”, and now is the time to be fully alive! This is the time to manifest God’s character, to care for the poor, to serve – to image the God who is living and fully invested in his creation!
The second way the phrase “in the image of” was commonly used was in describing kings and pharaohs, who were believed to be inhabited by gods. This is why people bowed down and worshiped them – not because of their political power… Thus, being “in the image of” was THE highest title that could be bestowed in ancient times, and the Genesis account ascribes that title to ALL human beings! We are to be kings and queens in God’s temple, ruling and reigning over all by reflecting his image – his love and character – to all creation!