This is a new sermon series called “Origin Story”, Made in His Image, Genesis 1:26-31, June 21, You can watch more here.
Welcome to North Village Church. Happy Father’s Day! My name is Michael. It’s great to see you this morning! You can turn to page 241 in our devotional, or you can turn to Genesis 1 in the Old Testament…..
I am sure today’s announcement is hard to hear. I am sure some of us are having a hard time listening to me right now. I am sure some of us are disappointed, confused, or grieving, I get it! The easiest thing to do this morning is to bounce into another passage, and talk about unity, obstacles, concerns, but that would unintentionally teach us that the Bible is important until there is a crisis, so that the crisis sets the temperature.
But we are a people who are already living in uncertainty. We are a people who are already in the midst of grief / transition. Therefore, now more than ever we need to see that God’s Word speaks into all realities of life, and we are going to get to see that in Genesis 1 this morning. One time, Richard Goldsmith said to me, “Sometimes I like to come to church just to see how you are going to apply that passage to everyday life!” So, let’s find out! Let’s look at Genesis 1:26:
Genesis 1:26, “26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Last Sunday we launched into our new series, “Origin Story.” We got to see creation come out of nothing. We got to see how God engages chaos and darkness. We got to see how creation comes in stages; so many times in life we don’t always see the whole picture, but we can trust He knows what He is doing and He knows what He is making. Amen?
Notice the use of “Us” in verse 26 being plural. This is the first reference of the trinity in Scripture. And, then we see the phrase “let Us make man” we are talking about humanity being made in the image of God. When we see verse 26 in Genesis 1 it is popping off the page, because day 6 is completely different than the other 5 days. Verses 1-25 are amazing. Verses 1-25 we see eternal God, powerful, personal speaking creation into existence but then something changes in verse 26, because physically, humanity is similar to rock, water, trees and birds, but emotionally, relationally, humanity is set apart to be made in Our image and Our likeness. You with me?
The words “image” and “likeness” are words that are typically used in a temple of worship, so that because the statue or image exists, so does God exist. Does that make sense? It’s so that all of humanity would be able to look at creation see His invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature through mountains, rivers, birds, and then turn to humanity and say, “Surely God exists!” You with me?
It’s why in Ephesians, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul writes, “We are His workmanship” which means in the original language, “We are His artwork being put on display for His glory.” Our culture tells us were a lump of cells. Our culture tells us to create our own identity. Our culture tells us we have to go out in life and get an education, build a career, and make money, but verse 26 teaches us, “We are made in His image, according to His likeness.”
People today can deny God and his role in our life all they want. People can say, “Genesis 1 is a mythological story, written by man.” But have you noticed those same people long for a life of meaning and purpose? Those same people are chasing dreams. How come? If we’re just a lump of cells. Why do those same people grieve such great loss when a loved one dies? How come? How come those same patterns are consistent with all of humanity throughout all of history? How come?
How come people get all passionate about Me Too Movement? Why do Black Lives Matter? It isn’t because of our ethnicity. It isn’t because of how smart or attractive we are. It isn’t because of how much money we have in the bank or how much we get accomplished that day. It’s not even our moral character before God. It’s because all of humanity is made in His image and His likeness.
It’s before our feet ever hit the floor. It’s before we ever take a breath. Humanity is valuable because we are made by Him, through Him and for Him! Look at the second part of Genesis verse 26:
Genesis 1:26, “26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Look at that phrase, “Let them rule.” Being made in the image and likeness of God isn’t just description of our identity. Being made in the image and likeness of God is something that is meant to be expressed.
When we look at the back of an iPhone and we see the Apple logo. The Apple logo tells us who made the phone, but the reasons millions and millions of people are buying Apple products isn’t because they like displaying the Apple logo. People buy the iPhone because it reflects the design, character, beauty, and intentions of its maker through the way it functions. You with me? Being made in His image and His likeness means we are created to reflect His character, His rule, and display His glory with “let them rule.”
This language “rule over creation” is like the original “go to work with dad.” We get to function as His representative. Just as verses 1-25 describe His hand subduing creation and filling creation, He is charging humanity to subdue creation and fill creation like heaven on earth.
It’s possible some of us are a bit cynical about how humanity has cared for creation. How did something so beautiful go so poorly? Maybe we’re discouraged about how human beings hurt one another? Maybe we’re discouraged about the amount of violence, abuse and division we see today? That’s good!
We should grieve the spiritual condition of humanity. We should lament the brokenness of humanity. It’s not supposed to be like this. When we look at the removal of James Zimmerman it’s possible we want to gossip, slander, whisper, and divide, but even in the midst of failure, the image of God is still at play. In fact, God’s Word says these moments of pain in a local church as examples to us so that we would not crave evil. (1 Corinthians 10) So that this morning, isn’t a time to point the finger at someone else, but a time for us to look at our own lives for confession, repentance, forgiveness, and being reminded of His call on our life; His image, His likeness, and His purpose. Look at verse 27:
Genesis 1:27, “27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Notice the repetition, “created in His image” taking place over and over. The repetition is on purpose, because God knows Genesis 3 is coming. He knows brokenness and pain is coming. He knows we are going to forget that we were made in His image, we are going to drift from our original design, so verse 27 reminds us that every human being, male and female, carries the finger prints of God all over them with His image, His likeness, and purpose.
The language of “male and female.” I was at a wedding yesterday and during the ceremony the pastor is talking the bride and groom. The groom is an aerospace engineer, the bride works in some kind of medicine, incredibly accomplished couple, but when those two were born they were just babies. Nobody was asking about their GPA. Nobody was talking about how much money they would make. It’s because instinctively everyone knows their value was obvious before they ever did anything. Amen? Look at verse 28:
Genesis 1:28, “28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We see the reference to this blessing last Sunday in verse 14, but again it’s important to see before naming the animals, before cultivating the garden in Genesis; we see God’s blessing.
It’s because God’s relationship with humanity doesn’t begin with demands, productivity and obedience. God’s relationship with humanity begins with grace and it is under His grace we see some details of responsibility start to take shape with “be fruitful and multiply.” Being “fruitful and multiply” isn’t just about having babies. It’s about His image and likeness multiplying and filling the earth with a reflection of His glory. Sit in that for a second…
All of humanity is relational. Husbands, wives, friends, aunts, uncles; we long for relationships. Even during the pandemic people isolated and then over time people came out of their caves hungry for relationships! It’s because the God of Scripture is a trinitarian / relational God and made us to be relational!
In addition, we can’t generate our own glory. We try, and we might get there for a second but overtime it becomes exhausting because we are trying to drum up our own glory on our own, but Genesis 1 teaches us we were designed to reflect His glory. Therefore, be fruitful and multiply His glory and His rule over all creation! Look at verses 29-30:
Genesis 1:29-30, “29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.”
Humanity is given everything needed to flourish in life under His care. We are made in His image. We are given identity. We are given purpose and responsibility. And in verses 29-30 we are given provision. This isn’t a humanity set in motion and then abandoned. No, His care is all over humanity, from beginning to end. Creation isn’t something humanity has to bring about, but instead creation is something humanity simply receives as a gift.
I know this morning is painful. But life is a gift. Every day is a gift. Verse 29 says, “I have given you every plant, every tree, every beast, every bird for you!” We can’t lose sight of that! We could get out our phone and make a list of His blessings in our life; life, breath, skills, talents, oxygen…and yes some of those gifts have been tainted by our sin of Genesis 3.
But sometimes the hardship of life can focus us! Through this process the Lord is going to clarify our calling. He is going to crystalize our focus. He is going to build up a people to know our identity, value, purpose, and His provision. We got launch team leaders decided. We got people getting on teams. We got people getting into roles. Bumps along the way are going to happen, but ultimately, it’s all under His provision. Look at verse 31:
Genesis 1:31, “31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
Every other day was finished and described as good, but for humanity we see the description “very good.” It’s because the purpose of creation is now complete. God’s image bearers are now present in His creation, so that the chapter starts off with formless, void, and darkness but ends with a world filled with life, order, purpose, and image bearers.
We called the series “Origin Story” because humanity has an origin story, North Village Church has an origin story, and each of us in this room has an origin story, so that this morning is just a chapter in that story. Maybe there are a few more paragraphs to get out of this chapter? Right now, we don’t know, but what we do know is that Jesus is the perfect image of the invisible God (Colossians 1). Jesus is the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1).
Humanity is given His image and His likeness, but we fall short. In Genesis 3 we see Adam and Eve falls into sin, but the story isn’t over. Jesus, God in the flesh, comes to live a perfect life, and through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection we get to see God restoring His image, His likeness, and His purpose in us as He created in the very beginning. That’s the gospel!
The gospel isn’t merely about going to heaven one day. The gospel is about restoration of His creation. The gospel is about reclaiming what rightfully belongs to Him…Going to work hard is a part of that! Building relationships that are honoring to Him! Taking a nap! Prayer. Encouraging. Giving. Sharing our faith…it’s all living out heaven on earth. Amen?
Yeah, sometimes it will get messy, we along the way we get to rub shoulders with other men and women who know about that purpose, that image, and that likeness for His glory. A people who know politics is important but it’s temporary. A people who know our careers are fun but they are temporary. A people who know there are going to be moments of success, and those are great, but there are also going to be moments of pain, but those are temporary, but in Christ, we have everything we need, and one day we are going to be face to face with Him for eternity.
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
NVC Online
Unable to attend this Christian Church in Austin? Don’t worry, because, through God’s provision, we have created NVC online, an Online Church streaming a worship service every Sunday from 10:30am Central Time. You can also watch our short, powerful sermons on demand and follow us on Instagram for daily Christ centered content.