Man: The Creation of Man

The Creation of Man

How did God create us? How did God make us like himself?
How can we please him in everyday living?

1. The use of the word man refers to the whole human race – Genesis 5:1-2
2. Why was man created?
   1. God did not need to create man, yet he created us for his own glory
      1. God does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation glorify him and bring him joy.
      2. If we are created to bring God glory then we are important to God himself!
   2. What is our purpose in life?
      1. To have life more abundantly – John 10:10, Psalm 16:11
      2. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” – John Piper
      3. If God made all things then he deserves the glory for all things. The great things that you do is HIS creation! – Romans 11:36, Mark 12:30
   3. Man in the image of God
      1. Out of all the creatures God made, only one creature, man, is said to be made in the image of God. – Genesis 1:26
         1. The Hebrew words literally mean “similar“, not “exact”
   4. The progression of God’s image throughout time        
      1. The fall: God’s image is distorted but not lost
      2. Redemption in Christ: A progressive recovering of more of God’s image
         1. Christians become more like Christ – Colossians 3:10
      3. At Christ’s Return: Complete restoration of God’s image.  – 1 Corinthians 15:49.
3. Specific aspects of our likeness to God
   1. Moral aspects:
      1. We are creatures who are morally accountable before God for our actions.
      2. An inner sense of right and wrong that sets us apart from animals
   2. Spiritual aspects:
      1. We have not only physical bodies but also immaterial spirits, and we can therefore act in ways that are significant in the immaterial, spiritual realm of existence.
      2. A spiritual life that enables us to relate to God as persons, to pray and praise him, and to hear him speaking his words to us.
      3. Immortality; we will not cease to exist but will live forever.
   3. Mental aspects:
      1. We have an ability to reason and think logically and learn that sets us apart from the animal worlds.
      2. Our use of complex, abstract language sets us far apart from the animals.
      3. An awareness of the distant future, a life beyond our physical death. This makes people want to get right with God.
      4. Art, music, and literature.
      5. Complexity of emotions.
   4. Relational aspects:
      1. Depth of interpersonal harmony in human marriage, family, and church.
      2. In marriage itself. As men and women we have equality in importance but difference in roles.
      3. Man is like God also in his relationship to the rest of creation. We rule over the creation!
   5. Physical aspects:
      1. God is spirit, but does things resembling our physical bodies – John 4:24
      2. Example: ___________________________________________________

Application

1. According to Scripture, what should be the major purpose of your life?
   1. As you think about the pattern of most of your days, do you think that God delights in you and rejoices over you?
2. How does it make you feel to think that you, as a human being, are more like God than any other creature in the universe?
   1. How does that knowledge make you want to act?
   2. What does the fact that Jesus became a man rather than some other kind of creature say about the importance of human beings in God’s sight?
3. Do you think that God has made us so that we become more happy or less happy when we grow to become more like him?
4. Do you think an understanding of the image of God might change the way you think and act toward people who are different than you? People unattractive to the world?