So far in this study we have seen that God created all the plants on the earth, all the animals that live in water, all the birds and insects that fly in the sky, all the creatures that crawl on the ground and all the wild animals and livestock. The only living thing left for him to create is human beings.
Genesis 1:26-27 says: 26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
The Image of God
Of all of God’s creation, only man was created in the image of God. An image is a reflection or replica (copy) of something. God is spirit and doesn’t have a physical body so we know that man wasn’t created in his physical image, but rather in his essence or character.
God is a personal God: he has a mind, he has a will and he has emotions or feelings. Since man was created in the image of God, he also has those characteristics and that is what makes him different from other animals.
Mind
Because we have a mind we can learn and understand ideas. We can discover new ways of doing things. We can be creative and inventive. We can communicate with words and pass on our understanding to others. We can know who God is and recognize our need for him. Animals are unable do any of those things.
Although we have a mind, our mind is different from God’s mind. God has all wisdom and understanding; there is nothing he doesn’t know. He has right thoughts about all things; he knows what is true. Man has limited understanding and can be easily mislead into believing what isn’t true.
Will
Having a will like God does means we can make moral choices. We can choose to follow God and do what is right or we can choose to reject God and do what is evil. Other animals just follow their design. They act on instinct rather than making a choice of what is good or bad to do. When a person does something really bad, like kill another person, you would say that he did something evil. If an animal kills a person, you might say that what happened was bad or awful but you wouldn’t call the act evil because the animal didn’t make a moral choice to kill.
God’s will is perfect because he is holy and perfect. God only does what is good, right and true because he only wants what is good, right and true. He doesn’t act out of selfish interests. Men’s will tends to be very self-centered; men often acts out of selfish interests.
Emotion
Having emotions means that we have feelings; we can feel love or hate, happiness or sadness, joy or sorrow, hope or despair. Our emotions affect the way we think about and respond to things. Sometimes the way we feel can make us more compassionate toward others. Sometimes we harden our hearts and become angry and resentful.
God responds to people and situations in a right manner, he sees them as they really are. God knows and understands all things so his emotions are always right and justified; they are always appropriate; the way they should be. Like our will, our emotions are generally self-focused. Our emotions can cloud our thinking so we don’t view situations or people clearly; we don’t see things the way they really are. We see everything from our own perspective. Our emotions aren’t always appropriate; we often respond to people or situations in inappropriate ways. Sometimes we throw a fit when things don’t go our way or make fun of others who seem a little odd.
Because we are created in God’s image we were designed to reflect God’s character. That means that if we know God and choose to love and fear him. We can reflect his love, kindness, justice, compassion, etc., to others in what we say and do. To do this we have to give our lives to Jesus and be filled with his Spirit. We then can have a personal relationship with God and bring delight to him as we submit our mind, will and emotions to him. Our desire as Christians should be to reflect God’s image and live in a way that pleases and honors God.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, 12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
- Overview Questions: What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What does it mean to have a mind? A will? Emotions? What is the difference between God’s mind and man’s mind? God’s will and man’s will? God’s emotions and man’s emotions? How can a person reflect God’s character?
- Thought Questions: What do you think are God’s feelings currently about the people he created in his image? Why? Did God know that people would reject him when he created the first man? Why do you think he created man in spite of knowing that people would reject him? Why is it beneficial for people to reflect God’s character?
- Prayer: Thank God that he has given you life. Pray that you would bring delight to God by the way you respond to him. Pray that in all situations you would want to go God’s way and reflect his character in your thoughts and the things you say and do.
- Week’s Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 10:12-13
12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
How are we to reflect God?
We are to walk in God’s ways and serve him.