And at this rate, I'm sure the Lord will come before we get through the Bible. MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE Man. Certainly not in the bodily form, the upright position, or commanding aspect of the man, since God has no bodily form, and the man's body was formed from the dust of the ground; nor in the dominion of man over nature, for this is unquestionably ascribed to man simply as the consequence or effluence of his likeness to God. It is unfounded to say that in the second narrative the present world is supposed to be brought forth at once. The Fall obscured but did not obliterate the image of God in man. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day (Gen 1:15-23). Nizzachon, p. 5. Now we have the basic life forms, the plant life forms, on the third day. What God looks like; none of us know. For example, the Bible speaks of the four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:12) and of the pillars, bases and cornerstone of the earth (Job 9:6; Job 38:4-6); but if people use those statements to deny that the earth is a globe, they misuse the Bible. Humanity was the final full-stop in creation's story. can claim credit for accuracy from their inattention to this difference in the Greek version. He fell in partaking of the forbidden fruit; and God took care that he should not eat of the tree of life. The plural form of the sentence raises the question, With whom took he counsel on this occasion? His will complied readily and universally with the will of God, without reluctancy or resistance. Man is fallen, and the creature made subject to vanity. God speaks with the peculiar appropriateness which suits the new occasion, in contradistinction from what we have seen elsewhere. The days that follow I see no ground for interpreting save in their simple and natural import. A numerous lasting family, to enjoy this inheritance, pronouncing a blessing upon them, in virtue of which their posterity should extend to the utmost corners of the earth and continue to the utmost period of time. We expect him to work through the normal processes of nature in producing the crops from which we get our food by hard work. Where is anything like it in all the known ways of God? Most appropriately it is to Jehovah now. When a compendious statement of what follows is intended, the "and" is never put. And God set them in the heavens [the firmament, in the limitless space of heaven, the rachowq of heaven] to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. But in Genesis 6:1-22 we have a very solemn statement the apostacy of the ancient world. Those capacities of right thinking, right willing, and right acting, or of knowledge, holiness, and righteousness, in which man resembles God, qualify him for dominion, and constitute him lord of all creatures that are destitute of intellectual and moral endowments. And what followed after it? It is not, but rather of moral relationship. - Sea and air are filled with living creatures; and the word of God now goes forth to the earth, to produce living beings after their kind. The plural "We" was regarded by the fathers and earlier theologians almost unanimously as indicative of the Trinity: modern commentators, on the contrary, regard it either as pluralis majestatis; or as an address by God to Himself, the subject and object being identical; or as communicative, an address to the spirits or angels who stand around the Deity and constitute His council. And hence we infer what was the end for which all things were created; namely, that none of the conveniences and necessaries of life might be wanting to men. Read Genesis 1:26-31. And God said, Let us make man It is evident that God intends to impress the mind of man with a sense of something extraordinary in the formation of his body and soul, when he introduces the account of his creation thus; Let US make man. It is of great interest and importance to observe that God distinguished from the first between responsibility on the one hand, and life-giving on the other, in the two trees (verse 9). The great point, my brethren, is to hold fast the truth. by the fall. (Colossians 3:10, and Ephesians 4:23.) It is not man placed in his moral relationships, but man the head of this kingdom of creation, as they say; but still even so with remarkable dignity. And knowing me and loving me, and knowing what is best, He seeks to influence my choice and to direct my choice, but I always have the right to say, "bug off, God, I don't want to follow you." But it is an old story in this world, though a new thing for professing members and ministers of Christ, to take pride in putting scorn on divine revelation. Genesis 1:26 is used by many Trinitarians to say that God is a Trinity because of the words "let us." Although this would be an acceptable way to understand God's saying if the plurality of God or the Trinity was defined anywhere else in the scriptures, God is never called three or three in one, but is always defined as one (John 5:44, 17 . On this it is unnecessary to dwell. God could introduce him, and could leave the heart to feel the rightness of saying no more about him than was necessary. Here he gave them, 1. That is why human beings, in spite of the dignity and status given them by God, cannot exist independently of God. . He who is innocent a man absolutely without any evil either in himself or in that which was around him, where all was from God (and this is the revealed account of things), how could he have a knowledge of evil? Death followed if he disobeyed God in eating of this tree (verse 17); but, walking in obedience, he was free to eat of the tree of life. Could they so made have carried themselves otherwise than is here described? Not "El", but "Elohim" created the heavens and the earth.And the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, moved over the face of the waters. The end of this chapter shows that the man in whose person the principle of human government was set up could not govern himself. Cain, as it is said, went out from His presence, and dwelt in the land of Nod; a son is born in due time who builds a city called after his name. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 53:3 (September 2010):601-17.]. 00:00. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth." "Jehovah-Elohim took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." God saw His work, and behold it was all very good; i.e., everything perfect in its kind, so that every creature might reach the goal appointed by the Creator, and accomplish the purpose of its existence. This is the force of it. ) ( Ecclesiastes Both indicate personality, moral, and spiritual qualities that God and man share (i.e., self-consciousness, God-consciousness, freedom, responsibility, speech, moral discernment, etc.) (89) In the mind perfect intelligence flourished and reigned, uprightness attended as its companion, and all the senses were prepared and moulded for due obedience to reason; and in the body there was a suitable correspondence with this internal order. And perhaps this is the only view of it which renders the reasoning of Calvin intelligible. JANUARY 11- DAILY READING THROUGH THE ONE YEAR BIBLE- GENESIS 24:52-26:16; MATTHEW 8:18-34; PSALM 10:1-15; PROVERBS 3:7-8 Commentary written and read by Pastor David K. MacAdam. .," p. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. to their unbelief if they choose to despise or resist the word of God meanwhile. In the New . the angels, as the Targum of Jonathan, Jarchi, and others, who This passage, of course, refers to the humiliation of Christ, whose being made "a little lower" than angels actually means "made lower for a little while," in the matter of his passion and death; for the same passage indicates that man, as he was created, ranked higher than angels, for, "Not unto angels did he subject the world to come," an honor reserved for man. (86) But Augustine, beyond all others, speculates with excessive refinement, for the purpose of fabricating a Trinity in man. It is the same inspired historian who presents the subject in more than one point of view, but always consistently, and with a divine purpose which governs all. In closing the interpretation of this chapter, it is proper to refer to certain first principles of hermeneutical science. The most vaulting pride always has the deepest fall. 27 So God created mankind in his own image, Then the various species of land animals and birds are brought forward to see what Adam would call them; not when Eve was formed, but before. Ada tiga ceritera, tetapi ceritera-ceritera itu ada yang sejalan dalam riwayat Abraham. Genesis 2:1-3; Genesis 2:1-3, taking the Sabbath as the necessary complement of the week, and therefore going on with the preceding six days, not with what follows. I must be permitted here to say a word on a subject which, if it has called out enormous discussion, betrays in its course, I am sorry to say, no small amount of evident infidelity. Then that isn't' free choice. Not only giving me the capacity of choice, He also respects the choice that I make. It assigns an essential significance to the words, the heavens, in that verse. Having created the world with its many life forms, He now wants one to rule over these life forms. The thing indeed is true; but I do not think that anything of the kind entered the mind of Moses. (h) Tikkune Zohar, correct. 3. We have the description of the garden of Eden. We were created directly by God to represent Him on the earth and have dominion over every other . Hitherto God has been introduced simply as commanding; now, when he approaches the most excellent of all his works, he enters into consultation. The Statement before us may look at first unaccountable; but when carefully weighed and reflected on, the propriety of it becomes manifest. There we have delight in the man who had found grace in His eyes. God speaks as the Creator-king, announcing His crowning work to the members of His heavenly court. How the various organs of the human body function, for example, is a problem for medical science to solve, not the Bible. No doubt the mere act could have been effected in other ways. The first and second verses make allusion to these well-known measures of time. Then, fromGenesis 2:4; Genesis 2:4, we have the subject from another point of view, not a repetition of the account of creation, but what was even more necessary to be brought here before us, the place of relationship in which God set the creation He had formed, not mutually alone, but above all, in reference to Himself. The elevation of an extensive tract of land, the subsidence of the overlying waters into the comparative hollows, the clarifying of the atmosphere, the creation of a fresh supply of plants and animals on the newly-formed continent, compose a series of changes which meet the geologist again and again in prosecuting his researches into the bowels of the earth. God's image upon man consists in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10. This indeed is the invariable truth of scripture, and runs through it to the last. This further difficulty is also to be encountered, namely, why Paul should deny the woman to be the image of God, when Moses honors both, indiscriminately, with this title. Neither would have suited the chapter; both are perfectly in season in Genesis 2:1-25. [Note: Henry F. Lazenby, "The Image of God: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter?" The plant forms of course, are necessarily rooted. But here I stop for the present. And to ascribe the least portion of a work so exquisite to angels, is a sacrilege to be held in abhorrence. This is of immense importance. The whole person is in Gods image. She listened, she looked, she took of the fruit; she ate, and was fallen. The human relationship between man and woman thus reflects Gods own relationship with Himself. These are both very good. The water, teeming with life, and then the air, and the many, many kinds of birds and the variety of birds that God has created. "And let them have dominion " This is another quality of man's kinship with the Eternal. Countless years ago God, by his sovereign power and will, created the universe. No language could express so well the truth as that which God has employed as a matter of fact. "Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus". And Jehovah speaks to him thus "Why art thou wroth? In truth only God is competent to pronounce; and this He has done. The word Adam, which we translate man, is intended to designate the species of animal, as chaitho, marks the wild beasts that live in general a solitary life; behemah, domestic or gregarious animals; and remes, all kinds of reptiles, from the largest snake to the microscopic eel. Would there not have been a sin-offering on these occasions had the law been then in force? And, according to him, spiritual regeneration is nothing else than the restoration of the same image. Caesarius and Epiphanius held it to be the Danube, the Ganges, and the Indus, and that after an extraordinary course in the south it joined the ocean near Cadiz! This is the place in which God has set man to be the servant of his providence in the government of the inferior creatures, and, as it were, the intelligence of this orb; to be the receiver of God's bounty, which other creatures live upon, but do not know it; to be likewise the collector of his praises in this lower world, and to pay them into the exchequer above (Psalms 145:10); and, lastly, to be a probationer for a better state. There is no record of previous populations that sometimes are alleged from what is written here to have existed prior to humanity. whom did he say this? He was upright, Ecclesiastes 7:29. [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. In the will is unfolded that freedom of action which chooses the good and refuses the evil. Consequently the attempt of man's mind by what is now to judge of what was then always ends in the merest confusion and total failure. No doubt afterwards God did as the Jehovah of Israel impose the remembrance of the Sabbath every seventh day of the week on His people. Human beingsboth men and womenare made in God's image ( Genesis 1:27; 5:1-3; 9:6; James 3:9 ). These distinguish humans from the animals, which have no God-consciousness even though they have conscious life (cf. Gesenius on Isaiah 11:6-8). Angels were not made male and female, for they were not to propagate their kind (Luke 20:34-36); but man was made so, that the nature might be propagated and the race continued. He makes every snowflake different. Nevertheless, even in his fallen state, man retains something of the image of God, for every human being is potentially the beneficiary of the blood of Christ and an heir of everlasting life. Genesis 1:26. It is only some of God's honour that is put upon man, who is God's image only as the shadow in the glass, or the king's impress upon the coin. And so we'll just go through finding out what it says and we'll leave the puny, little intellects to their discussions and arguments that are without profit or value to us. Oneness involves being in agreement with Gods will and purposes. To me it is perfectly clear how speedy was the fall after the creation of man. At first the earth was featureless and in darkness because of the mass of surrounding water, but as the thick clouds of water vapour began to lose their density, a hazy light came by day from the invisible sun (1:1-5; first day). Is it credible that animals may be killed but that man may not be killed because his stature is slightly different? There are some seeds that build a little parachute. And God said, Let there be light in the firmament in the heaven (Gen 1:12-14). This is the highest honor with which he has dignified us; to a due regard for which, Moses, by this mode of speaking would excite our minds. We have no ground, therefore, for transferring it to the style of the heavenly King. Had it been spoken of in the first chapter, there might have been grave exception taken whether such an account could have been inspired; but, coming in as it does, it is exactly as it ought to be. Three classes of institutions are required in human societies to deal with human disease or failure in these three specific areas: penal institutions for gross spiritual failures, hospitals for the diseases or injuries of bones and joints, and psychiatric wards for the mentally deficient. Nizzachon, p. 5. Though the same kind of organization may be found in man as appears in the lower animals, yet there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the different members to their great offices and functions, a dignity of mien, and a perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures. ( Genesis 1:3-5) The first day of creation: light is created and divided from the darkness. Psalm 19:1-6 tells us the heavens contain a message from God. "I don't want God in my life! 119. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. It acknowledges the narrative character of the first verse. According to Gen 1:26-27 humanity was created in the image of God. [Note: Gorman Gray, The Age of the Universe: What Are the Biblical Limits?] This accordingly is the ground taken, to which I refer as an instance of the perfectness of scripture, but at the same time of the profound and practical power of the truth of God. In reading the Bible we must understand not only what the Bible says but also what it means. God has the capacity to reason, so He created us with the ability to reason. *How this agrees with the dispensational dealings of God with Israel needs no argument. our image, after our likeness": and again, "let us make man"; to Vegetable life was before, animal life now a very weighty truth, and of the greatest moment too. Psalm 147:4 and Isaiah 40:26 tell us God has the stars all numbered and God has a name for them all. "Let them rule" (1:26) is the consequence of "Let Us make man in Our image.". His soul, I cannot doubt, laid hold of the word that God had pronounced in judging the devil. And I am able to recognize you and say "oh yeah that's" and the color of clothes that you're wearing and the, you know, the whole thing. But nothing softened the roused and irritated spirit of Cain. This completes, then, the restoration of that order and fullness the absence of which is described in the second verse. Man.Hebrew, Adam. I am capable of loving, of giving and receiving love, and to know the meaningfulness of giving and receiving love, because I am created in the image of God and that's His chief emotional characteristic; is to love. The roots themselves are marvelous. 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