These earth creatures are strange! They fight, kill one another, lie, steal, destroy; and commit all kinds of wickedness etc. and they are only harming themselves for one reason or another. But they are also capable of great love, they sacrifice themselves to help others, they are generous, and they can create many good things. Human beings are very contradictory.
Genesis 1:27, So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him ; male and female He created them. According to this verse, God created man. And verse 31 said, It was very good. Therefore, on the basis of this verse, we can see that man too must have been very good just after his creation. Because verse 27 said, he was God’s image.
But, what does the Bible really mean when it says that man was created in the image of God? Man does not share all the attributes of God. Like God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent and infinite.
Those characteristics which man shares with God, are, ability to have personal relationships with others, Able to love others, Able to reason, capable of telling the difference between what is good and bad, and capable of making beautiful art and to appreciate what is beautiful. This suggests that these are the qualities which are meant in the verse which says that man has been created in the image of God.
There are many people today who believe that man is only a very intelligent animal. It is true that some animals show something of one or more of the characteristics in human list of attributes. But, how many animals have ALL of the characteristics which together to form the image of God in man. None of the animals.
Genesis 9:6 says, Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed ; for in the image of God has God made man. God points out the reason why it is such a terrible thing to kill a man because man is made in God’s image. See also James 3 : 9, With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
To speak or act against man, who is made in the image of God, is equal to acting or speaking against God Himself.
We should always treat human with respect. The fact that God made man a man steward means that man was capable of making his own decision. Genesis 2 : 15, The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. But we must be careful to point out that there are limitations upon man’s ability to act and decide.
A steward must be careful because the master will come to see what has been done.
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