Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:1-3

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:1–3, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Hebrews 1:1–4

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1–4, ESV)

Introduction

Today it is important for us to recognize that the seventh day of the creation week was the most important day of the seven, for on it God’s creative activities were brought to a conclusion and were filled with meaning.  

This might sound strange to you at first as you notice that nothing at all was made on day seven. One might wonder, therefore, how the day on which nothing was made can be called the most important day of the creation week? 

This also might sound strange if you consider that man made in the image of God, the pinnacle of God’s creation, was made on day six. Again, one might wonder how day seven could called the most important day of the creation week when the most important thing in God’s creation was made on the previous day?

But true as it may be that nothing was made on day seven, and true as it may be that man made in the image of God on day six was the pinnacle of God’s creation, it is also true that day seven was the most important day of the days of creation. Day seven was the most important day of them all, for it was on day seven that God’s creative activities were brought to a conclusion and filled with meaning. It was on day seven that God entered into rest. It was on day seven that God pronounced a blessing on the seventh day and made it holy. Take special notice this: of the seven days of the creation week only day seven is said to have been blessed by God and set apart as holy. Truly, the creation week would have been left incomplete and unfinished without the activities of day seven. And indeed, the significance or meaning of the creation week would have been lost entirely apart from the activities accomplished by God on the seventh day.

All that I am now saying concerning the work of God in creation can be compared to the work of Christ in the accomplishment of our redemption. We might ask, what was the pinnacle of Christ’s work of redemption? What was the high point of the accomplishment of our salvation? Was it the birth of Christ? Was it his sinless life? Was it his death, his burial, his resurrection? 

I would imagine that the impulse of many would be to say that the resurrection of Christ was the pinnacle event! But as important as the resurrection was, Christ’s work was not truly complete until he ascended to his heavenly throne to sit down at the Father’s right hand. It was the session of Christ, as it is called, that brought the work of Christ to it’s conclusion. It was when Christ sat down at the Fathers right hand that he began to rest from his labors, the work of redemption having been accomplished in full. It was Christ seated in the heavenly realm that completed the circuit, as it were. 

True as it may be that the “heavy lifting” of the work of redemption was accomplished by Christ in his life and death, in reality it was his resurrection, and finally his ascension and session at the Fathers right hand that brought the work of Christ to its full conclusion. Christ, the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, descended to the lower parts of the earth to redeem those given to him by the Father. But having made atonement for their sins, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10, ESV). “After making purification for sins, [Christ] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3, ESV), and is now resting from the work of redemption as he rules and reigns over all things forever and ever. 

The session of Christ, as it is called, marked the very end of the work of Christ. Having descended to accomplish our salvation, he also ascended and entered into rest. And one can understand the true significance of the work accomplished by Christ in his life, death and resurrection only when he considers it in light of his ascension and finally his session. What did Christ do in his earthly ministry? He accomplished our salvation. He conquered the evil one, sin itself and even death and had “bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:9–10, ESV). How do we know that he accomplished these things? We know it because he was raised from the dead, he ascended, and was “seated… [at God’s] right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:20–21, ESV).

In like manner, God accomplished the “heavy lifting” of the work of creation on days one through six. All that was made was made by God on those days. But on day seven everything was brought to a conclusion. On day seven God, having completed his work of creation sat down, as it were, and rested from his work. On day seven God pronounced a blessing on the seventh day and declared it to be holy. These activities of God accomplished on day seven made clear the significance of the work accomplished on the other six days. 

I have five points to make today. And when all is said and done my hope is that you will agree that the Sabbath was instituted by God at creation, that from the beginning the Sabbath day held out the promise of unending rest to man made in the image of God, and that man would enter into that rest by accomplishing the work given to him by God – namely the filling and subduing of the earth to the glory of his Maker. Man – even man in his upright state and in the garden – was to work for six days and rest for one in imitation of his Creator. Sabbath keeping was, therefore, a sign even for Adam and Eve that they were living in submission to and for the glory of the God who made them. The Sabbath day was also a type for them. The rest that they would enjoy on the Sabbath day typified, or was an small foretaste and example of, the eternal, consummate, full and final rest that was promised to them should they accomplish their work.  

Friends, here is the foundation for our view that the Sabbath, which is now called the Christian Sabbath or the Lord’s Day, is to be kept by God’s people today and until Christ returns. The Sabbath – the pattern of six days of work followed by one day of rest – was instituted, not in the days of Abraham, nor in the days of Moses, but at creation. If it were instituted in Abraham’s day, or in Moses’s day then a case could be made for the Sabbath belonging to the Old Covent people of God alone, but not to those of us who live under the New Covenant. But we must say no, the Sabbath was instituted by God at creation! It is, therefore, for all people at all times. All should worship God. And the Lord ordained from the beginning how it is that he is to be worshipped. Man, made in the image and likeness of God, is to work to the glory of God and in the imitation of God for six days, and he is to rest and worship for one. This pattern is to be maintained until God’s people are brought into the eternal rest of God which is so beautifully typified by the Sabbath day. The Sabbath is the one institution, therefore, which transcends all of human history. Sabbath keeping unites, therefore, all of God’s people living in every age. All of those who belong to God in this world are to  follow this pattern instituted by God at creation – six days of work followed by one day of rest – six and one, six and one. This will go on until the Lord returns when the rest typified by the Sabbath day comes in full. We agree with the written to the Hebrews when he wrote to New Covenant Christians, saying, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:9–11, ESV).

I plan to spend a few weeks on the subject of the Sabbath. It is a doctrine that is found throughout scriptures, from Genesis through Revelation. It is not possible to deal with the subject of the Sabbath thoroughly in one sermon. Today my objective is simply to establish that the Sabbath was instituted at creation. This simple observation has profound implications for us today. 

So here are five points for today:

I. Let us remember that God took six days to create the heavens and earth and entered into rest on the seventh, not for himself, but for man. 

God did not need six days to create all things seen and unseen, but could have created in an instant. Therefore, we should not say that it took God six days to create the world, but that God took six days for our sake. He chose to create progressively in six days in order to reveal truth to man made in his image. 

Also, it should be obvious to all that God did not need to rest on the seventh day. God was not fatigued. He was not panting. He did not perspire when he made heaven and earth. This is what the prophet Isaiah says: 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28–31, ESV)

God does no faint or grow weary. He does not need to rest. When the scriptures say that God rested on the seventh, we are to understand that God ceased from his work of creation and transitioned to his work of providence – God now upholds the world that he made! And t he rested, not because he needed rest, but for our sake so that we might find our rest in him.   

II. Similarly, when God blessed the seventh day and made it holy he did so, not for himself, but for man.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1–3, ESV)

God pronounced a blessing on the seventh day, not for himself, but for man. 

This is not the first time that God pronounced a blessing on something in the creation week. God blessed the sea creatures and the birds saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth” (Genesis 1:22, ESV). And “And God blessed [man]. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28, ESV).

But here God is blessing, not a living creature, but a day. It should be obvious that the day is blessed by God, not for God’s sake, nor for the sake of the day itself, but so that man might find a blessing it. The seventh day was blessed by God so that man would be blessed in the honoring of the seventh day as a day for rest – a day to cease from labor to give worship and thanks to God. 

Also, God set the day apart as holy, not for himself, but for man. At the time of creation the first six days of the week were designated as ordinary or common days, but the seventh day was designated by God as a holy day. The seventh day was set apart by God (for that is what the word holy means – to be set a part) as unique and distinct from the beginning.  

It should be obvious that the seventh day was made holy, not for God, but for man made in his image. Man was to approach the seventh day as a holy day – a day unique and distinct – a day to cease from the ordinary and to engage in that which is holy.  

III. Do you see, therefore, that the six days of creation followed by one day of rest provide a pattern for man, made in the image of God, to imitate?

God did not need six days to create. God did not need to rest. God took six days to create realms and to fill those realms with creature kings as a pattern for man, made in his image, to follow. 

Man, having been made in the image and likeness of God, was to do his work of creation in imitation of God. Man was to fill the earth, just as God filled the realms that he had created. Man was to exercises dominion over the world just as God has dominion over all things. How was man to accomplish his work? Like God accomplished his! Man was to work six days, and rest for one, just as God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. This man was to do until his work of filling and subduing was accomplished. 

Adam, even in the garden and before his fall into sin, was to approach the seventh day as a blessed and holy day. On that day he was to cease from his work to give special worship to the God who made him. Eve also was to follow this pattern. So too were their descendants.   

That man was made to imitate God is clear from from Genesis 1. Man was made in the image and likeness of God so that he might imitate God. Man was given work to do similar to the work God had done. Man was to procreate. He was to fill the earth. He was to exercise dominion. Man’s work was to a mirror God’s work. He was to work six and rest one, approaching the seventh day as a blessed and holy day, according to the word of God. 

All of this becomes exceedingly clear when the law of God was given to Israel through Moses thousands of years later. The law of God written upon man’s heart at creation was delivered to Israel on two tables of stone in ten commandments. The first four commandments have to do with man’s relationship to God; the last six have to do with man in relation to man. Commandment one states that God alone is to be worshiped. Commandment two forbids the use of idols in the worship of God. Commandment three prohibits man from bearing or using the name of God in an empty and vain way. And commandment four explicitly states that man is to work six day and rest one. This is the way that God is to be worshipped. It was true prior to the days of Moses, but under Moses this moral law was written on stone. Exodus 20:8:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (Exodus 20:8–10, ESV)

And what was the reason given for the command to keep the Sabbath day holy? Verse 11: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11, ESV).

The command to keep the Sabbath day holy was not new to Moses and to Israel. Indeed, the Sabbath was instituted at creation and it was kept by God’s people in the world up until the days of Moses. Though it is true that not much is known about the people of God from the days of Adam to the days of Moses, the scriptures do provide us with some information. 

For example, the children of Adam and Eve knew how to worship. In Genesis 4:3 we read “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions…” (Genesis 4:3–4, ESV). Here I simply wish to draw attention to the phrase “in the course of time”. Cain and Able knew to bring sacrifices to the Lord as an act of worship at an appointed time.

It also interesting to note that Israel was keeping the Sabbath prior to the giving of the ten commandments. The giving of the ten commandments are recorded for us in Exodus 20, but in Exodus 16 in the passage about God providing manna from heaven for the people of Israel, we find out that Israel was honoring the Sabbath day prior to the giving of the ten commandments. 

Remember that the people were instructed to to gather a days worth of manna each day, and no more. If they tried to keep more for the next day it would rot and stick. But in Exodus 16:22 we read,  

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.” On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:22–30, ESV)

Did you notice that Moses did not at first command Israel to keep the Sabbath day, but that some within Israel simply knew to keep it. And as some “naturally” honored the Sabbath day (without Moses first commanding it), “the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses”, and it was then that Moses said, “tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord… etc.”. In other words, Moses did not invent the Sabbath day in that moment, but confirmed that it was right that the people keep the Sabbath, for it was “a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord”, and had been from the creation of the world. 

IV. It should be clear to all, therefore, that the Sabbath was instituted by God, not in the days of Moses, but at creation. 

Indeed, the sabbath is as old as creation. The sabbath was to be kept by Adam and Eve and their descendants in the garden, It was to be kept by the righteous line that proceeded from Eve outside the garden, It was to be kept by God’s people in the days of Abraham and in the days of Moses, and it is to be kept by God’s people today. Indeed, all should keep the Sabbath day, which today is called the Lord’s Day. We should not be surprised  to find that the those without faith do not keep it. What should surprise us it is to find those who claim to be God’s people neglecting the Lord’s Day, which his the Christian Sabbath.

The moral principle at the core of the Sabbath is that the Creator is to be worshipped by his creatures. When God created in six days and rested on the seventh he, by his actions, and by his blessing the seventh day and making it holy, gave a positive command to worship him in this way and according to this pattern.   

V. Let is recognize that the sabbath had symbolic force from the begging. It symbolized God’s rest, and it typified the rest that man was to enter into after completing the work that God called him to accomplish. 

Symbols point to things that as they are now. God finished his work of creation and entered into rest on the seventh day. The Sabbath day has always symbolized this reality.

Types are also symbolic but they are forward looking. They point forward to things yet to come. A prototype is an example of something that will be made in the future. The Sabbath day is a type of the rest to be enjoyed by God’s people at the end of the age. The Sabbath day is a foretaste of the rest to be enjoyed by God’s people in the new heavens and new earth. 

Do you see, then, that rest – eternal, unending rest – was offered  to Adam in the garden. Adam had work to do. He was to rest one day out of seven. But that day of rest typified the eternal rest that he was to enjoy forever and ever once he had completed his work. God finished his work and entered into rest. Adam was to finish his work and enter into rest. 

Later in Genesis 2 we will see that God entered into a covenant with Adam. We call it the covenant of works, the covenant of life, or the covenant of creation, and rightly so, for Adam had to work to keep it, would have earned life had he kept it, and it was made shortly after the creation of man. Two trees functioned as sacraments in this covenant – the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We will talk about these things extensively when the time comes. For now notice that the thing typified by the tree of life and the thing typified by the Sabbath are the same. 

The tree of life pointed forward to quality of life not yet enjoyed by Adam and Eve in the garden. They were alive in paradise, but they could fall. Had they eaten of the tree of life instead of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would have entered into and enjoyed that higher form of life. They would have entered into glory.  

Similarly, the Sabbath day pointed forward to a higher form of life – life characterized by rest. Had Adam of faithful finished his work he would have entered into rest – he would have entered into glory. 

Do you see, therefore, that there is a kind of gospel call embedded within the Sabbath day? The Sabbath day, when it is rightly understood and rightly observed, calls us to look forward to eternal rest. This was true for Adam and Eve, but it is especially true for those of us living after mans fall into sin. 

Adam was called by God, and by the Sabbath day instituted by God, to enter into rest, and so are we. The Sabbath day points forward. It holds out the promise of future rest by giving us a taste of it now. But we should remember, and never forget, that the way for Adam and Eve to enter that rest (prior to the their fall into sin), and the way for us to enter that rest now that man is fallen, couldn’t be more different. Adam and Eve in the garden were to enter into that full and final and consummate rest by working. But Adam and Eve after the fall, along with their descendants, including you and me, can only enter into that rest by trusting in another, namely Jesus the Christ. He finished his work. And having atoned for the sins of his elect by his death, he rose from the grave, ascended to the Father’s right hand, where he is now seated. Christ, the second Adam, has entered into rest. All who are united to him by faith will also enter into the rest that he has earned in the new heavens and new earth. This is the rest symbolized by the Sabbath day, which was instituted by God at creation. 

Listen to Hebrews 4:1-2 and 6-11: 

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened… Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:6–11, ESV)

Conclusion 

Brothers and sisters, the more I study the doctrine of the Sabbath the more convinced I am that we ought to keep the Sabbath day. We are not called to keep the Jewish Sabbath, which is on Saturday, but now that that the Christ has come, has risen on the first day, and has entered into rest, we keep the Sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week, for he is risen! He is risen indeed. We do not keep the Old Covenant Sabbath then, but the Lord’s Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. All of this we will discuss more thoroughly at another time. 

For now, recognize that pattern of six and one, six and one, six and one remains. How could it not? For we have not yet entered into the rest symbolized and typified by that day from the beginning of time. 

Friends, the Sabbath day is a blessed day. The Sabbath day is a holy day. All who belong to God should honor it! And I trust that we will be blessed when we do. May the Lord help us to understand these things and keep these things in the weeks to come. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 1:26-31

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.’” (Genesis 1:26–31, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Matthew 28:18-20

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV)

Introduction

There are three questions of supreme importance to man. One, who is God? Two, what is man? And three, what does God require of man? The Bible begins to answer theses three questions in it’s opening chapter.  There God is first introduced to us, and then man whom he created in his image, and then God’s purpose for man is set forth. It is not hard to see that the answer we give to these three questions – Who is God, what is man, and what does God require of man? – will impact greatly the trajectory of our lives. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1, ESV), but “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV). The denial of God will 

What do we learn in the opening chapter of Holy Scripture except (among other things) that God is. He is supreme, the Creator of all things seen and unseen, including man. We also learn that man was unique in all of God’s creation, being made in the image God. And, as we will see today, man, being made in the image of God, was given the unique responsibility of exercising dominion over the world that God had made. 

Here is the principle that I wish to drive home today: God created man in his image and after his likeness so that man would fill the earth with his offspring and exercise dominion over the created world. God made man to image him on earth. God has authority over heaven and earth, and man, made in the image of God, was given authority on earth. He was to imitate God as one who had dominion. But it is clear that man’s authority was never absolute as God’s is. Instead, man’s authority was, from the beginning, derived from God. Man was given authority, but he was to go on living in constant subjection to and in service of the God who made him. Man was created to be a king, but as king he was to forever serve the King of kings and Lord of lords. Put differently, man was created in the image and likeness of God and was given dominion, not so that he might promote the advancement of his own kingdom, but so that he might further the kingdom of God on earth. Adam and Eve, having been made in God’s image, were to work towards the establishment and expansion of a culture on earth where all of their offspring would worship and serve their Creator,  just as they were created to do. 

In the previous sermon I attempted to give an answer to the question, what does it mean that man is made in the image of God? Today I wish to walk through the text of Genesis 1:26-31 with you more methodically to show that man was made in the image of God so that he might fill the earth and have dominion over it, all to glory of God the Creator of all things seen and unseen.

“Let Us…”

Notice, first of all, the words “let us” at the beginning of verses 26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’” (Genesis 1:26, ESV).

The question we must ask is, who was God speaking to when he said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’” The use of the plural “us” and “our” is striking, isn’t it? It grabs your attention.

We have heard God speak throughout the creation week – this is not new – but so far we have heard declarations, and not deliberation. 

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3, ESV). “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters’” (Genesis 1:6, ESV). “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.” (Genesis 1:9, ESV). Etc. etc. These were the declarations of God. God spoke the heavens and earth into existence, and God formed the world by the power of his word.

But here we encounter, not a simple declaration from God, but God engaged in deliberation. In verses 26 God is heard speaking to someone as if he were making a proposal concerning the creation of man. When God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” it is made very plain and clear that when man is made, he will be made, not by a singular person, but by a plurality of persons. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”, God said.

Who is God speaking to? 

Some very good men have claimed that God is here speaking to the angels, that is, to the heavenly counsel. 

Indeed, God created the heavenly realm and the angels prior to the creation of the earthly realm (see Genesis 1:1). So it is true that the angels we there to witness the creation of man (see Job 38). But according to this view God is counseling and deliberating with the angels when he says, “let us”. If this view were taken then we would have to say that man is made in the image of God and of angels, for when man is made he is indeed made in the image of the persons referred to by the pronouns “us” and “our” of verses 26. 

Though possible, I do not believe that this view holds up to close scrutiny. I will not take the time to argue against this view extensively. But a simple and brief argument can be made by saying two things. One, nowhere in scripture is man said to be made in the image of angels. And two, in verse 27 it is explicitly stated that man was made in the image of God. There we read, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, ESV). The plural pronouns “us” and “our” in verses 26 are indeed striking – and they are meant to be. They grab the readers attention and cause us to ask, who is God speaking to? If God were speaking to the angels – to the heavenly counsel, so called – verse 27 would be the place to answer that question by saying, “So God created man in his image and the image of the angels…”. But verses 27 is emphatic that man was made “in the image of God.” “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, ESV).

Who then was God speaking to? 

Though mysterious and difficult for our minds to comprehend, the answer is that God was speaking to himself. Man was created in the image of God – the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am not saying that we find a fully developed doctrine of the Trinity in Genesis 1, but the certainly the Trinity is evident. What subsequent scriptures texts say directly matches perfectly with the creation narrative of Genesis 1. In the beginning  God the Father created through the God the Word, or Son, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. God, who in the beginning created the heavens and earth, is Triune. He is one God eternally existing in three subsistences or persons, Father, Word and Holy Spirit. Nowhere is this more clear in Genesis 1 than when it comes to the creation of man, for it is here that God deliberated and counseled within himself. The counsel, therefore, is not the heavenly counsel (angels), but it is the divine counsel (the Triune God taking counsel with himself). 

A further question that we might ask concerning the “let us” of verse 26 is, why did God need to deliberate prior to the creation of man? When God created all other things, there was no deliberation – there was no “let us…”, but only “and God said…” Why the need for deliberation when it came to the creation of man? 

The answer, of course, is that God did not need to go through a process of deliberation in order to create man, but that he deliberated so that he might reveal truth to us – truth concerning himself, truth concerning man and his purposes for us. So, just as God did not need six days to create the earth, so too he did not need to deliberate. Clearly the process of creation and deliberation is not for God, but it is for us. 

Calvin puts it this way in his commentary on Genesis: 

Hitherto God has been introduced simply as commanding; now, when he approaches the most excellent of all his works, he enters into consultation. God certainly might here command by his bare word what he wished to be done: but he chose to give this tribute to the excellency of man, that he would, in a manner, enter into consultation concerning his creation. This is the highest honour with which he has dignified us; to a due regard for which, Moses, by this mode of speaking, would excite our minds. For God is not now first beginning to consider what form he will give to man, and with what endowments it would be fitting to adorn him, nor is he pausing as over a work of difficulty: but, just as we have before observed, that the creation of the world was distributed over six days, for our sake, to the end that our minds might the more easily be retained in the meditation of God’s works: so now, for the purpose of commending to our attention the dignity of our nature, he, in taking counsel concerning the creation of man, testifies that he is about to undertake something great and wonderful. (Calvin, Commentary on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis, 91–92).

“Make Man…”

Secondly, let us consider the word “man” in verse 26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’” (Genesis 1:26, ESV).

As this text develops it will become clear that when God said, “let us make man in our image” he meant, let us make mankind in our image, and not, let us make the male humans in our image. 

The word man, as you know, can be used to refer either to male humans in particular or to humankind more generally. The same is true in the Hebrew language. The word translated “man”, which his adam in the Hebrew, can be used to refer to “a male, any human being, or generically the human race (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament, 15). Here the meaning is clearly the more generic one. Man is to be understood as a reference to human beings, male and female. Look with me again at verse 27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, ESV). And so in the beginning God created a male adam (human), and a female adam (human). 

It is important to recognize that both men and women were created in the image of God.

In Genesis 2 we will encounter a more up close and personal account of the creation of man. There we see that Adam (the male human) was formed by God first from the dust of the ground, and then Eve (the female human) was formed by God from Adam’s side. This order is important and it should not be ignored. Christ and his Apostles do make reference to the order of the creation of man and woman when speaking to the role of men and women, husbands and wives in the family and in the church. 

The differences and uniqueness of men and women should never be minimized or ignored, but neither should we ignore what the two share in common. Men and women are both made in the image of God. They are both image bearers. Similarly, men and women are equal in Christ. They are co-heirs, and therefore, stand on equal footing before God in Christ Jesus. This is why Peter warns husbands, saying, “husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7, ESV). Men and women are therefore the same in some important ways. They are both human. They are both made in the image of God. They are both heirs of the grace of of life found in Christ Jesus. This is why Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, ESV). Paul is not here denying the uniqueness of men and women. He is not denying the specific roles that they are to take in the church and in the home. Were he doing this he would be contradicting what he says so plainly in other places, namely, Ephesians 5. Instead, in Galatians 3:28 Paul is emphasizing what males and females share in common. “There is… no male and female, for [they] are… one in Christ Jesus.” They are both human beings, made in the image of God, fallen, but then redeemed, the image of God having been restored in them through faith in Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. 

It is amazing how difficult it is for us to get this right. It seems that throughout the history of the world, and even in our culture today, men will tend to emphasize either the differences between men women, or their essential oneness. How common is has been for men to domineer women, to abuse their God given power and authority within the church and home and thus do violence to women made in the image of God and co-heirs in Christ. The opposite error is being made in our day when oneness or sameness of the male and female is being emphasized, to the neglect of the particular roles assigned to them by God at creation to be fulfilled within the church and family until the Lord returns. Indeed, our sinful natures do fight against the word of God at every turn. In fact, things are far more perverse in our culture. Not only are the God given roles of men and women being ignored, but even the fundamental distinction between male and female is in our day denied. Lord, have mercy on us.

It should be noticed that man was not divided by God into species as the plant and animal kingdoms were, but only by gender. The animals and plants were created by God “according to their kinds”, but there are no “kinds” within the human species, only male and female, and they are both fully human, image bearers. It should be plain to all that the scriptures leave no room at all for racism, that is, hatred or prejudice against people on the account of race. In the beginning God made two human beings, one male and one female, and from them the whole human race did descend. 

It should also be noted that the unity and diversity that exists within God is reflected by the unity and diversity that exists within creation, and supremely within man. God created trees, and there many kinds of trees. God created birds, and yet their are many kinds of birds. And God created man, male and female. One can clearly observe unity and diversity within creation and supremely within man, and this reflect the unity and diversity that exists within the Triune God. Man is one, and yet man is many. God is one, and yet God is many. 

Baptist Catechism Q. 8. Are there more gods than one? A. There is but one only, the living and true God.

Baptist Catechism Q. 9. How many persons are there in the Godhead? A. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory.

While it is true that each individual human is an image bearer of God, it is also true that humanity in it’s entity, consisting of males and females, does collectively image the Triune God. 

“In Our Image, After Our Likeness.”

Thirdly, let us say a brief word about the phrase “in our image, after our likeness”, found in verse 26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’”

Some think that there is a great difference between the meaning of the words “image” and “likeness”. Clearly the words are different and, therefore, carry a slightly different meaning. But if we consider the way that the words are used in reference to man in the rest of scripture we will find that they are nearly synonymous. To be made in God’s “image” is to be made in his “likeness”, and to be made in his “likeness” is to be made in his “image”. When man fell from innocence, both the image and likeness of God were in some way retained by man, and yet both were greatly marred and distorted leaving man in need of redemption and renewal. Does man still possess the image of God? In general, yes. But it is all bent out of shape and distorted by sin from birth. Does man still possess the likeness of God? In general, yes. But it is all bent out of shape and distorted by sin from birth. The image and likeness of God in man are renewed through faith in Christ who is the image and likeness of God. 

Anthony Hoekema in his book, Created in God’s Image, says,

Although these words are used generally as synonyms, we recognize a slight difference between the two. The Hebrew word for image… is derived from a root that means “to carve” or “to cut”… When it is applied to the creation of man in Genesis 1, the word… indicates that man images God, that is, is a representation of God. The Hebrew word for likeness… comes from a root that means “to be like”. One could therefore say that the word [likeness] in Genesis 1 indicates that image is also likeness, “an image that is like us”. The two words together tell us that man is a representation of God who is like God in certain respects. 

“And Let Them Have Dominion”

Fourthly, let us consider that man made in the image and likeness of God  was given dominion over the earth which God had made. 

Verse 26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26, ESV).

Verse 28: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28, ESV). 

The fact that man was made in the image and likeness of God, and the fact that man was given dominion over all the earth are intimately related. And here is how: man was made in the image and likeness of God so that they would exercise dominion over all the earth. Put differently, man was made in the image and likeness of God in order that they might imitate and image God on earth through the process of filling, and ruling and reigning over the earth that God had made and placed under their authority. Just as God himself had created realms, filled those realms with creatures, and then faithfully rules over those realms and the creatures that he placed there, so too man, made in the image and likeness of God, was to faithfully fill the earth and rule over the earth all to the glory of the God who made them.   

Notice that man was created, therefore, as a responsible person. Man was created with the capacity to make true and real decisions. Man was created with the capacity to rule over his domain. Man is not an animal being driven by instinct, but is higher than the animals. Certainly he is not a robot. Those free-willers who accuse the Calvinists and the Reformed of denying freewill should take note of what we are saying here. Man was created by God as a rational creature capable of making free choices. He, like God, is a person. He, like God, is capable of ruling, reigning and having dominion. 

Listen to our confession in Chapter 9, which is has the title “Free Will”, paragraph 1: “God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty [freedom] and power of acting upon choice, that it is neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil.” 

Where does our confession begin except by asserting that man, as a person, has free will. He makes real choices. He, therefore, is capable of exercising dominion. Of course we are talking about man prior to the fall here, as he came from the hand of God. But even after the fall I would still say that man has freewill. He still possess that “natural liberty [freedom] and power of acting upon choice”. He, as an image bearer of God, still has the capacity of having dominion, of ruling and reigning. The trouble is that, with the heart, mind and willing having been darkened by sin, he does naturally choose that which is evil. Having lost true knowledge, righteousness and holiness, man does not rule and reign, not to the glory of God, but to the glory of self. He labors, not for the kingdom of God, but for the kingdom of this world. He has, not God as Father and Lord, but Satan, to quote the words of our Savior.

God, in the beginning, created man in the image of God with the capability of functioning as a king upon the earth. 

But in the moment we emphasize man as person created by God to freely rule, we must also remember that man is a creature. Man is not God. Man was not given authority over all things in heaven and on earth. Man’s authority, therefore, has never been supreme. But man was to from the beginning rule and reign upon the earth, fill and subdue, as an under lord to the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

Man’s subordination to God is made clear throughout Genesis 1. One only has to remember that God is Creator and man is creation. But man’s subordination to God is also made clear in this text, for it is here that we read of God’s continual provision for man, and man’s continual dependence upon God. Verse 29: “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food’” (Genesis 1:29, ESV). Man was to rule as king, but living in constant dependence upon the King who is far greater than him. Man was not created autonomous. He was not created to live independent of God. God gave him life in the beginning, and God would also sustain the life of his vassal king. It was as true in the garden as it is today. It is in God that we “‘live and move and have our being’…For we are indeed his offspring” (Acts 17:28, ESV). Therefore Adam and Eve were to pray to God in the garden of Eden, saying, “give us this day our daily bread”, just as we pray this prayer living now east of Eden. Gordon Wenham notes in his commentary on Genesis that this stands in stark contrast to the Mesopotamian view in which man was created to provide for for the god’s. No, according to God’s word it is not God who stands in need of provision, but man. God created man. And God also sustains man day by day.

It is true that God created man a responsible person capable of ruling and reigning by free choise. But it is also true that God is supreme over man. He is sovereign. His will will be done. Man is not purely autonomous, therefore, but lives continuously under the sovereign will and plan of the Almighty. Here is where the Arminian stumbles and falls. When emphasizing the freedom of man he goes too far and makes man absolute, supreme and autonomous, while at the same time denying the absolute, supreme and autonomous nature of God. 

Man was created in the image and likeness of God so that they might exercise true dominion upon the earth under God’s authority and to his glory. God’s kingdom was to be advanced on earth. The worship of God was to be promoted. The service of God was to be maintained. Were they kings? Yes! But they were created to function as kings living for the glory of the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

Adam and Even and their offspring were given dominion.  They were to fill the earth (expand God’s kingdom) and subdue it. But how were they to exercise dominion? How were they to go about the process of subduing? They were to do so, not harshly, but tenderly, carefully, and faithfully. The nature of man’s dominion – He would be Lord of all must be servant of all. It was as true in the garden and before the fall as it is today. What did our Lord say concerning the exercise of authority? “Whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all. For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43–45, ASV 1901). Adam and Eve were to have dominion over the world, but never were they to exploit it or abuse it. 

Application

Look how far we have fallen/come short of the glory of God.
When we come to the account of the fall in Genesis 3 we will see that it was, at it’s core, a failure to subdue and exercise dominion.
We do not live in Eden. Instead we see sin and rebellion manifest in every realm.
Man is harsh, irresponsible and misguided in his:
Relation to God.
Relationships with others. Parents, spouses, pastors, bosses, etc.
Relationship to the earth.

This is renewed in Christ.
A Christian should:
Have s proper appreciation for and use of the created world.
Seek to promote God’s moral law within society.
Pursue godly marriages, godly offspring.
Promote the proper worship of God.

The Great Commission
This cultural mandate that was give to Adam and Even in the garden cannot be accomplished by the simple expansion of culture now that human culture is fallen.
Culture, and the men and women who fill it, must first be renewed and redeemed.
This is accomplished through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Spirit.
This is accomplished through the planing of churches.
Filling and subduing the earth is now accomplished through the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
“My kingdom is not of this world”, Jesus said! 

Do you long for he new heavens and new earth when the earth will be filled with those who live in ongoing submission to the King of kings and Lord of lords?