Man Created in God’s Image
In the beginning, God created Man.
- God Made Man in His Own Image.
- God blessed him,
- God made them male and female
- God said to them,
- Be fruitful
- Replenish the earth
- Subdue every living thing that moves on earth.
- Have dominon over the fish of the sea
- Have dominion over the fowl of the air
The Bible says God created man in His image. In giving man an immortal soul, God gave man a personality. This personality includes self–consciousness, intellect, the ability to reason, free will, the power to make choices, and includes the distinct moral responsibilities (ownership) for those choices. At creation, Man is made in God’s image as the wholly generated man ready made for Divine fellowship with God.
God gave man a free will which is the ability of man to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded; to actively decide what to do instead of acting reactively, automatically, without constraint, fate, or to stimuli. Free will, is the power to choose among alternatives or to act in certain situations independently of natural, social, or divine constraints. This, therefore; gives man the ability to act at his/her own discretion and “own” the choices of their decisions and acts. As owners of our acts and choices — the desires accepted by our will — man is responsible for his own decisions, direction and fate.
The will of God, or Divine Will, or God’s plan is the concept of God having a plan for humanity. Ascribing a volition or plan to God generally implies a personal God. And therefore God is a person with a mind, emotions, intellect, will, etc… The sovereignty of God is the Christian teaching that God is the supreme authority and all things are under His control. God is claimed to be the sovereign Lord over all by an incontestable right as the owner and creator of heaven and earth.
God elected that man was to be honest, created in the image of God and then created Man in His image and declared His creation good. Man’s image was complete and the perfect vehicle for eternally communicating and fellowship with God.
In the New Testament we are introduced to the concept that the believer is predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ and adopted by God into His family. It is really exciting to note that at both Creation and Salvation, God instills His image into Man to achieve His prime directive of fellowship for all eternity. We also see God’s heavenly plan at work. Divine Fellowship Requires Man to be created in God’s image. Sin breaks the fellowship between God and Man. And Grace Restores the fellowship between God and Man.
Fellowship requires believers to be conformed into God’s image at salvation just as he was at creation.
