Why do humans build statues?
From ancient cultures to modern art, we build statues of important people. Why do we do this? Regardless of all the reasons we could give, there’s a basic idea here. Statues are evidence that somebody at some time did something. Right?
Did you know God built statues, too? And He still builds them?
Today, we arrive at some of the most profound verses in the Bible: Genesis 1:26-27. In a masterpiece of brevity, Genesis 1:26-27 establishes our entire existence.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27, New International Version
The crown of God’s handiwork is humanity. The narrative marks the prominence of this creative act in several ways.
First, the creation account shows an ascending order of significance with human life as the final, thus pinnacle, creative act.
Second, of all the creative acts, this is the only one preceded by divine deliberation (“Let us make” in verse 26).
Third, this expression replaces the impersonal words spoken in the previous creation acts (e.g., “Let there be,” “Let the earth”). This was special. It was “Let us make…”.
Finally, human life alone is created in the “image of God” and has the special assignment to rule over the created order (verses 26–28).
What does it mean to be made “in the image of God”?
In one sense, God’s image in Genesis defines how humans differ from animals. Scripture puts animals in a different life category, as plants and humans are all in a particular category. This distinction of being in the image of God applies to no other creature.
Let that sink in. We are not merely “higher animals.” Nor are the animals equal to us. We are unique. We are special. We are created in the image of God.
We have little indication that a single attribute of a person makes one in God’s image. The human species together is God’s image. The Hebrew word “image” here implies “copy.” In that sense, we are a copy of God.
This statement has at least two important implications:
- Humanity is not to create God in our own image. He is not a copy of us.
- We are to learn our true nature from God and not vice versa. After all, He was the model after which we were patterned. He is the original.
From the rest of Scripture and a study of human culture, we see that the human spirit includes the following characteristics, among others. These are part of the image of God in us:
- awareness of a moral code “written” or impressed within a conscience
- concerns about death and life after death
- propensity to worship and desire to communicate with a higher being
- consciousness of self
- drive to discover and capacity to recognize truth and absolutes
The uniqueness of humanity is unmatched in the rest of creation.
The Son of God did not come to Earth for ape-like descendants. He came to seek and save lost human beings that He made in His image. When He breathed life into the nostrils of Adam, he became a living soul with all of its implications.
That means you are made in the image of God.
You know what else? So is every single human being you see. The preborn, born, poor, rich, tall, short, fat, thin, pretty, ugly, nice, mean, big-hearted, stingy, Left, Right, Libertarian, Progressive, white, brown, black—we are all made in the image of God.
The next person you see—no matter who it is—tell yourself, “They are made in the image of God, just like me.” Do it! Say it to yourself. I promise you will treat them very differently.
The culmination of our Lord’s creation: humanity, the living statues to the greatness of our God’s creativity.
Life Meets Theology 