Category: Scripture Reflections

Meditations on specific passages, listening for the whisper of God’s voice in the text.

The Image of God: Genesis 1-11 Part V

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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. – Genesis 1:26-27

The Imago Dei or the image of God has been discussed at length for a long, long time. Throughout history, some have assumed that the image of God refers to intelligence and the ability to discern between moral choices. Others have thought it’s more about the soul or spirit of a human. I believe that the image is something functional (something we do) and ontological (something we have). Let’s explore.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Yahweh is that He wants to be known, and He wants to know His creation as well. This is somewhat bizarre because most gods in the ancient world weren’t really concerned with the affairs of humanity unless thought they could get something out of them. Yahweh, on the other hand, is entirely driven by love, order, shalom and holiness. So what does this mean for the Imago Dei?

In the ancient world, kings were known to be the earthly representatives of their god. In Egypt, for example, the pharaoh was thought to be the incarnation and representation of whatever major or popular god that was in at the time. Furthermore, these representative kings were to rule over their nation as though the god itself was ruling, thus displaying all of the god’s attributes and character. Other examples in the ancient world also show how the representatives of the gods also played a mediatory role; a sort of middle man between the god and the nation. In Genesis 1-2, there is a similar message. Humanity (both male and female) are created and endowed with something of the Creator God. They intrinsically possess the divine (ontology) as they were made to image or display their Creator to the rest of creation (function). According to the passage, humanity was to image Yahweh by “having 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) and to work and keep the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). What does this mean for us then?

In Genesis 3, classically entitled as the Fall, humanity meets a weird talking serpent (sin incarnate), they’re tempted, they take from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They are then exiled from the Garden because they failed in their vocation to be keepers of Eden and to rule over creation. Instead of ruling over the serpent (sin), they are ruled by it. Instead of protecting Eden (Yahweh’s dwelling space), they let chaos and sin come in and take over. So when someone does terrible at their job, they’re fired. So were Adam and Eve.

Genesis 1-3 is unique. There are several ways one could interpret and understand the story. One way I think we should understand Genesis 1-3 is that it’s the story of all of humanity. God has tasked all of us (Christian or not) with a divinely appointed job to lovingly rule over creation, to work it and to keep it so that God can live among us. From before even the very beginning, God’s intention for His creation and humanity especially was that He would dwell and live in loving harmony with them. This is where the Imago Dei kicks in. Every single one of us has been created to reflect and show God’s very being by doing the above tasks. Reflecting or imaging is inescapable for us, it’s a part of our nature. Now, however, we image and reflect the other gods (idols) we worship, namely death and chaos. Reflect on this quote by one of my favourite scholars G. K. Beale:

“People will always reflect something, whether it be God’s character or some feature of the world. If people are committed to God, they will become like him; if they are committed to something other than God, they will become like that thing, always spiritually inanimate and empty like the lifeless and vain aspect of creation to which they have committed themselves.”

Now consider this passage from Psalm 115:4-8:

Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes, but do not see.

They have ears, but do not hear;

noses, but do not smell.

They have hands, but do not feel;

feet, but do not walk;

and they do not make a sound in their throat.

Those who make them become like them;

so do all who trust in them.

If there’s one thing humanity loves more then themselves its flat out drama (chaos). We’re confusing little things. One the one hand we protest and petition for peace on earth, we desire to see the end of famine and disease, we boil and rage at corruption in government, and we weep and wail over death and genocide. Yet we send people into war (sometimes a necessary evil). We spend $50 on a shirt made in Taiwanese sweatshops. We hate sexual abuse and fight against rape culture, yet we watch porn and get excited over shows like Game of Thrones that perpetuate that culture. We “know” what’s wrong and what’s right, yet we’re in a constant struggle to live consistently. You could say that we “suppress the truth in our unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18). All the technology and scientific advancements in the world won’t give us what we need, a new heart, with new desires, and the ability to live consistently (Ezekiel 36:26). Once, that’s solved, then we can once again image and reflect God who is life and love rather than the gods of death and chaos. How do we obtain new hearts?

Great question. Ezekiel 36:26 (cf: Eze 11:19-20; 18:31; Ps 51:10; Jn 3:3; 2 Cor 3:3), is something God wants to do to everyone in Christ to restore the Imago Dei and have them return (to greater heights) to their intended role in the cosmos. Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead as a perfect human being, as our representative (Rom 5:12-14), so that by grace, through faith (Eph 2:8-9) we can be united to this new and perfect human (1 Cor 15:22) by the Holy Spirit (Jhn 3:5-6). When we’re united, we’re then washed clean and made pure (1 Cor 6:11) – we’re made genuinely human in the Messiah Jesus. Now we’re able to truly love, rule, reflect and keep as God created us to be.

Scribbling Scripture: Darkness, Water and Spirit in Genesis 1:1-3 Part I

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For me, the Bible is as deep as it is wide. It is a collection of sixty-six books that tells the story of all of humanity through characters, nations and a whole lot of poetry, prophecy and prose that meets its climax in the person of Jesus and the New Testament. The Scriptures are complex, sometimes confusing, but life-changing and immensely profound if you give it the time it deserves. The reason why the Bible can be hard to understand that it was written at the least two thousand years ago in a country and culture far removed from the West by at least forty different people who are poets, mystics, prophets, historians, fisherman, religious leaders and scribes. In the Western 21st Century world we have to work hard to understand the world, culture and context each work was written in so that we can appreciate and understand the meaning of the text.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. – Genesis 1:1-3

One of the more famous passages of Scripture, Genesis 1 has had its fair share of debate throughout the history of the Church. Let me assure you, the debate has been hot. However, I’m not going to get into the debate. I’m simply going to give my perspective on any text I end up doing and have you discuss it in the comments in whatever platform you desire. So I’ll be upfront, I believe Genesis 1-11 should be understood and read literarily and theologically not necessarily literally. This does not mean that the events in Genesis 1-11 didn’t happen, it just means that what we should be drawing from these chapters isn’t primarily literal historical accounts of times gone by, but rather a theological point that reveals something about God and the story of humanity. This means that chapters 1-11 and perhaps all of Scripture in a general sense is what is known as a theological narrative which means that something about God or humanity is revealed to the reader through story (as many of the best things are i.e. Lord of the Rings)

Genesis 1:1-2 sets the tone for the rest of the Biblical narrative. Five things are happening here that should immediately jump out to the reader:

  1. There exists a supernatural deity (the word for god in Hebrew is אֱלֹהִים ‘elohiym).
  2. This deity created the sky, moon and stars and the earth (שָׁמַיִם shamayim = sky).
  3. The earth began as a formless, chaotic wasteland shrouded in darkness (בֹּהוּ תֹּהוּ tohu vabohu literally means wild and waste).
  4. This deity had a spirit (רוּחַ ruwach = breath) that dwelt among the watery chaotic and darkened state of cosmic existence.
  5. God overcomes the chaotic darkened state of existence by speaking light into the world.

These themes are constant throughout the biblical narrative. They’re thrust from the Torah through the Prophets and the Psalms and into the New Testament. In many ways, we almost have the whole Biblical story here. This god (we’re yet to determine which god in the narrative) dwells among the chaotic state of our world and brings light into the midst of it. One could argue that the rest of the Bible is really just fleshing this out and telling the story of how this particular elohiym actually does this. To say the least, there’s more happening here than simply a raging debate over the age of the Earth and the literal nature of the text.

All that to say this, as we read through the story of Genesis let us remember that this god (later to be identified as Yahweh of course) sees a chaotic and dark world and is about bringing light into it. This is just the beginning, a foretaste of what is to come.