Word For The Day Genesis 1:26-28 (KJV)

26 And God said, "Le us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the seam and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle, and over all the earth; and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

COMMENTARY: 1:26-28 In contrast to animals in verses 20 and 24 where God said, "Let the waters bring forth" and "Let the earth bring forth," He now says, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. All others reproduce after "their kind," but man is the only one made in the image of God and reproducing in that image (5:3). The terms image and likeness are used synonymously, and refer primarily to man's spiritual resemblance (rationally and morally) to his Maker. God placed a great chasm between man and the beast, for only man has the capacity for eternal life, fellowship, moral discernment, self-consciousness, speech, and worship. Even after the Fall, man retains this image of God (cf. 9:6; James 3:9), though it has been marred. The plural pronouns us is most likely a majestic plural from the standpoint of Hebrew grammar and syntax. Man is used in a generic sense which is amplified by the phrase male and female, even though Eve's physical formation is not detailed until 2:18-24. These words are not the usual Hebrew words for "man" ('ish) and "woman" ('ishah). The words used here specifically distinguish the sexes-male and female. Sexes are only implied with regard to animals, but not here. The reason is that a completely unique relationship was to develop, namely, holy marriage (cf. 2:22-24). Dominion is not the content but the consequence of the divine image (cf. I Cor. 6:3; 15:27, 28; Heb. 2:7-10; James 3:7, 8). And God blessed them: To "bless" is not only to bestow a gift, but also to assign a function. Replenish is better translated "fill the earth," indicating the first time. It cannot be used in support of the refashioning of an already judged earth, for it always means to fill something the first time.

1:26 Man was created in both the image and likeness of God. An image is a representation or replica of one person or thing by another. Illustration: An image may be similar but not necessarily identical to its original. The term likeness is used as a gauge of comparison, or analogy. when man fell, he retained an impaired image of God (9:6). Regaining a likeness of God is one of the accomplishments of salvation. Our spiritual likeness is restored in justification. Our character likeness is being continuously developed in the process of sanctification. We will be like Christ physically when we are glorified. Application: God's purpose in our lives today is to conform us to the image of Christ (Roman 8:29). (First Reference, Ge. 1:26; Primary Reference, Gen. 1:27; cf. Heb. 4:12.)

1:27 Man was created by God on the sixth day of Creation and is the grand claim ax of all that God had accomplished in the Creation week of miracles. The final act of Creation was that God joined the material and immaterial parts of man. Man's body was shaped from the dust, but he became a living soul only after God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils (2:7). Application: Our formation by natural birth is no less noteworthy than Adam's formation from the dust. With David we need to say, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139:14). (First Reference, Gen. 1:27; Primary Reference, Gen. 1; cf. Gen. 2:7.)

1:28 The first dispensation, innocence, was governed by the Edenic covenant. Under this covenant, Adam had six obligations: (1) to replenish the earth with children (v.28; (2) to use nature for his physical needs including food and shelter (v.28); (3) to have dominion over animal life (v.28); (4) to eat fruit and vegetables (v. 29); (5) to labor for his sustenance (2:15); and (6) to obey God by abstaining from eating the forbidden fruit. Adam's failure under this covenant resulted in his expulsion from the garden and in the fall of the human race from a state of innocence into a condition characterized by sin (cf. 3:15).