Created in the Image of God
Genesis 1:26-31
Feb 23, 2025
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig
I. Introduction
A. Genesis chapter 1 is a true record of events at the beginning of time
1. It is a record of what God created, how long it took Him to create it all, and WHY He created everything
2. It is scientifically true - Even though it is hard to fully understand
3. It contradicts most everything evolutionists BELIEVE, but not what science has discovered
4. As a matter of fact, being a Bible believer makes a better scientist out of you, not dumber
5. The very existance of this universe is impossible without a Creator!
B. Genesis is deep in meaning – it is the foundation for the entire Bible
1. It answers, Where sin came from?
2. How sin has affected and ruined all of life
3. How much trouble we are with God
4. How God made a way to be restored / saved from righteous judgments
5. What the pattern is for everything that is important:
a. Like, the value of human life, above all other life
b. The definition of a family, and marriage
c. The limit of genders: only Male and Female
d. The need for governments and authorities and how they should operate
e. And 300 more absolute truths
II. Review So Far (Genesis 1:1-25)
A. Day One – The Creation of an empty Universe, an empty Earth, and Light (1:1-5)
B. Day Two - The Firmament of air and space around the earth (1:6-8)
C. Day Three – Dry Land, and Land-based Life (1:9-13)
D. Day Four – The Sun, Moon and Stars (1:14-19)
E. Five – All Sea and Air Life (1:20-23) – birds came before dinosaurs
F. Six – All Land-Based Creatures (1:23-25) – including dinosaurs
G. But God has one more thing to make before He is finished…
III. Message
A. It is Still Day Six
1. Throughout the night, animals, cattle, dinosaurs, insects have been created
2. But now, early in the morning, God speaks again
3. It will be the last thing God creates – and according to God, it is the most valuable
4. And says something He has not said before
a. Genesis 1:26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
b. Let Us make MAN – not just a single man, but manKIND!
c. With OUR likeness
d. Having OUR image
e. And having Dominion over the entire earth
B. So, WHO is God Talking to? (Genesis 1:26)
1. Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: …
2. Let's just consider for a moment God is talking to
a. Some people think it's just a “royal we” – like kinds and queens talk… “we are not amused”
b. Some people think that God is speaking to something they call a divine council of ‘gods’, Elohim’s (Psalm 82) – a strange concept that God would need a council
c. Some people think that God is speaking to the angels
d. Some new agers think that God is talking to the earth and the sky and the water
e. And then there are those of us who believe that God is speaking to Himself - to what the Bible calls the Godhead - the Trinity
3. One God, Three Persons
a. God is ONE God
1) Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, ‘I’ AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
2) Psalms 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he [ALONE] is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
3) Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
b. And yet Jesus is God
1) Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he [God the Father] saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
c. God alone is the only Saviour
1) Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
d. And yet Jesus is the only Saviour
1) Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
e. God created the entire universe
1) Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
f. And yet Jesus created everything there is
1) Colossians 1:15,16 [Jesus] Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
g. And the Spirit of God was at work in the beginning as well
1) Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
h. That makes THREE Persons in One God – freaks out many people!
4. So, The Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God!
5. The Trinity – Tri-Unity of God – the Godhead
a. 1John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
b. Let’s define and describe what the Tri-Unity of God is
1) I have three PARTS (body, soul, spirit), but I am just one Person
2) God is THREE infinite Persons, existing as one Almighty God
3) Not three individual Persons existing together as three different Gods – impossible. There is only one God
4) Not three different personalities of one God - schizophrenic
5) Matthew 28:19 says all three Persons have names and exist as one all powerful Being with three persons in Himself
6. God is so far outside of our understanding in size, and complexity that this is as far as we can go with our understanding
7. So let’s move on to the next part
C. The Image of God (Genesis 1:26,27)
1. Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…
2. Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
3. God created a living human body from the earth – described more in chapter 2
a. Out of dust/earth/dirt. He designed and created every muscle, blood vessel, nerve, bone, joint, finger, toes, eye, thread of hair, ear, and brain
b. Gave us our human nature – self-serving, self-preserving, self reproducing
c. But that was what other animals had as well
4. Made in His image, His likeness (Genesis 1:26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…
D. What does that mean?
1. Mankind is no accident – no evolutionary tale
a. Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
b. No slow, 3.2 million year crawl up the evolutionary tree from “Lucy” to Larry!
c. We are not LIKE apes, monkeys, orangatangs, chimpanzees
2. God made all humans like Himself:
a. Up until now, God has just created every living thing like the world they live in
b. But now, at the last, God makes something like Himself
c. Man
d. God made man different that all other creatures
1) Yes we have eyes – so do squids
2) We have ears – so do rabbits
3) We have feet and hands – so do monkeys
4) God made us HUMAN, not advanced monkeys
e. We have been given characteristics that makes us so much more than an animal or a plant, or fish
f. But WE were made to be LIKE GOD! God is a MUCH better pattern to follow!
3. We are like God in the following ways:
a. We REASON,
theorize, wonder, ponder, question things, test, rehearse…
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD…
b. We have a CONSCIENCE – an internal morality that is universal. We are not just impulsive, but hesitate and are repulsed at injustices
c. We SPEAK, and use complex languages
d. We WRITE what we have learned using complex symbols
e. We TEACH - pass on what we have learned
f. We CREATE things, develop complex tools and technologies
g. We have DOMINION (as we shall see) – we want to control things, and change and modify vast areas of our environment for OUR benefit
h. We are SPIRITUAL – all humans are spiritual, driven to worship
i. And one final characteristic different than animals… WE WILL LIVE FOREVER. We all know there is something beyond THIS life, and are afraid of it!
4. All of this is the image of God in us all – in our SOUL!
5. All of those things were given to us so that we would reflect the glory of God like a clear mirror does a bright light!
a. We humans (all of us) were made to reflect what GOD is like!
b. When people see us, they should NOT see ‘little gods’, or selfish humans
c. They should see GODLINESS – God-likeness
d. Example: A child often has the likeness of his or her parents – maybe of the father, or the mother. Growing up, someone may say, “I see your father in you” Cool!
e. Not in our skin colour, or height, or beauty
f. But in our WORDS, our WILL (the choices we make), our WORK, and our WALK (normal, everyday life)!
g. We were made to glorify, honour, reflect the awesomeness of GOD ALMIGHTY!
6. And, We were created as Males and Females
a. Genesis 1:27,28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…
b. THAT is a good thing – not confusing, but marvellous!
c. We are what we are (either a man or a woman) BY DESIGN
d. Men and women both are made in the image of God, not the man only
e. Made for each other – anything else (homosexuality, pedophilia) is an abuse, and an abomination, and will be judged by God!
f. And we have God’s image from conception! Not from baptism, or religious experience, or education. We ALL reflect the image of God in us
7. Not a fairy tale – Jesus stated it as FACT (Mark 10:6) But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
E. Have Dominion (Genesis 1:28)
1. Genesis 1:28 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 over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
2. To have dominion means, Conquer, Fill the Earth
a. God designed men and women to marry, have loads of children – don’t stay alone
b. As we shall see, God made men and women to get married and have loads of kids
c. Build Farms and houses
d. Take control of the land – make something from it for PEOPLE!
e. Take control of rivers – redirect them to irrigate farms, make electricity from
f. Take control of wind, and the sunlight to grind grains, and power engines
g. Go fishing
h. Tame wild animals
i. Make a life – make money, save money, spend money
j. Money is not our problem – only when we love it instead of God
k. That is HIS design
l. Fill the earth with your kind – with mankind – with PEOPLE!
m. This is part of having dominion – nothing should stop you from having children and raising them for God, and from climbing unexplored mountains, and searching the deepest seas
n. Expand. Buy more land. Travel, explore, build, and subdue the whole earth
3. That is our God-given design! Don’t let your phone, or your culture, or your past rob you of what God designed you to do and be! Don’t let modern wokism hold you back
F. Enjoy The Earth (Genesis 1:29,30)
1. Genesis 1:29,30 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
2. The Earth is for you, not you for the earth!
3. YOU are in charge – not mother nature!
a. Enjoy every mountain and every valley
b. Enjoy every fruit, every nut, every seed, every herb, every root, and every vegetable
4. Every animal and man and creeping thing were VEGETARIANS at first
5. But that will all change with sin ruining everything in chapter 6
G. Everything God Made Was Good! (Genesis 1:31)
1. According to the Bible…
2. God has now finished all the creating He wanted to do
a. It took Him just Six days
b. Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
3. Everything was good
a. Imagine… God finishes making Adam and Eve, and then steps back and takes in a long look at everything He has made, and says, Mmmmm, mmmmmm. That’s GOOD!
b. Yes, sin has ruined much of life – brought death
c. But it is still beautiful, amazing, marvellous, complex, intriguing, always changing, always surprising
d. Do NOT look at this world and think it is all dark, and ruined and no good at all
e. That is not true
1) Dirt is amazing
2) One drop of sea water is amazing – filled with life
3) A pinch of sand is amazing – filled with geometric structures and designs
4) A patch of the starry sky is glorious
5) Every snowflake is different and awesome to look at
6) Marriage is amazing
7) And every living human being is of infinite value – worth giving your life to tell them the Gospel
8) And because of salvation, every heartache, and sorrow is going to work out for good to those who love God
H. The Image Has Been Ruined (Romans 6:23)
1. The image of God (God’s likeness) in all of us is now marred / broken / ruined because of sin
a. It is how we are all born – sinful
1) Jeremiah 18:1-4 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
2) Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
b. We were all created to be like God, but we by nature do not act like God, talk like God, love like God, give like God, or think like God
c. We are more like animals – fighting over scraps, eating and devouring one another over politics and heresies, lusting and coveting for things we know are wrong
d. People often are just like the devil, instead of like God
e. If we ARE only animals, it really wouldn’t matter HOW we lived, how we treated each other, whether we believed in God or not
f. But if we are actually souls, made in the image of God, and we sin against God, we are in serious trouble!
2. The image can be / must be restored
a. Jesus is the express image of God – the clear, perfect image of God – what God is!
1) 2Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2) Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
3) Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his [GOD’S] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
b. When Jesus took on the form of a man in Philippians 2:5-7…
1) Philippians 2:5-7 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
2) He perfectly reflected the glory of God, every second of every day of His life
3) He showed us what God is like
4) Revealed the glory of God from within Himself (John 1:14)
5) And then, He took our place as our perfect substitute, as the Son of God, for the sons of Adam
c. That is why JESUS is the only answer to our ruin – by faith
d. A born again believer is being refashioned into the image of God’s Son now
1) Romans 8:29 For whom [US] he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2) 2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
3) And believe me, Jesus is going to FINISH the good work He began at our salvation (Philippians 1:6) Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
4) Making it so that One day we will be like Jesus!
a) I already have a new spirit, and new heart
b) We will all have NEW BODIES like Jesus has!
c) 1Corinthians 15:49 And as we have [PHYSICALLY] borne the image of the earthy, we shall also [ONE DAY] bear the [PHYSICAL] image of the heavenly.
3. Sinful, wicked, marred men and women are still more valuable than the entire world
a. Matthew 16:26 For what is a man [AN UNSAVED MAN] profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
b. So, be careful how you see other people and talk about them – James chapter 3 says we must stay respectful of all men!
c. Why? Because even pagan head-hunters, adulterers, murderers, bankers, lawyers… though sinful, they are all SOULS that have the similitude of God in them, and are in need of a Saviour (just like you and I were)!
d. James 3:8-10 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
IV.Conclusion
A. You are fearfully, and wonderfully made by God – not perfect, but priceless
B. You were planned by God, purposed, and paid for by God Himself
C. Questions
1. Do you reflect the glory of God in your words, your will, your work, and your walk?
2. I should! And so should all of you!
3. If I don’t, and I don’t even care to, then I am in trouble with God and need to be converted – a proof I am NOT changed in my heart
4. If I DO care about glorifying God, Do I constantly soil the work of the Spirit that sanctifies me? With social media, pornography, a constant bad spirit in me?
5. Most Christians soil, and deface, and defile the image of God in them
6. And they need to be cleansed, washed
7. What is the one thing that allows the changing of us into more Christ-likeness?
a. Humility! Period!
b. Not faith. Not beliefs. Not hard work. But surrender to Jesus Christ!
c. Sorrow for your own sinfulness
d. A broken heart (repentance) mends a broken soul!