Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Genesis 5:3 ¶ When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 5:3 ¶ When Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. |
Bible Question:
We know that God created Adam and Eve. Genesis makes this clear. As Christians, we believe that all human life is sacred. However, is there any Biblical substantiation that the rest of humanity (other than Adam and Eve) are created by God? Adam was created in God's image. What this means is muchly debated and I would prefer not to try to resolve that particular question in this thread. But the referenced verse makes it clear that Seth was born, not created, in Adam's image. By this point in time Adam had, as the father of the human race, sinned and was spiritually dead to God. This attribute Paul explains in the NT as being 'born dead in trespasses and sins' and this 'flaw' was passed down to all of us. So, was Seth in the image of God the same way that his father was when Adam was created? Or was he a product of his mother and father's union without God's creative intervention? Did God actually finish His creative work on the first sabbath or is He still creating humans? The reason that I ask this is because it is frequently quoted that 'all men are created in the image of God.' Does scripture actually support this view? Adam and Eve were, but does that mean that all the rest of humanity is still, even in our fallen state, 'in the image' of God? Please note, I believe that all life originated with God, but is our view of the sanctity of human life based on a correct scriptural premise? As always, please use scripture to support your answer. |
Bible Answer: Man, the Image of God Dear Bill, Man is the image of God. ¶. Gen. 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen. 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ¶. God created MAN in his image. Adam was the NAME of the first man, but Man the creature was created in the image of God. This was what he was created to be. This was his “kind.” As each creature was “made after its kind,” the kind of creature man was, was a creature made in the image of God, unique among all of God’s creatures, in a class by himself. God did not say, “Let us make Adam in our image...” It is on the basis of what man is that he is given dominion over the earth. Man is not an animal, and in our culture it is also necessary to maintain that man is not a machine either. ¶You might ask yourself some questions: If man is not the image of God, what is he? What makes man unique if it is not his being the image of God? On what basis is he to be treated differently from any other creature? ¶. Read the creation account and notice that each living creature falls into a certain class or group, “the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen. 1:26 But man is not placed in any of these categories. His is in a class by himself, the image of God. ¶. Other passages to consider: “Gen. 9:6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”” It is on the basis of what man is -- the image of God -- that he cannot be treated like an animal ¶. 1 Cor. 11:7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. In more poetic language David affirms that man is the image of God which is the basis for his dominion over the earth: Ps. 8:3 ¶ When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; Ps. 8:4 What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Ps. 8:5 Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than God, And dost crown him with glory and majesty! Ps. 8:6 Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, Ps. 8:7 All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, Ps. 8:8 The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. ¶. You see how this psalm reflects Gen. 1. Peace, Lionstrong |