2 - The Crown of Creation - Man
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2 - The crown of creation
Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, 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. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food.' And it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Daily Readings:
Second - Genesis 1:26-29;
Tuesday - Genesis 2:7;
Fourth - Genesis 2:18-20;
Fifth - Genesis 2:21-24;
Sixth - Colossians 3:16,17;
Saturday - Psalm 8:1-4;
Sunday - Psalm 8:5-9
I am God's creation!
After everything was created and organized, God announces the creation of man, called
"crown of creation." In Genesis 1 and 2, there are two narratives, one summarized and the other more comprehensive.
about how God made man and woman. It is our biblical text for this study: Genesis
1.26-32 and 2.4-25.
The greatness of creation and the insignificance of man
God made all things by His Word: "God said: Let there be light. And there was light" (Gen
In the following verses, the expression 'God said' appears seven more times, in each
a new part of creation is emerging. Each time what 'God said' appeared,
the assessment of the work done was 'God saw that it was good'. Everything that God does is good.
In the face of the vastness of the universe, which brings admiration and respect, stands out the
smallness of the human being. "What is man?" asks King David (Ps 8:4). While the
the universe follows its history, year after year, century after century, man has his days
counted, and their years are few. The contrast is very big. Have you seen photos of the earth
the views from satellites and spacecraft? Looking at the earth from outside makes us realize that life
it's very fragile. We live on a small planet that disappears in the vastness of the universe.
In the midst of so many celestial bodies, we are just a grain of sand.
The dignity of man
In the face of the contrast between the universe and man, we perceive the value that God, the
Creator, gave to man, creature. Man was created "in the image and likeness of God".
This is very significant. God planned to create man with responsibilities.
and special rights, different from other works of creation. God gave man various
characteristics of one's own personality. The formation of man as a special creature
It is something that should fill us with humility on one hand and with responsibility on the other.
Discipleship for candidates for baptism or acclamation Page 1 of 2
The crown of creation Pg.: 2
In God's plan, man was created to manage the earth and take care of it.
(We are using the word 'man' in the generic sense; our golden text, Genesis
1.27, mentions 'man and woman'. In the final part of our text, we understand that the
man and woman complete each other in marriage.
The Bible says that God made us as a visible representation of Himself. In the reading of
Bible, we can discover what this means. There are at least five aspects in which
we are similar to God:
Morally - We were made responsible for the actions we take. God gave us
the consciousness of right and wrong. When we do something wrong, our conscience soon
accuse.
Spiritually - We were made immortal souls and we can relate directly to
God speaks to our heart and to our
mind, and gives us guidance in the decisions we need to make. God hears our
prayers and meets us according to his will.
Intellectually - We were endowed with intelligence, which allows us to reason, think
logically, make decisions, discover how the things that God created work,
invent objects that make our work easier, create works of art, improve processes
of relationship and understand the mental mechanisms, although there is still much to be done
in this area.
Socially - We are capable of living in community, of meeting people and...
to relate to them, to always make new friends, to accept people as they are,
to live with people different from us, to love and be loved, to share with
our other longings, fears, and plans.
Physically - We are similar to God in several aspects. Although God does not have a
physical body like ours, for Jesus said that 'God is Spirit' (John 4:24), the senses that
what we have in our body is also attributed to God: he speaks (Ps 33:9), he hears (Ps 66:19)
he sees (Ex 3:7), he acts (Is 64:4). Our taste, touch, and smell help us appreciate the work
of God. Our bodies will be transformed, in eternity, to be in accordance with the
new situation, which will be different from the one we have here on earth (1 Co 15:53).
The formation of the home
The final part of our biblical text talks about the institution of marriage. God made Adam
discovering that I was alone, while the animals were forming pairs. In the face of this
out of necessity, God formed woman - Eve - and established the home.
Marriage is God's creation. It is not for us to alter or abolish something that God
did with such special purposes. Men try to modify God's work out of pride
Oh pride, but they can't do anything better. 'It is not good for man to be alone' -
God desires that there be homes according to His guidance. Our family relationship
it is very important and is part of the work of creation.
So God created man in his image; in the image of God he created him;
He created man and woman (Genesis 1:27)