Genesis 1, verses 26 to 28, Let us make man in our image

 

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. 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 over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

In verse 26 it is said that man is made to look like God in His three parts of body, soul, and spirit. Man could have been made to fly or walk on all fours like a beast as God does have a prototype of a beast with a man’s face as you can see by looking at the verses I mentioned earlier in Ezekiel and Revelation with regard to the cherubim. The first man walked upright and looked like God in appearance, likeness, image, similitude.   So, the definition here and elsewhere of the three parts of God making men in His image will become an important point in the walk on earth of Jesus Christ, who is the body, the image, and the likeness of God.

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his 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;

Colossians 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

As God consists of three parts that can operate independently but with the same will; hence the use of our here, so man is composed of three parts.

Man;

1Thessalonians 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God;

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

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.

Mankind had dominion, stewardship, or management over all life on earth as given by authority of God. The first man was genetically perfect, no doubt. This is God’s initial bestowing of a title, an authority under Him, a kingship, if you will, over His living creation to mankind. As Genesis 37:8 and other verses show us, having dominion means to reign over.

The words man and him include male and female, or them, the specifics of which creation will be revealed in a few verses.

Here in 28 we have an issue with the word replenish which plays a certain role in the belief in a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. This English word is used seven times in some form in the Bible. The word it comes from in Hebrew is used 108 times for fill as in verse 22. Replenish meant in 1611 in English to fill again and to fill and to provide that which is lacking. Taking the strictly modern meaning of replenish as to fill again is typical of 19^th century interpretation where the Bible was taken literally, not in the context in which it was written, but in the context from which it is interpreted at the time, which leads to sore errors. You don’t need the Hebrew to see by comparing verses and God’s command that replenish in verse 28 is linked to fill in verse 22 as a synonym.