The second part of a four part series by Father Gerard Beigel, S.T.D.
Genesis 1 — “In the Divine Image He Created Them”
The creation of man and woman is described in the first chapter of the Bible. God’s creation of man and woman is presented as a unique moment in God’s creative work. First of all, using figurative language, Genesis 1:26 presents God as pausing and deliberating before He creates man and woman. “Let us make man in our image, after out likeness.” These words indicate that, in distinction to all the other creatures, man and woman will have a unique and privileged relationship to God. Secondly, this special relationship of man to God is described with the words “image and likeness.” All of God’s vision for man, all of His plan for man, is conveyed by the notion that man is to be in the image of God. In other words, the fact that man is the image of God is not an afterthought, not something added to man’s identity. Rather, the very essence of man and woman is that they are created in the image of God. This truth ought to be the bedrock of how human beings think about themselves.
The New Testament opens another deep perspective upon the creation of man and woman in the image of God. There is a beautiful hymn about Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15–20, which begins by proclaiming that Christ is “the image of the invisible God.” The hymn then declares that “all things in heaven and on earth were created in him”—that is, in Christ. Thus, not only are man and woman created in the image of God; they are also created “in Christ.” We must keep both of these facts in mind in order to understand fully what it means to be created in the image of God. What we see immediately is that the “image of God” is not an abstract idea. Rather, in creating us in His image, God was actually creating us in His Son and for His Son. Every man, woman and child who has ever lived has been created for Jesus Christ. The image of God that is within every human being is a divine gift to enable them to be joined to the Son of God. The divine image is a grace that moves people towards a total loving conformation to Jesus the Lord. When God created man and woman in His image, His deepest desire was that all people would become “like” God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. The fact that we are created in the image of God is an unmistakable manifestation of God’s desire to share with us His own inner life, where the Father and Son are united in an unbreakable bond of love and truth. This deeper insight about the meaning of the divine image, which we grasp in light of Jesus’ coming in the New Testament, ought to shape the way in which we read the teaching in Genesis 1 concerning the creation of man in the image of God.
Immediately after the words about God creating man “in the divine image,” Genesis 1:26–2:3 gives a detailed description of several ways in which man and woman possess the image of God. There are four prominent marks of the divine image in man: the communion between man and woman, the dominion man has over the created world, the power of fertility given to the man and woman, and finally, man’s resting in the Sabbath day that is blessed and hallowed by God. Let us consider in turn each of these aspects of the divine image in man.
The first mark of the divine image in man is that man and woman together, in and through their communion, reflect the inner life of God. “God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him, male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Pope John Paul II, in his teaching on The Theology of the Body explains the mystical meaning of these words. “Man became the ‘image and likeness’ of God not only through his own humanity, but also through the communion of persons, [which is]an image of an inscrutable divine communion of Persons.” In other words, the communion of man and woman in love is an image of the divine communion among the Three Persons of the Trinity. Think of how God would be glorified throughout the earth if all married couples were aware of the great dignity of their love and lived this grace!
The second mark of the divine image in man is that he has been given dominion over the created world. Dominion signifies the authority to rule. In creating man in His image, God gave to man a share in His own authority, entrusting the rule of the earth to mankind:
— BEGIN OF WORD PRO FRAME — — END OF WORD PRO FRAME — “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground… God blessed them, saying…’have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.'” (Gen 1:26.28)
Humanity’s dominion over the earth is not an absolute power. We are not the absolute lords over the earth, but rather stewards of the earth on behalf of God. This means that our exercise of dominion and care over earthly things must respect the laws of God. We are called, not to dominate or misuse the created world, but to use it wisely in keeping with God’s goodness. Human history shows that the divine image present in us through the gift of dominion has been misused in countless ways, from pillaging the environment to any form of injustice towards other human beings. The solution to these abuses cannot be to deny the gift of dominion and to assert that man is just another animal with no special privileges. Rather, human beings must come to see, accept and live out the great responsibility they have been given by God.
The third mark of the divine image in man is the power of fertility that is given to the man and woman by God: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). The gift of fertility is not simply a biological function. Human fertility is a gift that enables us to share in God’s creative activity. Through fertility, human beings continue the creative work of God, bringing into the world children who are called to an eternal life with God. Through fertility, men and women truly become co-creators with God! This awesome power has also been misused tragically throughout human history. Through the misuse of sexuality outside the commitment of marriage and through willful efforts to block the human power of fertility, countless people have not lived in accord with the divine image that is reflected in the human power of fertility.
The fourth and final mark of the divine image in man is found in the description of the Sabbath rest in Genesis 2:1–3:
“Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.”
— BEGIN OF WORD PRO FRAME — — END OF WORD PRO FRAME — These words are nothing less than an invitation to man to enter into the Sabbath rest of God. In creating us, God has planted deep within us a desire to return to Him and rest in Him. The Sabbath day rest is an external reminder to us of this interior desire planted within our hearts. And this desire to rest in God, to abide in God, is truly the deepest manifestation of the divine image within man. This mark of the divine image within man is what makes man a religious being—it moves him to seek out and worship God who is both the unique source and goal of his whole being. The divine image in man impels him to return to his Creator in perfect love. As the Catechism states, “God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to love and serve God and to offer all creation back to him” (358).
Father Gerard Beigel teaches at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and writes regularly for The California Mission.