Wednesday, December 24, 2014

God made man in his own image

As we learn by our understanding of the Creed, God shares his Wisdom with us through the Holy Spirit.  This is the feeling that burns inside of us, and what allows us to accept God.  The Holy Spirit is the sense of Glory, Faith and Hope inside us. It's the feeling of love, joy, and happiness.

On the sixth day (which means era in ancient Hebrew) God created man in his own image.

Genesis 1:26 says:
Then God said, ‘Let us make people who are images of us. Let them be similar to us. Let them rule over the fish of the sea. Let them rule over the birds of the air. Let them rule over the animals. Let them rule over the whole earth. Let them rule over every crawling animal that crawls on the earth.’
Genesis 1:27 says:
So God created people who were images of himself. He created them as images of God. He created man and woman.
Genesis 1: 28 says:
God promised good things to them. He said, ‘Have large families. Increase so that you fill the earth. Rule over the earth. Rule over the fish in the sea. Rule over the birds that fly in the air. Rule over every living animal that moves on the earth.’
Allow me to break this down:

1.  "Then God said, 'Let us make people who are images of us. Let them be similar to us.'"

By "us" God is probably referring to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

2.  "So God created people who were images of himself. He created them as images of God. He created man and woman."

By "images of us" he does not mean that we look just like God, because that would be impossible.  We are not like God, as we are made of flesh and have brains like animals.  But we are made in His image in that He gave us the Spirit.  It is this Spirit that is like God.

Again, it is through the Spirit that we can know and accept God.  It is also through the spirit that we are superior to animals, because, while they have a body and a brain, they do not have the spirit; they are not made in the image of God.  

3.  "Let them rule over the whole earth. Let them rule over every crawling animal that crawls on the earth."

This was the job he gave to humans.  He gave them the responsibility of taking care of the earth and all the animals and plants on the earth.  He told them that they must look after them and take care of them.  That is part of our duty to God. 

Because we have the Spirit, we have the ability to think and to ration, unlike animals. It is for this reason that he put us in charge of the animals and the planet. 

He also gave us natural rights, or liberties handed down from him.  He could have made a perfect world, but he made a flawed world. In this way, it was the job of humans to try to perfect the world.  This would give those who chose wisely a sense of satisfaction.  

Then it was only through death that perfection, a true euphoria, would be  found in Heaven.  Yet only those who chose to listen to the Spirit and accept God and His Word would be able to find eternal life in Heaven.  

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