And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (verse 26). Our verse begins with two wonderful words, “Let us.” This means that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, purposed together for the creation of man. He was to be created in the image of God, because he was to represent God on the earth as the head of all creation, of all the animals, the birds, the fishes, and the little insects. Then, too, Adam was to be morally after the likeness of God. Of course he did not yet have the knowledge of good and evil. He was innocent.
What a wonderful scene it was, with everything fresh from the hand of God and all very good.
Life Comes From God
Man’s life, or breath, came directly from God, for “God ... breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:77And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)). When cows, horses, and all other animals die, that is the end of them, and some people will tell you that when you die, that is the end of you, just the same as animals, but God says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). It is better to believe God than man, isn’t it? The Bible is God’s word and it tells us the truth. If you know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, there is no judgment for you, for the Lord Jesus bore your judgment on the cross, so that when you die you will be “absent from the body ... present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Your body will be put in the ground and go back to dust again, but your spirit will go to be with the Lord, and be happy there with Him until He comes and gives the shout in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Then your body will come up out of the ground and will be changed into a body just like Christ’s, and you will be with Him forever.
If the one who reads this is unsaved, then, when you die, your body will go into the ground too, but your spirit will go to the prison-house of the lost (1 Peter 3:19), to wait there in torment until the resurrection of the wicked dead, which will be about a thousand years after the first resurrection (Revelation 20:55But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:5)). The first resurrection takes place when the Lord Jesus comes for His own. Yes, your body will come up out of the ground, even if it has gone back to dust again, and you will stand before God to be cast into the lake of fire to suffer there forever (Revelation 20:1010And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)). God warns us of these things because He loves us. Don’t listen to those who tell you that there is no hell for God says there is. But God has provided a way of escape, and if you will come to the Lord Jesus just as you are, He will save you. Come now.
Further Meditation
1. Why was man created in the image of God?
2. Are there other creatures that the Bible tells us were created directly by the breath of God being breathed into them? What does this tell you about God’s relationship to mankind?
3. If you really want to dive deeper into the essential subject of life and death you might enjoy listening to the audio CD Preliminary Considerations on the Nature of Life and Death by D. Rule.