Wednesday 4th January
Read Genesis 1:26-28
“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” (NIVUK)
We will slow down and savour the richness of these verses for a few days. One of the first questions that arises when we meditate on these verses is who is the ‘us’ and ‘our’ God is speaking of? Unsurprisingly the number of books written on these few verses in the history of humanity is extensive and many of them relate to the ‘us’. Some believe the ‘us’ refers to a heavenly council that includes angelic beings and that humanity arises in consultation with this council. So, in a sense we are in the image of angels. After all Job refers to a heavenly council.
But in the context of creation it is unlikely that any consultation took place with other beings at all. After all, in that magisterial account of creation in Isaiah 40 we read:
“Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counsellor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:13-14) (NIVUK)
No consultation with others there! The likeliest explanation is that we are dealing with the royal ‘we’, quite appropriate to designate the King of creation. Many theologians though detect the presence of the Trinity in these words – it is a divine council of Father, Son and Spirit.
However, it is fascinating to read the conclusion of John Chrysostom when considering the deliberation in God’s spoken word:
“To begin, it is worthwhile to ask why God did not say, when the heavens were created, “Let us make the heavens” but instead, “Let there be a heaven…. Let there be light,” and similarly for each other aspect of creation. “Let us make” suggests deliberation, collaboration and conference with another person. So what is it whose pending creation is granted so great an honour? It is humanity, the greatest and most marvellous of living beings, and the creation most worthy of honour before God…. There is here this deliberation, collaboration and communion not because God needs advice—God forbid saying such a thing!—but so that the very impact of the language of our creation would show us honour.” (John Chrysostom, Sermons on Genesis, AD 407)
