From the First to the Last — What Does It Mean to Bear the Image of God?
Genesis begins with God's creation, His Word, and the distinction between light and darkness. By the sixth day, we encounter something that deserves closer attention: the male and female created in God's image.
We have heard it said countless times that all humanity is created in God's image. But have we examined the wording for ourselves? And have we followed that language into the later Scriptures, where Paul distinguishes the earthly image from the heavenly?
The Foundation Matters
When building a house, the foundation determines what can stand upon it. If the foundation is wrong, everything built upon it may be affected. Our understanding of Scripture is no different.
What happens when we misunderstand one detail in the beginning? What if we overlook a change in wording, assume two people are the same, or place events in an order Scripture never established? That one assumption can influence the next passage we read, and the next, until an entire understanding rests upon something we never stopped to examine.
And when another Scripture challenges that understanding, do we reconsider the foundation—or attempt to make the new passage fit what we already believe?
This is why I return to the words themselves. What is explicitly written? What do I observe? How does Scripture compare with Scripture? And only then, what larger picture might be emerging?
That is the foundation of my study method. Not beginning with a conclusion and searching for Scriptures to support it, but allowing the Scriptures to examine the conclusion. If something doesn't fit, I must be willing to return to the beginning.
Discovering that a foundation is wrong is not a failure. Continuing to build upon it after recognizing the problem is where the danger lies.
And where better to examine our foundation than the first chapter of Genesis?
Let Us Make Man in Our Image
God says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." The account then describes the creation of man, using the singular him, followed by male and female and the plural them. Read Genesis 1:26–27.
Why does the text preserve both the singular and plural? Why specifically identify male and female? Before deciding that the passage must describe humanity in the broadest possible sense, should we not first examine the pair the account places before us?
The words him and them matter. So does the distinction between male and female. If Scripture makes a distinction, we should not erase it simply because a familiar explanation is easier to accept.
This study begins with the male and female as the particular pair presented in God's image, then follows their relationship through the later passages concerning the First and the Last.
The Blessing Comes After
God blesses the male and female and instructs them to be fruitful and multiply. He also gives them dominion over living creatures. Read Genesis 1:27–30.
Notice the order. The male and female are presented, the blessing follows, and then comes multiplication.
Why might that matter?
As we continue through Scripture, we encounter two becoming one, a household being established, children coming forth, and life multiplying. Ezekiel speaks of two being joined under one shepherd. Paul describes the joining of the two and the household that is subsequently built in one Spirit. Isaiah speaks of a barren woman whose children become numerous.
Could the original blessing be showing us a pattern that reaches beyond the opening chapter of Genesis?
The Two and the Many
When we read that the male and female are blessed to multiply, we should notice that the many follow the two. That distinction becomes especially interesting when we compare the Bridegroom and Bride with the children, virgins, remnant, and wider household described elsewhere.
The Bride is not made into the multitude merely because many follow. Nor does the existence of the many erase the relationship that comes first. We will return to these distinctions when examining Psalm 45, Ezekiel 37, and Ephesians 2.
For now, the question is simple: What if the order established in the beginning is essential to recognizing what is restored at the end?
Whose Image Does Seth Bear?
Genesis 5 returns to the creation account. Again, Scripture refers to God creating male and female, blessing them, and calling their name Adam. Then the account moves to the birth of Seth. Adam fathers a son in his own likeness, after his image. Read Genesis 5:1–3.
Did you notice the change?
The earlier passage speaks of God's likeness. Seth is described in Adam's likeness, after Adam's image.
Why? If we have been taught that everyone bears God's image in precisely the same way, should we not examine why this passage specifically describes Seth in Adam's image?
This is not an invitation to disregard human life or dignity. It is an invitation to examine what Scripture means by image and likeness. The distinction becomes even more interesting when Paul introduces the Last Adam.
The Earthly Image and the Heavenly Image
Paul calls the first Adam a living soul and the Last Adam a life-giving Spirit. He then distinguishes bearing the image of the earthly from bearing the image of the heavenly. Read 1 Corinthians 15:42–49.
One image is associated with what has been borne; the other with what shall be borne. Why describe a heavenly image that is yet to be borne?
Romans speaks of those foreknown by God being conformed to the image of His Son, who is the firstborn among many brethren. Read Romans 8:28–30.
Conformed. Firstborn. Many brethren.
These words invite us to examine transformation, not merely origin. Are we simply to assume that bearing Adam's earthly image and becoming conformed to Christ's heavenly image describe the same condition?
What does receiving God's Spirit have to do with that transformation? And if Christ is the Last Adam, what is being completed through him?
These questions deserve more than a familiar answer repeated without examination.
The Sixth Day — Provision Before Rest
After the blessing to multiply, God provides food for the living creatures. He sees everything He has made, and it is very good. Then the seventh day follows, when God rests from His work. Read Genesis 1:29–2:3.
Creation, blessing, provision, and rest.
Now consider another sixth day. In Exodus 16, the Israelites are instructed to gather twice as much manna on the sixth day. What they preserve for the Sabbath does not become foul or breed worms, unlike the manna kept contrary to God's earlier instruction. Read Exodus 16:19–30.
The provision for rest is given before the rest arrives.
Why a double portion? Why does obedience make the difference between what spoils and what remains good? And why does Jesus later identify himself as the bread of life? Read John 6:32–35.
Hebrews tells us that a Sabbath rest still remains for God's people. Read Hebrews 4:1–11.
Could these passages be showing related patterns of provision, preparation, and completion?
A Beginning That Points Toward Restoration
Isaiah describes the barren woman whose children become numerous. Ezekiel describes two joined together, one shepherd, a covenant of peace, and God's dwelling among His people. Revelation closes with living waters, the tree of life, and the healing of the nations. Read Isaiah 54:1–5, Ezekiel 37:15–28, and Revelation 22:1–5.
Consider what these passages share. The two become one, the household grows, life multiplies, provision flows outward, and God dwells among His people.
Have we been reading these accounts as unrelated events when Scripture may be allowing us to recognize a repeated pattern?
That is why the beginning matters. Not because we already understand everything written there, but because the words may become clearer as we encounter them again.
Will We Examine What We Have Been Taught?
This study is not asking anyone to accept a new interpretation merely because someone has presented it confidently. It is asking something more demanding.
Will we examine what is written, even when doing so challenges what we have believed for years? Will we compare Scripture with Scripture rather than allowing human explanations to determine what questions we are permitted to ask?
We cannot claim to love truth while refusing to examine it. And we should not confuse familiarity with understanding.
Paul distinguishes the earthly image from the heavenly. Genesis distinguishes God's likeness from the likeness in which Seth is born. Romans speaks of being conformed to the image of God's Son.
If these distinctions are present in Scripture, why should we be afraid to investigate them?
The purpose is not to condemn anyone who has been taught differently. Many of us have simply repeated what we were given without knowing there was more to examine. But once a question is placed before us, we have a choice: dismiss it because it is unfamiliar, or open the Scriptures and search.
Where the Word Leads
We began with the male and female in Genesis 1. But already the account has brought us to questions of image, likeness, multiplication, the Last Adam, heavenly transformation, provision, and rest.
The next study will examine Christ as the Last Adam and the Firstborn, with particular attention to His role as the life-giving Spirit.
For now, I leave one question:
If Scripture says we have borne the earthly image and shall bear the heavenly, have we truly understood what it means to be made in God's image?
That question is worth carrying forward.
Threads to Follow
- Image and likeness: Genesis 1:26–28; Genesis 5:1–3; 1 Corinthians 15:45–49.
- The Last Adam and the Firstborn: Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15–18; Hebrews 1:1–4.
- Two becoming one: Genesis 2:24; Ezekiel 37:15–28; Ephesians 2:14–22.
- The sixth day and provision: Exodus 16:19–30; John 6:32–35; Hebrews 4:1–11.
- Multiplication and restoration: Isaiah 54:1–5; Isaiah 66:7–9; Revelation 21–22.
The books were opened…
🌿 Studies by Maria Emilia ~ 🗺️ Continue exploring: Visit Bible Books to find studies organized by book of the Bible, along with related studies and links.
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