Genesis 1:24 - 26
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living
creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of
the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25And God
made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according
to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, "Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
The sixth day of creation starts like the other days of
creation, with an evening and a morning, and the evening always coming first in
the order of Scripture.
However, on this day it seems to be divided into two parts… first
verses 24 and 25. And then verse 26 when He creates man.
The order in our scripture verses tell of the larger beasts
appearing first, which would be the "cattle," such as cows, goats,
sheep, camels, and such.
Then the smaller animals, which would include the insects
and reptiles.
With the category of "beasts of the earth" which would
include apes and monkeys.
It’s seems apparent that life appeared in creative leaps…
yet, within the rigid boundaries that Scripture designates as
"kinds."
Now although this is not a scientific term, it certainly
indicates boundaries beyond which variation was not permitted to spread, unlike
the claims of evolution.
The language also suggests that each creative leap that
occurs would indicate that the combined forces of light, darkness, the weather,
plant growth, and other natural forces had produced a climate which is designed
for animals with all of it aiming toward man.
For man is the climax of the creative week and now, on this
sixth day… everything is ready for him to make his appearance.
Which happens to also be in accordance with the fossil
record… man comes last in the order of
life appearing on the earth. As we read in Verse 26…
26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over
the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 NASB)
Notice, there is one thing that is immediately evident in
this brief account of the appearance of man upon the earth, and that is:
The origin of man is strikingly different from the origin of
animals. Animal life appeared much as plant life did, and as the fish and birds
appeared. It is all described in very much the same language and followed the
same manner of emergence.
But now it is quite different…
Notice, for instance, that
man appears only after God has held a divine consultation about him… God said,
"Let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness."
The question immediately arises, to whom is God speaking?
Who is the other party or parties to this conversation?
There are some who would suggest that He is talking to the
angels;
But this is impossible, in view of the very next verse which
says, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God ..."
(Genesis 1:27). He wouldn’t be talking to the angels when he says
"let Us make man in our image."
So, the only other possibility is that here is the first
major revelation in the Old Testament of the fact that God is not a single
unity but that there are other Persons within the Godhead.
The word for "God" that is used in this passage is
the Hebrew word Elohim.
You see, Hebrew has more than one way to say if something is
plural.
In Hebrew this word also has a dual form… and if that had
been used here it would indicate two persons.
However, this word is the plural that occurs meaning that
the Godhead can consist of not less than three persons.
And this is the plural word that is used throughout this
passage… and it’s remarkable that here on the very first page of the Bible we
have the Trinity… the Godhead.
"God said, 'Let Us make man in our
image,'" and "So God created man in His own image."
This play back and forth between the singular and the plural
is a strong confirmation of what the rest of the Bible tells us, that God
exists in a three-fold unity, three-in-one -- not three Gods… only One… yet
subsisting eternally in three remarkable Persons.
Now I realize that there are some Christians who feel that
perhaps God did make the body of man but through the process of evolution…
That his body evolved from the animals but his soul and
spirit are a unique creation of God.
But as Christians we are to believe the entire biblical
record… including, that mankind can only have come from Adam, not some hominid.
For Adam was created an immortal being. Now that does not
mean someone who cannot die, because Adam did die. ...
It means someone who need
not die.
The Bible clearly
teaches that mankind was created directly by the hand of God. And man is now
being redeemed by the grace of God…
To be redeemed means
that mankind has fallen from what he once was.
Romans 5:17 says:
If, because of one
man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who
receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life
through the one man Jesus Christ.
Redemption is a process of restoring man to what he once
was. We know from the Scriptures that when the redemptive act of God is
complete man will stand before God, body, soul, and spirit, all made in the
power of an endless life.
Thus, this record strongly suggests that the body of Adam
did not come from the animal world.
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