BEING CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE
What we need to keep foremost in mind is that if God is holy, everything he does is holy. We would not want to say that some things he does are secular and some things are holy. It would be a great underestimation of God to suggest that some of his works are only for natural purposes having nothing to do with his spiritual purposes. And yet, when most people think about the first six days of creation, they think about the natural things (i.e. heaven, earth, day, night, sky, man, etc.). God did indeed create these natural objects that can be seen and touched, but he did not do that just for fun or to exercise his creative powers. He has definite spiritual purposes for everything he creates. Bring praise, honor and glory to himself. But, as marvelous as the natural world is,it does not compare with his creative work in the heart of man when he created man in his image:
Genesis 1:26-28: Then 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.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
Obviously God did not mean that man was made in the physical image of God because God is an invisible spirit and man has a physical body. Here is the symbolic meaning of what God meant when he said that man is created in his image:
God makes (actually remakes) man into his image (i.e. character) when he changes the heart of man. Whereas man’s heart is naturally evil and impure, it is good and pure after he transforms it.. This transformation is the miracle of creation/recreation.
Looking at God’s spiritual handiwork in creation, we assume that part of his character is the will and power to create things that can be seen and touched ( (i.e. heaven, earth, day, night, sky, man, etc.). But this is a wrong assumption because God, being spirit, prefers to emphasize his creative spiritual work. This is how he conforms people to his spiritual image.
Thus, man has a built-in character tendency to create natural things that will bring praise, honor and glory to himself when other people observe the things he has created. Religion is among the natural things that man has created.
Man has limits that God does not have on what he can create, but we only need to look at the history of man and the many religions he has created to see that he has fulfilled that part of God’s character quite well. And we don’t need to look far to find examples of people who create things, even good things, in order to earn praise, glory and income for themselves.
That ability to create, however, has some downsides as well as upsides. Just as God created natural things to reflect his glory to the world, men have a tendency to create natural things — including religion — for their own glory. God allows a certain amount of glory to accrue to men for their creations but he does put limits on the amount of glory they may receive — especially when they use his name and religion. Those limits apply when it comes to religious activities for which God says he will share his glory with no man. Thus, when men use their creative ability to gain glory for themselves through religious activities in which they promote themselves. That is when they come into conflict with God.
STUDY TIP: See Third Commandment for God’s warnings about using religion for personal glory.
Also see Public Religion and Making a Name for Yourself for more about the ways that religious people use religion to earn glory for themselves.