The pillars of the Christian faith build a solid foundation that cannot be shaken. The first pillar is God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The second pillar is scripture (God’s word), which is authoritative, inerrant and infallible. When we understand and believe these first two pillars, everything else will build off of them. The third pillar is man.
“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
CREATED BEINGS - Scripture tells us that man is a created being. If a person does not believe in the authority and inerrancy of scripture they are left to believe in science and evolution. The battle between creation and evolution has always existed. If man evolved from a single-celled amoeba, then we are able to call the shots; we can make up the rules as we go and ultimately decide what is right and wrong. If we are created, then we have an ultimate authority over us. This also means we were created with a purpose in mind. Throughout history man has been plagued by questions such as: What’s the meaning of life? Why am I here? How did we get here? Where do we go after this life is over? Apart from scripture anyone’s guess is as good as another’s. That’s why we cling to the pillars of our Christian faith. We’re not guessing. We go to scripture and we claim these pillars as our creed.
CREATED IN HIS IMAGE - The verse above tells us that we are created in God’s image. What does that mean? Does God look like us? When I look in the mirror, am I looking at God? Does this mean I am God? Of course not. That’s absurd. Yet many might believe that because of this verse. However, as we keep reading scripture, we are able to see how infinitely more superior God is from man. Created in His image means His likeness. He created us with the ability to reason and make decisions. Genesis 1:26, tells us we are made in His likeness SO THAT we can rule over (govern, manage, care for) His creation. There’s a reason for creating us with intelligence. Just as God is superior to us, we are superior to all other animals. And He has given us the authority and responsibility to care for His creation. Caring for His creation is one of our purposes.
CREATED FOR HIS GLORY – Isaiah 43:7 tells us that we are created for God’s glory. We are not just here for ourselves and for our own pleasures. We are here to honor, respect and obey our master and creator God. When we choose to do something that does not honor God we sin. At creation, man was created perfect and sinless but Satan, who was also present, tempted Eve to eat of the tree of which God told them not to. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and that brought sin into God’s perfect creation. No other animal had that capability. Only man has the freedom to make choices that will honor or reject God. We will be held accountable for all our decisions. Bringing glory to God is another one of our purposes.
CREATED FOR RELATIONSHIP – You can’t have a relationship with a hammer or a rock. An inanimate object cannot love. As loving as animals can seem, they do not have the intellectual capacity to love either. Only humans were created with the freedom to choose. All other creatures are created to do the will of God. They cannot reason like man can. A dog, bear or lion would maul an innocent little girl just as they would a thief. God created man for a relationship. Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in OUR image…” The Trinity was present during creation (we talked about that in our first pillar). The Trinity illustrates the essence of relationship. The three are inseparable. When God created man, He created us to be like Him (them), inseparable and relationable. Genesis 3:8 illustrates the relationship that God had with Adam and Eve. That is, until sin entered in and split that relationship. Remember what we went over the first day of this series? God is a holy God. Sin separates us from God. We were created to have a relationship with God, but our sins have cut us off from God (Isaiah 59:2). There’s the dilemma. God wants a relationship with us, but we are dead in our sins. So what does God do? He provides a way for our sins to be forgiven so our broken relationship with Him can be restored. Having a relationship with God is another one of our purposes.
There’s more to talk about, such as, created male and female and how God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The creation account of man goes deep. For space purposes I’ll stop here. But hopefully this has given you thoughts and questions to keep you pursuing the truths of scripture.
“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
CREATED BEINGS - Scripture tells us that man is a created being. If a person does not believe in the authority and inerrancy of scripture they are left to believe in science and evolution. The battle between creation and evolution has always existed. If man evolved from a single-celled amoeba, then we are able to call the shots; we can make up the rules as we go and ultimately decide what is right and wrong. If we are created, then we have an ultimate authority over us. This also means we were created with a purpose in mind. Throughout history man has been plagued by questions such as: What’s the meaning of life? Why am I here? How did we get here? Where do we go after this life is over? Apart from scripture anyone’s guess is as good as another’s. That’s why we cling to the pillars of our Christian faith. We’re not guessing. We go to scripture and we claim these pillars as our creed.
CREATED IN HIS IMAGE - The verse above tells us that we are created in God’s image. What does that mean? Does God look like us? When I look in the mirror, am I looking at God? Does this mean I am God? Of course not. That’s absurd. Yet many might believe that because of this verse. However, as we keep reading scripture, we are able to see how infinitely more superior God is from man. Created in His image means His likeness. He created us with the ability to reason and make decisions. Genesis 1:26, tells us we are made in His likeness SO THAT we can rule over (govern, manage, care for) His creation. There’s a reason for creating us with intelligence. Just as God is superior to us, we are superior to all other animals. And He has given us the authority and responsibility to care for His creation. Caring for His creation is one of our purposes.
CREATED FOR HIS GLORY – Isaiah 43:7 tells us that we are created for God’s glory. We are not just here for ourselves and for our own pleasures. We are here to honor, respect and obey our master and creator God. When we choose to do something that does not honor God we sin. At creation, man was created perfect and sinless but Satan, who was also present, tempted Eve to eat of the tree of which God told them not to. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and that brought sin into God’s perfect creation. No other animal had that capability. Only man has the freedom to make choices that will honor or reject God. We will be held accountable for all our decisions. Bringing glory to God is another one of our purposes.
CREATED FOR RELATIONSHIP – You can’t have a relationship with a hammer or a rock. An inanimate object cannot love. As loving as animals can seem, they do not have the intellectual capacity to love either. Only humans were created with the freedom to choose. All other creatures are created to do the will of God. They cannot reason like man can. A dog, bear or lion would maul an innocent little girl just as they would a thief. God created man for a relationship. Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in OUR image…” The Trinity was present during creation (we talked about that in our first pillar). The Trinity illustrates the essence of relationship. The three are inseparable. When God created man, He created us to be like Him (them), inseparable and relationable. Genesis 3:8 illustrates the relationship that God had with Adam and Eve. That is, until sin entered in and split that relationship. Remember what we went over the first day of this series? God is a holy God. Sin separates us from God. We were created to have a relationship with God, but our sins have cut us off from God (Isaiah 59:2). There’s the dilemma. God wants a relationship with us, but we are dead in our sins. So what does God do? He provides a way for our sins to be forgiven so our broken relationship with Him can be restored. Having a relationship with God is another one of our purposes.
There’s more to talk about, such as, created male and female and how God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The creation account of man goes deep. For space purposes I’ll stop here. But hopefully this has given you thoughts and questions to keep you pursuing the truths of scripture.
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