In the previous study, we learnt about the creating God in the opening verses of Genesis 1. Picking up from the six day account of creation, these verses focus specifically on one aspect of God's creation -- Man.
What is a mandate? The dictionary defines mandate as "an official order or commission to do something" (if it is a noun) or to "give (someone) authority to act in a certain way" (if it is a verb). Let us learn from Gen 1, what is the official order and command given to one special part of God's creation.
(A) To Man is given the mandate of the imago Dei (Gen 1:26-27)
In Gen 1:26, we read of how God refers to Himself as a plurality (“our image”). This is truly baffling and rather strange, but in this simple description of Himself, we are once again reminded in these verses in Genesis 1 that we really do not understand the biblical concept of God. The Bible’s God exists in more than 1 person. He is a “us”, a triune God, who exists in love. This is a God concerned with His glory in three persons, a God who in Him is love. This is what Christians call the "Trinity".
What does it mean then that Man was made in the image of this Triune God? This means that Man was made in the shape of a community, capable of receiving and giving love and essentially relational in nature. In Jn 17:23-24, Jesus links the unity of Christians to this Trinitarian unity that He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Right here too, we see that out of all creation, only Man was made in the image of God. The preceding verses laid out a pattern, where the rest of created order followed some sort of grouping and categories (“own kind”). Man, made in the image of God, is of a different kind from the rest of creation. Two implications follow. Firstly, since we’re made in the image of God, it is thus only in knowing God will we ever know ourselves, and our perfect destiny. Secondly, it speaks of the value of man. Under a Christian worldview, to be human is different from all other created things, and this challenges certain ideas common in science and society etc.
What other instruction flows from this distinctive in Gen 1:26b? Man, being made in the image of God, was given dominion over creation. With our likeness and status comes a certain set of duties and responsibility. This system and state of rule parallels the system established in previous verses between the sun and the moon. Once again, we see how this creator God establishes a certain set of rules and pattern. His creation does not decide on what it is and isn’t, but merely follows what He has given. This is a helpful principle in guiding and explaining what man’s dominion looks like. The dominion of man is not meant to be overbearing and absolute. God ultimately guides our rules duties and responsibilities.
Gen 1:27 switches into a song or a poem. This is different from the preceding verses which merely provided information and facts. A more poetic form conveys praise and emotion. This verse is a celebration and representation of God's love for man. After everything else that He has created, Man features as the height of His creation, and we can see the joy of God in His people. This is a God that delights in His creation, especially man!
As a side (but important note), Gen 1:27 also helps us see what the Bible highlights about gender differences and their importance to God's original creation design. God made both male and female, and gender was given at creation, part of what it means to be made in the image of God. BOTH male and female to represent the full divinity of God. This does not mean that God is male and female, but that there is something unique about femininity and masculinity that is god-like. Gen 1:27 helps us see that all Man (of both genders) are equal, but not identical.
(B) To Man is given the mandate to culture (Gen 1:28-30)
God blessed the first man and woman (Gen 1:28). The blessing carries with it a stamp of approval, affection and provision. From this, we see that God is not a strict or impassive being. He is the God of blessing, who delights in what He has made. This is different from other cultures and philosophies. For example, in Greek philosophy, there is the idea that all things physical are bad, and creation is evil. Christianity, however, believes that God created the world originally, and it was good. What does this mean for us? 1 Chron 29:14-16 reminds us that this influences our prayers. All things come from God, and truly, we are to praise God from whom all blessings flow. Practically, what does this mean for our lives? This is why Christians say grace before meals! This is what we proclaim when we sing the doxology in church every week! These actions remind us to always be thankful to this gracious God that has blessed and provided so richly. This heart of thankfulness also frees us from the trappings of greed and lust. We are reminded that nothing we have is truly ours, but are all grace gifts from a good and kind father (c.f. Matt 6:30-32).
God also gives specific instructions in Gen 1:28-30. Man was commanded to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the world with the image of God. Even in Genesis, we see the call to discipleship – to fill the earth with people who know, serve and love God. There was an additional charge to “have dominion” and “subdue”, which in essence means to culture, to tame. This was not given to other created beings, and only given to Man. Unlike God, who created ex nihilo (from nothing to something), Man cannot create, but was merely given the responsibility to look after God’s creation. Man is merely a steward of God’s creation and while there is a sense of responsibility, ownership ultimately rests in God.
Culturing also carries with it the idea of bringing something to order and shape. Culturing is thus the basis of all work, even today! Farmers culture the land, cooks culture the raw resources of food, doctors or healthcare professionals culture the health of a human body, writers culture human thoughts and experiences, teachers culture children, bankers culture the transaction flows of resources etc. This is our original mandate – to rule over the created world and to bring it to order.
(C) To Man is given the mandate to rest (Gen 1:31-2:3)
In Gen 1:31, God ultimately declares that everything He had made was "very good". He blessed and praised the creation that He had made. The work was complete, with man as the jewel in His crown. Here, we see a God who worked. One simple lesson and truth for us is that work itself is not evil, but was godly and part of His intended purpose. God also worked out of love. Creation arose purely out of His love, not as a result of some power struggle as some philosophies postulate. In places like Psalm 8, we continue to read of God’s love, and the completion of His joy when man was made. He says with man at the center as its chief, it is very good. When we read all these, do we actually believe that that’s how God sees us right now, that He loves us just for us, because we’re made in His image?
According to Gen 2:1-3, why does God rest? God rests because His work is done. From Gen 1:1-3, we see that God completed His work, set it apart, then rested. What does this mean for us when we are commanded to rest? True rest is not only to stop our labors, but also to understand how God has completed our labors, and find a complete and total peace and rest in it. The call to remember the Sabbath in Exo 20:8 was a call to remember how God created all things, including us. It continually reminds us of our limitations as created beings. It also serves to refocus our eyes on the creator and not the creation, freeing us from a world that does not make sense on its own.
How is this passage applicable for us today? Many of us are hardworking individuals in a competitive society. Yes, we are given the mandate to culture, because we are made in the image of the Triune God, but let us not forget that we are also called to cease from our labour and our toil. Sometimes, we continue to working relentlessly and without a rest, not because we want to be good stewards of what God has given, but really because we are trying to impress others or even God. Sometimes, we turn to work to satisfy and we are afraid to stop working because then, we feel as if we are nobody. Gen 1 reminds us that our identity is not in our work. We work because we have been made in the image of God. Beyond that, there is a rest God does for us in salvation (Heb 4:9). There is only one that can bring chaos to order. Jesus did it all in His life and death on the cross. Let us rest in the finished work of Christ. Let us remember that we really have nothing to prove, nothing to hide, and nothing to lose.
“After creating the world, God looked around and saw that “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). God did not just cease from his labor; he stopped and enjoyed what he had made. What does this mean for us? We need to stop to enjoy God, to enjoy his creation, to enjoy the fruits of our labor. The whole point of Sabbath is joy in what God has done.”
(Wisdom and Sabbath Rest, Timothy Keller)