Humans are at the center of everything God created. Only God Himself is more important. That is why the creation of the first man and woman—Adam and Eve—deserved its own session.
As you prepare for this week’s session, there are two words that might be unclear or even confusing. The first is our in Genesis 1:26. “Let us make man in our image.” This can be confusing because the Bible is clear that there is only one God (see Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Timothy 2:5). Why then does God say our image and not my image?
“Our” vs “My”
Bible scholars have long debated what is meant by this word, but here are two of the most common explanations. The first is that this word is affirming the doctrine known as the Trinity—that God is one in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Our in this verse is drawing from that important aspect of who God is. This would make sense here because a common, but wrong, belief of why God created people was because He was lonely. But God as three Persons in one is never alone. He has always enjoyed a perfect relationship of love within who He is. It would make sense that God wants to make that clear here.
A second explanation for our is that it is the use of what is called the “plural of majesty.” In this case, God is establishing from very early on how glorious He is, even in how He refers to Himself.
The Meaning of “Image”
The second word that deserves a note is image. Once again, scholars have debated for ages about what this word means. But we can know what it does not mean: physical form. God is spirit (see John 4:24), so we are not made with a body like God’s body; He has no body. Instead, being made in God’s image includes attributes of people that separate us from the rest of creation (such as our ability to reason, our morality, our will, and our emotions) and our unique role in creation as ruling over it under God’s greater rule.
While we might not know what these two words mean exactly, we do know this for sure: our glorious God has made people to be special in all of His creation and designed us to be in relationship with Him.
Listen to the Weekly Leader Training for Preschool & Kids
Every week, members of The Gospel Project for Kids team offer guidance to help you as you prepare to teach every session to preschoolers and kids.
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