God Forms Man - Created to Very Good

---

     We begin at the end of the parable about creation when all of God’s council has been fulfilled and all of God’s pleasure has been done…

Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

     Looking at the population of the Earth today would you say everyone is “very good”?  Were Adam and Eve very good?  Was Cain or are any of us very good?  No, but when everyone that repents is cleansed by the blood of Jesus and transformed into God’s image we will be very good and then the 6th day will have come to an end and the 7th day of rest can begin. 

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

     We will be part of the host of heaven and not all of us are there yet, so the heavens and the earth are not finished yet.

Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 

     The Bible says God is not resting but is working on our behalf constantly.  

John 5:16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  

     All of God’s pleasure has not been done, every thing is not very good and God is still making children in His image - you and I are living in the 6th day of creation right now.

     It is widely believed that God created man on the 6th day but according to scripture this is not accurate. Let’s read about what the Word of God says about the beginning of the 6th day of creation…

Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

     After the beasts, cattle and creeping things are called forth God saw that “it was good”. After that regarding Man God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”. So God doesn’t see that man is good yet. God doesn’t say “let the earth bring forth man” God says “let us make man in our image”. The word make is to fashion something that already exists, like a potter takes useless clay and makes it into a useful vessel. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

   We will see in the spiritual study of Genesis Chapter 1 and  2 that Man existed before the 6th day but for this study we go back to the next verse in Genesis Chapter 1.  

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 

     Based on this verse some people say that everyone is born in God’s image but “them” is a reference to all of the people that have been, are being and will be made in God’s image, see Genesis 2:4. We are not born in God's image, God makes us into His image.  Scripture tells us we are sinners:

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- 

     God is Holy and Righteous. If we are unrighteous sinners how can we be born in God’s image?

     We are not, we have to choose to repent of our own worldly ways and choose to adopt God’s righteous ways. Once we repent, God gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us to renew our mind and restore our soul. Once our bodies and our minds act as one in truth and righteousness then we are born again in God’s image and he adopts us as his child. 

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

     Through Christ we receive the spirit of adoption…

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

     And we await the adoption and redemption of our body…

Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

     We were dead in trespasses and sins and needed to be reborn… 

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

     So we are reborn in God's image.  Back to the 6th day of creation where God blessed this new creation that were the image of God after his likeness…God’s children…

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 

     This blessing was not for the first Man, it is for when man has been made / transformed in God’s image and likeness. Man was given the task of tending to the Garden and was not given the fruit of every tree for “meat” – eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was specifically forbidden. Once man ate the forbidden fruit man was banned from eating from the tree of life. There is no command given to the Man regarding eating herbs, beast or fowl when they were first placed in the Garden. This is because the story of the Garden of Eden has a parabolic meaning and the Garden of Eden was a spiritual place where man's mind could connect to God and where God teaches us.  

After eating the forbidden fruit Man’s new task was tilling the ground where he came from (which is also the ground of his mind which God says in now cursed). We will explore this in detail in the spiritual study of Genesis Chapter 3 and  4.

     Lastly, part of the blessing is to replenish the earth and there wasn’t anything to replenish yet. However God's word tells us there is a new earth.  So this blessing was not given to Man when he was first created, it is given for Man once he has been made in the image of God. 

     God did give part of this blessing to Noah and his sons after the flood – part of it but not all of it…

Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moves upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.  5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. 8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

  Although most of this blessing, was given to Noah and his sons it included a very important restriction.  Notice that the commandment to Noah and his sons “flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” is missing from Genesis 1:29-31. This is because Genesis 1:29-31 was the blessing God gave to His sons who were made in His image – there are no restrictions.

The blessing for God’s children in Genesis at the end of Chapter 1 was fulfilled through Jesus Christ while it was still the 6th day. 2,000 years after God blessed Noah and his sons and commanded them “flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat”, Jesus comes and removes the restriction and tells us that He is the life and that we must eat His flesh and drink his blood. Salvation has come, we can go back to the Garden – we have eternal life through Jesus! 

Spiritually the flesh and blood of Jesus is the fruit of the tree of life and rivers of water in the Garden of Eden. The flesh and blood of Jesus (His substance) is the truth, God is our creator, there is no other. God is good and His ways are perfect and just, God is all powerful and all knowing. If you “know” the truth of who God is and choose to be one with Him by walking in God’s ways you will be reborn and have eternal life.

John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 

Ephesians 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that fills all in all.

INTERESTING TO NOTE:

This restriction of drinking blood was also given to the Israelites, although not at first. You will note that “thou shalt not drink the blood” was not one of the original 10 commandments. However, after Moses had received the stone tablets with the commandments from God and came down the mountain - only to catch the Israelites worshiping the golden calf they created – the tablets were broken. After that, there were a lot more commandments added, one of them being…

Leviticus 17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eats any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. 12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourns among you eat blood.

Deuteronomy 12:15 Notwithstanding thou may kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusts after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. 16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.

BACK TO OUR STUDY:  Man has been made in the Image of God and has been blessed.  Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work.

The last thing to note about God’s blessings in Genesis Chapter 1 and 2 is that there are only 3: 

First Blessing: 

Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 

Second Blessing:  

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The Third, Final and Ultimate Blessing:

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

God will create something and then will make or fashion that thing into the ultimate outcome He wants and when every thing is very good God is finished and rests. The parable of the 6 days of creation has ended. The next verse goes back and begins a new parable that provides additional information about the days of creation outlined in Genesis 1… 

Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens… 

To go to next study click here:  Genesis 1 and 2 Study