1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Look closely and you’ll notice the Bible refers to “God” and “the Spirit of God” without making the slightest distinction between the two. It uses the two terms interchangeably. Have you ever wondered why?
It’s because the two are one! This is the first allusion to the doctrine of the Trinity in Scripture.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
A little later in the creation story we find a second reference to the Trinity: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness’”. Now, to whom was God speaking? Whomever he meant, he (or they) clearly played a crucial part in the creation process: “Let us make mankind.” So who was this mysterious “us”? The only other beings then alive were animals and angels, and the Bible gives no indication that either group played any role in the creation process.
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Fortunately, in the very next verse God clarifies who he meant: “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. God did not create Adam and Eve in the image of animals or angels; he created them in his own image.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Therefore, the “us” in could only refer to God himself — that is, to God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. There is only one God, but he expresses himself through the three persons of the Trinity.
Within the eternal fellowship of the Trinity, the members of the Godhead have always enjoyed a deep, rich and unbroken relationship of love with one another. When God created us, he wanted us to share in some measure of that fellowship; that’s why he created us in his image. By creating us to reflect his own nature, he made it possible for us to develop a deep and intimate relationship with himself.
In this truth we come to the heart of who God made us to be. Our intimacy with God—his highest priority for our lives—determines the impact of our lives! So the closer we grow to him, the more positive and lasting impact we can have on this world.
