Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Compassion Ministries, Student Workbook, SW16

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D O I N G J U S T I C E A N D L O V I N G M E R C Y : C O M P A S S I O N M I N I S T R I E S

II. The Implications of the Imago Dei in Humankind: the Remarkable Workmanship of Human Beings

A. Human beings are created in the image of God .

Gen. 1. 26-28 - Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [28] And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

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1. Made in the very image of God (all other beings made by God but not in his own image)

2. Granted dominion over all creation

3. Exalted status and position given to humankind as they were created male and female

4. Given the mandate to be fruitful and multiply

5. Implication: Every human being, despite their social status or condition, is created in the image of God, a reflection of the divine mind and person, an instance of God’s own magnificent imagination and creative power .