Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)
For man to be made in the image of God, it also meant that man was to have free will. God is God and He can handle knowing good and evil and choose good. But man, an image of God, cannot know good and evil and choose good, but man needed to have free will to choose – hence the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
And the Lord God formed man of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7 (NKJV)
Genesis 2:7 speaks of intimacy. God breathed His breath into man and man became a living being, made in the image of God. Man looked like God, but was not God, but god, an image of his creator, to rule and reign over the Garden.
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”? 35If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
John 10:34-38 (NKJV)
The word “gods” in John 10:34 = θεοί (theoi) Strongs number in Greek: 2316; God, a god.
God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. 2How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. 5They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. 6I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. 7But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes." 8Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.Psalm 82 (NKJV)
The word “gods” in Psalm 82:1 and 6= אֱלֹהִ֣ים (e·lo·him) Strongs number Hebrew: 430: God, a god.
Man was made in God’s image, we were like God, but an image.
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may feely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was found a helper comparable to him.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
Genesis 2:15-22 (NKJV)
God put man in the garden to rule and reign over the garden, to be in-charge over everything in the garden. Man was in perfect relationship with God until satan came and deceived Eve and stole humanity from God.
God’s heart broke that day. That perfect fellowship and unity with His creation was fractured.
We saw Him with our very own eyes. We gazed upon Him and heard Him speak. Our hands actually touched Him, the One who was from the beginning, the Living Expression of God.
This Life-Giver was made visible and we have seen Him. We testify to this truth: the eternal Life-Giver lived face-to-face with the Father and has now dawned upon us. 3So we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard about this Life-Giver so that we may share and enjoy this life together. For truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus, the Anointed One.
1 John 1:1-3 (The Passion Translation)
Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross was not just for our salvation and healing, but it was also to heal His Father’s broken heart making way for us to be back in fellowship with the Father.
If you want to know what the Father’s broken heart looked like when His creation was stolen from Him, all we need to do is look at His Son hanging on the cross. Jesus, the Living Expression of the Father, and at His death, the Father expressed Himself through His Son.
What a very sad day when the Son was separated from Father God. He was three days in hell, totally separated from the Father. That bond of love separated between the Father and the Son was beyond what we could ever imagine. The curtain in the temple that tore from top to bottom is an expression of the Father tearing His garment from the neck down, revealing His heart.
The Holy of Holies, also known as the “heart” of the temple, and that veil that tore also tore in the temple was a representation of the veil between man and his Creator being torn at His Son’s death.
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:19-22 (NKJV)
At Christ’s death, his side was pierced with a spear
31Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
John 19:31-37 (NKJV)
Adam (first Adam) was put into a deep sleep and Eve (his bride) was brought out from his side.
When a child is born into the world, blood and water is released. After Christ (second Adam) had died (deep sleep), His side was pierced and immediately blood and water came out; the birth of His Bride.
39All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. 40There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45And so it is written, “the first man Adam became a living being.” the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from Heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the Heavenly Man, so also are those who are Heavenly. 49And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly Man.
1 Corinthians 15:39-49 (NKJV)
An old Jewish custom for marriage, there was a purchase price for the bride paid by the father of the groom to the father of the bride. Father God paid the price by giving His Son as a gift to purchase the Bride. At this point the price was paid, and a detailed agreement reached between the families of the bride and groom.
The newly married man usually did not found a home for himself, but occupied a nook in his father’s house. Jesus said;
1Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
John 14:1-4 (NKJV)
At the betrothal the woman was legally married, although she will remain in her father’s house. On the wedding day, the betrothed woman would be accompanied by a colourful procession and brought from her father’s house to the house of her groom and the legal tie with him was consummated, where he “takes possession of her.”
At the event of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah in Genesis 22, Abraham was giving up his son out of obedience.
23But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour.
John 12:23-26 (NKJV)
Abraham gave up his promised son (seed) and became the father of our faith and we become his promised inheritance – father of faith, father of many nations. Father God gave up His only Begotten Son and becomes our Father and we become His inheritance
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed, You have guided then in Your strength to Your holy habitation. 14"The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia 15Then the Chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. 16Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over whom You have purchased. 17You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. 18The Lord shall reign forever and ever."Exodus 15:11-18 (NKJV)
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jeus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the Heavenly places, 21far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Ephesians 1:15-21 (NKJV)
In bringing this altogether, we see that the first Adam was given dominion over everything in the garden. In Genesis 2:18 God said that it was not good that he was alone and that he needed a comparable helper. The two, man and woman, to have dominion over everything in the garden together.
Jesus, the Name above every name, who is seated in the Heavenly places, far above all principality, power, might and dominion, He is the King of kings and Lord of all lords. Jesus, the second Adam has dominion over everything and it pleased Father to give Him a comparable helper and at Jesus’ death (deep sleep) and out of His side that was pierced, His bride was brought forth and she will rule and reign with Him.
Prayer
Father, You are so beautiful. You breathed Your breath into humanity. Every breath I breathe is from You, and when I breathe my last breath, You receive Your breath back to Yourself and my soul and spirit turn to You. I am received back to You. You created everything so beautiful. And You created man in Your image, having free will so that we may experience the depths of Your love and out of our own choice, to love You in return. You are so full of love that You give, and You chose to have Your Son rule over all creation, and You desired to give Him a bride to rule and reign with Him. A bride who will love Him out of her free will. Everything You do is because of love and at the same time, the fire of Your passionate love is jealous and anything that comes to steal those whom You love from You, causes Your heart to burn with wrath. We are made out of Your love and Your passionate love led Your Son to the cross to bring us back to You. Your son's heart broke and Your heart broke when those You created in Your image were stolen from You. Your Son who chose the way of the cross, the ultimate price, not just so that our sins are washed away, but for You to have Your family back and it made the way for Your Son to have a Bride. Just like Adam was put into a deep sleep and Eve came from his side, so is was with Your Son. The moment Your son's side was pierced the bride was brought forth into being and we are one in the Spirit. My Bridegroom, I want to grow in passionate love for You. Father living fully in You, and that You will live fully in me so that I will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that Father sent You and will see that Father loves each of us with the same passionate love that He has for You, and that I will experience the same endless love that Father has for You, For His love will live in me as You live in me! (John 17)