Advent Day 03: The Man and the Woman

Today, we light the Green Candle. The Green Candle represents life and all that Father God created in Christ, Good and Whole.

Genesis 1:26–31
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.”

1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 1:28 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.” …
… 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (ESV)

God creates all things on the earth “after their kind” in Genesis 1, with one exception. Humanity is created in “the image and likeness of God.” Humanity is different from all other forms of animal life. Humanity – united as male and female, united as a one race – was created to display the “image and likeness” of God the Creator in His creation. We were intended to be “living icons” of the Eternal God.

The word “image” here is used in other places to refer to idols in the Bible (Numbers 33:52, 2 Kings 11:18, 2 Chronicles 23:17). Idols are physical models given to represent invisible “gods.” As humans, we have been given a physical body to represent an invisible God in a physical creation. “Likeness” points to the reality that we are like God in our essence, our “inner selves” —we think, speak, feel, desire, etc.

The purpose for being created in God’s image and likeness is made clear in Genesis 1:26, 28—Humanity is to rule over the earth. We were created for the grand and glorious destiny of being God’s representatives on the Earth by functioning as His rulers, vice-regents, governors.

Then the Lord blesses the man and the woman that he had created. A Blessing is speaking a word that enables someone to fulfill their purpose. God blesses the first man and woman by giving them the ability to be fruitful and multiply and fill and rule the Earth. From these first two humans, every human being who has or will ever exist will come.

This blessing that God gives to the man and the woman will be the foundation of His work in humanity from this point forward. The promises of the Lord God and all His work to come will flow from this original blessing. This blessing will shape the plot of the rest of the story that is yet to be revealed.

Now, here is something to ponder. The Story of Advent is about the Son of God becoming human, taking human form. The Word, The Son will be born and His name will be Jesus – Yeshua in it’s original form. Have you ever thought that as the Lord God is designing the human body, He is making a form that will be adequate and appropriate for the Eternal Son to take on? The human form is what it is because The Son would need a body to live in and represent the reality of the essence of the One True God!

The first two humans – Adam and Eve – were designed with everything necessary to carry out their Divine Destiny. However, the real question is going to be, “How will they use their God-given authority and ability?” Will they function as God the Creator has intended? Will they listen to the Voice of the Lord-Creator, or will they choose to listen to some competing voice?

With authority comes responsibility.

How will Adam and Eve respond to the Word of the Lord?

*This year, we have a downloadable pdf with the complete readings. You can get it HERE.