When the Lord God created Adam, He gave him seven gifts that fulfilled his singleness and made him a complete individual. The first was His image. 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.” Today we hear a lot about "self-image" and how people have trouble feeling good about themselves. Adam's self-image was the image of the Lord God. In this context, the word "image" refers to the spirit nature and moral character. By design, Adam was endowed with the God-like characteristics so that in his spiritual and moral nature he would be the "spitting image" of his Creator.
God's second gift was function. Being made after God's likeness was to function like the Lord God. How does the Lord God function? He speaks and whatever He speaks comes to pass. Within his own earthly realm, Adam had the same capacity. His voice carried power and authority. That which he spoke into his own life or domain came to be into existence. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.
The third gift is presence. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. "Eden" is a strange word, meaning variously "spot" "moment" "presence" or "open door to heaven". Adam's presence in the Garden of Eden meant that he was continually in the presence of the Lord God.
The Lord God's fourth gift was work. Adam was placed in the Garden to cultivate it. Work involves becoming (a process).
Adam's fifth gift was cultivation. To dress a garden means to cultivate it. Part of his responsibilities in the garden was to improve his environment and to do it in such a way as to benefit every creature in it.
Adam's sixth gift was protection. As steward and lord of his earthly domain, Adam was also its guardian. The Lord God endowed him with the capacity to protect and defend those under his care, as well as to protect and defend the presence of God for their benefit.
And finally the seventh gift, He gave him His Word. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but 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.” Adam knew who he was, and how he was supposed to function; where he was, what he was supposed to do, how to improve his environment and how to protect his environment. On top of all of that, he knew the direct Word of God. by any measure, this is the definition of a whole, fulfilled, well-balanced and well-adjusted individual.
Genesis 1:26 Genesis 2:19-20 Genesis 2:15
~~W.R. Luchie
God's second gift was function. Being made after God's likeness was to function like the Lord God. How does the Lord God function? He speaks and whatever He speaks comes to pass. Within his own earthly realm, Adam had the same capacity. His voice carried power and authority. That which he spoke into his own life or domain came to be into existence. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.
The third gift is presence. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. "Eden" is a strange word, meaning variously "spot" "moment" "presence" or "open door to heaven". Adam's presence in the Garden of Eden meant that he was continually in the presence of the Lord God.
The Lord God's fourth gift was work. Adam was placed in the Garden to cultivate it. Work involves becoming (a process).
Adam's fifth gift was cultivation. To dress a garden means to cultivate it. Part of his responsibilities in the garden was to improve his environment and to do it in such a way as to benefit every creature in it.
Adam's sixth gift was protection. As steward and lord of his earthly domain, Adam was also its guardian. The Lord God endowed him with the capacity to protect and defend those under his care, as well as to protect and defend the presence of God for their benefit.
And finally the seventh gift, He gave him His Word. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but 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.” Adam knew who he was, and how he was supposed to function; where he was, what he was supposed to do, how to improve his environment and how to protect his environment. On top of all of that, he knew the direct Word of God. by any measure, this is the definition of a whole, fulfilled, well-balanced and well-adjusted individual.
Genesis 1:26 Genesis 2:19-20 Genesis 2:15
~~W.R. Luchie
