Bible Study Series “You Are Special” Genesis 1:26-27

YOU ARE SPECIAL

Genesis 1:26-28

There is so much violence in the world today. You can not turn on the news without headlines being murder, drive-by shootings, and wars. Those who commit crimes are getting younger and younger. I wonder if some of the crimes are because people don’t feel special. I wonder if we as parents have done enough to make our children know that they are special and need no validation from the world. The dictionary defines special as surpassing what is common or usual; distinct among others of a kind. Special in the world’s terms is only temporary. What is considered special today will be obsolete tomorrow. There is always something or someone that will be considered more special tomorrow. I want you to know that you are special because God made you that way. Nothing can change your status or importance before God. It is permanent. God defines special in terms of His Love, I am told that there are 613 commands in the Bible given to man.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

(Matthew 22:37-40)

You are special because you have been given God’s ability to Love

GOD DESIGNED YOU TO BE SPECIAL

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female, he created them.

(Genesis 1:26-27)

The Hebrew word for man is adam meaning of low-degree Man was made a little lower than angels. Man is lower than God and lower than angels (Psalm 8:5) but held in a high position. Ladies. According to verse 27, you made in Adam.. He did not separate from Adam until later.

YOU HAVE A SPECIAL BEGINNING

• He made you in the image and likeness of the Father
• He made you in the image and likeness of the Son
• He made you in the image and the likeness of the Holy Spirit

• You were made in His righteousness
• You were made in His power
• You were made in His knowledge
• You were made in His creativity
• You are the most unique of God’s creation.

The first order of God’s creation was the angels, His praise team (Job 38:4,7) Then He created the earth, the animals, and plants. Only man was created in His own image and likeness. He did not say, angels, His praise team was created in His own image and likeness. God did not say any animal was created in His own image and likeness. Everything except man was spoken into existence. This truth makes you special and unique.

CREATED TO BE SPECIAL

Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. It appears to me that the Holy Trinity took more time and thought in the design of man, that is you than the rest of creation. All of the angels, the universe, and the animals were spoken into existence. But you were designed out of what He made first. God took what He had made Holy and created you. The earth was Holy because it had not been corrupted by sin. I can imagine, God grabbed some dust from the earth and formed the first man, Adam.

The Hebrew word for dust is aphar which means powder, the smallest part of the earth. From verse 6 we find that while God had plated the trees and scrubs He had not caused them to grow because He had not caused it to rain. Instead, He watered them from a mist of the ground. The growth of everything awaited the formation of man. The rain awaited the formation of man. I wondered why God used dust rather than a clump of clay to form man. I supposed man was made from a humble beginning as opposed to the omnipotence and omnipresence of God. He i s distinct from man and all power, thoughtand creativity rest in Him. He molded a complete body first and breathed into its nose and it became a living soul. The first man could think, reason, and make the right decisions.

The first man was given authority over God’s creation. Once man was created from God’s holy dust, then the Garden of Eden flourished with plants and trees. You were made special for a special place and a special purpose by a special God. from Adam and Eve came generations of men, women, and children including you. Even though you were born in sin and shaped in inequity because of the sin of the first adam you still have a knowledge of God You are special because you have an internal knowledge of God.

” For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) Romans 2:14-16

I want you to know regardless of your past, regardless of who you are now, you are special to the almighty God. He made you that way

CHOSEN TO BE SPECIAL

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-11)

You need to understand how God looks at you. You don’t need to be validated by any human being. You are not Look, God said, I chose you. You didn’t choose God. Ephesians 1:4 says before the foundation of the world you were chosen. How can someone who doesn’t know you choose you? They don’t know whose they are choosing. God says I consider you a royal priest among royal priests. God sees you as what He has made you to be, not what you are now. God has already decided how you will end up. God declares that you are part of a Holy Nation. You are god’s people. You have a new nationality. One that is not of this world. You have a new position, to praise god. You have uncommon knowledge, the wisdom of God God has forgiven all your sins past present and future Notice, you have been elevated above the rest of the world. How can they judge what God has made special? God has Validated your worth. A Worth that no human being can give you.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

Our objective is to be holy. Our objective is not to be like the world. We don’t fit into the world’s standards. Were designed by God’s standards