Searching for grace

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.” Genesis 1:26

“God said”

So much of the first chapter of Genesis is focussed on God speaking; so far the phrase, ‘God said’ is mentioned eight times. This phrase is used each time to introduce God’s word; God’s living and active word. God’s word, as the Apostle John explains, is the person of Jesus Himself.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1-2

All things were made through Jesus and by Jesus. He created the heavens and the earth, the sun, moon and starts; He created the water and everything that lives in it, the sky and everything that flies across it, and the earth, including everything that lives and walks upon it. Everything that was made has been made through Jesus. Jesus is the creating force of the Almighty God, He was with God the Father in the beginning, and He Himself is God. That is truly incredible when you consider that He loved us enough to actually die for us! This all powerful, universe creating Son of God finds us significant; He found us significant enough to die for our sins, to die in our place, so that we could live in His place as God’s beloved children forever; I think that is just amazing!

Jesus is the Word of God, the living Word of God, and here, in the first chapter of Genesis, we can see Jesus bringing all things into creation through the command of His word, but then in verse 25 we see Jesus for the first time turning to God the Father and making a truly glorious suggestion, He said: “Let us make man in our image”

Here we have the very first recorded conversation between the Son and the Father, and to our joy and amazement we discover that they were talking about us! Of all the things Jesus could have talked with the Father about, he chose to talk about us. What a delight to witness Jesus interceding for us and asking the Father to give us the highest blessing in all of creation; that we might be made in His very own image.

How comforting to see Jesus interceding for us even before we were created! This scripture reveals the heart of Jesus and His eternal ministry of love towards us. The good news for our lives, that we rejoice in daily, is that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, and He is now at the right hand of the Father and lives to intercede for us. It is Jesus, and the power of His prayers, requests and intercessions on our behalf that causes the Father to forever pour out his love and grace upon us.

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:33-34

Once again we see a powerful gospel reality being proclaimed to us in the first chapter of Genesis. When we see in the Genesis account that Jesus was already interceding for us, even before we were created; how much more confidence can we have now that he actually died for us, was raised for our justification and lives to intercede for us! Jesus truly has saved us completely, His unfailing love is our eternal security, and, just as we see in Genesis, He has been interceding for us from the beginning.

What a wonderful, comforting truth; we can rest in His love knowing that He will continue to intercede for us throughout this life and for life everlasting!

Therefore Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25

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