Introduction

Created to be Creative

In Genesis 1:27 Moses recorded "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." What is this image? Is it our spirit, our ability to reason, our emotions, our soul, or maybe all of these? If man was created in God's image, what characteristics of God do we know? If we only look at the passages that preceded this statement what do we discover?

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. ⁶ And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." ⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. ⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. ¹⁴ And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. ²⁰ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. ²⁴ And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 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.

²⁸God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." ²⁹Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so. ³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day. - Genesis 1:1-31

"The Creation" by Michelangelo

In the very first sentence of the Bible we are introduced to God as the Creator of all. Have you ever wondered by the Bible starts with that verse instead of "God is love" or "God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son"?

To look at only this passage we see over and over again that God is the Creator (yellow was added to draw attention to His creative nature). In this passage we also see God's aesthetic nature (highlighted in orange). Mankind was differentiated from the other creatures by being made in the likeness of God. If God has a creative nature then He must have given us one too.

But what about a beaver's dam, a bee's hive, a bird's nest, or an ant's tunnels. Are these not signs of creativity? No, they are not, they are works of instinct. These creatures are programmed to develop their structures as given to them by the Creator. Mankind is different. God has given us the ability to think for ourselves and make our own decisions.

Look at the creative character of God in Isaiah. God even compares Himself to an artist in verse nine.

⁷ I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. ⁸ "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it. ⁹ "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, `What are you making?' Does your work say, `He has no hands'? ¹⁰ Woe to him who says to his father, `What have you begotten?' or to his mother, `What have you brought to birth?' ¹¹ "This is what the LORD says-- the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? ¹² It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. - Isaiah 45:7-12

God has given mankind the desire to be creative, whether it is creating art, composing music, building structures, or raising children. This desire to create brings us closer to the Creator and gives us a sense of eternity.

Identify from the creation story, what it means when it says "God created man in his own image."

Dig Deeper

Passages about the Creator

Why did both OT and NT writers refer to God as the Creator instead of some other title?

Passages about the Maker

In these passages the writer used Maker instead of Creator. Why? What is the difference?

Passages about the Potter

Does potter have any significance with the creation of man? From what was man formed?

Quotes about Creativity

Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. ~André Gide

God and other artists are always a little obscure. ~Oscar Wilde

The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do? ~Pablo Picasso

It is for every normal human being to be an artist. It is his divine heritage, every child is an artist. Human society kills it in us before we reach maturity. ~Dudley Crafts Watson, 1918

The artist does not see things as they are, but as he is. ~Alfred Tonnelle

Art is the struggle to understand. ~Terri Guillemets

A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. ~Michelangelo

Art is Man's nature. Nature is god's art. ~James Bailey