A. God created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. (Gen. 1:27; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24; Gen. 1:28)
Scripture Proofs
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:27)
Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Col. 3:10)
Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:24)
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." (Gen. 1:28)
I want to start by saying that, when I first read this question, I thought the answer would be something along the lines of "With dust." But then I realized that the question isn't asking what God did to create man. It's asking what God created man to be like. But that's still a bit of an inadequate explanation, because the idea isn't just what purpose or way God created man to be, as if he created man and said, "Now, attain to this;" it's how man actually was when God created him. When God created man, he "created man male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures." As with all of the questions we've covered so far, this answer is easily verifiable with Scripture. Like the last answer, I think the best way to go about this is to go one phrase at a time.
The first part says that "God created man male and female." Although several feminists would object, the answer is clear: humankind, both male and female, are, in fact, collectively referred to as "man." I'm not trying to make a massively significant point when I say that; I just think it's amusing, but I digress.
The big point here is that God created both man and woman. In the creation account, we can see that they were both created with specific purposes: man was to work, and woman was to help man. They have specific, differing, and complementary purposes. Now, along with this, they are both equals in terms of standing with God; that is - contrary to the popular mischaracterization of Christianity by the world - Biblically speaking, woman is not inferior to man. Paul says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). Paul is not saying that men and women are exactly the same; we've already seen that they are not, and the verse also compares Jews with Greeks and slaves with freemen, each very different classes of people when compared to the other. What he is saying is that, in God's eyes, men and women are equals. Men are not more saved than women, nor are women more saved than man. Both men and women are created in the image of God; neither bears more of God's image than the other. Husbands are called to lead and love and women are called to submit, but that does not imply inferiority or superiority; it shows difference.
So what does it mean that God created man in his image? Paul answers when he speaks of God's plan for his elect: "those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" (Rom. 8:29). In other words, God made man to be like him. When you think about it, you realize that Satan offered Adam something he already had; "you will be like God" (Gen. 3:5). This doesn't mean that Adam was perfect or omnipotent or eternal or anything like that, but he was, as the catechism states, knowledgeable, righteous, and holy. Man was made to be good and holy. Man was good and holy when he was initially created because he was made to be like God. Ultimately, that's what God plans for his elect; "we know that when [Jesus] appears we shall be like him" (1 John 3:2). I personally like the metaphor of the sun and the moon. The moon has no light in and of itself; it's just a floating hunk of space rock. But it reflects the light of the sun to the earth. That's what man was made to do: reflect the light of God on the earth.
The next phrase says that God created man "in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness." This refers specifically to man's knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, as the verses given demonstrate: "Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness . . . . which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). Interestingly, the passages these verses come from parallel each other; they both address this idea of the new self. The idea is that, presently, God is restoring redeemed man to the condition he was in before the fall, that state of knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Before the fall, man was already there. Man was knowledgeable, man was righteous, man was holy. The knowledge is of particular interest to me because we don't often think about it. Every genuine Christian will acknowledge that man is radically corrupted morally. But if every part of a man's being is corrupted by sin, and his mind is part of his being, then his mind is also corrupted by sin! It is occupied and infested with sinful thoughts! We can still think and reason, but we are imperfect and fallible in such ventures. That is why Paul, when speaking of our sanctification, tells us to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:2). I've heard it said that the two clearest thinkers in all of history were Adam (before he fell) and Jesus, because neither of them were corrupted by sin. Before the fall, when man was in the state God created him in, he could think clearly. He did righteously, and he could discern what was the will of God. When you think of that, however, you realize just how bad the fall was; Adam knew it was wrong and he did it anyway. He was knowledgeable and righteous and holy, but not enough to keep from sinning against God.
Lastly, God created man "with dominion over the creatures." That's an easy one; God rules the earth and has given it to us to rule over. His first command was for man to "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" (Gen. 1:28). Man has a duty to fill the earth, which involves being fruitful and multiplying. Man has a duty to rule the ground and make it flourish. Man also has the right to use the ground and the resources of the world to make progress, such as building houses and roads and things to make life easier. Man is called to care for animals, but animals are not to take priority over man; if one is driving on a road and sees a human baby and a baby koala ahead, and there is no way to avoid hitting one of them, say goodbye to the bear and rejoice that a human baby is still alive. Then try to find the baby's parents, of course, because clearly someone wasn't paying attention.
This is not all the catechism has to say about man's creation and purpose; there is a lot more to come.
To read the full catechism, click here.
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