Adam’s belly button
One of the deep, imponderable mysteries of the universe is that of Adam’s navel. Since he was created by the hand of God, he was not formed in a womb, and therefore had no need for an umbilical cord to nourish him. So - did Adam have a belly button? It would have been pointless… but I believe that he had one.
Adam was made in the image of God, according to Genesis 1:26. So if God’s image includes a navel, then Adam would logically have had a navel, too. So the real question is this: Does God have a belly button? Again, yes.
Consider this passage from Colossians, chapter 1:
(13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (15) who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
Clearly, the passage in Colossians is speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, who was “made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Since Jesus was born of Mary, it stands to reason that Jesus had a navel. And since Jesus is the image of God, the image of God has a navel. Finally, since Adam was made in God’s image, Adam had a navel.
While the belly button defense is a little on the silly side, it does serve to illustrate a point: God knows what He is doing, right down to the level of navels and hair inventory and sparrow counting. Nothing is beneath His notice.
God created
The heavens and the Earth were created by God with a level of detail far finer than Adam’s navel. So when He created man in His own image, the end product is, as David said, “…fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14).
I have heard it said that God spoke the universe into existence, but crafted humanity by hand. The rationale behind this argument is that God said “let there be…” to create things, but “let us make” when He spoke of Man. But a tour of Genesis 1 and 2 fails to support this observation - After God spoke each day, the account says something about what God had made. The tools that I use indicate that the same Hebrew word is used for “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind…” as is used for “Let us make man…”
Again, I am no Hebrew scholar, but it seems that the same Hebrew word, translated into the same English word, is hardly grounds for proving that there is a difference in the two uses.
However, while I do not see a difference in creation, I do see a difference in redemption. Humanity is not special in Gods eyes because He spent extra effort to make us - but we are special, because He went to such lengths to redeem us.
How it was done
Look for a moment at how God created the heavens and the Earth:
Genesis 1:3 “And God said…”
Genesis 1:6 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:9 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:11 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:14 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:20 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:24 “And God Said…”
Notice a pattern? God spoke, and things happened.
God’s creative power was unleashed verbally. Commands went forth from the mouth of God, and the mountains rose from the seas, the grass sprouted, and the birds appeared. Every living thing began from nothing more than God’s spoken words. And God said it was good.
Finally, God reproduced a version of Himself. He made man in His own image – and He said it was very good.
How exact was the replica? How close to the original? The replica contained as much as would fit into the physical realm. The image of God that God used to create Adam was the man Christ Jesus. It stands to reason, therefore, that Adam had the authority - the power - to walk on the water, to calm the stormy seas, to bless or curse fig trees, and to ride unbroken donkey colts. The first Adam had all the features of the Last Adam; the difference being that the first Adam fell victim to a slithering salesman of sin, but the Last Adam redeemed us from that sin.
One of the deep, imponderable mysteries of the universe is that of Adam’s navel. Since he was created by the hand of God, he was not formed in a womb, and therefore had no need for an umbilical cord to nourish him. So - did Adam have a belly button? It would have been pointless… but I believe that he had one.
Adam was made in the image of God, according to Genesis 1:26. So if God’s image includes a navel, then Adam would logically have had a navel, too. So the real question is this: Does God have a belly button? Again, yes.
Consider this passage from Colossians, chapter 1:
(13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (15) who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
Clearly, the passage in Colossians is speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, who was “made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Since Jesus was born of Mary, it stands to reason that Jesus had a navel. And since Jesus is the image of God, the image of God has a navel. Finally, since Adam was made in God’s image, Adam had a navel.
While the belly button defense is a little on the silly side, it does serve to illustrate a point: God knows what He is doing, right down to the level of navels and hair inventory and sparrow counting. Nothing is beneath His notice.
God created
The heavens and the Earth were created by God with a level of detail far finer than Adam’s navel. So when He created man in His own image, the end product is, as David said, “…fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14).
I have heard it said that God spoke the universe into existence, but crafted humanity by hand. The rationale behind this argument is that God said “let there be…” to create things, but “let us make” when He spoke of Man. But a tour of Genesis 1 and 2 fails to support this observation - After God spoke each day, the account says something about what God had made. The tools that I use indicate that the same Hebrew word is used for “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind…” as is used for “Let us make man…”
Again, I am no Hebrew scholar, but it seems that the same Hebrew word, translated into the same English word, is hardly grounds for proving that there is a difference in the two uses.
However, while I do not see a difference in creation, I do see a difference in redemption. Humanity is not special in Gods eyes because He spent extra effort to make us - but we are special, because He went to such lengths to redeem us.
How it was done
Look for a moment at how God created the heavens and the Earth:
Genesis 1:3 “And God said…”
Genesis 1:6 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:9 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:11 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:14 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:20 “And God Said…”
Genesis 1:24 “And God Said…”
Notice a pattern? God spoke, and things happened.
God’s creative power was unleashed verbally. Commands went forth from the mouth of God, and the mountains rose from the seas, the grass sprouted, and the birds appeared. Every living thing began from nothing more than God’s spoken words. And God said it was good.
Finally, God reproduced a version of Himself. He made man in His own image – and He said it was very good.
How exact was the replica? How close to the original? The replica contained as much as would fit into the physical realm. The image of God that God used to create Adam was the man Christ Jesus. It stands to reason, therefore, that Adam had the authority - the power - to walk on the water, to calm the stormy seas, to bless or curse fig trees, and to ride unbroken donkey colts. The first Adam had all the features of the Last Adam; the difference being that the first Adam fell victim to a slithering salesman of sin, but the Last Adam redeemed us from that sin.
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