IT WAS WEDNESDAY, December 2, 2009, and I was teaching Greek 101 to a group of undergrad students at Wheaton College. My phone rang. While I typically do not keep my phone on while I teach, this time was different. My wife was nine months pregnant with our first, and she was ready to pop. “I think it’s happening!” she exclaimed. I darted off, picked her up, and drove to the hospital in record time. Fast-forward twelve hours, and it was game time. My wife and I had taken a Lamaze class together and had heard countless stories from our friends, but nothing prepared us for the real thing. It was three in the morning, and I was about to meet Judah Benjamin for the first time.

His hair was dark brown, and his baby skin was tan. He had his mother’s dark brown eyes, but there was no doubt about it—he was my son. Growing up, we lookup to our parents to determine our resemblances. But when we have children, we lookdown. For the first time in my life, someone was in my “image” and “likeness” at some level.

For us to understand what it means to be part of the people of God, we must begin with the creation of Adam and Eve in the divine image. This project begins with the creation of the cosmos and humanity’s role within it. The task before us in this chapter is straightforward: sketch the nature of Adam and Eve’s being created in the divine image and how the first couple relates to God and the world around them. What does it mean that Adam and Eve are in God’s likeness, and what are his expectations for them? As we will discover below, humanity is fashioned to dwell in God’s presence and tasked with the responsibility to bring his glory to the ends of the earth.