John Piper explained that “we are unworthy of Christ, and we have great worth because of Christ.” The Bible says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Men and women are of immense value to God. Here are some of the things he has said on the topic.
Men and Women Are God's Best Workmanship
“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them” (Genesis 1:27-28). The Lord made men and women. He formed them differently from the way he formed water, the heavens, animals: the Imago Dei is in each of us, and every one of us is a reflection of our Maker.
Richard Phillips explained: “mankind bears God’s image in a community of love. The emphasis [...] on man’s dominion above the other creatures argues for mankind’s viceregency in accountability to God. New Testament reflection on the divine image highlights that man was made for covenant communion with God in righteousness and holiness.”
No other creature was designed in this way, and God’s work was finally “very good” once he had created man (Genesis 1:31). “Very” or “meod” in Hebrew means “muchness, force, abundance.”
As the poignancy of words is diluted over time, we see “very” used as a meaningless qualifier; however, in Genesis 1:31 “very” amplifies “good” significantly and demonstrates that people are the pinnacle, the masterstroke of the Lord’s creation.
As far as his creative works are concerned, though not “good” in the moral sense (for only God is good, Luke 18:19), we are abundantly good, a muchness, a force of good. After making people, the Lord was satisfied, and he rested.
“The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). Every life is an empty shell until God breathes resurrection life into him or her, and he is special enough to have been brought to life in this way when everything else was spoken into being.
Life Is Sacred
According to a recent study, Joe Carter says that “only 39 percent of Americans today view human life as “sacred,” or as having unconditional, intrinsic worth.” He explains that the Bible is clear that we are made in God’s image, so all human life is sacred. This means even a fetus is of incredible value to the Lord.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:6).
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:16).
The detailed and deliberate formation of each unique individual is indicated here. Rather than a farm of angels waiting in heaven to be sent to earth to bring joy to their parents, the individual starts unformed and yet imprinted with that same Imago Dei, loved by the Father and given a unique purpose.
Blood Was Shed
“And unto every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food” (Genesis 1:30).
How much time passed from this peaceful existence until Genesis 3 we do not know, but within the lifetime of the first man and woman, innocent blood had to be shed for their sakes. “The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” in their nakedness (Genesis 3:21). He had to kill an animal or animals.
Everything he made was good; he was happy with it. Death was not part of God’s original plan. Jesus confirmed the value of creatures the Father designed and gave life to at the beginning when he said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29).
Yet, humans were so valuable that the Lord killed something he had created, a creature or creatures which had never had to fear death before. Although Adam and Eve caused their own shame, they were worth more to God than the animals whose blood was shed for their covering.
The breakdown of creation began with Adam and Eve, initiating a pattern of “sacrifice [...] for the purpose of appeasing divine wrath against sinners.” As Fred Zaspel points out, this pattern was one of substitution; the Lord required that a price be paid, but offered a way for Israel to be spared. This is how much he values his people.
The Passover is the Old Testament epitome of substitutionary atonement when each believing household was told to kill a lamb and paint the door frame with its blood. But even these sacrifices were not sufficient. God wanted a full and complete relationship with his people.
He loved us enough to come down and be the ultimate sacrifice. While God had not intended for death to ruin his creation, he had already planned to provide for them. “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).
Eternal Value
John 3:16 is the Bible’s most oft-quoted verse, but how often does one stop to think about what it really means? John Piper explains what Jesus is saying this way: when you read “‘For God so loved the world that he gave,’ the giving is God sending his Son to earth on a mission to die. It’s just as amazing — only a million times more so — as if you should say to your son, ‘There is something I want you to do for me: I have some enemies that deserve to perish, and I want you to go and die in their place, so that they can have eternal life.’ Whatever else you know about God, make sure you know he is like that.”
One might stop right here and rest in the Father’s love. Perhaps John 3:16 seems to have been over-used, but one cannot come back to Jesus’ statement enough. God so loved the world — he loved his people.
He valued men and women enough to offer his Son to be slaughtered, reviled, and rejected, and for whom? And then consider it — who is the One who values men and women? Worthiness is determined by the status of the one who evaluates. Men and women are rejoiced over, sung over by the One true, good, glorious God of the universe and everything in it.
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
For further reading:
How Are We Created in the Image of God?
What Is the Biblical View of Submission?
What Does the Bible Say about the Value of Women?
Love from the Garden to the Silver Screen
What Does the 'Husband of One Wife' Mean in 1 Timothy 3:2?
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