Genesis 1:27 - Unity and diversity

So God created man
in his own image,
in the image of God
he created him;
male and female
he created them.

First occurrence of poetry in the Bible! And what a lovely poem it is too... The truth that humans are made in God's image is so important that it's repeated three times in two verses! 'We are made in God's image' - have you got that?? Take hold of that truth and apply it to your own life: you are hugely valuable and special to God.

Now we move on to the trickier aspects of this passage: the singular and the plural references in this verse (remember I do enjoy a bit of grammar!)

Unity: 'Man' in the first line of the poem is singular  this is because the first man represents all of us.Sin entered the world 'through one man' (Romans 5:12) and we're all implicated in that sin because we all belong to one man. But the sin that came into the world through one man's disobedience is overcome by salvation through one man's faithfulness (Romans 5:19). The human race is a single 'mankind'.

Diversity: God made them male and female, so plural. Mankind is made male and female for three reasons:

1. to fulfil 1:28 - 'be fruitful and increase'
2. to image what God is like - unity and diversity
3. to demonstrate the relationship between God and His people (Ephesians 5:22-27)

Both our gender and our relationships with the opposite sex are significant because they're part of imaging God. So behave carefully and prayerfully!