Abraham, Messiah, and the Image of God
“For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” — Rom 8:29
What if God's covenant with Abraham is not simply the beginning of Israel's story, but a significant step toward restoring the purpose for which mankind was created?
In Part One, When God Begins Again: Creation Echoes in the Covenant with Abraham, we examined how the promises of Genesis 17 echo the original blessing of creation.
God commanded Adam to be fruitful and multiply. He promised Abraham fruitfulness and multiplication.
God commissioned mankind to exercise dominion. He promised Abraham nations and kings.
God placed Adam in Eden. He brought Abraham from Ur into the land He had chosen.
And throughout the biblical narrative, God reveals His desire to dwell among a people who belong to Him.
These connections suggest that the Abrahamic covenant is not a departure from God's original intention. It is part of His continuing work to accomplish it.
But the promises of Genesis 17 go beyond descendants, land, and kings. They also introduce the sign of circumcision, the eighth day, and new names that declare a future not yet seen.
Together, these details invite us to consider how God's covenant purposes lead toward Messiah and the restoration of His image in mankind.
Circumcision: Covenant Identity and Obedience
Genesis 17 introduces circumcision as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham.
“Every male among you shall be circumcised.” (Gen 17:10)
The Hebrew word for covenant is berit (בְּרִית). Circumcision becomes the identifying sign of this covenant in the flesh (Gen 17:11, 13).
It is important to distinguish the covenant itself from its sign.
God's covenant includes His promises concerning descendants, land, and His relationship with Abraham's household. Circumcision is the prescribed sign marking participation in that covenant community.
But there is another connection to creation.
In Gen 2:15–17, Adam receives both a place and a command. The gift of life in God's provision does not eliminate responsibility.
Likewise, in Genesis 17, Abraham receives divine promises and a command:
“As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.” (Gen 17:9)
The verb translated “keep” is שָׁמַר (shamar).
It is the same Hebrew root used when Adam is placed in the garden to “keep” it (Gen 2:15).
The objects differ: Adam is to keep the garden; Abraham and his descendants are to keep the covenant.
Yet the underlying principle is consistent.
God's gifts are not invitations to autonomous living. They establish the setting in which human beings are called to respond faithfully to Him.
Abraham's obedience does not originate the covenant promise. God initiates the covenant. Yet Abraham is commanded to walk before God and keep it.
Grace establishes the relationship; faithfulness expresses the response.
The Eighth Day: A Biblical Pattern of New Beginnings
Genesis 17:12 introduces another important detail: God commands that every male child be circumcised on the eighth day.
Why the eighth day?
When examining biblical patterns and types, a useful interpretive principle is to begin with the first occurrence of a word, number, or event. Its initial appearance may establish a foundation for understanding how Scripture develops that theme. Subsequent occurrences must still be examined in their own contexts.
From the First-Sentence Perspective, we begin with creation.
In Genesis 1–2, God establishes the seven-day pattern. On the seventh day, He ceases from His work, blesses the day, and sanctifies it (Gen 2:2–3). The seventh day marks completion and sanctified rest.
The eighth day, though not explicitly named in the creation account, begins another cycle. It may therefore suggest a new beginning following completion.
This becomes significant in Genesis 17. After promising Abraham fruitfulness, nations, kings, and an everlasting covenant, God appoints the eighth day for circumcision—the sign of belonging to His covenant people (Gen 17:10–13).
As Scripture unfolds, the eighth day appears at other important moments:
Circumcision: The sign of covenant membership (Gen 17:12; Lev 12:3).
Priestly consecration: Aaron and his sons begin their ministry after seven days of preparation (Lev 8:33–9:24).
Cleansing and restoration: Certain purification rituals conclude on the eighth day (Lev 14:10–20; 15:13–15).
Sukkot: Seven days of celebration are followed by a sacred assembly on the eighth day (Lev 23:33–36, 39).
These passages suggest a recurring pattern: following an appointed period of completion, something new begins.
For a fuller examination of the eighth day and its relationship to God's dwelling with His people, see Sukkot: When the King Comes to Dwell With Us.
The pattern becomes especially interesting in Messiah.
Yeshua rises on the first day of the week, following the Sabbath (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1). Symbolically, this first day may also be understood as an eighth day—the beginning of a new cycle.
Scripture does not explicitly call His resurrection the eighth day. Nevertheless, His resurrection inaugurates new-creation life, making Him the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20–23).
Paul also connects circumcision with Messiah's death and resurrection, describing a circumcision not performed by human hands (Col 2:11–12).
We should not assign symbolic meaning to every occurrence of the number eight. Yet the repeated association with covenant, consecration, restoration, and new beginnings invites reflection.
If seven speaks of completion in the creation pattern, eight may point toward what God brings forth beyond that completion—a new beginning under His covenant purposes.
The covenant is not the abandonment of creation. It is part of God's unfolding work to restore what He originally intended.
The Changed Names: God's Word Establishes a New Identity
In Genesis 17, Abram becomes Abraham, and Sarai becomes Sarah.
God declares:
“No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Gen 17:5)
The text itself connects Abraham's new name with his calling as the father of a multitude of nations.
Here again we encounter the power of God's speech.
In Genesis 1, God names the light Day and the darkness Night. He names the expanse Heaven and the dry land Earth (Gen 1:5, 8, 10).
Naming is part of the ordering of creation.
In Genesis 17, God gives Abraham a name that expresses the future He has promised.
This is a conceptual parallel, not an identical act. God is not creating Abraham from nothing or erasing his previous identity. He is redefining Abraham's future in relation to the covenant.
Notice also the divine declaration:
“I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Gen 17:5)
The Hebrew uses a completed verbal form, even though the promised multitude has not yet appeared.
Abraham's circumstances have not yet caught up with God's word.
The Creator speaks of a future as established because He has undertaken to accomplish it.
The Restoration of God's Image: From Adam to Messiah
There is one more connection between creation and the covenant with Abraham that deserves our attention: the restoration of mankind to the image of God.
In Gen 1:26–28, God creates mankind in His image—tselem Elohim (צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים)—and gives humanity the responsibility to exercise dominion over the earth.
The image of God is not merely a description of what mankind is; it is also connected to what mankind is called to do.
Humanity is created to represent the Creator within His creation, exercising authority under His rule.
We explored this relationship between image-bearing, priestly responsibility, and God's dwelling place in Making Man — The Purpose of the Image of God.
Sin did not erase the image of God (Gen 9:6; Jas 3:9), but it profoundly corrupted mankind's ability to represent Him faithfully.
Instead of ruling under God's authority, mankind repeatedly sought independence from Him. The result was disorder, violence, and rebellion, culminating in the scattering of the nations at Babel (Gen 11:1–9).
Then God called Abraham.
Although Genesis 17 does not explicitly mention the image of God, its promises recall important elements of mankind's original commission. Abraham is promised fruitfulness, multiplication, nations, and kings (Gen 17:2, 6, 16).
These are not isolated blessings. They echo the language and royal responsibility associated with humanity's creation.
Could the covenant with Abraham, then, be understood as a step toward restoring mankind to its original calling?
The unfolding biblical narrative suggests that it can.
God's covenant with Abraham establishes a people through whom His blessing will reach the nations (Gen 12:3).
Through Abraham's descendants comes Israel, a nation called to be holy and to serve as a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:5–6).
From Israel comes Messiah, the promised King, who perfectly represents the Father.
Paul identifies Yeshua as “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).
Unlike Adam, who disobeyed, Yeshua faithfully fulfills the Father's will (Jn 6:38; Phil 2:5–8). Paul also calls Him the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45), connecting Messiah's work directly to mankind's beginning.
The significance is profound.
What Adam failed to fulfill, Messiah accomplishes. What mankind corrupted through rebellion, God restores through His Son.
And this restoration is not limited to the King Himself.
Paul writes that those whom God foreknew He predestined “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29).
Elsewhere, he describes believers as being renewed in knowledge after the image of their Creator (Col 3:10) and transformed into Messiah's image (2 Cor 3:18).
The language takes us back to Genesis 1.
God created mankind in His image. Through Messiah, He is restoring His people to reflect that image faithfully.
The Great Commission: Creation's Purpose Reaches the Nations
This understanding gives fresh significance to Yeshua's final commission.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Mt 28:18–19)
The language is not identical to Genesis 1 or Genesis 17, and the commission to make disciples is not simply a repetition of the command to multiply biologically.
Yet the relationship is profound.
In Genesis 1, humanity is commissioned under God's authority to fill the earth.
In Genesis 17, Abraham is promised descendants and nations, with kings arising from his line.
In Matthew 28, the risen Messiah announces His authority over heaven and earth and sends His disciples to all nations.
The mission is no longer defined by biological multiplication, but by making disciples who learn to obey everything the King has commanded.
The covenant promise to bless the nations now finds expression in the worldwide mission of Messiah's disciples.
Paul writes:
“And if you are Messiah's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal 3:29)
Paul's argument does not erase the historical identity of Israel or the particular promises given to Abraham's descendants. Rather, he explains how those belonging to Messiah, including believers from the nations, participate in the blessing promised to Abraham.
The nations scattered at Babel are being called into allegiance to the King.
This worldwide invitation is developed further in Teshuva of the Nations: When the Trumpet Sounds, where the call to repentance extends from the individual to the nations.
Those who belong to Messiah are being transformed into His image, learning to represent the Creator faithfully within His creation.
The movement from creation to restoration becomes clearer:
Adam: Created in God's image and commissioned to exercise dominion under His authority (Gen 1:26–28).
Abraham: Chosen to carry forward God's blessing, with nations and kings promised through his descendants (Gen 12:1–3; 17:6).
Israel: Called to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests, representing God among the nations (Ex 19:5–6).
Messiah: The perfect image of God, the last Adam, and the rightful King (Col 1:15; 1 Cor 15:45).
Messiah's disciples: Called to be conformed to His image and to make disciples of all nations (Rom 8:29; Mt 28:18–20).
The restoration will reach its fullness when God's servants reign under His authority in the new creation (Rev 22:3–5).
Conclusion — What God Began, He Will Complete
From the First-Sentence Perspective, the covenant with Abraham is not God's replacement for the creation mandate.
It is a decisive means by which God carries His original purpose forward toward restoration in Messiah.
The God who created mankind in His image has not abandoned His intention to fill the earth with people who faithfully reflect His character and exercise authority under His rule.
The God who promised Abraham descendants and nations has brought forth the Messiah through whom the nations may receive the blessing promised to Abraham.
The God who commanded His people to walk faithfully before Him is transforming hearts through His Spirit so that His people may live according to His will (Ezek 36:26–27).
And the God who placed mankind within His creation will ultimately dwell with His redeemed people in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1–3).
This anticipated restoration of God's dwelling with humanity is also explored in Shemini Atzeret and the King Who Gives Sight.
The biblical narrative does not move from one abandoned divine purpose to another.
It moves from creation through covenant to restoration.
The covenant with Abraham is not a departure from Genesis 1. It is part of God's answer to what went wrong in Genesis 3.
And the final word belongs to the One who spoke in the beginning:
“Behold, I am making all things new.” (Rev 21:5)
In the beginning God.
In the covenant God.
In the restoration God.
What God began, He will complete.
