Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
God speaks as though in consultation about man's creation, not because He needs counsel, but to honor us. This mode of speech commends to our minds the dignity of our nature. Man is, among all creatures, a preeminent specimen of Divine wisdom, justice, and goodness, rightly called by the ancients a world in miniature.
AI summary
Man was made last of all, yet this was both honor and favor: honor, because creation advanced from less to more perfect; favor, because the palace had to be finished and furnished before its master arrived. He beheld the whole creation ready for his contemplation and use.
AI summary
Commenting on Genesis 1:26-28
God the Father addresses the Son and Holy Ghost, who were co-workers in creation. The consultation held among the divine Persons is not for difficulty's sake, but expressive of man's honor and dignity, that he should be made in the likeness of God Himself, not of any creature already formed.
AI summary