In His Image: A Commentary on Man’s Place in Creation

The first three chapters of the book of Genesis present a narrative of creation—the making of all things—with the first 25 verses of chapter one describing God’s work in creating everything except Man. It is interesting to note that the description presented in these verses is at once purposeful, logical, and progressive. The creation process proceeds from the large to the small, from the general to the specific, and from the indistinct to the highly detailed. It is like a machine slowly building up speed, or a song building to a crescendo. First there is the creation of the heaven and the earth—the entire universe. At this point, God’s focus narrows from a universal perspective to an Earth-centered one, with the creation of light—the sun, moon and stars—and the separation of the waters above the earth from those on the earth to create the sky. Next the focus narrows further with the collection of the waters into seas (70% of the earth’s surface) and the creation of the dry land (only 30% of the earth). On the third day began the creation of life, and just as with the earlier creation, this portion proceeded from the broadest to the narrowest, and from the simplest to the most complex. First came the plants, and while Genesis may focus of the seed-bearing land plants, we know that plant life is not limited to the land. There are plants that populate the world’s oceans as well, which means that they are the most widespread type of life on the planet. Next to be created were the fish of the seas, whose habitat covers 70% of the planet’s surface. They are followed by the birds of the air, whose habitat includes the land and the water. Then came the land animals—the beasts of the field and every creeping thing. It was on the sixth day that this frenzy of creation reached its pinnacle. It was at that time that God set His focus on the creation of Man.

But God didn’t simply speak man into existence. Instead, He took the time to carefully craft the Man from the dust of the earth, forming him “in [His] image and after [His] likeness. It is this idea of Man as the “image” and “likeness” of God, as described beginning at Genesis 1:26, that is the focus of this commentary.

Words Mean Things—What Is a Likeness?

I have always been of the opinion that words mean things, but that people often use words carelessly or ignorantly, without truly understanding the subtle shades of meaning conveyed by the words that they use. This can lead to misunderstandings, disagreements, loss or opportunities, and all of the negative effects that follow these things. So to preclude any possible misunderstanding, before we try to understand what it means for Man to be created in the image and likeness of God, we will first spend a bit of time exploring the meanings of the terms “image” and “likeness”.

Image –noun

1.	a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.

5.	form; appearance; semblance: We are all created in God's image.

–verb (used with object)

18.	to reflect the likeness of; mirror.

21.	to resemble.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

The word translated as image in Genesis 1:26 is the Hebrew “tselem”, which can be defined as “…illusion, resemblance; hence, a representative figure…”[1]

From the definitions above, it is clear that the key characteristic of an image is that it is a representation of something else. That something else is the original of which the image is but a copy. It has the appearance of the original, but lacks the true essence of the original in some significant way. Just as a mirror can create a reflection of a person, but that reflection lacks the depth, weight, and substance of the person being reflected, so, too, is an image always inferior to the original thing that it represents.

Likeness -noun
1.	similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things; "man created God in his own likeness" [ant: dissimilitude]
2.	picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

The word translated as likeness is the Hebrew “d muwth” or “demuwth”, which can be translated as “…resemblance;…model, shape…”[2]

A “likeness”, then, indicates a similarity in appearance or character—a resemblance— with something else. The level of similarity required to equate to being a likeness is relatively high. A thing (or person) exhibiting only a slight resemblance or similarity to another would not be said to be in its likeness.

So where does this lead us? What conclusions can we draw from our brief etymological study of the words image and likeness. To me, the answer is clear and unambiguous. To be created in the image and likeness of God means that Man both represents and reflects the nature of God, as well as resembling the character of God. We are the mirror in which the perfection of God is reflected and the model through which the characteristics of God are displayed. Yet because we are but images and likenesses, we are, at best, imperfect copies of the divine nature of the Godhead. Therefore, we can only aspire to be like God, but never to be equal to or greater than Him in any way.

Still, to even be like God is a wonderful thing. That He would choose to impart to us even a small portion of His divine characteristics is a privilege that we share with no other thing in all of creation. In particular, the first and second chapters of Genesis (and the third chapter to a lesser extent), illustrate specific ways in which Man was created in the likeness of God.

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[1] James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, © 1986 by Thomas Nelson Publishers

[2] Ibid