In His Image...One God, One Image

This is the third, and final, installment in my series on Man's creation in the Image of God. Up to this point, I have focused primarily on reviewing how the creation story shows that Man was created to resemble God (i.e., in God’s likeness) in seven specific characteristics. Now I will spend a bit of time examining the other side of the coin—being created in the image of God.

As was stated earlier, being created in the image of God means that Man reflects Him and represents Him. While being created in the likeness of God can be considered a great honor and blessing, being created in His image is just as great a responsibility. If we are supposed to reflect God to the world, then when they see us they should see the attributes of God in us. If we are to represent God to the world, then our every word and action should be consistent with the intentions, instructions and nature of God. For those who don’t know God, if the image that we present to them of God is flawed, then their perception and understanding of God will be flawed as well.

To present a true image of God requires that we first have a personal understanding of the attributes of God. Then we have to make the conscious decision to live our lives in a way that reflects those attributes. We have to choose to exercise sovereignty (dominion), self-sufficiency, creativity, intelligence, and power.

The First Contract

The verses beginning at Gen 1:26 can be considered to be the very first contract or covenant ever entered into in history. The verses demonstrate all the elements of a typical contract:

• Agreement between two or more parties. In Gen 1:26, God says, “Let us make Man…” The “us” mentioned here is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It was necessary for God to enter into this contract with Himself because there was no one else for Him to agree with.

• Proposal and Acceptance. The proposal (or offer) was to make Man in God’s own image and likeness. The acceptance can be implied from the fact that there was no dissention or counter offer, and that the three members of the Godhead set out in the very next verse to perform the very act that was proposed.

• Consideration. This term refers to the concept that all parties to a contract must “bring something to the table”. There must be an exchange of something from each party to the other(s). Otherwise, if only one party provides or offers to provide something of value and the other party(ies) are only receivers, then what exists is simply a gift or promise of a gift. In the creation of Man, consideration is satisfied by the fact that all three members of the Godhead contributed to the act of creation. The Father provided the plan and blueprint for what man was to be. The Son was the actual agent of creation (see John 1:1). The Holy Spirit imparted spiritual power.

• Intention to be Bound Legally by the Agreement. Probably the most important part of what makes a contract a contract, and not simply a promise or mere friendly agreement is the intention of both parties to be bound by the conditions of the agreement, and to submit to legal sanctions should any conditions be violated. All of scripture from Gen 1:27 forward provides evidence of God’s intention to be bound by His agreement with Himself. This becomes even more evident after the Fall of Man and his expulsion from the Garden of Eden. At this point a heavenly plan of action was set in motion to return the fallen Man, who still displayed the likeness of God but no longer presented the image of God, back to his original, pre-Fall state of perfection. Two of the most important and significant elements of that master plan are the Son’s death on the cross as the payment for sin and resurrection on the third day as the promise of eternal life, as well as the in-filling of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. These and other acts throughout the Bible are evidence that God has bound Himself to do what is necessary to ensure the perfection of His image and likeness in Man.

Epilogue: Two Wounds and Two Brides

Within the story of the creation of Man is the story of the creation of the Woman from one of his ribs. This story has interesting parallels to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Adam was the first created son of God, and had no earthly mother. Jesus was the firstborn Son of God, and had no earthly father. In order to create a bride for Adam, God caused him to fall asleep and then opened a wound in his side from which He took a rib that was used to form the Woman, Eve. While Jesus hung on the cross, a wound was opened in his side to speed His falling asleep (i.e., His death). His resurrection on the third day (His awakening from sleep) marked the birth of His bride, the Church.

Second Epilogue: “Like” or “As”

Students of English may be familiar with the controversy over the proper usage of the words “like” and “as”. In common usage, the words are often interchangeable, but in the most formal usage there is a subtle difference in their meanings. “Like”, in this formal usage, indicates a similarity in character or quality, where “As” indicates equality. This distinction has applicability to an understanding of the story of creation. In Gen 1:26 God decides to make Man in His image and after His likeness. In other words, He decides to make Man like (or similar to) Him. But in Gen 3:5 Lucifer, through the serpent, deceives the Woman by telling her that if she eats of the forbidden fruit “…you will be as gods, knowing good and evil…” So the Woman was convinced partly because she believed that the fruit would make her equal in wisdom to God. This desire to be “as” God, and not just “like” Him was, in fact, the very sin that caused Lucifer to rebel against God and be expelled from heaven.