In God's image

[Ross]

Genesis 1:26
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

What does it mean that man was created "in God's image?"

On a secondary note, the following verse says:

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

Does Genesis 1: 27 indicate that God is both male and female?

[Capbook]

Are we made in the image of God in a physical sense too? In the way we look?

I have no reason to believe so. But, it is also not directly said in the Bible that it can't be so.

This was once brought to my attention:

Genesis 5:3:
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth."

Interesting. I just don't think that is about how humans are image of God.

Ancient or Biblical Hebrew defined "image" as - an outline or representation of an original as a shadow is the outline of the original, also an image or form of something as the shadow of the original.

Would that mean we humans just like a shadow of the original or as the outline of the original?

H6754 (Ancient Hebrew)
Image: An outline or representation of an original as a shadow is the outline of the original.
Image: Also an image or form of something as the shadow of the original.

H6754
צלם tselem
BDB Definition:
1) image
1a) images (of tumours, mice, heathen gods)
1b) image, likeness (of resemblance)
1c) mere, empty, image, semblance (figuratively)

[Ross]

Are we made in the image of God in a physical sense too? In the way we look?

I have no reason to believe so. But, it is also not directly said in the Bible that it can't be so.

This was once brought to my attention:

Genesis 5:3:
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth."

Interesting. I just don't think that is about how humans are image of God.

Yet it is normal in Biblical debating and exegesis to use repeated words and phraseology in the same context to define related meaning.

So "in our image and likeness"

and

"a son in his own likeness, in his own image"

must be more than mere coincidence.

Surely this is a deliberate scriptural revelation, is it not?

[OneJack]

Are we made in the image of God in a physical sense too? In the way we look?

I have no reason to believe so. But, it is also not directly said in the Bible that it can't be so.

This was once brought to my attention:

Genesis 5:3:
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth."

Interesting. I just don't think that is about how humans are image of God.

Yet it is normal in Biblical debating and exegesis to use repeated words and phraseology in the same context to define related meaning.

So "in our image and likeness"

and

"a son in his own likeness, in his own image"

must be more than mere coincidence.

Surely this is a deliberate scriptural revelation, is it not?

Question: What are the images of God that you know of?

[RR144]

Genesis 1:26
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

What does it mean that man was created "in God's image?"

This "image of God" does not mean physical shape because "God is a spirit" and man is human. Nor does it mean the "soul." "Soul" is the synonymous term for man- -man is a soul. "In His image" means that man was made with reasoning power and moral intelligence. God made man a free moral agent, and fashioned him appropriately to earthly conditions and nature. God endowed him with the sense of justice, reason, love and righteousness, and thus he was an image of Yahweh in these qualities of character. "After Our likeness," we understand to mean that as God made man to be in the likeness of God, He made man to be the king of the earth and gave him dominion over all the things of the earth. The first man being created in the image and likeness of God was, in every respect, perfect.

On a secondary note, the following verse says:

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

Does Genesis 1: 27 indicate that God is both male and female?

God is a spirit, there is no sexes among spirit being.

[1213]

...So "in our image and likeness"
and
"a son in his own likeness, in his own image"
must be more than mere coincidence.

Surely this is a deliberate scriptural revelation, is it not?

I don't see any reason to think those are connected in some meaningful way.

[Capbook]

Are we made in the image of God in a physical sense too? In the way we look?

I have no reason to believe so. But, it is also not directly said in the Bible that it can't be so.

This was once brought to my attention:

Genesis 5:3:
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth."

Interesting. I just don't think that is about how humans are image of God.

Yet it is normal in Biblical debating and exegesis to use repeated words and phraseology in the same context to define related meaning.

So "in our image and likeness"

and

"a son in his own likeness, in his own image"

must be more than mere coincidence.

Surely this is a deliberate scriptural revelation, is it not?

I believe there's a difference between what Gen 1:27 and Gen 5:3, image and likeness mean.
One aspect is God made Adam and Eve to live a life without death, while the image and likeness of Adam to his son was a life that would die.

[placebofactor]

[Replying to Capbook in post #16]

We know God is spirit, but we also know that spirits have a form, meaning a shape. Now, when God said, "let us make man in our image," can this be, as Noah Webster states in his 1861 edition, a representation or similitude of any person or thing formed of a material substance? In other words, we have the same exterior form or shape as the Son of God who created us.

Let's examine the word image closely. Hebrew to English dictionary 1837. As a noun, masculine singular. An image, picture, shadow, or shadowing form. Genesis 1:27, 5:3, 9:6 The older Hebrew lexicons, including 1830s–1850s define צֶלֶם (tselem) as an image, a picture, a shadow, or a shadowy form.

Those are legitimate lexical meanings. The key question is, how does the Bible use the word “image” in the verses under discussion? And because we are composed of body, soul, and spirit, the question is, "Does our spirit body have a human form?

Is the real creation of man in God's image the spirit, and the flesh covers that spirit for the purpose of living in a material world? When our bodies die, our spirit lives on; it leaves the flesh of our bodies, which returns to the ground, and our spirit body goes to be with the Lord. Question: What does a spirit body look like?

Let’s walk through this slowly and use only our Bibles to find the answer. The Bible actually gives us more information than most people realize, but it also draws some very firm boundaries. The following is a clear Bible teaching: man is body, soul, and spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless…” Scriptures repeatedly distinguish between the outward man, the body, and the inward man, the spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Though our outward man perish (the flesh), yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

This supports the idea that the spirit is the true, God-imaged part of man, and the flesh is a temporary covering suited for the physical world. Does the spirit have a form? The Bible gives us clues, but not a full picture. Spirits are described as having form. Angels are spirits, Hebrews 1:14, yet they appear in human form repeatedly. John, when in heaven, saw many spirits in many forms. He saw a beast that looked like a lion, another like a calf, another had the face of a man, another like a flying eagle. Some had six wings and were full of eyes. There are spirit creatures that have the shape of Locusts, and others like frogs.

The dead also appear in recognizable form. When Samuel is brought up. 1 Samuel 28:14, “An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle.” He is recognizable, has a human shape, and is wearing something. This was a spirit, not a resurrected body. So yes, the spirit has a form, and Scripture consistently presents it as human-like.

The rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 were dead, yet they saw, spoke, felt, recognized, had fingers, tongues, eyes, all without their earthly bodies.

Conclusion: The spirit has a real, structured, human-like form; it is the true “image of God” in man. The flesh is a temporary covering suited for earthly life. And when the body dies, the spirit departs and retains its recognizable form. The Bible never describes the spirit as shapeless or formless. The spirit body is immortal, not made of flesh, and not bound by physical limitations. It is the “inward man” that survives death and goes to be with the Lord.

[Capbook]

We know God is spirit, but we also know that spirits have a form, meaning a shape. Now, when God said, "let us make man in our image," can this be, as Noah Webster states in his 1861 edition, a representation or similitude of any person or thing formed of a material substance? In other words, we have the same exterior form or shape as the Son of God who created us.

Let's examine the word image closely. Hebrew to English dictionary 1837. As a noun, masculine singular. An image, picture, shadow, or shadowing form. Genesis 1:27, 5:3, 9:6 The older Hebrew lexicons, including 1830s–1850s define צֶלֶם (tselem) as an image, a picture, a shadow, or a shadowy form.

Yes, Biblical Hebrew word "image" written in Paleo Hebrew defined as - representation of an original as a shadow is the outline of the original. (Post#11)

Those are legitimate lexical meanings. The key question is, how does the Bible use the word “image” in the verses under discussion? And because we are composed of body, soul, and spirit, the question is, "Does our spirit body have a human form?

I'm quite confused as I searched KJV never writes "spirit body" but only spiritual body. (1Cor 15:44)

Is the real creation of man in God's image the spirit, and the flesh covers that spirit for the purpose of living in a material world? When our bodies die, our spirit lives on; it leaves the flesh of our bodies, which returns to the ground, and our spirit body goes to be with the Lord. Question: What does a spirit body look like?

I really have no idea but the Holy Spirit's one manifestation was like a dove.

Let’s walk through this slowly and use only our Bibles to find the answer. The Bible actually gives us more information than most people realize, but it also draws some very firm boundaries. The following is a clear Bible teaching: man is body, soul, and spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless…” Scriptures repeatedly distinguish between the outward man, the body, and the inward man, the spirit. 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Though our outward man perish (the flesh), yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

Though the "spirit and soul" are used interchangeably, I believe the soul as the living human.(Gen 2:7) and the "breath of life" as the spirit return to God when the flesh died. (Ecc 12:7)

This supports the idea that the spirit is the true, God-imaged part of man, and the flesh is a temporary covering suited for the physical world. Does the spirit have a form? The Bible gives us clues, but not a full picture. Spirits are described as having form. Angels are spirits, Hebrews 1:14, yet they appear in human form repeatedly. John, when in heaven, saw many spirits in many forms. He saw a beast that looked like a lion, another like a calf, another had the face of a man, another like a flying eagle. Some had six wings and were full of eyes. There are spirit creatures that have the shape of Locusts, and others like frogs.

The dead also appear in recognizable form. When Samuel is brought up. 1 Samuel 28:14, “An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle.” He is recognizable, has a human shape, and is wearing something. This was a spirit, not a resurrected body. So yes, the spirit has a form, and Scripture consistently presents it as human-like.

The rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 were dead, yet they saw, spoke, felt, recognized, had fingers, tongues, eyes, all without their earthly bodies.

Yes, spirits can takes form but I don't know what really its actual form.

Conclusion: The spirit has a real, structured, human-like form; it is the true “image of God” in man. The flesh is a temporary covering suited for earthly life. And when the body dies, the spirit departs and retains its recognizable form. The Bible never describes the spirit as shapeless or formless. The spirit body is immortal, not made of flesh, and not bound by physical limitations. It is the “inward man” that survives death and goes to be with the Lord.

Yes, I agree, the spirit is not bound by physical limitations.

[placebofactor]

[Replying to Capbook in post #18]

Here's a mind bender: Let’s take a look at Jesus pre-incarnate form. He was seen in the fiery furnace as a man, by Abraham as a man, by Jacob who wrestled with him as a man, and he walked in the garden with Adam as a man. This is one of the most fascinating and profound themes in all of Scripture: the visible, bodily appearances of the Son of God before He was born of Mary. The Bible repeatedly portrays the Son as a man long before His incarnation. So let the scriptures reveal what Jesus pre incarnate form looked like.

The Son appears in the fiery furnace: “The form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Nebuchadnezzar saw a fourth man in the fire: Daniel 3:25, “The form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” This is the clearest statement in the entire Old Testament that the Son appeared in human form before his birth in Bethlehem. He walked, he appeared as a man, was visible, and was recognizable as divine.

This was not an angel, nor was it a vision. This is the Son of God. He appears to Abraham as a man.
Genesis 18:1, “And the LORD appeared unto him…” How? “Three men stood by him, verse 2. One of these “men” is repeatedly called the LORD (Jehovah) in the chapter. He sits, eats, speaks, walks, reasons, and judges Sodom. This was a real, bodily appearance, 2000 years before his birth, and surely not flesh from his mother Mary. This was the pre-incarnate Son, appearing in a human-like spiritual body.

Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with a man, then says he saw God. Genesis 32:24, “And there wrestled a man with him…” After the struggle, Jacob said, Genesis 32:30, “I have seen God face to face.”
One thousand years later, Hosea confirms his identity: Hosea 12:4-5, “Yea, he had power over the angel… he wept and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; even the LORD God of hosts.” So, the following three descriptions refer to one person, the pre-incarnate Christ. Jacob wrestled with a man, an angel, and the Lord God.

The LORD God walking in the garden: Genesis 3:8, “They heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” We know that walking requires legs, feet, a body, and movement. This was not the Father (John 1:18; 1 Timothy 6:16). This was the Word of God, the Son, appearing in a bodily form.

So, what does this tell us about Jesus pre-incarnate form? The Son appeared repeatedly as a man before the incarnation. He had a visible, tangible, structured form. His form was human-like, but not flesh and blood, and I believe his form is the pattern for us being made in God’s image.

This would explain why a man’s spirit has a human form and why angels do not look like us. Also, that the Son of God is the image of his Father, Colossians 1:15, and that our spiritual image is made in that same image, Genesis 1:26–27.

Conclusion: The Son’s pre-incarnate form is the template for human spiritual form, and the incarnation did not create His form; it gave Him flesh and blood.

Hebrews 10:5, “A body hast thou prepared me.”
John 12:14, “The Word was made flesh.” So, we can conclude that the Son of God’s spiritual form existed eternally, and that his fleshly body began in the womb of his mother Mary.

[OneJack]

[Replying to placebofactor in post #19]

Here's a mind bender: Let’s take a look at Jesus pre-incarnate form. He was seen in the fiery furnace as a man, by Abraham as a man, by Jacob who wrestled with him as a man, and he walked in the garden with Adam as a man.

‘As a man’ is actually God’s manifestation to Adam, Abraham, Daniel et. al., and Jacob, not as Jesus’ pre-incarnate form, as you claimed. Jesus is the Almighty God, who is everything, and no one can describe Him rightfully, even Adam and Moses

This is one of the most fascinating and profound themes in all of Scripture: the visible, bodily appearances of the Son of God before He was born of Mary. The Bible repeatedly portrays the Son as a man long before His incarnation. So let the scriptures reveal what Jesus pre incarnate form looked like.

The Son of God, per se, was the visible manifestation of God in His incarnation. On the contrary, you still insist that the ‘as a man’ [in previous manifestations of God], was the ‘visible, and bodily appearances of the Son of God before He was born of Mary.’

The Son of God was a creation from God through the overshadowing made by the Holy Spirit to Mary. The child she conceived was the second Adam - the man who didn’t go under the process of ‘coitus.’ You misinterpreted God’s manifestation through ‘a man’ to the Son of God, who existed only when he was born [of Mary].

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

The Son appears in the fiery furnace: “The form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Nebuchadnezzar saw a fourth man in the fire: Daniel 3:25, “The form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” This is the clearest statement in the entire Old Testament that the Son appeared in human form before his birth in Bethlehem. He walked, he appeared as a man, was visible, and was recognizable as divine.

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

The fourth man in the company of Mezhach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego was only God’s manifestation that king Nebuchadnezzar saw inside the furnace, contrary to what you claimed he was the Son of God whom Mary brought forth.

So, what does this tell us about Jesus pre-incarnate form? The Son appeared repeatedly as a man before the incarnation. He had a visible, tangible, structured form. His form was human-like, but not flesh and blood, and I believe his form is the pattern for us being made in God’s image.

Jesus manifested Himself through a man repeatedly to some biblical characters like Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jacob in the OT, and through the Son of God, per se, in the NT.