Created in the image of God I: What is man?

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).  The Psalmist asks  “What is man ...”  (Psalm 8:4)?  It's an important modern question. Evolution claims that impersonal, undirected, random processes account for everything. In this view personality is an illusion, and love is a biological trick to keep us reproducing. We have no value, no identity, no sense of who we are, or why are we here. Life has no meaning or purpose, no destiny. In fact,  since we are merely a random collection of molecules, it doesn't even make sense to ask questions regarding these things. Nevertheless we do question. In particular in the midst of suffering we so often cry out “Why?” There's no easy answer regarding suffering (but see M??24). The answers to questions concerning value, identity, meaning, purpose and destiny are all found in understanding what it means to be created in the image of God. We will likely spend all eternity exploring the glory and the wonder of what this means, but here in this meditation I will simply make some brief introductory comments.   

Verse 27 is only the third time that the Hebrew word bârâ (created) is used in Scripture. As I said earlier, it indicates something completely new brought into existence. This in spite of any superficial similarities between other “nefesh” animals, including hominids. The context clearly presents humanity as the pinnacle of God's creation,  and as something radically different from anything that came before. Of no other creature is it said that they were created in the image of God. In addition, over against humanity being the result of impersonal undirected, random process, we see God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the “us” of verse 26) conferring among themselves, and deciding (a directed process) to create mankind in “our” image.

One of the things it means to be created in the image of God, is that there is something about us that reflects Trinity (see M??27 Man became a living soul). What I want to say here though, is that Trinity is intensely relational (i.e. John 5:20). And we are made for relationship with Him, and with each other in love (John 17:3; 3:16; 13:34, 35; Mark 12:30). This is very different from the way that the world sees things. In particular, God tends to be seen as an oppressive fun destroying tyrant! It can be difficult to see the image of God in humanity, for that image was marred by the fall (Genesis 3). In fact there is only one Man whose image was not marred, the Man Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Timothy 2:5). In fact Jesus not only shows us man as God intended man to be (Hebrews 4:15), but He also shows us what God is like. In fact He tells Philip that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (John 14:9).

Father, too often the  picture we have of both You and Jesus is warped by our sin. You tell us that only after we acknowledge our sin will we be be able to truly see You as You are. And so often that only comes after we are in trouble (Hosea  5:15). But Lord as we truly seek Your face, we are being transformed back into Your glorious image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). For these and many other things we praise You Lord, in Jesus Name Amen