[Gen 1:26] "Who are the ones referred to as "Us" and also "Our"?"
Genesis 1:26, 27
"A most intriguing picture appears in the opening verse of this section. Whereas previous acts of God have followed immediately the phrase “And God said, Let there be …,” in this verse God speaks, as it were, to Himself: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
He was not speaking to the angels, because man was not going to be made in the likeness of angels but in the likeness of God. Thus God could only have been speaking to Himself; one member of the uni-plural Godhead was addressing another member or members.
This fascinating type of exchange within the Godhead appears in a number of other places in the Old Testament (e.g., Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 48:16; Psalm 45:7; Psalm 110:1). Similarly, in the New Testament, such fellowship between Christ (before His human birth) and the Father is noted in such passages as Matthew 11:27; John 8:42; John 17:24; and others.
The divine councils centering on man had first taken place long before the beginning of time (whatever is involved in the concept of “before time”). The Lamb had, in the determination of these councils, been slain before the foundation of the world; the names of the redeemed had been written in His book of life before the foundation of the world; and God had called those who were to be saved by His grace, before the world began (1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 17:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).
On this sixth day, another such council took place, and the ancient plan was now formally announced, recorded, and implemented. The highest, most complex of all creatures was to be made by God and then was to be given dominion over all the rest—all the animals of the sea, air, and land. Man’s body would be formed in the same way as the bodies of the animals had been formed (Genesis 1:24; 2:7). Similarly, man would have the “breath of life” like animals (Genesis 2:7; 7:22), and even have the “living soul” like animals (Genesis 1:24; 2:7). Thus, though man’s structure, both physical and mental, would be far more complex than that of the animals, it would be of the same basic essence; therefore God proposed to “make [Hebrew asah] man in our image.”
And yet man was to be more than simply a very complex and highly organized animal. There was to be something in man which was not only quantitatively greater, but qualitatively distinctive, something not possessed in any degree by the animals.
Man was to be in the image and likeness of God Himself! Therefore, he was also “created” (bara) in God’s image. He was both made and created in the image of God.
This is a profound and mysterious truth, impossible to fully comprehend; therefore it is not surprising there has been much difference of opinion about its meaning. It is not sufficient merely to say that man was given a spirit, as well as a soul, unless these terms are more explicitly defined. The term “spirit” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew ruach, which is also commonly translated “wind” and “breath.” As such, the “breath of life” (or, literally, “spirit of lives”) is a possession of animals as well as man. If, however, the term is used to define that aspect of man which is like God (“the likeness of God”)—an eternal spirit, possessed of esthetic, moral, spiritual attributes—then it may be a proper statement, at least in part. The spirit of man, like the angelic and demonic spirits, and like God Himself, is an eternal spirit; whereas the spirit of an animal ceases to exist when the body dies (Ecclesiastes 3:21) and goes back to the earth.
In any case, there can be little doubt that the “image of God” in which man was created must entail those aspects of human nature which are not shared by animals—attributes such as a moral consciousness, the ability to think abstractly, an understanding of beauty and emotion, and, above all, the capacity for worshiping and loving God. This eternal and divine dimension of man’s being must be the essence of what is involved in the likeness of God. And since none of this was a part of the animal nephesh, the “soul,” it required a new creation.
However, this does not exhaust the meaning. We must also deal with the fact that man was made in God’s image as well. That component of man which was “made” was his body and soul. In some sense, therefore, even man’s body is in God’s image in a way not true of animals.
God in His omnipresence is not corporeal, however, but is Spirit (John 4:24); so how could man’s body be made in God’s image?
We can only say that, although God Himself may have no physical body, He designed and formed man’s body to enable it to function physically in ways in which He Himself could function even without a body. God can see (Genesis 16:13), hear (Psalm 94:9), smell (Genesis 8:21), touch (Genesis 32:32), and speak (2 Peter 1:18), whether or not He has actual physical eyes, ears, nose, hands, and mouth. Furthermore, whenever He has designed to appear visibly to men, He has done so in the form of a human body (Genesis 18:1, 2); and the same is true of angels (Acts 1:10). There is something about the human body, therefore, which is uniquely appropriate to God’s manifestation of Himself, and (since God knows all His works from the beginning of the world—Acts 15:18), He must have designed man’s body with this in mind. Accordingly, He designed it, not like the animals, but with an erect posture, with an upward gazing countenance, capable of facial expressions corresponding to emotional feelings, and with a brain and tongue capable of articulate, symbolic speech.
He knew, of course, that in the fulness of time even He would become a man. In that day, He would prepare a human body for His Son (Hebrews 10:5; Luke 1:35); and it would be “made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7), just as man had been made in the likeness of God.
Both in body and in spirit, Christ was indeed Himself the image of God (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4). It does not seem too much to infer that God made man in the image of that body which He would Himself one day assume. In this sense, at least, it is true that, physically as well as spiritually, man was both made and created in the image and likeness of God the Son.
It is also noteworthy that three times it is stated that God created man in His image (as well as making “man in our image”). Again it is appropriate to speak of God in both the singular and plural—God is one, and yet more than one. There is possibly a hint in this threefold statement (as in Genesis 1:1) that God is a trinity. In a sense, man also is a trinity of body, soul, and spirit.
The word “man” is actually adam, and is related to “earth” (Hebrew adamah), since man’s body was formed from the elements of the earth (Genesis 2:7). It may be noted that man was to have dominion not only over all animals but also over the earth (verse 26) from which he had been formed.
Finally, it is made clear that “man” is also a generic term, including both male and female. Both man and woman were created (the details of their physical formation being given in Genesis 2) in God’s image, and thus both possess equally an eternal spirit capable of personal fellowship with their Creator."
Morris, H. M. (1976). The Genesis record : A scientific and devotional commentary on the book of beginnings. Includes indexes. (72). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
"Since God says that we are created in his own image, can accept that we look like him? He is speaking as if there are others of his race but creating man in His specific image, correct?"
We are regenerated into Christ's likeness, from glory to glory (Psa. 17:15; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; 1 John 3:1–3).
We were saved ([past] justification), we are saved ([present] sanctification) and are being saved ([future] glorification).
"He is speaking as if there are others of his race but creating man in His specific image, correct?"
In heaven, we may have a body like the risen Lord (John 20:26–29; 21:1, 2). We will be raised (John 5:28, 29), changed (Phil. 3:21), glorified (Rom. 8:29, 30), and finally perfected (1 Thess. 5:23).
Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41). Eternal bodies are seemingly fitted for heaven or hell (a body appropriate for their respective, eternal dwelling places). Both the body (Mt 5:29; 10:28) and the soul suffer there (Mt 10:28).
My life is an open book.
