Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
So what is the image of God? This question has been debated since...well,... before you were born. Probably before the big bang. I believe that the image of God within us is what separates us from the animals so I will repose the question: What seperates us from the animals?
There are several ideas that are thrown around, but I want to focus only the context of Genesis.
First of all, we are not made in a physical likeness of God. I have heard Christians say that we are created in God's physical likeness, but this is an absurd idea. Any mention of God's anatomy such as God's hand, or the arm of the Lord are metaphors; and those who suggest that God, who is a spirit, made us in his physical image are full of stuff you don't want to step in.
Some have suggested that God's attributes are what make us in His image. In other words, as God is kind, so are we; as God is forgiving, so are we; as God is One who takes revenge, so do we. In this theory, humans were created in God's image, but sin distorted all that was God-like. So the final result is this: Every human has God's image printed within them, but sin has twisted it. Becoming Christian helps us to become more God-like by bringing out the image of God within.
This poses some theological problems in that the Bible elsewhere states that there is nothing good in us. But the same verse further qualifies that within our flesh there is nothing good (Romans 7:18).
Jesus also called us evil who know how to give good things to our children (Matthew 7:11).
So what is the likeness of God? Looking only to the book of Genesis, I would say that the image of God is the gift of ruling over two areas.
Let me explain. God told Adam and Eve to rule over, to dominate, and to care for the earth and its inhabitants. This is the first of the two areas we are to rule, and this topic is taken up elsewhere.
The second area over which we are to rule is our own selves - our own passions, desires, emotions, and will. We are to rule our selves. When Cain (Genesis 4) was angry at God and at his brother Abel, because God liked Abel's offering better, Cain got very angry. Seeing how angry Cain was, God told him that sin was very close, and Cain needed to control / rule over sin. We know from James 1 that sin is intimately tied down into our desires and not separated from what we want, so when Cain was asked to rule over sin, he was being asked to rule over his emotions.
Cain did not rule over his emotions, but rather he gave into them and killed his brother. Here are some other cases in Genesis where people did not control their anger:
1. When God flooded the world, it was filled with violence.
2. Sarah sent her servant into the desert, homeless and very likely to die.
3. Reuben slept with his step mother because he was angry with his dad.
4. Simeon and Levi slaughtered a village of men because the prince date raped or had consentual sex with their sister.
5. Several of the brothers planned to slaughter Joseph, but resolved to sell him into slavery instead.
All of these lost control over their anger. There were also some in Genesis who lost control over their sexual urges:
1. Potipher's wife.
2. Perhaps Judah's affair with Tamar. The story is more about Tamar than Judah, so it doesn't focus on him; but Tamar did know that he was given to prostitution and used that for her benefit.
CONCLUSION
When God gave us his image, He gave us the ability to rule. So now we can rule over nature (don't forget chapter two emphasized take care of and protect more than dominate), and we can rule over our selves.
So what is the image of God? This question has been debated since...well,... before you were born. Probably before the big bang. I believe that the image of God within us is what separates us from the animals so I will repose the question: What seperates us from the animals?
There are several ideas that are thrown around, but I want to focus only the context of Genesis.
First of all, we are not made in a physical likeness of God. I have heard Christians say that we are created in God's physical likeness, but this is an absurd idea. Any mention of God's anatomy such as God's hand, or the arm of the Lord are metaphors; and those who suggest that God, who is a spirit, made us in his physical image are full of stuff you don't want to step in.
Some have suggested that God's attributes are what make us in His image. In other words, as God is kind, so are we; as God is forgiving, so are we; as God is One who takes revenge, so do we. In this theory, humans were created in God's image, but sin distorted all that was God-like. So the final result is this: Every human has God's image printed within them, but sin has twisted it. Becoming Christian helps us to become more God-like by bringing out the image of God within.
This poses some theological problems in that the Bible elsewhere states that there is nothing good in us. But the same verse further qualifies that within our flesh there is nothing good (Romans 7:18).
Jesus also called us evil who know how to give good things to our children (Matthew 7:11).
So what is the likeness of God? Looking only to the book of Genesis, I would say that the image of God is the gift of ruling over two areas.
Let me explain. God told Adam and Eve to rule over, to dominate, and to care for the earth and its inhabitants. This is the first of the two areas we are to rule, and this topic is taken up elsewhere.
The second area over which we are to rule is our own selves - our own passions, desires, emotions, and will. We are to rule our selves. When Cain (Genesis 4) was angry at God and at his brother Abel, because God liked Abel's offering better, Cain got very angry. Seeing how angry Cain was, God told him that sin was very close, and Cain needed to control / rule over sin. We know from James 1 that sin is intimately tied down into our desires and not separated from what we want, so when Cain was asked to rule over sin, he was being asked to rule over his emotions.
Cain did not rule over his emotions, but rather he gave into them and killed his brother. Here are some other cases in Genesis where people did not control their anger:
1. When God flooded the world, it was filled with violence.
2. Sarah sent her servant into the desert, homeless and very likely to die.
3. Reuben slept with his step mother because he was angry with his dad.
4. Simeon and Levi slaughtered a village of men because the prince date raped or had consentual sex with their sister.
5. Several of the brothers planned to slaughter Joseph, but resolved to sell him into slavery instead.
All of these lost control over their anger. There were also some in Genesis who lost control over their sexual urges:
1. Potipher's wife.
2. Perhaps Judah's affair with Tamar. The story is more about Tamar than Judah, so it doesn't focus on him; but Tamar did know that he was given to prostitution and used that for her benefit.
CONCLUSION
When God gave us his image, He gave us the ability to rule. So now we can rule over nature (don't forget chapter two emphasized take care of and protect more than dominate), and we can rule over our selves.
