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| Author | Topic: What is the image of God in man? |
| anonymous |
posted 12/10/03 9:14 AM
In the doctrine of creation of man, I believe that the first man is Adam (Gen. 2:7) and Eve as the first woman. (Gen. 2:21-22) God created man, not because He was lonely. Since there is perfect lvoe and fellowship among members of the Trinity for all eternity, God did not need other people for fellowship or is lonely. He did not need us for any reason at all. In fact, He did not need to create man, yet He created us for His own glory. (Isa. 43:7; Eph. 1:11-12) And we are are to “do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corin. 10:31) As humans and creatures created by God, our purpose in life is to fulfill the reason that God created us. That reason is to glorify Him. We glorify Him in having fellowship with Him (Ps. 84:1-2, 10) and rejoice I nthe lessons of life that He gives us. (Rom. 5:2-3; Phil 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16-18; James 1:2; 1 Peter 1:6, 8; etc.) And as we glorify Him and enjoy Him, He rejoices in us. (Isa. 62:5) I believe that when God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” (Gen. 1:26) man is made in the image of God. This means that God makes man in His likeness, which is similar to God. It is not identical to represent the exact image of God. The fall of mankind caused by the disobedience and sin of Adam and Eve distorts the image of God in mankind. However the likeness of God in us is not lost. For the general men, not just believers “are made in the likness of God.” (James 3:9) And through the redemption of Jesus Christ, we can progressively grow into more and more likeness to God through gaining the true understanding of the Word of God and the world of God. Then when Jesus Christ returns, we are complete in our restoration of God’s image. We will be like Adam before he sin and like Christ after his resurrection. For “just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” (1 Corin. 15:49) So we shall be morally, spiritually, mentally, relationally, and physically perfect. What do you think? |
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