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Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26a, ESV).
We are made in the image of God, but what is the image of God? The “let us” phrase in Genesis 1:26 gives a hint to the answer revealed in the rest of the Bible.
That the image of God is the Father, Son, and the Spirit.
In Scripture, the Apostle Peter gives the best description of the “image” of God. . .
[We are chosen] according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you (1 Peter 1:1-2).
We are made in the image of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. But how does this look practically; how are we made in the image of God? Just as God is tripartite (three in one), we are tripartite, too (three in one). We are spirit, soul, and body.
The Apostle Paul confirms this in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. . .
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our soul is “command central,” containing mind, will, and emotion.
Our soul (mind, will, and emotion) works through the five senses of the body (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch) to relate to the physical world, and the soul works through the three senses of our spirit (presence, conscience, intuition) to relate to God.
The above paragraph contains Scripture study, Hebrew and Greek examination, and conclusions that I originally put together in my master’s degree thesis fifty years ago. In a short blog, I can’t entirely explain myself, so I’m asking that you just accept what I say.
Now let’s move on. . .
Being made in the image of God is more than spirit, soul, and body, and we get an inclination of this truth in Genesis 2:7. . .
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (Genesis 2:7).
I recently watched a video that discussed dinosaurs inhabiting the earth for millions of years. Then, a meteor hit the area that we know today as the Gulf of Mexico, which caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. But not to worry: For the next millions of years, mammals emerged as the predominant species, and somehow, we now exist.
No, I didn’t write my master’s thesis on the above paragraph.
It’s too filled with bunk and doesn’t explain one thing—how did the inanimate become a living soul that thinks, determines, and feels; has sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch; and relates to God through presence, conscience, and intuition?
Conclusion: The life that we enjoy now can only be explained because we are made in the image of God.
For more information on spirit, soul, and body, read Interruption #1187.