The Image of God
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God
Creates Man “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were
created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of
the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain
upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground” (Gen. 2:4-5). The word “field” in the Hebrew could mean a
restricted land area. It may refer to a section of the earth that would later
be called “Eden” (delight).
Moses was not speaking of the origin of plants but of the growth of
plants. The plants had not yet really “sprouted” out because they needed
plenty of water for that and it had not rained. “But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole
surface of the ground” (Gen. 2:6). Though there was no rain, God mysteriously
watered the ground. The moisture needed for plants came from the ground. But what else was needed to grow the
plants beside the rain? Someone
to till the soil! Tilling the
ground is necessary for the maturity of plants. “Then the LORD God formed
man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). The name of God used here is “Jehovah Elohim,”
which identifies Him as the self-existent God who is also the powerful
Creator. The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ was the actual Creator. ·
“All things were made by
Him” (John 1:3) ·
“For by Him were all
things created” (Col. 1:16) ·
“By whom he made the
worlds” (Heb. 1:2) God “formed” man. The Hebrew word formed is “yatzar.” It means to form or to shape from
something, in contrast to “bara,” to create from nothing (Gen.
1:1). The prophet Jeremiah also used the word “yatzar.”
“The word which came to
Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: ‘Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and
there I will cause you to hear My words.’ Then I went down to the potter’s
house, and there he was, making (yatzar) something at the wheel. And
the vessel that he made (yatzar) of clay was marred in the hand of the
potter; so he made (yatzar) it again into another vessel, as it seemed
good to the potter to make” (Jer. 18:1-4). Dust
of the Ground God made man (“adamah,” or red earth) of
the dust of the ground, from the chemical components of dirt. The chemical ingredients found in the
human body correspond exactly with those in dirt (lest we think too highly of
our bodies)! God breathed into man the breath of lives -
Hebrew, “nephesh chayim.”
The English Bible translates “life” in the singular. However, the word lives is plural “nephesh
chayim.” When God made the animals, he created them, “nephesh chayah”
(singular). But, in contrast,
God breathed into man, “nephesh chayim” (lives). This is extremely important! God had breathed
into animals a soul, a life principle, or a conscious existence. This life
principle included the ability to relate to the earth, have conscious existence,
the appetites, the necessity to persevere, to survive, to mate, etc. But God breathed into man a
spiritual aspect of the soul not found in animals, a God likeness. The Bible
calls this spiritual aspect “a spirit.” This word in the Greek is “pneuma.” In the Hebrew it is “ruach,”
literally translated “breath” or “wind.” “What man knows the things
of a man except the spirit (pneuma) of the man which is in him?” (1
Cor. 2:11). “But there is a spirit (ruach),
in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding (Hebrew: bin,
the ability to perceive)” (Job 32:8). It is as though God exhaled His breath into
Adam, and Adam inhaled the breath of God. Adam awoke to consciousness of life and a relationship
with God. This consciousness of life contains both a soul and a spiritual
capacity. The soul of man contains man’s ability to think
(to rationalize), to feel, and to choose in the earthy arena. The human spirit (pneuma) is the part of
the soul that links man to God. It is this part of man that makes fellowship
with God possible. The soul (suke)
is the part of man’s “nephesh chayim” that is earthy; the spirit is
that which is heavenly. “So also it is written,
‘the first man Adam became a living soul, (“psuke,” breath), The last
Adam became a life-giving spirit (“pneuma”)” (1 Cor. 15:45). Before the fall, man had a living spirit that was made in the
image of God. With the spirit, man had the capacity to know God and to
appreciate and value God. With
the will, he had the capacity to choose to fellowship with God. We are going to see that something
happened to man as a result of the fall that destroyed this capacity. The Bible seems to link the spirit and the soul
together. In fact, they are so closely linked that it is humanly impossible
to distinguish between them. Only the word of God has the power to penetrate
into their realm and discern between them. “For the word of God is
living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Man being created in God’s image means that the
invisible parts of man, the soul and spirit, are fashioned after God. It will
be this part of the person that will be tested in the Garden of Eden. Sources New American Standard
Bible Brown, Driver, and Briggs
Hebrew Definitions Robert B. Thieme, Jr. |
How
was man created in the image of God? |