Made in His Image?

by Bart⁽²³⁾

I just read an article where French physicist and philosopher, Bernard d'Espagnat, has won this years Templeton Prize (The Templeton Prize is awarded each year to a person whom the judges believe "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works."), for his concept of a 'Veiled Reality'. His work in quantum mechanics demonstrates that there is a reality that lies behind the one that we can touch and feel. It is a reality that is far more than can be explained by the three dimensions we can directly experience.

When we consider the creation account in Genesis, it would seem to indicate that Adam and Eve, in their pre-fallen state, were very different than you and me. When we read in Gen 3:7 that Adam and Eve were both naked, it is not merely making a statement about nudity; this verse hints at something far more. We are being told, that whatever they were covered with before the fall, they lost it. We must understand that they had no need of clothing in their pre-fallen state. Clothing is not merely a covering for the body; clothing is essential for protection against the elements as in rain, cold, heat, and so forth. Before they fell there was no need of protection against the elements, no need of a protective covering for their bodies at all, for they were clothed with their creation. I would speculate too, that Adam and Eve had the ability to span other dimensions, being created in the image of God (Gen 1:26). Being bound by the four dimensions as we are is a result of the fall. We are subjects of breadth, length, depth, and height (cf Eph 3:17-19), and I will throw in another dimension that we are subject to, and that is time. In the creation account, God marked each day as evening and morning, showing His establishment of a solar day (confirmed in Ex 20:9-11). We begun marking time with the creation account, and we are assured in Scripture, that time, or history, as we know it, will end, opening up another dimension of being, we know as eternity, for all those, that have ever lived or ever will live. You may think that this idea of other dimensions is a bit far fetched. Read Jn 3:5-8 and think about the air we breathe. We cannot capture wind and put it under a microscope. Wind has no mass, no weight, no measurable dimension. We cannot see it or examine it; we can only feel it and see the affects of it. Jesus is telling us in John 3 that those whom have the Spirit of God dwelling in them are similar to wind. You cannot see the indwelling Spirit, but can witness the affects of a life empowered by the Spirit. There are many things upon this earth and in creation that point to a greater reality outside the one we know.

Have you ever wondered why Adam partook of the fruit after Eve? Adam witnessed the sin of Eve and knew that the only way he could ever be with her, was to join her. I used to think that the reason Adam took of the fruit after Eve, was because of his great love for her. I have come to realize that there is more to it than love. Eve was made as an "help meet" for Adam (Gen 2:18); a resource, if you will. Adam misplaced his focus and saw Eve as his source: his source for love, acceptance, self-esteem, all those things God was to be for him. In other words, Adam showed his tendency towards codependency when he willingly took of the fruit from Eve and did eat with her. God's intention for mankind, when He created Adam and Eve, telling them to be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth, was to ordain the family to be 100% functional (healthy). Ever since the fall families, and individuals alike, have been dysfunctional (unhealthy) to some degree. Draw a line on a piece of paper. Write 'Dysfunctional' on the left side of the line, and 'Functional' on the right side. Now, honestly think about your family. If you are single, think about the family you grew up with; now place your family on this line where you think it fits in relation to 0%, on the left side of the line (dysfunctional), and 100%, at the right (functional). God's ideal at creation was, for mankind to be at 100%, however, if we are honest in self examination, most will find themselves somewhere left of totally functional. The good news is, that we understand from Scripture, that everything lost at the fall in the Garden, will be restored, for the believer, in heaven. In our resurrected bodies, we will be in the same image of God, that Adam and Eve were in, before that fateful decision of theirs to eat the fruit that was forbidden. This brings me to a question: Are we, you and me, actually made in the image of God? I hear pastors, preachers, teachers, laypeople, brothers and sisters in Christ, exclaim that we all are made in the image of God, then I look around and see people lame, crippled, blind, deaf, stooped over, with all kinds of physical impairments, and ask myself, is this actually the image of God? I think not; so this led me to study, and what I have discovered has changed my thinking about life, death, and eternity.

Gen 1:26a "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:" It is important to our understanding to know that all three persons of the Godhead were involved in creation. The Hebrew word used for God, is the word Elohim, which is a plural noun. This leads to the plurality in the structure of the sentence by the use of the words, "us" and "our". The words image and likeness both have the idea of resemblance. There is still a way in which we resemble the Godhead, as Adam and Eve did, and that is in our uniqueness of being a person. When we refer to the Triune God, we say that they are, 'three persons in one'. A person is one that thinks, feels, and does. In other words, one that has intellect, emotion, and will. We have these characteristics as mankind, however, flawed due to the fall. God is perfect in His intellect, emotion, and will. When a person acts in these areas, it gives him or her personality, and we are all different in our personalities. God is perfect and flawless in His personality, and when He acts, it is in perfection. God's actions of intellect, emotion, and will, being perfect, are expressions of His glory. When Adam and Eve acted in their pre-fallen condition, these things were also perfect expressions of God's glory. You and I cannot express perfections of thoughts, feelings, and actions because of our fallen nature, which is sinful. In the Westminster Shorter Catechism of A.D. 1647, this question is asked: "What is the chief end of man?" The answer is given as: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever." Christians of all ages have been attempting to do just this, and at times have had wonderful experiences of the glory of God, and at other times have felt utter despair because of sin. For a person to say that mankind is made in the image of God, I would say, yes, as far as the definition of a person goes, but even at that, we all fall short. Paul tells us this, Rom 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." So if we are flawed in the image we were created to reflect, there must be another image we are resembling, so whose? Adam was formed from the dust of the ground by God (Gen 2:7), and Eve was made by God with a rib taken from Adam (Gen 2:22), and ever since the fall, we all have been made in the image of fallen Adam and Eve. I am in the image of my mother and father, who were made in the image of their mothers and fathers, and so it goes, all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Here is the dilemma we all face: God created Adam and Eve perfect in His image, so being perfect, should have never fallen into sin, but they did. As a result of this, death has passed on all of us, for we all have sinned in Adam. Death has a meaning far greater than just passing away. Death is separation from God; passing away (our soul and spirit separating from our body) is a picture of what happens because of sin, and that is eternal separation from God. Rom 6:23a tells us, "For the wages of sin is death." In the same way that we work for our employers to earn a wage, because of being born into a sinful world, with a sinful nature, we have earned the wage of death; not just physical, but spiritual. At this, we all are in hopelessness. If there were not a way to be redeemed from this inherited sinful nature, we all would be in a condition of hopelessness and despair, with nothing to look forward to at the end of earthly days; but there is good news, not all is lost. Please read with me the verses that put all this into perspective for me and changed the way I think about Salvation:

Phil 2:5-11 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth: (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." I want you to notice the last eight words of verse seven: "and was made in the likeness of men". Jesus already had a back-up plan from the foundation of the world. That back-up plan was for God, the second person of the trinity, to leave His realm of eternity, with all its splendor and realities, to come to earth to be made in the likeness of fallen man (you and me). Think about this for a minute and let the thought of this sink into the depths of our hearts. The only way for mankind to be redeemed from his/her fallen condition, is for our Creator to leave His glory and to be made in our likeness, for the purpose of living a perfect sinless life. We would reason that if Adam and Eve, being made in the image and likeness of God, being perfect, should have never fallen into sin, but did, that Jesus, leaving His glory to be made in the likeness of man, should have fallen into sin, but He did not. Jesus had to live a perfect sinless life to qualify as someone worthy to redeem mankind. Could Jesus have fallen into sin? We would instinctively say, no, but why would Satan tempt Him to sin (Matt 4:1-11) if it were impossible? I am not going to speculate one way or the other but say that, Jesus had to be sinless and perfect as a man to redeem mankind. But this is only part of the story of redemption; Jesus not only had to be sinless and perfect, He had to experience death for us all. Jesus not only experienced physical death, but separation from His Father as well. This was an act of humility and obedience whereby Jesus, as God, came to earth in the likeness of man, and took upon Him the penalty and judgment of sin, redeeming us, that one day we can be restored into the image of God that we were intended to be in.

Made in the image of God? Yes, at creation mankind was, but he lost that image when he fell into sin. We still have a resemblance of God in that we have intellect, emotion, and will, but even this is flawed as a result of sin. There was only one way for us to be redeemed (restored), and that was for our Creator, to come to earth in our likeness, to live a perfect, sinless life, and to go through death, taking the penalty of our sin upon Himself. But that is not the conclusion of the matter. We have a personal responsibility. Some would argue with me about this point saying that we have no personal responsibility towards our salvation, that it is all predetermined by God, however, the Scriptures are clear about several things: One, just because Jesus came and died for all mankind for our salvation, not all will be saved. Another truth made clear in Scripture is that God is, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet 3:9); making it clear that His sacrifice for sin is sufficient and available to all. Another point to consider is, that hell was created for Satan and his demons, not for men and women; however, hell will be occupied for eternity by all those who reject God's saving grace. One last thing that I want to point out, that is made clear in Scripture is, that salvation is a free gift: Rom 6:23b "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." So what is our responsibility in salvation? Simply, it is just taking this gift. It is all summed up in the following verses: Jn 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Why should we take all of this so seriously? Because there is a veiled reality that lies behind the one that we can touch and feel. It is very real and the Word of God true. You may tell me, "Well, I do not believe it." You, not believing it, does not make the Word of God any less true. My challenge to you is to think about these things, examine your heart, and if you are not sure of heaven when this preasent reality is over, then now is the time to reach out and take God's free gift of salvation. After realizing that you are in need of receiving eternal life, believe with your heart that Jesus died for you, and rose again in victory over death and the grave, and call out to Him, thanking Him for His sacrificial death and His free gift of Salvation: Rom 10:9-10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Do not delay, for today is the day of salvation.

Article submitted Friday, April 03, 2009 & read 1302 times.

Leave your comments through World Wide Bible Studies:

» left by Brian Farrell⁽²⁴⁵⁾ (2 years 310 days ago.)

Awesome! Welcome to WWBS. This article is fantastic. Praise God for the work He is doing in your life. I can't wait to read your next article!
Respond to this comment

» left by Anonymous (2 years 309 days ago.)

Thank you for your kind words Brian. I am excited about being part of this ministry and look forward to posting more articles, as well as reading what others have and are posting. Very encouraging.

Blessings to you,

Bart

Respond to this comment

» left by Teresa^(1,655) (2 years 309 days ago.)

Hi Bart, Excellent job. I appreciated everything you had to say. It flowed nicely, and I especially like that you did not identify the "fruit" as an Apple. Lord bless you and the work of your hands and I look foward to more lessons when you have opportunity. You are a great addition to WWBS. Teresa
Respond to this comment

» left by Anonymous (2 years 309 days ago.)

Thank you Teresa! I appreciate so much the encouragement. You know, I never did think that the forbidden fruit was an apple. We may never know, but I would reason that it might have been a fig since they immediately sewed fig leaves together. I find it fascinating to think about the little details of the text.

Our Lord's richest blessings to you,

Bart

Respond to this comment

» left by Teresa^(1,655) (2 years 309 days ago.)

The fig, very plausable. I hadn't connected that with the sewing of the fig leaves. I agree, there is so much to be found in the details. God's word is so rich, it's exciting to know that we will never run out of things to learn.

I always thought maybe a fruit that we do not even have any longer. I wonder what people would think if we just starting saying "When Eve ate the Fig"... It just might cause an unnecessary arguement : -)

Thanks for the thought :-)

Respond to this comment

» left by David from Madison Wi (2 years 306 days ago.)

Interesting article. I too have pondered the nature of what it means to be made in the image of God. I have noted that when someone in the Bible has been in the presence of God, they "shine" and also when God or an angel makes an appearence there is usually a bright light shining all around. I hadn't connected that with Adam and Eve in the garden but it makes sense. If they suddenly lost that "shine" from having sinned, then I guess they'd feel the need to cover up before God came around.

I've also wondered about the nature of the spiritual world, or that other dimension, that the Bible says is all around us as it relates to our physical bodies. Example: the Devil is roaming the earth "to and fro and up and down", but I can't see him, I can't feel him, I don't even know if I can in any way percieve him at all. So what does it feel like to be "tempted of the Devil"? And if I can't see him with these earthly eyes, could Jesus with his earthly eyes?

I do know that one day I will "know, even as I am known" and I will be able to see behind the curtain, so to speak, and my Savior will explain it to me. Of course it may be that all of life's mysteries won't be facinating anymore.
Respond to this comment

» left by Bart⁽²³⁾ (2 years 306 days ago.)

Hello David,

Good to hear from you, thank you for reading this article and for your response. It is fascinating, and I can only hope that once we enter heaven, there will be an eternity full of new and wonderful fascinations waiting to be discovered.

Reading your comments I am reminded of 2 Kings 6 where a servant of Elisha was afraid of an attacking army, and Elisha asked that his servant's eyes be opened and they were. He witnessed a host of heavenly angels ready to fight on their behalf. There are indeed angels, good and bad, all around us, and they are in warfare. In Matthew 4 Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Spirit and has a confrontation with Satan. It says that Satan showed Jesus all the earthly kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. This couldn't be done in our dimensions as we understand them. You ask some very insightful and thought provoking questions. I believe there is a way to perceive the spirits around us but it takes a lot of awareness, and prayer on our part. 1 John 1 instructs us to try the spirits to see if they are of God or not. There is a whole other realm around us that we interact with every day and don't realize it most of the time. It is really beyond my comprehension but I so enjoy thinking about all of these things.

May our Lord richly bless you David in all that you do,

Bart

Respond to this comment

» left by Teresa^(1,655) (2 years 306 days ago.)

Hi Bart,

The realm of demonic spirits is not fun to experience, and it would do Christians well not to entertain exlporing it. However, because the doors are sometimes opened to the devil through psychic stuff, etc.. before Christ, then it becomes a stronghold. But by prayer and remembering that "he that is in me is greater than he that is in the world", can take care of this.

I too look foward to all we will learn in eternity.

Blessings to you! Teresa

Respond to this comment

» left by Tonia Galle Bond from Vancleave, Ms. (2 years 305 days ago.)

Wow. I am very proud to be able to say that I attended school with you! Very interesting and captivating article. I hope you don't mind that I printed this for future reference. It was so in depth and informative. Thanks and I am looking forward to more lessons.
Respond to this comment

» left by Bart⁽²³⁾ (2 years 305 days ago.)

Hello Tonia,

Thank you so much for your kind words. May our Lord richly bless you!

Respond to this comment

» left by Swapna Nanda (2 years 292 days ago.)

Hello Mr. Bart. Thank you for this excellent wonderful article. I am blessed. may it bless many.

with regards,

Swapna
Respond to this comment

» left by Anonymous (2 years 285 days ago.)

Bart,

I like the way you conclude with a plea for salvation. Great article.
Respond to this comment

» left by Girum Lemma from Indianapolis, IN (2 years 103 days ago.)

I read this article today. I am impressed. Thank you very much! I can not wait to read your next one.

Girum
Respond to this comment

» left by Bart⁽²³⁾ (2 years 102 days ago.)

Hello Girum,

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I haven't submitted anything for several months now. I am busy working full time, furthering my education, and involved at church. I have a few articles started and hope to finish and publish soon. May you be richly blessed.

Bart

Respond to this comment

We appreciate your comments!

365-39-3-0-72-ADSO

Most Recent