The Image and Likeness of God

[Thanda]

In Genesis we have the beautiful account of the creation. On the sixth day God created his most special creature: Man.
Moses gives us the following information about the nature of man's creation in Genesis Chapter 1:

26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.​

This is one of the most plain and simple scriptures I have ever read. Not only that - this scripture sets the tone and gives meaning to everything else that follows in the Bible. God's concern for the human race stems from the fact that he created man after his own image.

But very often when the question of what God looks like comes up there seems to be very little clarity and consensus among Christians. To some God is a mysterious and unknowable life force who cannot be seen or touched, who is nowhere and everywhere all at once. Then there are those who believe that though God has no form, since he is a Spirit, he sometimes comes in the form of a man. This makes me wonder "Who was created in the image of whom?. Was man created in the image of God or does God sometimes create a body for himself in the image of a Man?"

What do you believe God looks like?

 

[Forever_Catholic]

Although Jesus has both a fully divine and a fully human nature (for our benefit), God the Father is pure spirit. At the time of the creation, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was all pure Spirit. So the image and likeness of God doesn’t refer to physical form, but to the properties of the human mind and soul. It is our intellect, inborn understandings and spiritual awareness, the capacity to know and love God, our free will to unite with him, his intentions for our immortal potential, etc.

Way more could be said about what the image and likeness of God entails, but I’d say it boils down to all the properties of human beings that were not given to other earthly creatures. It would also pertain to the properties given to us in a much greater degree than were given to them.

Even though he is pure spirit, God the Father does have a visible form. We can't know what that is until and unless we see him in heaven, in what we call the beatific vision. That's a wonderful experience for souls in heaven, but nothing impure can survive God's face-to-face visible presence, which is why he does not visibly not show himself as he is to souls on earth.

 

[jeager106]

I'm not at all sure we can see Him.
My understanding is that He is of a spiritual realm and frankly I don't know what that is.
Is that kind of a "dark matter, dark energy" thing?
Science says that the results of dark energy and matter can be measured but they
don't have a clue what that matter and energy is.
Some doubt the existence of God but science cannot deny dark matter and energy
as we have learned to measure it's effect.
How 'bout that?
Perhaps atheists are in for a rude awakening?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Oh, is that why our Gods are of dark color?

 

[Windwalker]

26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.​

This is one of the most plain and simple scriptures I have ever read.

It is not that plain and simple if one understands it to represent physical form, in that God is spoken of everywhere else as Spirit, invisible, etc. Obviously humans are not invisible, so the image of God represents something more metaphorical. If you compare this with descriptions of the Christ in the NT, you'll notice the obvious references to this verse, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation". Obviously Jesus did not have a body of physical form "in the beginning". This image of God metaphor points to something else. We can see another reference by Paul to the same thing in Hebrews, "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature". So there is the answer. The image of God refers to his "Nature", or essence, or being, not a physical form with fingers and toes, hands and feet, and a certain kind of nose. Understanding the "image of God" metaphorically like Paul used it, opens the door to a much deeper penetrating understanding than referring simply to a physical body.

Not only that - this scripture sets the tone and gives meaning to everything else that follows in the Bible. God's concern for the human race stems from the fact that he created man after his own image.

I wouldn't conclude that. God is also aware of every sparrow that falls. God is Love, says John. We are all the creation of God. I would say this, that having this image of God as part of our very own natures as humans, would be referring to a matter of our conscious will. This is where the story of Adam and Eve in garden plays out, in that we make choices on a conscious level, rather than simply on instinct and impulse as the beasts of the field. This is where being in the "image of God" comes into bear. We are consciously aware to choose.

But very often when the question of what God looks like comes up there seems to be very little clarity and consensus among Christians.

I think there is only one sect of Christianity that has a theology God has a physical body and lives on a planet in our solar system somewhere, but that's a more recent phenomena in Christian history, less than a little over a hundred years old or so now. I actually do tend to think most Christians do understand "image of God" as figurative, the way Paul was using it, as opposed to some actual body which becomes hard to reconcile with descriptions of God as Spirit and being invisible.

To some God is a mysterious and unknowable life force who cannot be seen or touched, who is nowhere and everywhere all at once.

Mystery, yes. Unknowable, no. The entire thrust of the NT is about knowing God. It is entirely about bridging the gulf to bring people into awareness and knowledge of God in themselves. Reconciliation, is exactly that. How can one be reconciled with God and still have not knowledge of God, not know the One you are reconciled with? The entire NT is about awakening that awareness and knowledge of God in yourself and in the world.

Then there are those who believe that though God has no form, since he is a Spirit, he sometimes comes in the form of a man. This makes me wonder "Who was created in the image of whom?. Was man created in the image of God or does God sometimes create a body for himself in the image of a Man?"

I think you are confusing these references to physical forms that people in the bible said they encountered. These are referred to theologically as theophanies, appearance of God in form. Those really rather are best understood as temporary manifestations, appearances in form. God manifests in many forms, but is formless in eternal nature. Spirit is in "itself" formless, without definitions, though like "wind" is manifested in form as it moves through them. "You are the light of the world", says Jesus. That is Spirit manifesting in humans who are awakened to God.

What do you believe God looks like?

Like whatever we see, when we are able to see.

 

[Thanda]

Although Jesus has both a fully divine and a fully human nature (for our benefit), God the Father is pure spirit. At the time of the creation, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was all pure Spirit. So the image and likeness of God doesn’t refer to physical form, but to the properties of the human mind and soul. It is our intellect, inborn understandings and spiritual awareness, the capacity to know and love God, our free will to unite with him, his intentions for our immortal potential, etc.

I hear you.

Firstly, no where in the Bible does it say God is a pure spirit. It says God is a spirit. And even as someone who believe that inside my body there is a spirit which is my consciousness and my life force, I could also say I am a spirit. God being a spirit does not automatically mean he does not have a body. And having a body does not make God a lesser person. We see with Jesus resurrected body that a physical body is not necessarily a limiting factor. Jesus was able to walk into a locked room and to disappear in front of people's eyes. This is the spiritual body Paul spoke of 1 Cor 15. The natural body (our bodies) are bound by the laws of this world. But the spiritual (resurrected) body is not quickened by blood but by the spirit. And this world has no power over such bodies.

Secondly God is invisible not because he is see through but because he is not here and a veil has been put over our eyes so that we cannot see things that are not of this natural world. A good example of this is the part in the bible where there was an army ready to attack Elisha. His servant was afraid but he told his servant not to worry since "they who are with us are more than they who are with them". Then Elisha asked God to open his eyes and when He did the servant saw an army of angels ready to battle. So there are many things which are invisible to man's natural eyes according to the will of God but that does not mean those things are no physically there.

 

[Thanda]

It is not that plain and simple if one understands it to represent physical form, in that God is spoken of everywhere else as Spirit, invisible, etc. Obviously humans are not invisible, so the image of God represents something more metaphorical. If you compare this with descriptions of the Christ in the NT, you'll notice the obvious references to this verse, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation". Obviously Jesus did not have a body of physical form "in the beginning". This image of God metaphor points to something else. We can see another reference by Paul to the same thing in Hebrews, "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature". So there is the answer. The image of God refers to his "Nature", or essence, or being, not a physical form with fingers and toes, hands and feet, and a certain kind of nose. Understanding the "image of God" metaphorically like Paul used it, opens the door to a much deeper penetrating understanding than referring simply to a physical body.

This is hard for me to except. Please refer to my reply to forever catholic about how something being being invisible to us does not mean it is not physically there. God could make me invisible to you if the need arose. There are demons all around us but we cannot see them. But they are actually physically here.

Let me make a comment here. If something does not physically exist then it does not exist - it is a thought a dream or an illusion. So what ever God is made of it is physical. It may not be exactly the same material from which we are made but that is irrelevant. Adams pre-fall body was not the same as his post fall body and Jesus pre-death body was not the same as his post resurrection body. They may have been made of different types of material but they were made of materials nonetheless. If we say God is not a physical entity then how can we differentiate his from a dream and a thought. Indeed if we say God is not a physical entity then we must accept the Buddhist belief that God is but a universal consciousness.

Concerning God's image being his nature. Adam certainly did not have God's nature. If he had he and Eve would have resisted the devil. Furthermore, after Adam and Eve partook the fruit God said "Behold the man has become as one of us, knowing Good from Evil". Clearly there was a lot that was different about Adam and Eve from God. And God said to Israel, "Be holy for I am holy". Again it is clear that our nature's are still not like God. And Paul said that man cannot know the things of God by using the spirit of the man that is in him. He said man can only know God by the Spirit of God. Again this clearly shows that our natures are not like God's. "As the heaven's are higher than the Earth so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways higher than your ways".

Clearly man does not have God's nature. I think we are really overthinking the most obvious and beautiful truth in scripture when we fail to see that our bodies are created in the Image of God's body. We really are God's children, not just metaphorically but literally. And since we are created in the image of God it serves to remind us that just as we look like God we should also be like God. Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect".

 

[Windwalker]

It sounds like you have all your answers and this is not a discussion where you want to actually hear people's thoughts. Why phrase it as a question then? Why not just say your ideas are the right ones and leave it at that?

 

[Desert Snake]

Although Jesus has both a fully divine and a fully human nature (for our benefit), God the Father is pure spirit. At the time of the creation, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was all pure Spirit. So the image and likeness of God doesn’t refer to physical form, but to the properties of the human mind and soul. It is our intellect, inborn understandings and spiritual awareness, the capacity to know and love God, our free will to unite with him, his intentions for our immortal potential, etc.

Way more could be said about what the image and likeness of God entails, but I’d say it boils down to all the properties of human beings that were not given to other earthly creatures. It would also pertain to the properties given to us in a much greater degree than were given to them.

Even though he is pure spirit, God the Father does have a visible form. We can't know what that is until and unless we see him in heaven, in what we call the beatific vision. That's a wonderful experience for souls in heaven, but nothing impure can survive God's face-to-face visible presence, which is why he does not visibly not show himself as he is to souls on earth.

You seem to be making things up a bit. Scripture doesn't ''specify'', what you are saying; you are theorizing, and not to well, if were going by the Bible, actually.

 

[Windwalker]

BTW, the Bible does not say God is a Spirit. It says God is Spirit. Not "a spirit". It is speaking of the nature of God. God is Love. God is Spirit. God is Light. All terms from John. These are not a description of forms, but of nature. Not that pointing this out matters if one has their minds made up about things in advance.

 

[Forever_Catholic]

If something does not physically exist then it does not exist - it is a thought a dream or an illusion.

You're thinking about this only in a materialistic perception of reality. Reality goes beyond matter, and there is evidence of that even in the material world. For example, gravity does not physically exist, but does exist.

I could also say I am a spirit.

You are a spirit, which for humans is the same as a soul. Your soul animates your body until it dies, and then continues to live without the physical body. At that time, you will be in spirit form only.

 

[Forever_Catholic]

You seem to be making things up a bit. Scripture doesn't ''specify'', what you are saying; you are theorizing, and not to well, if were going by the Bible, actually.

We can debate or discuss it if you want, but you'll have to be more specific.

 

[Thanda]

BTW, the Bible does not say God is a Spirit. It says God is Spirit. Not "a spirit". It is speaking of the nature of God. God is Love. God is Spirit. God is Light. All terms from John. These are not a description of forms, but of nature. Not that pointing this out matters if one has their minds made up about things in advance.

In the KJV it is a God is a Spirit. That is the version I use.

 

[Windwalker]

In the KJV it is a God is a Spirit. That is the version I use.

You believe the KJV was divinely translated? There are in fact other places the KJV translators didn't do a very good job and made mistakes, such as speaking of "cherubims" with an "s". The "im" ending in Hebrew is the plural signifier. Cherubims is a plural of a plural! It's like saying "deers", when deer is the plural already. Or sheeps, geeses, or mices, and so forth. So much for divinely translated. It would behoove you to read how other translations render it to be a little more up to date than a 300 year old translation.

Here's what scholars correctly point out why it is not translated "a spirit". From the Pulpit commentary series:

Verse 24. - A still more explicit and comprehensive reason is given for the previous assertion, based on the essential nature of God himself in the fulness of his eternal Being. God is Spirit(Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός; cf. John 1:1, Θεὸς η΅ν ὁ Λόγος, - the article indicates the subject, and the predicate is here generic, and not an indefinite; therefore we do not render it, "God is a Spirit"). The most comprehensive and far-reaching metaphor or method by which Jesus endeavoured to portray the fundamental essence of the Divine Being is "Spirit," not body, not ὕλη, not κόσμος, but that deep inner verity presented in self-conscious ego; thesubstantia of which mind may be predicated, and all its states and faculties. The Father is Spirit, the Son is Spirit, and Spirit is the unity of the Father and the Son. St. John has recorded elsewhere that "God is Light," and "God is Love." These three Divine utterances are the sublimest ever formed to express the metaphysical, intellectual, and moral essence of the Deity. They are unfathomably deep, and quite inexhaustible in their suggestions, and yet they are not too profound for even a little child or a poor Samaritaness to grasp for practical purposes. If God be Spirit, then they who worship him, the Spirit, must by the nature of the case, must by the force of a Divine arrangement,worship him, if they worship him at all, in spirit and in truth.
​

Please note John saying God is Light, God is Love, and God is Spirit is the same. Should it also read "God is a Light", like some sort of light bulb? Or should it say God is a Love, like a particular sort of emotional state of warm fuzziness? No. If it reads God is a spirit, then you need to destroy the meaning of the other sayings of John as well. Plus you also have to read the actual context of the passage. "A spirit" does not make sense. "Those who worship must worship in spirit and truth." It has to do with the nature of what faith is. God nature is Spirit, so the nature of worship must be that same essence or nature.

 

[MormonChainMonteCarlo]

LDS theology teaches that God possesses a perfected body of flesh and bone, as does his resurrected Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, after his own likeness are we crafted, as LDS theology posits that we are all children of our Heavenly Father.