Good Morning.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

We need to understand that when the Creator uttered these words, He didn’t intend that the form of man was to be a copy of what He looked like, necessarily. First of all, God is Spirit (John 4:24) and, as far as we know, He has no form that can be comprehended or explained with our limited understanding. So then, what did He mean by the words, “in our image, according to our likeness”? The answer is hinted at with this statement from John’s Gospel:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:12-14)

To summarize, John tells us that the invisible, infinite and incomprehensible God took on the FORM of man that we might learn how to FUNCTION as His sons and daughters. Messiah, who said that no one had seen the Father “nor seen His form” (Jn 5:37), walked this earth that mankind might be reconciled back to God and that we might better understand the heart of God. Messiah also said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (Jn 14:9). By observing His actions, attitudes and self-sacrifice, we are able to see the heart and nature of God.

In other words, it would seem that God puts primacy on function, not form. What we do as it relates to His Will and purpose is how we conform to His image and likeness. We must, therefore, commit ourselves to the goal of exhibiting His attributes and characteristics — goodness, long suffering, mercy and sacrifice — that we might be conformed to the image of the  Son of God (Rom 8:29).

Blessings and Shalom, 

Bill

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