GLEANINGS — December 15, A.D. 2013                                                                                                               "Imago Dei, Part Two"

It is fitting to address the subject of human nature during this season when many Christians celebrate the incarnation of our Immanuel. The bottom line about human nature is that men and women are made in the image of God. This essential truth is asserted multiple times in Scripture, e.g. Genesis 1:26, 27; 5:1; 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7, and James 3:9.

Remember our "million dollar words", anthropomorphic and theomorphic? They help us to see that  the similarity between God and human beings is comparable to a one way street; we are like Him, but He is not like us. The strength and skill of our arms of flesh reflects His omnipotence; our ability to know is a representation of His omniscience. We "think God's thoughts after Him."

But instead of saying, "God doesn't really have an arm made of muscle and bone, or a physical ear that detects sound" (apart from the Son's incarnation), it is better to regard everything in Mankind as an echo of one or more attributes of God. He Who perceives all things created human eyes and ears. He Who is almighty and all-wise made muscles, bones, and the mental powers that enable us to act with strength and intelligence. He Who is from everlasting to everlasting created us as beings who will exist forever – forever blissful in heaven, or forever damned in the dark torment of hell.

God's understanding and knowledge are infinite, so finite man was created a rational being. God is good and just, so man was created an ethical (a.k.a."moral") being. God is utterly holy, so man was set apart from the rest of creation, endowed with the singular honor of having a similarity to the living God which is as faithful and accurate as was possible for God Himself to achieve!

A fundamental truth about the one God is His triune being. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each fully possess the divine nature (Matthew 28:19), and are in eternal fellowship as three Persons indivisibly united. Even so, the image of God is seen not only in each human person but also in human community, in the "togetherness" of people. Adam by himself bore God's image...Eve by herself bore God's image...in Eden together, and later in society with their progeny, they pictured – on a created level – the unity of the three uncreated Persons of the Godhead.

So to sum up, as our confession of faith puts it, at creation God "endued (mankind) with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfil it." 
 
This is a good point at which to underscore the tragic and pandemic ruin that came to God's masterpiece shortly after we were made. "...This only I have found," wrote the preacher, "that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes." (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:29)

When Adam our representative sinned and we all sinned in Him (Romans 5:12), the image of God in man was not destroyed, but it was corrupted in all its aspects. Hence we see a broken, tarnished reflection of God in each person, and we see human relationships of all kinds falling woefully short of the eternal peace, delight, and companionship enjoyed by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

to be continued...