What does it mean when God said, “Let Us make man in Our image” in Genesis 1:26? | GotQuestions.org

GotQuestions.org

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

In today's video I'll answer your question, what does it mean when God said, let us make man in our image, in Genesis 1 verse 26.

00:09

Then afterward, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end. Genesis chapter 1 details the creation account of the all -knowing, all -powerful, sovereign

00:28

God. When God reaches His crowning creative act, the formation of human life,

00:33

His wording changes from the impersonal, let there be, to the deliberate and intimate expression, let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

00:44

God's plan for humans includes giving them responsibilities on the earth, "...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

00:59

Genesis 1 verse 26. Human beings, both men and women, are made in God's image.

01:07

"...let us make human beings in our image, to be like us," says Genesis 1 verse 26 in the

01:14

NLT. We did not evolve from lower forms of life. We were created directly by God to represent

01:21

Him on the earth and have dominion over every other creation in His name. Having God's image means we are fashioned to resemble and represent

01:30

God on the earth. Some Christians like to say we are imagers of God.

01:36

Our likeness with God is not a physical resemblance. Instead, God's likeness denotes our capacity to rule over creation and be in relationship with God and other humans and to exercise reason, intelligence, speech, moral consciousness, creativity, rationality, and choice.

01:55

Since the beginning of time, God has desired to bless us and enjoy close fellowship with us.

02:01

And for this reason, He made us like Himself. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the preeminent and perfect image of God.

02:09

The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God. See Jesus is to see the

02:18

Father. To know Christ is to know God. Jesus Christ shows us what God meant when

02:24

He said, Let us make man in our image. The original Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1 is the plural masculine noun elohim.

02:34

God, our Creator, chose to introduce Himself to us with a plural title. In Genesis 1 verse 26, the first time in the

02:42

Bible that God speaks about Himself, He uses the plural pronouns us and our.

02:49

This passage is not the only instance in which God refers to Himself in plural terms. See Genesis 3 verse 22, 11 verse 7, and Isaiah 6 verse 8.

02:59

We find the plural elohim more than 2 ,550 times in the

03:04

Bible. We know from Scripture that there is only one God, there is no other God, and He is one—Deuteronomy 6 verse 4.

03:14

So, how can we understand the plurality of His name, elohim, together with His statement,

03:20

Let us make man in our image? Bible scholars present several possible explanations.

03:26

Some believe that in Genesis 1 verse 26, God refers to Himself and includes the heavenly assembly of angels, as in Job 1 verse 6, 1

03:35

Kings 22 verses 19–20, and Psalm 89 verse 5. However, this theory falls apart because nowhere in Scripture does

03:44

God say that the angels are made in His image or likeness. Another hypothesis suggests that the plural form is used to convey dignity and splendor, a language device called plural of majesty.

03:57

Others chalk up the plural language to a technique known as plural of deliberation, used when a speaker consults with himself as the

04:05

Lord does in Isaiah 6 verse 8, Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall

04:10

I send, and whom will go for us? The conviction of the early church fathers was that Elohim's statement,

04:16

Let us make man in our image, communicates a complex and unified expression of the

04:21

Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one in three persons, God the Father, God the

04:27

Son, Jesus Christ our Savior, and God the Holy Spirit. Here in Genesis 1 verse 26, the us and our indicate

04:35

God the Father speaking in the fullness of His divine creative power to the Son and the

04:41

Holy Spirit. A similar conversation among the Godhead is seen in Genesis 3 verse 22,

04:47

And the Lord God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.

04:53

Only humans are uniquely created in the image and likeness of God, distinguishing them from all other earthly beings.

05:01

We were made like Him so that we could be in relationship with Him, the one and only Triune God.

05:07

Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don't miss the next video! Visit GotQuestions .org for more great content. And check out the details section below this video, there you'll find one book

05:15

I recommend, along with links to several related questions. If you'd like to learn about Bible Munch, or if you're interested in Bite -sized devotionals, subscribe to Bible Munch on YouTube, it's linked right here.