Image

This week our discussion is centering on the subject of who we are. When the origin of humanity is left open to speculation this question is at least vast, but more probably unfathomable. On the other hand, if we begin looking into this issue of human identity by starting with the premise that we’ve been created by an infinite God, then we know with certainty that such an entity would have a certain understanding of our purposes here (if any).  So then, if this God has specifically stated something about our nature then ignoring such information would be extraordinarily foolish.

Now I want us to look very carefully at a particular passage of scripture which speaks directly to who we are, or were made to be, and consider its implications:
Gen 1:25-27
25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.(NAU)

What could this mean? “In His image?” Some, like the Mormons have taken this to mean that we literally resemble God in physical appearance… that is, that God has nostrils and armpits and the like, and so made us with a similar appearance. This would be a profound misunderstanding of both the nature of God and the text itself. Check this out, God actually moves from physical construction of beasts and animals to a consultation with Himself (v.26), wherein He decides to make mankind in a whole different manner… in a posture of dominion… but more than just ruling… in His likeness. How are we like God? I’d like to open this up to discussion, but I’ll get the ball rolling with a few of the more profound resemblances that I’ve found between humanity and God:
1. Moral Significance – The Coyote does not stop to speculate whether it is engaging in a morally significant act as it devours baby rabbits, nor does the river wonder about ethics as it drowns creatures in its flood stage. Creation is amoral prior to the creation of humanity… then God does something incredible. He creates the possibility for humans to do something truly virtuous and good (of their own accord). In order to make such a thing possible God engender within humanity the capacity to choose against His desire. So open is this capacity for selfless good or self-interested evil that we see a rapid and tragic degeneration from an initial violation; tasting the fruit of a forbidden tree, to murder within a single generation. It is a gift and responsibility so central to the creation of humanity, that the consequences of said choices are eternal and quite dire. Since the time of our moral progenitors, humans have latched onto untold opportunities to probe the depths of sin and depravity and in the midst of it all to also come clamoring back to our creator seeking restoration. God has given us the opportunity to perceive good and evil (as He does) and in so doing, to act on it. The choices that we make are more than mere hormones, more than our parentage, instinct, or what we had for breakfast. Our choices are significant now but more importantly, they matter eternally.
2. Greater than Nature and Time – I don’t know whether you’ve ever considered it or not; but you are more durable than mountains, you exceed the oceans, and will even survive the demise of the heavens and this little orb called earth. You and I are more than space and time… God made us spiritual creatures. While you feel dwarfed by the veil of this matter and energy cosmos, God has made us more; made us into something that endures, that lasts beyond the destruction of this present frame. We, like our God will not perish with this cosmos… I find this prospect to be both empowering and frightening.
3. Possessing a Mind Life – J.P. Moreland expressed this well in the statement “Animals have the capacity to think, but we have the capacity to think about thinking.” God, even at the creation, seems to engage in the realm of ideas and has made us in this likeness. More than merely being like Him in this regard, He’s actually established the vast plains of idea and thought as a playground on which to meet and mingle with us, if we choose to engage with Him there.
4. Possessing A Will – We have the distinct capacity to violate every compulsion and volition of the flesh, to go against all that is our nature by sheer force of choice. Animals act as instinct dictates, humans can act contrary to all instinct. God demonstrated will in choosing to create, and more specifically in choosing to create something that could grieve Him (us). We likewise can willfully choose to suffer in order to achieve greater good.