Man was made in whose likeness?

[GoldenEagle]

I used a strongs concordance and it says that Genesis 1:26 reads Elohiym amar asah adam tselem dmuwth.

I wasnt aware that there are versions which read differently nor do I know which is closest to the original document.

I concede because Im not going to put the effort in that it would take to find out when each version was published, who translated them and from what text, or the translators doctrinal beliefs.

I still maintain that the image and likeness are male and female respectively.

You mention God is Spirit and indeed this is true but you know that God is also the Word and the Word was made flesh.

If God doesnt have a wife than why are we being called to a wedding? Food for thought.

God is distinctly male in the Bible.

God has betrothed Himself to the Church. Paid the price for the Church through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Would you agree?

God bless,

GE

[OneLight]

The interlinear I use is similar to that which Mcgyver uses. It states:

u∙iamr aleim noshe adm b∙tzim∙nu k∙dmuth∙nu

and ∙he-is-saying Elohim we-shall-make^do human in ∙image-of ∙us as ∙likeness-of ∙us

[saved34]

I used a strongs concordance and it says that Genesis 1:26 reads Elohiym amar asah adam tselem dmuwth.

I wasnt aware that there are versions which read differently nor do I know which is closest to the original document.

I concede because Im not going to put the effort in that it would take to find out when each version was published, who translated them and from what text, or the translators doctrinal beliefs.

I still maintain that the image and likeness are male and female respectively.

You mention God is Spirit and indeed this is true but you know that God is also the Word and the Word was made flesh.

If God doesnt have a wife than why are we being called to a wedding? Food for thought.

lol Xero it is hard to <persist in futile effort> . Your explanation of that passage made very little sense. Sometimes we should just let the word speak for itself. Elohim is used here, and scholars tell us that the word is plural. God is clearly identified as "Us" and "our". You may not believe in the Trinity but it's hard to get around this clear verse of scripture.

Edited March 8, 2013 by GoldenEagle
<removed saying>

[Jonah'sJourney]

Wonderful topic! Short answer: My view is God is speaking, in the immediate sense, to Adam, who was made in the image of God and was to grow into His likeness (which growth process included testing and thereby learning obedience). God's original plan was for Adam to be in His (God's) image and likeness and bear children who would be in his (Adam's) own image/likeness, and thus be in the image/likeness of God. But as a result of Adam's sin, his offspring have inherited his fallen nature--like father, like son.

God knew that would happen, of course, so in the prophetic sense in Gen. 1:26 He is speaking to Jesus as the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), who (through Mary) is a descendant of Adam, but unlike the first Adam learned obedience from the things that he suffered (Heb. 5:8). Christ is the image of God (Col. 1:15), and at his resurrection became the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18), the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:29)--that's us! As believers, we are being conformed to (Rom. 8:29) and transformed into (2 Cor. 3:18) his image, from glory to glory. So, to be conformed/transformed into the image of Christ = being conformed/transformed into the image of God = Gen. 1:26 fulfilled.

"Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

[*Zion*]

I used a strongs concordance and it says that Genesis 1:26 reads Elohiym amar asah adam tselem dmuwth.

I wasnt aware that there are versions which read differently nor do I know which is closest to the original document.

I concede because Im not going to put the effort in that it would take to find out when each version was published, who translated them and from what text, or the translators doctrinal beliefs.

I still maintain that the image and likeness are male and female respectively.

You mention God is Spirit and indeed this is true but you know that God is also the Word and the Word was made flesh.

If God doesnt have a wife than why are we being called to a wedding? Food for thought.

lol Xero it is hard to kick against the pricks. Your explanation of that passage made very little sense. Sometimes we should just let the word speak for itself. Elohim is used here, and scholars tell us that the word is plural. God is clearly identified as "Us" and "our". You may not believe in the Trinity but it's hard to get around this clear verse of scripture.

Agreed, Saved34 :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[1peterlight]

Wonderful topic! Short answer: My view is God is speaking, in the immediate sense, to Adam, who was made in the image of God and was to grow into His likeness (which growth process included testing and thereby learning obedience). God's original plan was for Adam to be in His (God's) image and likeness and bear children who would be in his (Adam's) own image/likeness, and thus be in the image/likeness of God. But as a result of Adam's sin, his offspring have inherited his fallen nature--like father, like son.

God knew that would happen, of course, so in the prophetic sense in Gen. 1:26 He is speaking to Jesus as the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), who (through Mary) is a descendant of Adam, but unlike the first Adam learned obedience from the things that he suffered (Heb. 5:8). Christ is the image of God (Col. 1:15), and at his resurrection became the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18), the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:29)--that's us! As believers, we are being conformed to (Rom. 8:29) and transformed into (2 Cor. 3:18) his image, from glory to glory. So, to be conformed/transformed into the image of Christ = being conformed/transformed into the image of God = Gen. 1:26 fulfilled.

"Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Interesting, it recently was asserted to me that Adam and Jesus were not perfect but had to perfect. It doesn't seem to say that about Jesus in your post but is this what you assume about Adam? So in your view, God was speaking to Jesus about Adam when he said in our image?

[xero]

Jesus is the head of the church, which is the body of the congregation, as a husband to a wife or male to female.

Ephesians 5:29 "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Right there in Ephesians 5:30 it says we are of Jesus' flesh and then Paul quotes Genesis in 5:31 with "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.", he goes on to say in 5:32 its a great mystery but he speaks concerning Christ and the church.

If the two become one flesh and Paul is speaking about Christ and the church do you understand the male to female relationship now? Obviously not all of us in the church are physically female but were still the spiritual bride of the Lamb.

Spirit is to husband as flesh is to wife. We are the flesh and bone of Christ our spiritual head.

Matthew 19:4"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

Im not saying God has a penis and a vagina. Im saying God made man in his image and likeness which is male and female because at the end of the Bible it starts quoting the beginning of the Bible and then says were the bride of God so honestly tell me how any of you make sense of being the bride of God?

I have to rely on the logic that a man shall cleave unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh because thats what God said. God made man in His image and likeness and male and female was the result so its perfectly logical to see image and likeness as being male and female.

God is spirit so I have to look at male and female from a spiritual perspective and I find that in the bridegroom and the bride of the Lamb.

Spiritually speaking the spirit is the bridegroom and the bride is the body.

Ive stated, reiterated, restated so Ill leave it at this: theres more to being male and female than our genitals and if you try to understand everything from a physical perspective spiritual concepts wont be easy to come to terms with.

[GoldenEagle]

<snip>

I have to rely on the logic that a man shall cleave unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh because thats what God said. God made man in His image and likeness and male and female was the result so its perfectly logical to see image and likeness as being male and female.

God is spirit so I have to look at male and female from a spiritual perspective and I find that in the bridegroom and the bride of the Lamb.

Spiritually speaking the spirit is the bridegroom and the bride is the body.

I think I understand somewhat what you're trying to say. Let me simplify what I'm trying to say.

God is referred to as distincly male in the Bible - Father. Jesus reffered to Him this way. Here's some examples.

Matt. 23:9

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

John 10:28-30

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.

Matt. 6:8-13

⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

¹⁰ Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

1 Cor. 8:6

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

While He may have certain attributes that are often considered feminine (nurturing for example) God is still masculine in the Bible. Would you agree Xero?

Good discussion brother.

God bless,

GE

[Mcgyver]

Jesus is the head of the church, which is the body of the congregation, as a husband to a wife or male to female.

Ephesians 5:29 "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Right there in Ephesians 5:30 it says we are of Jesus' flesh and then Paul quotes Genesis in 5:31 with "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.", he goes on to say in 5:32 its a great mystery but he speaks concerning Christ and the church.

If the two become one flesh and Paul is speaking about Christ and the church do you understand the male to female relationship now? Obviously not all of us in the church are physically female but were still the spiritual bride of the Lamb.

Spirit is to husband as flesh is to wife. We are the flesh and bone of Christ our spiritual head.

Matthew 19:4"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

Im not saying God has a penis and a vagina. Im saying God made man in his image and likeness which is male and female because at the end of the Bible it starts quoting the beginning of the Bible and then says were the bride of God so honestly tell me how any of you make sense of being the bride of God?

I have to rely on the logic that a man shall cleave unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh because thats what God said. God made man in His image and likeness and male and female was the result so its perfectly logical to see image and likeness as being male and female.

God is spirit so I have to look at male and female from a spiritual perspective and I find that in the bridegroom and the bride of the Lamb.

Spiritually speaking the spirit is the bridegroom and the bride is the body.

Ive stated, reiterated, restated so Ill leave it at this: theres more to being male and female than our genitals and if you try to understand everything from a physical perspective spiritual concepts wont be easy to come to terms with.

Maybe I'm just not getting what you're trying to say here...because honestly, to me this smacks of some new-age influence. Maybe I'm just confused or failing to understand from your examples...wouldn't be the first time...

In context, in Ephesians 5:22-33 Paul is using analogy and similitude to describe the relationship of a husband and wife...and he specifically states: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

This in a time when women were little more than chattels......

Similitude and analogy to illustrate, expound upon, and prove a point.

For when Paul says: For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. I'm pretty sure he's not saying that I (for example) am the fingernail on His left pinky...if you see what I'm driving at.

I'm just not seeing this:

I have to rely on the logic that a man shall cleave unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh because thats what God said. God made man in His image and likeness and male and female was the result so its perfectly logical to see image and likeness as being male and female.

I would submit that being created in His image has very little to do either with physical appearance or sex, but rather we are a different order of creation than angels, fish, birds, or animals; for we were created to have a relationship with God as His children....to fellowship with God.

Man alone on this earth has the capacity to make moral decisions, to know right from wrong, to think critically and come to conclusions not based on instinct or primeval drives...to think abstractly and communicate in complex ways...to pray and have our prayers heard...but even the most primitive bacteria has the capacity to procreate.

I think that a better comparison would be: I can't have fellowship with a dog, but I can have fellowship with my son...because my son is in my image whereas my dog is not...

God is spirit...and He has chosen to reveal Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit not because He is some sort of androgynous being...but so that we can understand that we can have a relationship with Him as a loving Father, because we were created in the similitude of His spiritual image...

James writes (concerning the tongue): With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

Edited March 8, 2013 by Mcgyver

[Jonah'sJourney]

Interesting, it recently was asserted to me that Adam and Jesus were not perfect but had to perfect. It doesn't seem to say that about Jesus in your post but is this what you assume about Adam?

No, by definition Adam was perfect until he sinned. But there was still a sense in which he had to be perfected, tested. Jesus was perfect, yet still had to be tested. (I'm speaking of Jesus as to his humanity, as the "Last Adam.") Adam failed the test, Jesus did not.

So in your view, God was speaking to Jesus about Adam when he said in our image?

There is a double application to Genesis 1:26, one physical (relating to Adam) and the other spiritual (relating to Christ).

In the historical context of Genesis 1:26, God is speaking to Adam ("Let us ...") by announcing beforehand His intent, which was that Adam, who was created in the image and likeness of God, should bring forth sons and daughters ("... make man ...") who would be in the image and likeness of their father, and therefore in the image and likeness of God ("... in our image, according to our likeness"). Adam was the prototype, the "federal head" of the human race. Those whom Adam beget would be "in Adam," in the sense they would be like him. Adam sinned, and thus all those who descend from him are like him ("in Adam all die" 1 Cor. 15:22).

In the prophetic sense, in Genesis 1:26 God is speaking to Christ, the firstborn of a new (spiritual) creation--the Last Adam. God foreknew that the first Adam would sin and that all his descendants would therefore be lost. But He also foreknew that, when the fulness of time came, He would send forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law (Gal. 4:4), who would accomplish what Adam did not. As believers, we are no longer "in Adam," but "in Christ" (1 Cor. 15:22).

The reason Jesus is called the "last Adam" (1 Cor. 15:45) is because he (as man) is the anti-type of the first Adam, who was a type of Him who was to come (Rom. 5:14). Genesis 1:26 is actually the first Messianic prophecy!

Edited March 8, 2013 by GoldenEagle