Imago Dei

[JohnD]

Genesis 1:26–27 (NIV84)
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

In our the usual two dimensional thinking, this passage would appear to indicate that

• God made as little gods. ← some heretics actually believe and teach this
• God created us with aspects of deity
• God created us with superiority over animals (yes and no: argument for another thread)
• That more than one Person in the Godhead created humanity

But placing this passage in the multidimensional realm of God's omnipotence and omniscience...

God the Word who created all things created in the beginning did so alone / by himself (John 1:3 / Colossians 1:16 / Isaiah 44:24). So the language "Let US create man in OUR image after OUR likeness" was in omniscient anticipation of how the FATHER would created the body / humanity of the SON (John 1:14 / Hebrews 10:5 / Hebrews 1:5) who would be the visible IMAGE of the invisible God:

Colossians 1:13–15 (NIV84)
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

So the first Adam was created (by God the Word) in the image of the last Adam.

The last Adam (created by the Father) is the visible image of the invisible God.

Let US ← refers to the overall two distinct operations of creation of mankind.

[JohnD]

There are two human races.

The children of the first Adam.

The last Adam.

Jesus is his own human race. Population: Jesus. 

This is how he could be completely devoid of the sins

of Adam (which all of us as his heirs possess by nature).

The reason Jesus (the Last Adam) was not created like the first Adam

(full grown) but went through the gestation process and birth  was to be

LEGALLY counted as the Son of man, of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and

David.

[JohnD]

The Last Adam was the design model for the first Adam.

That's what being made in the image of God (Colossians 1:15)

means.

And this included the design variation: 

"male and female He made them..."

 

[R. Hartono]

On 4/18/2021 at 9:05 PM, JohnD said:

The reason Jesus (the Last Adam) was not created like the first Adam

(full grown) but went through the gestation process and birth  was to be

LEGALLY counted as the Son of man, 

God can create Jesus from ground soil like Adam but who will believe this if He tell people ?

Edited April 19, 2021 by R. Hartono