what does it mean to be made in God's image?

Question

does it mean he made us as in a way as he "imagined" man to be, or to be made to be like him? also in...

genesis 1:26
"and God said, Let *us* make man in *our* image"

who is us? and why does He sometimes say "in *his* image" and "in *our* image"?

Answer 1

I've read most of the answers and they have apparently never read the bible verse for verse.

Like Skullkeepers said God is a spiritual being and thus he made us to be spiritual.

Some say that God created us to know right from wrong, this however is not true, if Adam had known right from wrong he would have had no reason to eat from the tree of knowledge and the snake would not have tempted either Eve nor Adam

These same people also say that God is talking to the Son and the Holy ghost, however none of the old testament mentions this trinity, so if one went off of the old testament alone the trinity would not be a correct answer. however, if one were to think of God as multiple entities then it would make more sense. I'm not saying multiple "Gods" But rather multiple entities forming one single mind that is God.

Answer 2

1) to be in God's Image is to be both. He imagined us to be like Him. This doesn't necessarily mean physically, but it definitely means spiritually. This also means that inside human beings are the same basic morals, ideals, and values that God holds (ex empathy, kindness, etc). This is why many cultures and people the world over don't know of God, but still hold many of the same morals as true: because inside them is the Image of God. But that Image is no longer "right": because of the Fall & Original Sin, this Image of God is now obscured and twisted, so that human beings could also be said to be "born evil." Hence while children can play and laugh and sing, all wonderful things, they are also capable of tormenting animals, bulling each other, and fighting. Think of God's Image as the angel on one shoulder and Original Sin as the demon on the other. Problem is even if we follow our "better natures" we have lost the ability to know how to use them, so that is part of the reason why God sent Jesus--to show the Way.

2) the reason God says "Us" in the Bible is because the Hebrew word for God in that passage, "Elohim," is plural. One might think that this means there is a plurality of gods, if one were to take this passage and isolate it from all others. However the Bible is completely adamant that there is only One God and that all others are lower spirits or even non-existent.

So why the plural "We," and why the singular "I" sometimes? It has to do with the Trinity concept. This concept is best expressed metaphorically. Take a line--that represents an animal's mind. It is very simple, low-key. Then take a square, representing a human mind. That's four lines--animal minds--combined into one, because human beings are many times more complex than an animal. Animals look up at human beings and probably wonder at our complexity, why do we do the things we do, but they can't figure us out exactly because we are a level above them.

Now imagine a cube--that is, imagine a metaphor of God's mind. That's several squares put together, just like a square is several lines put together. We are now the animal, looking up at God's mind and wondering, what is He, why does He do what He does? To us, each side of the cube would appear like a square--like a completely different Person. This is the Trinity: the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, they are all separate Persons, but there is only One God. We can't understand it completely because we are on a lower level, but this little example can give us enough of an idea. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

"Image" in how we think of it may mean physical form or shape, but if we're just talking non-three dimensional terms here, "image" means a likeness. We are, or were, in God's perfect image because we shared similar characteristics: love, anger, joy, justice. That is what it means to be in the image of God. Also, the reason the plural is used is because if you look in the original Hebrew, the book of Genesis uses three names for God. The three names each represent a different part of God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Answer 4

If I'm made in god's image then god must be dead sexy.

After reading some of the other answers "god's image" is said to be knowing good from evil????? If this is the case why didn't adam and eve know good from evil until they ate the fruit? I smell something. Could it be more biblical BS?? Yep that's what it is.

Answer 5

Genesis a million:26 Then God stated, "enable us to make guy in our image, in our likeness, and enable them to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that flow alongside the floor." We rule over issues. it extremely is one way we are in God's image. Why are we sinners? initially we weren't. God initially made us perfect. We fell and at the instant are below a curse. it extremely is form of like a clean motor vehicle, if it may be made perfect. Crash it and that's no longer perfect.

Answer 6

GOD Almighty is a Spirit
GOD Almighty is Love
GOD Almighty is Life
GOD Almighty is Fire---FIRE
GOD Almighty is LIGHT

GOD Almighty is the CREATOR.
GOD Almighty had a Body too!
Moses got to see it.

We are Created in HIS Image and Likeness of the Body HE had.
(Jesus took on one too, remember?)

We are Human Beings.
We are Not CREATORs (Flaming Fire etc.)

Now, when HE said Let US--HE was Talking about The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

There are Three and They are ONE.
Hard to Understand some Spiritual Things, hard to! The Spiritual Realm is Alot Different than the Physical Realm.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Because god is a spiritual being he created us to be spiritual as well. Most people fail at this. We were created in his/her image NOT what people or the church sees us as. Remember alot of people think the physical form is the creation not our spiritual form. There is alot of soul searching for the truth. A preacher can only give his/her view. You must think for yourself. This is a journey that could take a lifetime to figure out. Good Luck

Answer 8

Good question... A better question is ARE WE STILL in the image of God? In the fall, we lost our conformity to God, becoming imperfect....

R.C. Sproul has a series called shattered image. It talks about that. https://store.ligonier.org/product.asp?idDept=M&idCategory=TH&idProduct=SHA01MC If you want, I will buy it and e-mail it to you.

Anyway he has a PHd in philosophy, theology and is a trained logician.... It is seriously worth listening to. www.ligionier.org, you can hear his stuff for free, but I cannot promise you will catch the shattered image stuff there.

Answer 9

God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit, were talking. We are made in the image of Jesus, two arms, two legs, a head etc.

Answer 10

We are in God's image because we have a soul and the ability to know right from wrong...as for the us- kings used to refer to them as us and we