Christians: Why did God make man in his own image?

Question

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201:%2027&version=49

Answer 1

Hello there Brother.. this is a very good question.
Why was man made in God's image.
Gen 1:26
" And God said let us make man in Our image accorrding to our Likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth"

We see a pattern also in God's creation. He created all things according to their own " Kind"
Man we see is created according to God's image and likeness. So man is God's Kind. Makes you wonder about the word" mankind" huh:)
(SO much happened after the fall)

God created man as such an amazing vessel. There is an example of a glove being made in the Image of a hand. If you look at it outwardly you would realize that it resembles the Hand because it was made according to the Hand to be filled with a hand to function and fulfill what it was made for.

Man is made in God's image as this vessel to contain God, Who is Spirit in this part of him that matches God, man's spirit.
Man is a tripartite being with a spirit, soul and body.
So why did He make us in this way? So that we can have a way to contain Him,that He can be our very life and life suppy and also that we can have fellowship and worship Him in spirit and truthfulness. He also made us in His image so that we can be His authority on the earth.

Zech 12:1 shows THREE of the most important things that God created.

" The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the HEAVENS adn lays the foundation of the EARTH and forms the SPIRIT of man WITHIN him.

So we see the Heavens, the Earth, and the spiriti of man within him. These three in God's eyes are ranked together.
The Heavens are for the Earth.. the Earth is for man.. and man's spirit.. made in the image of God is for God to fill and indwell man so that man can be His expression and have represent Him on the earth.


If I take that glove and fill it with a foot or sand or a pencil it will not be fulfilling its purpose. In the same way God made man with this spirit within him, this part that yearns to be filled with God. If we fill ourselves with other things it may satisfy us for a while.. but deep in our spirit there is a cry for the eternal One.. This God in Whose image we are made.. for the real satisfaction only He can give.

Jesus Said in John 10:10
I have come that they might have Life and that they might have it more abundantly.

This Life is God as the Divine Life. He wants to enliven our deadened spirit and fill it with God as Life. From man's spirit God is able work Himself into man to transform all his inward parts, conforming man to the image of His Son.. but our spirit which is made in God's image is that strategic starting point.

I believe brother that this is the real gospel. That this is what will satisfy more out there. Yes.. we share on heaven and hell..but that is still not hitting the mark. The mark is that God made man as a vessel for Himself. God is satisfied and man is satisfied.

Great Question brother
sorry for being so long
Your sister
sandy

Answer 2

I got this off of blueltterbible.org and it is from Chuck Smith
II. WHY WOULD GOD CREATE MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE?
A. It would seem it was His desire to come into a meaningful loving relationship with His creation.
1. It is stated in the scriptures that we were created for His pleasure. That is the pleasure of loving us and being loved by us
2. You may say, "I don't want to love God." You have a prerogative, He created you a free moral agent.
3. Just note that in not loving God, you have failed to respond to the basic purpose of your existence thus do not be surprised if your life seems at times to be empty, frustrating and useless.
B. God desired fellowship.
1. More than half the joy of having something beautiful is the sharing of that beauty with someone you love.
a. If I see a beautiful sunset, I will call Kay to come see it with me.
b. If I hear a beautiful symphony, I will call her to listen.
2. God wanted to share the glories and the beauty of His creation, hence He created man in His image and likeness that He might fellowship or share with Him all the glory and beauty of His love.

(There was more before this as well) Here is the link:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/comm_read.pl?book=Gen&chapter=1&verse=26&Comm=Comm%2Fchuck_smith_sn%2FGen%2FGen6.html%231%26%7BChuck+Smith%26&Select.x=21&Select.y=16

Answer 3

The image of God refers to the immaterial part of man. It sets man apart from the animal world, fits him for the “dominion” God intended (Genesis 1:28), and enables him to commune with his Maker. It is a likeness mentally, morally, and socially.

Answer 4

What it means is like an artist painting the picture the way he or she thought it would look best. If you have a group of them, looking at the same item, one can find a wide variety of paintings when they are done.
And we are in the image that God chose, His image. What God decided.

Answer 5

"image of God" means people have a likeness to God, to a small degree. people talk with written & spoken words, understand mathematices, manufacture issues, fly area craft to the moon, and so forth. in basic terms people can do those issues, because of the fact in basic terms people are made in a twin of God. all the different animals are in a distinctive classification.

Answer 6

Good question.

Mostly poor answers.

And I have none at all worthy of posting.

Warrior made the best effort.

To the rescue: the Roman Catholic Catechism, which is very useful for a puzzler like this (even for non-RCs like me).

225 "It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God."
Now, *that's* a pretty good answer!

356 "Of all visible creatures only man is 'able to know and love his creator.' He is 'the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake,' and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity:"

705 "Disfigured by sin and death, man remains 'in the image of God,' in the image of the Son, but is deprived 'of the glory of God,' of his 'likeness.' The promise made to Abraham inaugurates the economy of salvation, at the culmination of which the Son himself will assume that 'image' and restore it in the Father's 'likeness' by giving it again its Glory, the Spirit who is 'the giver of life.' "

1701 " 'Christ, . . . in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation.' It is in Christ, 'the image of the invisible God,' that man has been created 'in the image and likeness' of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God."

It goes on and on, but this was the best of what I gleaned.

Jim

Answer 7

Since God knows the beginning from the end, we can assume he knew he was creating the form his own son would take on in the future.

Answer 8

We are still trying to figure out what all that means. What He made in His image is mankind-- male and female. I think, from the context that the point is that we can be happy only by seeking the happiness of someone else. If you seek your own happiness, you end up in the mud.

Answer 9

Maybe so we could communicate, reason, and have free will. And so that we could communicate with God and do his purpose. ?

Answer 10

Why not?