Creation

The statement regarding God's image leaves the door open for a great amount of speculation. Unfortunately, God does not take the time to explain exactly what this means. There are several things it clearly does not mean and other things that have greater possibility of what it might mean. In other words we can better define the edges of the spectrum of possibilities than the middle.

What it does not mean:

It does not mean that God was also human and that we have the potential to become the exact same basic makeup of God.

Job 7:17 What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him,

Psa 8:3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Theology tells us that God is three persons in one but man is simply one person.

God is Spirit. Each human is both physical and non-physical.

God is incapable of sin. Mankind sinned while there were only two people on earth and all of their descendants have sinned since.

Man is NOT God.

What it might mean:

It may refer to the fact that mankind has the ability to reason, exercise free choice, express emotions, understand morality and glorify their creator. It may refer to the personality of mankind.

What it does mean:

What we can clearly say it does mean is that in some way and at some level, man reflects the glory of God in a greater way than the rest of creation. As we study scripture, it is easy to see many of God's declarations about Himself are mirrored to some degree in man.

Our bodies therefore have been created by God as suitable instruments to represent in a physical way our human nature, which has been made to be like God's own nature. In fact, almost everything we do is done by means of the use of our physical bodies—our thinking, our moral judgments, our prayer and praise, our demonstrations of love and concern for each other—all are done using the physical bodies God has given us. Therefore, if we are careful to point out that we are not saying that God has a physical body, we may say that our physical bodies in various ways reflect something of God's own character as well. Moreover, much physical movement and demonstration of God-given skill comes about through the use of our body.1

God followed the statement up with three propositions:

 _Male and Female

 _Commanded to multiply

 _Rule over the earth

The construction might imply that these may clarify the statement that they were created in God's Image. It may be that the more man clearly fulfills these the more clearly he reflects God's image.