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NASB | Genesis 1:26 ¶ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 1:26 ¶ Then God said, "Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth." [Ps 104:30; Heb 1:2; 11:3] |
Bible Question: what is the image of GOD? what is his likeness? |
Bible Answer: Good question, Buf. God made man in His image, but what is God's image? Since we know God to be spiritual and not of flesh and blood as we, His image must necessarily be measured by spiritual attributes. But God is transcendent; there is none like Him; there is no basis for comparision; there is no meaningful way to say, "God is like this or like that." In the words of 1 Samuel 2:2, "There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God." In many places throughout the Bible, God is variously described as the Creator, as being full of grace, as holy, as loving, as sovereign. Jesus is the best example we have, or will ever have, of what the Father is like. Philip asked Jesus to show him and the other disciples the Father in Matthew 14:8. In the next verse Jesus tells Philip, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." It follows, then, that the more we know about Jesus the better the image we have of the Father. So, Buf, as a line in an old hymn puts it, "More about Jesus would I know, more of His grace to others show; Spirit of God my teacher be, showing the things of Christ to me." There is a good thought for the saints, laden with hope, in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face." How awesome to consider that one day we shall meet the Almighty God face to face! --Hank |