“Let Us Make Man in Our Image”
God named us Man and created us in His image and likeness which cannot be seen.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’…God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him” Genesis 1:26–27
The Invisible God
Genesis chapter one shows and teaches us that we were created in God’s image. The Bible is teaching that we look like God, we were made in His image. Each and every person on this planet looks like God. But in this chapter God was not talking about our physical bodies. God is not a physical being (Deuteronomy 4:12, John 5:37). He is spiritual (John 4:24), which means He is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17) (learn more here). So, when the Bible says, “God created man in His own image”, He was speaking of our spiritual body, the soul. The Bible is describing the part of ourselves that we cannot be see because it was created in God’s image which also cannot be seen.
Man is a spiritual body that was given a natural body in Genesis 2.
“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” Genesis 2:7
Differences Between Genesis 1 and 2
Christians are taught that Genesis 2 focuses on the sixth day in Genesis 1 when God created Man. But Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 are two totally different accounts of creation. The differences can be seen by looking at the name change from “God” to “the Lord God”. Chapter one shows God creating plants and trees before He made man, whereas chapter two shows the Lord God causing plants and trees to grow after forming man. In chapter one, it shows all the animals were made before man, but in chapter two the animals were formed after the Lord God formed man. Another difference an individual can see is that it seems as though in Genesis 1 the male and female were created simultaneously, but in chapter two the Lord God made woman well after making the man and even after forming all the animals, and growing all the trees and plants. Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 have obvious differences and they are there on purpose to show the spiritual and the natural (read The Difference of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2).
Adam’s Spiritual and Natural Body
If we go over to the New Testament Paul shows us our spiritual and our natural body. In 1 Corinthians 15:20–45, Paul describes to us about the order of resurrection at Christ’s return. Paul explains in the forty-fourth verse, “it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body”. At Jesus’ second coming, those who are dead and buried will be raised as a spiritual body. The spiritual body that God created in Genesis 1 will resurrect at His second coming and will be judged. In that same verse Paul continues and says, “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body”. Every single person on this Earth, dead or alive, has a spiritual body. The spiritual body was created first as Paul shows us in the next verse when speaking of Adam. “So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” 1 Corinthians 15:45. Paul shows us that our spiritual body was made first, which is the soul, which is God’s image, it cannot be seen. Our spiritual body is who we truly are. So, when Paul says, “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit”, he is now speaking of Adam as a soul being formed in the natural body and now being given his spirit in the natural body. In Genesis 2:7, we read that the Lord God “breathed into his nostrils”. God’s breath became man’s spirit, giving us life in the natural body. So, it says, “the breath of life” Genesis 2:7, which is why Paul explains, “Adam became a life-giving spirit” (read The Last Adam is Adam). God’s breath gives our soul life (or power) to animate this natural body, without God’s breath our soul can’t animate the body, it needs the power of God’s breath. This is why in Ecclesiastes 12:7 it says, “then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it”. God formed the natural body from dust and gave us our spirit which is His breath at the same time in Genesis 2:7. So, when we die our natural death, both the natural body and the spirit return back to the places in which they came from. The body to the earth and the spirit to God. The soul is asleep (Matthew 9:24) until Christ’s returns.
The Spiritual Body
Paul shows us that our spiritual body was created first in Genesis 1, then God formed our natural body in Genesis 2. But because Paul was taking about the order of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, we must die naturally first in order to be raised spiritually. So, by showing the order in which we were made, God created the spiritual body first and then formed the natural body last. But because Paul is informing us about the resurrection, the order in which we were made must then be flipped for our resurrection. If we pay careful attention to how Paul was showing the order of resurrection at Christ’s return, he shows our natural death and burial, and then our spiritual body’s resurrection. “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” 1 Corinthians 15:42–44. So, the order of resurrection is first natural and then spiritual. But in the day we were made, we were created spiritual first, and then natural last. After Paul writes, “‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit”, he shows we were created spiritually first, and then formed naturally last. But because Paul was explaining the order of our resurrection, he had to correct the order in which we came to show how we will resurrect. Paul flips the order and says, “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual” 1 Corinthians 15:46. The order in which we were made was first spiritual, and then natural. But the order in which we must resurrect, Paul is telling us, is to die naturally and then be raised spiritually.
Spiritual Union of Male and Female
Our spiritual body was made in the image and likeness of God. The image of God cannot be seen; therefore, we cannot see our spiritual body. His likeness that we are created in is male and female. God is both male and female in one. Genesis 5:1–2 says to us, “In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created”. The Bible is telling us that our soul was created as ‘one’, male and female. The reason why Genesis 1:27 and 5:2 says, “them”, it’s because there’s two but they are ‘one’. If we look at how God made us naturally and read Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:6, it can help us understand why it says, “them”. Jesus when talking about a man and woman becoming “one flesh”, He says, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh”. The husband and wife are no longer twain but ‘one’. It is the same in the spiritual (read When Two Hearts Become One). So, when the Bible says, “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”, that was Adam’s soul. Adam and Eve were spiritually ‘one’, they were not two but ‘one’, and they were called Adam. Just like in the natural the husband and wife are no longer two but ‘one’ and the married couple decides which last name to bear (traditionally the man’s last name). So, the husband and wife are seen as ‘one’, having the same name. It is the same thing that is happening in Genesis 1 when God created “him; male and female He created them”. Adam and Eve are spiritually known as Adam, which is why Paul just says, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”. The male and female spiritually are Adam and Eve, but together in their union of oneness they are Adam (read Be Fruitful and Multiply).
The Natural Shows the Spiritual
By looking at how God formed everything naturally, it can show us how He designed everything spiritually. When God formed Eve, He did something unique to show their natural and spiritual union. Genesis 2:22, “The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man”. Because Adam was both spiritual and natural at this point, when the Lord God took Adam’s rib He also gave Eve the same soul (read Biblical Evidence of Twin Flames). So, not only was Adam and Eve ‘one’ physically, they are also ‘one’ spiritually. God could have made woman from the dust of the ground like He did with man. But God was trying to show us Adam and Eve’s oneness, physically and spiritually. Being ‘one’ in the spirit and being ‘one’ in the flesh is what makes a husband and wife. “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” Genesis 2:25 (read The Spiritual Union of Marriage).
Humans Image and Likeness
As humans in this natural world, we have our own image and likeness that is different from God’s. Genesis 5:3 explains, “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth”. Remember, God has His own image and likeness and He named us Man in the day we were created Genesis 5:2. So, the Bible is showing that Adam now being in the natural body had a son in his own image and likeness. Adam’s image is flesh and his likeness is that he was a man, so was Seth flesh and a man. Whereas God’s image is spiritual, and His likeness is male and female.
Conclusion
Some or all of what I have explained might be hard to understand because it is not what has been taught. But as I have shown, the Bible confirms itself and it shows everything that I have described.
The topics that I have presented in this post and in previous post, the Bible does not go into detail on, which is by design. The Bible doesn’t go into detail on certain topics because the Bible is designed to help us a build relationship with God. So, that God Himself can teach us and help us understand the areas of the Bible that are not clear or that aren’t detailed. God wants relationship with us, so that He might show us more of Himself and more of who we are as His children. God doesn’t want to be a religion, something that holds no freedom, no intimacy, no Love. Christianity becomes a religion when we allow tradition and customs to govern His people rather than His Word, rather than a relationship with God, rather than Love. Let God govern His own people, which is to let Love guide us.
