God created mankind in his own image

Genesis 1:26-27 

“²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,

 and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

I- Introduction

What does the expression “God created man in his own image” mean?

The most immediate understanding of this biblical statement is that human beings were created to resemble God.
In my publications entitled “Biblical Reflections,” I addressed a theological debate concerning the distinction between the fundamental components of the human being: spirit, soul, and body.
Two main doctrinal approaches emerge from this reflection:

• The dichotomous approach, according to which the human being is made up of two essential elements: body and soul (or spirit).
  • The trichotomous approach, which distinguishes three components: spirit, soul, and body.

https://phalin.net/the-dichotomy-and-trichotomy-of-the-human-being-body-soul-spirit/

https://phalin.net/wommacks-trichotomy-of-human-being/

In light of these two perspectives, a fundamental question arises: what exactly does the resemblance of human beings to God consist of?

According to John 4:24 and 1 John 3:3, God is Spirit and pure.

II- Reflection

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”. This means that God is immaterial, infinite, invisible, and transcends body and matter.)”.
1 John 3:3 “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”.

Therefore:

II-1 Man’s likeness to God cannot be physical (Body) or material since God is spirit, pure without body.

II-2 Man’s likeness to God cannot be relative to the soul either, since God does not possess the soul.

The soul is an immaterial entity created by God and seen as a gift from God to humankind.
If the soul is what gives life to a body or what connects a created being to spirituality, God has no need of it, because He is the very essence of Spirit and Life..
If God had a soul, it would mean that something external or superior would have given him this soul, which would contradict:
• His nature as an uncreated and all-powerful Creator,
• And his divine attributes.

But the mystery of the Trinity states “God is one in essence and three in persons.”.

Does the word “Person” in this divine mystery imply the existence of a “soul” for God?

The answer is clearly and overwhelmingly “NO.”.

Indeed, “three in persons (or Hypostases)” express the three distinct ways in which the divine Essence subsists or manifests itself: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.

There is a distinction between the Divine “Person” and the Human “Person.”

The word “Person” in the Trinity is used to mark the relational distinction within the one divine Essence. It is a technical term meaning that the Father is not the Son, who is not the Spirit, even though they share the same divine nature.

Hence, God does not have a soul like a human person.

II-3 Humankind’s likeness to God can only be relative to the spirit, since God is pure spirit.

As said in my Post “Wommack’s Trichotomy of Human Being”, the spirit, the seat of communion with God, is the deepest and most essential part of the human being, created in the image of God. It is the part of us that is capable of entering into a relationship with God. Unlike the body that we see, and the soul whose manifestations we observe through thoughts and emotions, the spirit is an abstract, non-physical, and unobservable human part.

The phrase “created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) refers primarily to the human spirit. Since God is Spirit and we are created in His image, it makes sense that the part of us that most directly reflects His nature is our own spirit.

Genesis 2:7 mentions “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”. The human spirit is considered the part of a person that God created and breathed into man. As creation, God’s breath forms the human spirit and gives humans consciousness and God’s communicable attributs.

Mankind in the Image of God
The fact that man is created in the image of God does not mean that he has the same composition as God. It generally means that man possesses abilities that reflect the Creator, through His communicable attributs:

• Relational Capacity (or Soul): The soul is what allows man to have a personal and conscious relationship with God. Other creatures do not have this capacity.
• Rationality and Morality (or Spirit): Man possesses reason, intellect, conscience, and moral will. These are attributes that mimic, albeit in a limited way, the attributes of God.
• Dominion (or Function): Verse 26 immediately links being in the image of God with the mandate to rule over creation. Man acts as God’s representative or viceroy on Earth.
• Unity of the Couple (Man and Woman): Verse 27 emphasizes that it is in the creation of man and woman together that the image of God is fully reflected, often interpreted as a resemblance to God’s relational and fruitful nature (referring to the “us or our” of verse 26).
  
  

III- Conclusion

The comparison between the Dichotomy and the Trichotomy of the human being leads to a nuanced conclusion regarding Man’s resemblance to God.

III-1 Man in the Image of God in the Dichotomy

In the context where the soul and spirit are a single, merged entity, the resemblance to God is not based on a distinct structure of Soul and Spirit, but on the combined “spiritual” and “moral” capacities of man. The image of God resides in the harmonious unity of body and soul/spirit, oriented toward morality, relationship, and responsibility before God.

Moral, because he possesses a sense of good and evil and the ability to love and choose the good.

Relational, because he is capable of communion with God and with his fellow men.

III-2 Man in the Image of God in Trichotomy

The doctrine of trichotomy distinguishes between soul and spirit. In this approach, the human spirit reflects the spiritual aspect of God, and the likeness to God is rooted primarily and unequivocally in the human mind, conceived as the locus of divine communion. The soul, on the other hand, expresses individual personality, and the body makes this presence visible in the world.

Trichotomy concludes that man has a spirit born of the breath of God, which is the seat of communion with God, and a created soul, which is the seat of the image of God (his personality, reason, and will).

III-3 The Essential Convergence

Despite the differences between these two doctrines, there is nevertheless one essential point of convergence:

The image of God is a living expression of the living relationship with God, which is manifested in man’s vocation to represent God in creation, through his entire being, and in man’s capacity to respond to God, to act according to His will, and to bring His presence into the world.

III-4 The Restoration and Fulfillment of the Image of God in Christ

At creation, man was created with a perfect spiritual vocation. Man, in the image of God presented above, was altered by sin. The fall of man in Genesis 3 introduced a distortion of this image. Man, created to reflect the holiness and glory of God, has moved away from his initial source. This distortion prevents man from fully manifesting the nature transmitted in the communicable attributes of God.

In Jesus Christ, humanity rediscovers its original model. Through union with Christ, the believer participates in a work of regeneration and progressive transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”).