In His Image – 1


Photo by Nine Köpfer on Unsplash

I just read an article today -and no, I'm not going to share it- that proposed that Christians need to stop saying that Homosexuality and other LGBT/Gender Identity concerns are a sin.  The articles author ran through a series of not unintelligent sounding but ultimately inaccurate claims to support their perspective but the one that I want to talk about is this: God is gender fluid. The argument in a nutshell was that God created mankind “in His image” and since God created them male and female than God is not just male nor even just female, right?  God created both genders in His/Her/Their image and thus must encompass and contain the whole 'spectrum' of gender identity.

Well, if we're going to talk about this let's start by looking at the verse in question.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)

So, at face value it would appear that the author's point has some merit but it actually starts to fall apart under further scrutiny. Firstly, we have to answer the question of what does it mean for God to make something in His image? You might say that it means we look like God but then, what does God look like? Remember that God is not a physical being, He is spirit.

Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24
“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
Colossians 1:15 (NKJV) -emphasis mine

There are more verses that describe God in terms that preclude the idea of any specific physicality but you get the point. God does not have a physical form, He does not exist in a physical realm. To be made in His image cannot mean to look like God because He doesn't actually look like anything; He's invisible.

So if it does not mean that we literally look like Him then what does it mean? Well, to be the image of something means that you represent that thing, you reflect or share the same characteristics. God had just made all of the plants and animals, all of the base things of the world. He had created an entire world teeming with life but now God wanted to make something truly unique, something more like Himself. God made Adam, a finite physical being that nevertheless shared some of the qualities that God had within Himself; namely self-awareness, intelligence, personality, moral agency, and more. He had made many things and now He made a person, a soul. God who was spirit without flesh created flesh with a spirit. He made matter that mattered.

I ended up writing more on this topic than would fit into one post. Come back next week for part two where we'll continue this discussion!
In the mean time, let me know any questions or thoughts you have in the comments below!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Birth and Death

Image
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Milestones have a tendency to make us stop and think. Significant moments in our personal history carry with them a sense of import that in my experience brings other things into sharp relief or at the very least cause us to ponder them in different way than before. These moments seem to our minds bigger and more important than the more mundane day to day and often we cannot help but wonder how many more significant moments remain for us in the days to come? Was this the last big thing? I recently celebrated my 33 rd birthday. Thirty-three years of living and breathing and trying for another new tomorrow. Thirty-three years of days. All in all I really have no room to complain in regards to these thirty-three years. I have experienced trial as well as blessing, pleasure as well as pain, sorrow as well as joy. Through it all; however, I have not been tested to any serious degree nor have I endured suffering to the same extent as ma...
Read more

The Border Line

Image
Photo by Zoltan Kovacs on Unsplash I've seen quite a few posts on social media lately insinuating that any Christian who has anything to say against illegal immigration is being hypocritical. They point out that the Bible tells us to care for the homeless and those in need and so we are guilty of ignoring what we claim to believe. Some even go so far as to claim that this behavior is a telltale sign of our inherent racism and selfishness, that all of our so called righteousness is nothing more than a now crumbling facade. While I don't doubt that there are plenty of people to whom this rightfully does apply, allow me a brief defense of my own position on this particular topic if you don't mind. I would say that the issue of immigration, illegal or otherwise, as well as the whole refugee issue comes down to two distinct levels of responsibility; the individual and the national. Let's talk about the personal responsibility first. As an indivi...
Read more

The Undeniable

Image
Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash The world often seems to be in a constant state of turmoil and distress. Opposing factions struggle for power in every corner of the world and our various world-views and ideologies combat for supremacy from the water cooler to the world wide web. People everywhere seem to be either searching for real truth or loudly proclaiming that it doesn't exist. Many have simply given up on a life that is meaningful; some of them cutting it short. Where can we go for any sense of reality, any solid foundation of real truth? We can argue back and forth about science and philosophy, we can debate theology and atheism, we can discuss anarchy vs. order, but let me propose that there is one thing at least that no can effectively deny. Humanity is flawed. It doesn't take much observation to prove this simple truth, you don't even have to look outside of yourself. You and I can look inside of ourselves and see selfishness, greed, li...
Read more