The Likeness of God

When fully in God's likeness, we will be able to fulfill our awesome responsibility of exercising dominion over, of assisting Him in managing, the vastness of His creation.

In Genesis 1:26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
See All..., God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness"—the plural "Us" and "Our" denoting both God the Father and the Word who would later be born in the flesh as Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

See All..., 14). What is meant by God's image and likeness here?

Most importantly, God made us like Him in qualities of mind, such as abstract thought, emotion, creativity and planning. But the underlying Hebrew words used here concern actual form and appearance. The word tselem ("image") has the sense of a statue, while demuwth ("likeness") refers to physical resemblance.

Yet, as John 4:24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
See All... tells us, "God is spirit." The Greek word translated "spirit" here and elsewhere in the New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation. is pneuma. In the Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings., the Hebrew word translated "spirit" is ruach.

Both these terms can also mean "wind." Because wind is formless, some argue that immaterial spirit cannot have form and shape. Yet in many places in ScriptureThe divinely inspired writings of both the Old and New Testaments. The term Scripture is used in the New Testament to refer to both the Hebrew Bible (Luke 24:44-45) and the new apostolic writings accepted as inspired (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18). God and angelic spirits are described as having bodily form. Thus it is apparent that spirit must be able to have form and shape—and God the Father and Christ have the same form and shape as the human beings who are patterned after Them on a lesser, material level.

The "wind" comparison comes from the fact that spirit is invisible to human eyes unless physically manifested. Also, spirit can exist in a formless state, such as God's Holy Spirit being everywhere, filling the entire universe (Jeremiah 23:24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
See All...).

God appeared in human form to a few people in the Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings. (Genesis 18; 32:24, 30; Exodus 24:9-10 [9] Then went up Moses, and AaronBrother of Moses, First High Priest, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
[10] And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

See All...; Joshua 5:13-15 [13] And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
[14] And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
[15] And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

See All...). In these manifestations, though, God did not reveal His full, shining glory because the intensity would have been unbearable. As God told Moses, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
See All...). Yet Moses, shielded by God's power, was allowed to see God's radiant form from the back (verse 23).

A few supernatural visions in ScriptureThe divinely inspired writings of both the Old and New Testaments. The term Scripture is used in the New Testament to refer to both the Hebrew Bible (Luke 24:44-45) and the new apostolic writings accepted as inspired (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18). do give us glimpses into the awesome appearance of God in His supreme splendor. The prophet Ezekiel recorded what he saw:

"There was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above. From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. From what seemed to be His waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around Him. The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the form of the Lord's glory" (Ezekiel 1:26-28 [26] And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
[27] And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
[28] As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

See All..., Holman Christian Standard BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ.).

The Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings. appearances of God were not of God the Father, since John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
See All... says of Him, "No one has seen God at any time" and Jesus said, "You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form" (John 5:37And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
See All...). Rather, these were appearances of Jesus Christ before His human life. Again, though, the Father and Christ share the same image and likeness.

In the New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation. book of RevelationThe disclosure of God's Word and plan to mankind. In the Bible this refers to making obscure things clear; bringing hidden matters to light; causing especially called individuals to see, hear, perceive, know and understand the things of God; the unveiling of biblical mysteries (Romans 16:25)., the apostle John saw the glorified Jesus Christ as "someone ‘like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters . . . His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance" (1:13-16, New International Version).

This is a limited description of the likeness of God that human beings will also have in full when they are glorified at the resurrection to eternal life—when "those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:2-3 [2] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
[3] And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

See All..., New Revised Standard Version). Then, fully in God's likeness, we will be able to fulfill our awesome responsibility of exercising dominion over—of assisting Him in managing—the vastness of His creation. This is the future God has planned for you, your destiny, if you embrace it fully with an obedient heart and remain a dedicated and faithful follower of God and His teachings as revealed in the Holy ScripturesThe divinely inspired writings of both the Old and New Testaments. The term Scripture is used in the New Testament to refer to both the Hebrew Bible (Luke 24:44-45) and the new apostolic writings accepted as inspired (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18).!