We tend to think that there is something special about us as “humans”. We have awareness of our own consciousness and we (as a species) have control or domination over the Earth. We make plans, build structures, communicate and store and disseminate knowledge. Is this what the Bible meant when it says that we were created in the image of God?
I’m going to link a couple of ideas here. You might say, “theological ramblings” that I have not ever seen linked elsewhere. If you think I’m off the beam, well that’s ok. As long as I make you think.
My aim here will be to link the idea of the “Image of God” with the “Breath of God”. Hopefully, you’ll see my train of thought.
Key Verse
There are only 2 key verses that talk about Man being in God’s image.
Genesis 1:26–27
[26] Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (ESV)
So, what does “image” mean. You can look up hundreds of commentators and get confused. Verse 26 days that “Man:” is to have dominion. This implies a degree of control, influence and that this is to be extended over all other living things AND over all the Earth. I would contend, that being in the image of God, means that we have many of the attributes of God. To make decisions, to make choices, to love, to have emotions and feelings and a degree of autonomy or “free will”.
No other animals are said anywhere in scripture to be in the image of God. Neither is any angelic being said to be in the image of God. Despite what we generally think of as Angels being more powerful than us in some way. They, as being “God’s messengers”, (which is what “Angel means), are simply that: “messengers”, but are not in the “image of God”.
We have stories in scripture of Angelic rebellions, eg Satan falling with other beings as well as strong inferences of other Angelic “fallings” such as outlined in Genesis 6 and referenced by both Peter and Jude in the New Testament. So, if there were “Angelic rebellions” against God (at least 2 instances), why was it that when Christ came to redeem us, his death was only for “fallen man” and not for the Angels?
Christ only died and came to redeem the “Image bearers” of God, not for any fallen Angelic beings. There is an Atonement view, that probably has a few names, but one name is the “Restored Icon” model of the atonement (Icon is just the Greek word for “Image”). I have to investigate this further, but it makes sense a bit, that Christ’s death somehow restores the “image” of man towards God. The Second Adam replaces the first Adam”.
Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15:45–49
[45] Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (ESV)
There is definitely a linking of man being created in God’s image and Christ’s death re-enabling us to “bear the image” of Christ.
Breath of Life
How does the “Breath of life” fit into this “Image” stuff. I’m not going to give innumerable Bible verses, only a couple to illustrate my point.
In the original Hebrew language there are three words that relate to breath, blowing, puffing etc. These three words are:
Ruach
Naphach
Neshamah
Ruach
To the ancient Hebrew mindset, the wind or a force acting on something was given the term Ruach. Depending on the context, Ruach could mean:
Spirit as in “Spirit of God”, Spirit of man, Spirit of an animal, breath, wind, whirlwind, anger or courage, etc.
In other words the “Ruach” was the motive force behind the wind blowing a ships sails of the actions or force of God or man in carrying out some action. The majority of the time in the Old Testament that we have the term “Spirit of God”, the word is “Ruach”. In other words, the action of God, did something.
Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit (Ruach) of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (ESV)
Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit (Ruach) shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” (ESV)
I’m sure you can get a concordance or look up all the occurrences of the word “Ruach” to see it’s variety of uses, however, it’s very much dependent on the context and is used often in its strict literal sense as “Wind”, but more often in the figurative sense of the “spirit”.
Naphach
This Hebrew word is only used about a dozen times in the OT. It literally means to “blow on” or “puff up”, as in when we blow up a balloon. It has a narrow and specific meaning and I am not too concerned with this word here.
Neshamah
Here is where things get interesting! “Neshamah”, like “Ruach” also has the literal meaning of “wind”, BUT, it is only ever applied to God and to Man. It is this “special” word, in my mind that indicates that God gave man something special, that set him apart from all other creation.
Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed (Naphach) into his nostrils the breath (Neshamah) of life, and the man became a living creature. (ESV).
For those of you who are CS Lewis aficionados, you will recall the Narnia books. In book 1 of the series, (The Magician’s Nephew), you have the story related about how Aslan (the great Lion), sang all of Narnia into existence. It then relates the story how all the animals that had been created in Narnia, came together in a large circle, surrounding Aslan. Aslan then went around the circle and touched various pairs of animals on the nose. After this task was completed, all the animals that had NOT been touched on the nose, turned and disappeared in the woods and forest. All the ones that HAD been touched, remained. The “touched” animals became the talking animals in Narnia with consciousness and awareness of Aslan. The “untouched” ones were simply the dumb animals. I liken this in Lewis’s story, to its being that the “talking” animals were given the equivalent of the “Neshamah” that God gave Adam.
I’m not going to go on exhaustively here with all the Neshamah references in the OT. You can search them for yourself. The word Neshamah is used far less than “Ruach” and is only ever used for man’s breath or spirit and God’s breath or spirit. It is hard to find one English word that might convey all the subtleties of the usage of the term “Nashimah”, but to me they all relate to awareness, consciousness, conscious decision, choice, people as opposed to animals. A couple of very relevant references.
Proverbs 20:27 The spirit (Neshamah) of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts. (ESV)
This suggests strongly that the “Neshamah” is from the Lord and is the light or Lamp that allows us to examine our innermost self. Sounds like “awareness” and “consciousness” or dare I say, “Image”?
Job 32:8 But it is the spirit (Ruach) in man, the breath (Neshamah) of the Almighty, that makes him understand. (ESV)
Seems to make sense to me. “Ruach” gives life, to man and animals, but “Neshamah” from God gives us “Understanding”.
Image means having God’s characteristics but not his Character
When God created man in His own image, he did not create man as “gods”. However, man was given something that the animals don’t have, ie we were given “Neshamah”. Call it understanding, God consciousness or awareness and the ability to make decisions. God told Adam to tend the Garden. Adam was not told to blindly follow God’s instruction manual like an animal with a simple instinct or a robot or automaton following programmed instructions.
When Christ came, we as Christians accept that in some unique way, Jesus was fully God but also fully man. We are told that Jesus was in all ways tempted as we are, but without sin. By dying on the cross and being raised to life Jesus was able to redeem us. No one would seriously suggest that Jesus was not able to make choices about what He did? Jesus lived a sinless and spotless life and it was by that obedience unto death we have been made righteous.
Romans 5:19 For as by the one man’s (Adam) disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s (Jesus) obedience the many will be made righteous. (ESV)
Jesus was, by being both God and man, able to live a sinless life and restore the image that we should have had in Adam, but which was lost by Adam’s sin and so death reigned to all.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— (ESV)
Does not it seem so, that because of Jesus’ sinless life, “Death could not hold Him down”, so resurrection was the only possibility. Which means Jesus became the first fruits of the resurrected ones, which will include us at him coming, which means we will be fully in His image.