What does 'in his image' mean ?

[Evenstar]

Net Doc, do you know of a good plastic surgeon that does 'Godly' face lifts?

 

[Scuba Pete]

Every time I think about him the corners of my mouth lift!

 

[Katzpur]

Dear Kat...

Show me one scripture where it shows God to be "physical".

Well, maybe we ought to start by defining what we mean by “physical.” My belief is that God is anthropomorphic. He has a face, which Jacob and Moses both saw (see Genesis 32:30 and Exodus 33:11). He has hands and feet, which were seen by the seventy Elders of Israel who dined with Him (see Exodus 24:10-11). He has back parts, which He hid from Moses (see Exodus 33:22-23). He as a shape, though no one but God’s prophets and His Son has seen it (see John 5:37). We are told, however, that the pure in heart will someday see Him (see Matthew 5:8) and that the angels in Heaven see His face even now (see Matthew 18:10). We know that Christ is in the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:1-3) and that Stephen saw Christ, sitting to the right of His Father (see Acts 7:55-56).

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." NIV

I Corinthians 15;50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. NIV

The flesh is perishable: which is unlike God.

The spirit is imperishable: which IS like God.

I believe you are equating "physical" with "mortal," which I am not. I have never stated that God is a mortal. I don't believe He is. He is an immortal being, pulsating with glory and light. He is, as you have pointed out, imperishable. He cannot die or be injured. His form is perfect and incorruptable. I have also never denied that He is spirit. But as I said previously, you and I are also spirit. If we weren't, we could not worship Him "in spirit." It is the spirit in each of us that communicates with His spirit through the Holy Ghost. You are assuming that "God is spirit" means "God is unembodied spirit." I am assuming that "God is spirit" means that He is life, embodied in an immortal body.

 

[FFH]

Jgallandt is a perfect example of somone who does not believe in the Father but believes in Jesus Christ. He is not alone in this. This is nothing new. Many people believe this way. This is what I was trying to say in other posts on similar subjects. Some people accept Jesus Christ but not the Father. There are many that believe this way in many Christian religions.

Like Jgallandt said it is his perogative to believe in Jesus and not the Father. Jesus is happy for those that believe in the least of his teachings. He only wants us to be happy and will not force us to believe in all of His teachings, this was Satan's plan in the beginning, to force us to believe. Christ gently teaches us, and then allows us to choose what to believe.

 

[Katzpur]

Jgallandt is a perfect example of somone who does not believe in the Father but believes in Jesus Christ. He is not alone in this.

Personally, I am more comfortable with allowing people to tell me what they believe than I am putting words into their mouths. Perhaps if Jeff doesn't believe in the Father, he will tell us. I rather think he does, but that he understands Him differently than you and I do.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Well then,

if our "physical" body is different from God's "physical" body (Not that I believe he has one), then OUR physical bodies are not made "in his image". It's the spirit that is important: not the flesh.

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. NIV

 

[jeffrey]

Faith, I NEVER said that. I believe in the trinity. I believe in God, but a spiritual one, such as my brother Net Doc described. I was being sarcastic in saying man created God in his image, meaning man is not even on the same playing field as God.

 

[Katzpur]

Well then,

if our "physical" body is different from God's "physical" body (Not that I believe he has one), then OUR physical bodies are not made "in his image". It's the spirit that is important: not the flesh.

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. NIV

When I say that I believe we are created in His image, I mean that He has the appearance of a man. I never never meant to imply anything more than that. Our physical bodies cannot even begin to compare to His. When Jesus walked the earth, He had a mortal body like ours. It was subject to death and disease. Because He was mortal, He could suffer pain. He could bleed and He could die. Once He was resurrected, His spirit re-entered His risen body, but that body was made immortal. It could never die again. When He ascended to His Father in Heaven, it was in celestial glory beyond all description. He now reigns in Heaven with His Father, and the Bible gives no indication that He no longer has that body. To you or to anyone else who would make light of my beliefs by making references to Godly facelifts and the like, I can say only that if I can believe that Christ still has His perfect, immortal body, I don't see why in the world it is such a stretch of the imagination to recognize that His Father does too.

 

[Katzpur]

You know, I tried several months back to get someone to debate this topic with me one-on-one. I begged. I pleaded. I grovelled. I couldn't get one person to take me up on my challenge. Now it seems I have a whole flock of people who somehow feel very comfortable banding together to tell me I'm wrong. I don't have a problem with that. But I do wonder where you all were when I asked for someone to take me on one-on-one.

 

[joeboonda]

The fact that we are created in the image of God means that God assigned some of His attributes to be given to man. We are able to reason, we have a mind, will, and emotions just as God does. It does not mean that we have all the attributes of God. God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (everywhere and ever present), He has Being of Himself (selfhood and eternality). We have being but it is given to us by God, we do not have it of ourselves and our being is subject to Him, whether we accept it or not. We have knowledge, power and presence but not in the way that God does. God is Triune, (One God defined in Three distinct Persons), each being God individually and all being God corporately, but always One God, not three. In contrast, we have only one being. From gotquestions.org. I don't go along with the reincarnation theory of Michel, as it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgement. And although we are made in his image, we are a fallen creature, with what Jeremiah calls a heart that is black and deceitful beyond all things, or close to that. I believe we will one day be like Him, not that we will be Gods, but sons of God, for there is but one God and there has never been nor ever be another, so says Isaiah. Anyway, no man has seen nor heard the wonderful things God has in store for His children, so it sounds real exciting!

 

[Scuba Pete]

Well Kat,

I musta missed that clarion call!

 

[Katzpur]

Well Kat,

I musta missed that clarion call!

It may have been during your "sabbatical."

 

[FFH]

Faith, I NEVER said that. I believe in the trinity. I believe in God, but a spiritual one, such as my brother Net Doc described. I was being sarcastic in saying man created God in his image, meaning man is not even on the same playing field as God.

Sorry I misunderstood you. We have a different concept of the Father.

What's interesting to me is how there are many Christians who pray to Jesus and not the Father. Jesus showed us who the Father is. Jesus said the Father and I are one. This means to me that they are one in purpose and in thought, but have two different personalities, as we have on earth. God is very much like us and can laugh and joke as you and I. I have heard an account of someone who saw an image of Jesus Christ laughing. They are strict but can laugh like you and I. They feel sad for those that do not believe, just as you and I. They are really no different, other than they have progressed further than we have. We can become like the Father too. We were created, and have the same basic body parts as the Father. I use the term Father so that no one misunderstands me, which was the case in another thread. If we were to see Jesus Christ as a resurrected beingh He would look as the Father looks. We will look the same as both of them when resurrected with perfect, flawless bodies. They are no different than us. They have just progressed further spiritually. They have overcome all sin and have resurrected bodies of flesh with no blood. Same exact basic features as you and I. We can become like them in every way.

 

[FFH]

And from what I have heard there is sex, food, houses and other objects of beauty and function in heaven. Scenery, lakes, streams, mountains, animals, etc., it's all there. Maybe even snow and skiing if we so choosed to create it. All for the purpose of enjoyment not survival as is the case on earth. This comes from several book readings of people who have had near death experiences and have seen beyond the veil of this life. Heaven is a normal life, like we have now, only much much greater, and hassle free. No rent to pay and no landlord, thank goodness. A house without a mortgage, that's what i'm looking forward to, and a body that will not starve to death if not fead. Eating for the pure enjoyment of it, although I think I will spend my time doing more more enjoyable things than that.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Hi Michel, taken from my new study guide the blue letter bible, maybe this will be of interest for you.

God plans to make man in His image

a. The use of the plural (Let Us . . . in Our image, according to Our likeness) is consistent with the idea of the Trinity, that there is One God in three Persons

You started out so well. Yes God is a plurality. Man was also created as a plurality, in God's image.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Gen 1:27

Notice that before the semi-colon God created "him" meaning Adam in His own image. After the semi-colon (by the rules of English what comes after the semi colon futher defines or illustrates what came before it) Adam is refered to being created both male and female, a plurality.

This is what being "in the image of God" refers to.