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Sep 5, 20235 min read

How Are We Made Like God?

Updated: Sep 14, 2023



Anthropology


To kick off the month of September, we are going to move on from the study of Theology Proper and take a more inward look at ourselves. That’s right, this month we are going to be looking into anthropology. According to the National Geographic Society, anthropology is ‘the study of the origin and development of human societies and cultures’. Knowing about our origin as the human race can help answer many vital questions for all of mankind. On the topic of anthropology, John MacArthur even mentions, ‘Why is anthropology so important? Anthropology answers the ultimate questions like, Who am I? Why am I here? Why am I able to reason and feel? What is my purpose in life? and Where am I headed?’ All of these are crucial to the human conscience and are deep questions that all of us want to be answered. While I feel the most asked question is ‘What is my purpose?’ (and we will address this question this month), this is a more practical and better segue from theology proper to ask, ‘How am I made like God?’. The answer to this question doesn’t just help us build up to answering the ultimate question of our purpose, but it also shows us why we are the pinnacle of God’s creation and the only ones ‘made in His image’. (Gen.1:26) As we can recall from the previous month, God’s incommunicable attributes are those that He and He alone possess. So, for this particular study, we are going to look at God’s communicable attributes, meaning the ones that He shares with us. 


His Image & Likeness


First, let’s tackle the fact that there is no list right in the book of Genesis that claims, ‘these characteristics you have, and these you don’t.’ To understand God’s communicable attributes, we must look at what He means by ‘image’, and how we should apply that to our lives. Wayne Grudem explains this beautifully when he notes, “Because ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ have similar meanings, Scripture does not need to say something like, ‘The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God in the following ways: etc…’ Such an explanation is unnecessary, not only because the terms had clear meanings, but also because no such list could do justice to the subject. The text only needs to affirm that man is like God, and the rest of Scripture fills in more details to explain this.” As we read on throughout God’s Word, we can see that there are multiple attributes that God shares with mankind and these attributes are how we are made ‘like God’. Richard Mayhue has summed up these attributes into 6 categories that Scripture confirms and they are as follows. Ontologically: Man is a living, functional, active being with a physical body and spirit. While we can’t ensure the physical appearance of our Lord, we can accurately assume that if we are made like Him, we share some physical attributes to some extent. From a spiritual standpoint, however, John 4:24 tells us, “24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Not only do we have a spiritual aspect, but it’s what makes our worship of Him unique and acceptable! Volitionally: Mankind has a will and the freedom to choose and make decisions, to discern from right and wrong. Not only do we see this all throughout scripture and in society today, but perhaps the most reasonable evidence for this is the lack of this attribute in all other beings besides mankind. We can see this throughout Genesis 1-2. 

Intellectually: Humans have rational minds and can think for themselves critically and logically. Romans 12:2 says, “2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” God not only transforms us through our mind, but through our intellect that God has given us, we can discern what God’s will is for us through this transformed mind. Emotionally: Mankind can feel a vast range of emotions that are enabled in us only because God has allowed us to feel them. Our Lord reveals a substantial amount of these emotions throughout His word such as anger (Psalm 7:11), compassion (Judges 2:18), grief (Genesis 6:6), love (John 3:16), hate (Proverbs 6:16), jealousy (Exodus 20:5), and joy (Isaiah 62:5), just to name a few. Relationally: Man is wired to function in relationships. This is seen from the very beginning when woman is created, and even to the call from Christ. Matthew 22:38-39 says, “38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” God wants us to have not just a relationship with Himself, but with other beings that He created in His image. Functionally: The human race has a command that they must fill, rule, and subdue the earth that God gave them. David shows us this attribute of our Lord in 1 Chronicles 29:11 “11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” 


We Aren’t Perfect


While an argument can be made for even more attributes and qualities existing between man and God, there is no doubt that our Lord has made us in His image and likeness through these 6 characteristics. Now it is still important to note, that just because we are made like God, doesn’t mean we are God. You may think that this is obvious, but you may be surprised how many people teach a ‘prosperity gospel’ view of the human race. Yes, the fall into sin has interfered with our likeness to God, however, even before the first sin, we were never 100% like God in all His majesty and glory. God is the only one who is perfect in all of His character, which is why He has His incommunicable attributes. On the contrary, our Lord has made us unique as the only beings who can share in His likeness and be His image bearers to the rest of the world. This is a task that we should not take lightly and should come as a huge privilege to those who claim to be followers of Christ.

 


Sources

[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.

[2] Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA79455700

[3] MacArthur, John & Mayhue, Richard. A Systemic Summary of Bible Truth: Biblical Doctrine. Wheaton, Crossway, 2017

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