According to the first chapter of Genesis, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Many people have a hard time reconciling the fact that mankind is “created in the image and after the likeness of God,” but the original man and the original women were “created in the image and after the likeness of God” (Genesis 1:27). And since each of us are a copy of the original man or the original woman, then we too were “created in the image and after the likeness of God.” Now, when God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” he was not referring to the image that you see when you look in the mirror. Jesus tells us “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24), which means you must be a spirit as well. Wow! You are actually a spirit being, “created in the image and after the likeness of God.” This does not mean that your spirit is not similar to the form that you see in the mirror because throughout the Bible, God is described as having features such as hands, arms, face, and back parts (Exodus 33:22-23), but you are a spirit being first and foremost. What you see in the mirror is actually your physical body.
According to the second chapter of Genesis, “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7), which became our physical body.
“For he knoweth our frame (understands our constitution); he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19). “All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust” (Job 34:15). “For that which befalleth (happens to) the sons of men befalleth (happens to the) beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence (advantage) above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20).
So the reflection that you see in the mirror, that physical body that you see is made of dust and to dust is where it will return. Also according to the second chapter of Genesis, “the Lord God breathed into the nostrils” of what he had created “the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7).
“The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4). “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration (breath) of the Almighty giveth them understanding” (Job 32:8). “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (I Corinthians 3:16-17). “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
Now according to the second chapter of Genesis, the man that the Lord God formed from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, he, “became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (I Corinthians 15:45). More about this “last Adam, who was made a quickening spirit” another time.
The “soul” is defined as “the nonphysical aspect of a person, which contains person’s most important feature, his or her essence.” This is where the deepest and truest nature of a person can be found. It is here that the most complicated human attributes can be found, such as a person’s consciousness, thoughts, feelings, and will. The soul is where a person’s emotional and moral nature and be found. This is a place where the most private thoughts and feelings are hidden. The soul is the thing that gives each person his or her distinctive character. It is also believed to be the one part of man that continues to exist after the body dies. Basically, you are a spirit being, which has a soul, that lives in a body or a house made from the dust of the earth. Paul put all of this into perspective for us when he spoke to those at Thessalonica. In his epistle to them, he appears to give us a picture of the components that form the whole man.
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
You are not the image that you see when you look in the mirror. You are actually a spirit being, “created in the image and after the likeness of Almighty God,” who is himself “a Spirit.” You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), truly God’s crowning achievement.
Once again, we pray that our inspirational message will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it. If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well. Amen.
Enjoy your blessings - KW
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