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Questions
On God's Character And Identity
Question 1. In Genesis
1:26 God says "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness What does God mean
when he says "us"? Let us make man in our image. Who is "us"?
Answer Who was God
speaking to in Genesis 1:26-27? Was He speaking to angels or other heavenly beings? Was He
speaking to Himself? Why is the plural employed in this passage? First, let's read the
passage:
GEN 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and
let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
GEN 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male
and female He created them.
Now, to whom is God speaking? Some have said that He is speaking to angels or some other
heavenly beings in His presence. The problem here is, why does He say that He would create
man in "our" image? Then, in verse 27, it says that we are created in God's
image.
We are unique because, unlike all of God's creation, we have been made in His image, not
the image of angels, animals or any other beings. We have a kinship directly related to
God. We possess spiritual characteristics that allow us to be aware of ourselves, make
conscious decisions and have dominion over the animals and earth. No, God was not speaking
to angels or any other created heavenly beings.
Was God speaking to Himself? If He was, then why did the writer use the plural instead of
the singular? Certainly, in most every instance where one is talking to himself, there is
no need for the plural.
The obvious, but to some degree, hard to grasp answer is, God is speaking to others who
possess the qualities of God. That is, He is speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There
are three that have the attributes of Deity, possess the Divine Nature. They agree as one
in purpose and action, but they are three distinct beings who play different roles in the
Divine work of creation and salvation. Some other passages in Genesis help us understand
that there is more than one being who is God.
GEN 3:22 ¶ Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us,
knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree
of life, and eat, and live forever"--
GEN 3:23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the
ground from which he was taken.
GEN 3:24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the
cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree
of life.
GEN 11:6 And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same
language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will
be impossible for them.
GEN 11:7 "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech."
GEN 11:8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth;
and they stopped building the city.
Then, in the New Testament, the picture becomes even clearer as all three are clearly
identified in various passages. Just as man and woman are two distinct beings who
possesses the image of God, so there are three distinct beings that possess the Divine
qualities that make them God.
MAT 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth.
MAT 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
MAT 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age. "
JOH 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He
will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Contact Gary
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