Family

Made in His Image

by Cecil Maner
04/10/26
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God Creates His Family: From Creation to Christ 

The image and likeness of God, as presented in the Holy Bible, unfolds a unified theological narrative encompassing creation, the transmission of sin, the marred or half-dead condition of humanity, and the sovereign way of salvation predestined in God’s elect, who is Christ Jesus.

Genesis 1:26 establishes the divine intention: “And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” The plural pronouns “us” and “our” reflect the counsel within the Godhead—the triune God, one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In a manner consistent with His own triune nature, the Godhead created humanity in a triune way, consisting of spirit, soul, and body. First Thessalonians 5:23 affirms this constitution: “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.” The spirit enables communion with God, the soul encompasses the mind, will, and emotions, and the body provides the physical form through which dominion is exercised. Genesis 1:27 confirms the act: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 5:2 further clarifies the corporate identity: “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Thus, the designation “Adam” encompasses both the man and the woman—Mr. and Mrs. Adam—as a unified entity sharing equally in this original divine imprint and the mandate of dominion.

Genesis 5:3 records the post-Fall reality: “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.” The reversal of terms and the shift to Adam’s singular agency reflect the consequences of transgression in Genesis 3. The divine image persists sufficiently to ground human dignity (Genesis 9:6), yet it is now transmitted in a marred or half-dead condition. Sin passes from the father to the offspring, as Adam, the federal head of the human race, introduced corruption to all his descendants. Romans 5:12 declares, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This paternal transmission of a sinful nature and mortality explains the imperfect likeness borne by Seth and all subsequent generations, leaving humanity in a spiritually half-dead state under the dominion of sin.

This marred or half-dead transmission from the first Adam finds its divinely ordained remedy in the last Adam. First Corinthians 15:45–47 states: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. … The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” The first Adam, earthy and disobedient, conveyed condemnation and death. In sovereign grace, God predetermined the way of salvation in His elect, Christ Jesus—the perfect “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15; see also 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Hebrews 1:3).

Isaiah 42:1 identifies this servant as “mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth,” a prophecy fulfilled in Christ. The way of salvation is thus eternally purposed in Him. Romans 8:29–30 articulates the divine sequence: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Believers, having borne the image of the earthy first Adam, shall bear the image of the heavenly last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:49).

The hope of full restoration is expressed with striking clarity in Psalm 17:15: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” This verse anticipates the resurrection awakening of the righteous, when the redeemed shall behold God’s face in righteousness and be satisfied with His likeness—echoing the original “likeness” of Genesis 1:26. It points forward to the complete renewal of the divine image in the presence of the Creator.

Supporting passages sustain this progression. Ephesians 1:4–5 elaborates: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.” Second Timothy 1:9 adds that God “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Colossians 3:10 describes the new man as “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”

The triune God created man in His image and likeness precisely because He was forming His family. Humanity was intended to be the children of God, reflecting the relational love that exists eternally within the Godhead. God loves His children and desired a family of sons and daughters who would enjoy fellowship with Him, exercise responsible dominion as stewards of creation, and ultimately be conformed to the image of His beloved Son. This purpose, though marred by the Fall, is gloriously restored through redemption in Christ Jesus, the last Adam and the firstborn among many brethren.

In conclusion, the Holy Bible presents a consistent biblical theology: humanity was created—embodied in Mr. and Mrs. Adam—to reflect the triune God in His image and likeness with dominion, fashioned as spirit, soul, and body because the Godhead was creating His family out of divine love for His children. Through the Fall, sin passed from the father to the offspring, marring this imprint and leaving humanity in a half-dead condition under the power of death. Yet God sovereignly elected and predestined salvation in Christ Jesus, His elect Servant and the last Adam. Through Him, the marred or half-dead image is renewed, the elect are called, justified, and glorified, and believers are ultimately conformed to the perfect likeness of the Son. This hope finds poetic expression in the assurance of Psalm 17:15, where the righteous shall awaken satisfied with God’s likeness, beholding His face in righteousness. This sovereign plan upholds the dignity of human life while offering certain hope of complete restoration in Christ Jesus.

Note: If this topic is of interest you might read my essays  “Half-Dead, Fully Loved” or “ The Good Samaritan and Adam” for more details. Based on Luke chapter 10.