At some point here we come to the “Image of God in man”. There are almost as many opinions to the meaning of this as there are people. Still, I will venture to offer one more.
Given: God made man for fellowship.
Given: God and man are Persons.
Given: God and man have reason (knowledge), feelings (emotion) and the
ability to act (free will).
I feel the best definition of the Image of God in man is,
The ability to , “With knowledge of result”, MAKE A CHOICE.
No other creature in all creation has such an ability. I will further state that for God to truly and personally fellowship with man, man must have the Image of GOD “AT LEAST TO A LEVEL TO TRULY FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.
Think about this the eternal infinite sovereign God made finite sovereign man with a Free Will to FELLOWSHIP. They had to have enough in common TO FELLOWSHIP!
The teaching on this subject; apart from “everyone” having their own description of “The Image”, the teaching has been very poor and fails to show the wonderful majesty of God. The eternal infinite sovereign God made finite man with a sovereign free will and moral responsibility. But, more than just free will “The Image” includes the moral attributes of God, holy, wise, good, merciful, loving, and sovereign. Man was made to fellowship with God.
When “the fool” said in his heart, using the free choice God gave him we get to result listed in Psalms 14:1 and 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. נבל nabal, which we render fool, signifies an empty fellow, a contemptible person, a villain. One who has a muddy head and an unclean heart; and, in his darkness and folly, says in his heart, “There is no God.” This Fool does not represent or include the entire race of man.
Gen 1:26 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.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
ֶצֶלם ṣelem: A masculine noun meaning an image, a likeness, a statue, a model, a drawing, a shadow. The word means image or likeness; its most celebrated theological and anthropological use was to depict human beings as made in God's own image (Gen_1:26-27; Gen_5:3).
ָרָדה rāḏāh: A verb meaning to rule, to have dominion, to subjugate. This Hebrew word conveys the notion of exercising domain, whether legitimate or not, over those who are powerless or otherwise under one's control. (Just for Fun, Wycliffe translated it Sovereign, Tyndale Rule.)
In our image, after our likeness - What is here said refers to his spirit. This was made in the image and likeness of God. Now, as the Divine Being is infinite, he is neither limited by parts, nor definable by passions; therefore he can have no corporeal image after which he made the body of man. The image and likeness must necessarily be intellectual; his mind, his soul, must have been formed after the nature and perfections of his God. The human mind is still endowed with most extraordinary capacities; it was more so when issuing out of the hands of its Creator. God was now producing a spirit, and a spirit, too, formed after the perfections of his own nature. God is the fountain whence this spirit issued, hence the stream must resemble the spring which produced it. God is holy, just, wise, good, and perfect; so must the spirit be that sprang from him: there could be in it nothing impure, unjust, ignorant, evil, low, base, mean, or vile. It was created after the image of God; and that image, St. Paul tells us, consisted in righteousness, true holiness, and knowledge, Eph_4:24 Col_3:10. Hence man was wise in his mind, holy in his heart, and righteous in his actions. Were even the word of God silent on this subject, we could not infer less from the lights held out to us by reason and common sense. . (Adam Clark)
And let them have dominion - Hence we see that the dominion was not the image. God created man capable of governing the world, and when fitted for the office, he fixed him in it. We see God’s tender care and parental solicitude for the comfort and well-being of this masterpiece of his workmanship, in creating the world previously to the creation of man. He prepared everything for his subsistence, convenience, and pleasure, before he brought him into being. . (Adam Clark)
Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
God in the garden shed blood to cover sin and shame. He taught Adam about the sin offering and that the Messiah would one day come. ADAM LEFT THE GARDEN UNDER THE BLOOD, IN RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD! Still a free moral agent with the right to choose to obey GOD or not!
But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come; … For if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.) RO 5:14;17
Even in the Old Testament When anyone obeyed God and offered the required offerings of sacrifice looking forward to the Messiah they had the Grace to be right with God.
God made coats of skins - It is very likely that the skins out of which their clothing was made were taken off animals whose blood had been poured out as a sin-offering to God; for as we find Cain and Abel offering sacrifices to God, we may fairly presume that God had given them instructions on this
