By Gary Ray Branscome
When God created Adam, the words, “God saw every thing
that He had made, and, behold, it was very good,” tell us that at that time
Adam’s nature was not corrupted by sin (Genesis
In the creation record the Bible uses the terms “image” and
“likeness” as synonyms, and the use of plural pronouns in the phrase, “Let us
make man in our image, after our likeness,” tell us that Adam
was created in the image of the Triune God, not just the image of Christ
(Genesis 1:26). Moreover, since the words, “Now unto the King eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only wise God,” tell us that God is
invisible; we know that the terms “image” and “likeness” are not talking about outward
appearance (1Timothy 1:17).
The words, “When I
consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which
you set in place; what is man, that you are mindful of him?
And the son of man, that you visit him? For you made him a little lower than
the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion
over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,”
speak of God’s original intent for man (Psalm 8:3-6). And, the fact that man
was given real dominion over all of the beasts suggests that before the fall
all of them would have served man willingly, as eagerly as some dogs still do.