There are many views of who we are as human beings. The following is a traditional Christian view of our identity and why, what and how we are intelligent.
IMAGE OF
GOD A biblical description of the unique nature of human beings in
their relationship to the Creator God.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen.
1:26b). This passage contains a key to the understanding of humans and their
nature. Scholars through the ages have sought to unravel the mystery of that
statement. The psalmist asked, “What is man?” (Ps. 8:4). Philosophers,
theologians, psychologists, and anthropologists have constantly explored that
topic. All have realized that the human being “is fearfully and wonderfully
made” (Ps. 139:14).
A SPECIAL CREATION
According to the Scriptures, humans are not an evolutionary accident but a
special creation. Human beings were purposefully produced by God to fulfill a
preordained role in His world. They have peculiar qualities that somehow reflect
the nature of God Himself and set them apart and above all other created beings.
Image and Likeness
Some Bible students have tried to make a distinction in the meaning of
“image” and “likeness.” Image has been considered the essential nature
of humans as God’s special creation, and likeness as reflecting this image in
such qualities as goodness, grace, and love. They maintain that humankind in the
Fall retained the image but lost the likeness. The two words, however, seem to
identify the same divine act. The repetition represents the Hebrew literary
style of parallelism used for emphasis. The Hebrew selem or image refers to a
hewn or carved image (1 Sam. 6:5; 2 Kings 11:18) like a statue, which bears a
strong physical resemblance to the person or thing it represents. The word
likeness, demuth, means a facsimile. Compare 2 Kings 16:10, “fashion” or
“pattern” (NASB), “sketch” (NIV, REB), “exact model” (TEV). Neither
of the words imply that persons are divine. They were endowed with some of the
characteristics of God. There is a likeness but not a sameness.
Persons as Body-Soul
Many different views seek to explain the nature of the likeness. Genesis 2:7
says, “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In creation
God endowed persons with a spiritual aspect of life. This passage says that man
became a soul, not that he had a soul. A person is both body and soul, or more
accurately, body-soul. The Old Testament supports this holistic view of persons
who are not segmented into parts known as body, soul, and spirit. Genesis 1:20
uses the Hebrew expression, nephesh chayah, “living soul” for “moving
creature that has life,” that is the animals. Compare 1:24; 9:10, 16; Lev.
11:10.
Early theologians were greatly influenced by Greek philosophy in their
interpretation of the image of God. The Greeks separated between the material
and the spiritual. They saw an individual as a spirit being living in a physical
body. This Greek dualism was the background out of which the early Christian
theologians drew their understanding. The church fathers believed that the image
of God resided in the soul or the spirit of each person.
Humankind as Persons Who are humans? The Bible portrays them as self-conscious,
willful, innovative entities who, under God, preside over their environment. In
other words, they are persons. God made each male and female a person in the
likeness of His own personhood. Nothing else in all creation can be called a
person. Personhood encompasses individuals in their entirety, body and spirit,
as rational, loving, responsible, moral creatures.
Reflections of Personhood A man or woman is a person, as God is a Person. Such
personal uniqueness is reflected in self-awareness and God-awareness. Human
individuality is implied in personhood. God said “I am that I am” (Ex.
3:14). Persons also are separate entities with individual personalities, sets of
values, inclinations, and responsibilities. Every human being is an original.
Humans created in God’s image share His rational nature.
People have the power to think, analyze, and reflect even upon abstract matters.
They cannot be defined by or confined to material attributes. As God is
spiritual (John 4:24), persons are spiritual. This spiritual kinship makes
possible communication with God.
The Bible teaches that human beings have purpose.
They have an instinctive need to be something and to do something. They have a
responsible intuition and an inner call to duty. The human race has a unique
sense of “oughtness.” Humans are moral creatures. They can and do make moral
judgments (Gen. 2:16-17). Persons have a censoring conscience which they may
defy. They are choice makers; they can obey their highest instincts or follow
their most morbid urges. A human is the only creature who can say no to God.
Humans are autonomous persons. God endowed them with the freedom to govern their
own lives.
This same autonomy makes possible fellowship with God.
No person could have a meaningful relationship with a robot. Real fellowship can
take place only between two authentic persons. God created “man” in His own
image because He wanted a relationship with another sovereign person.
-Copyright c 1991 Holman Bible Publishers.
All rights reserved. International copyright secured.