Genesis 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…

When you come to this verse, you can feel the weight of it right away. Something different is happening. Up to this point, God has spoken light into darkness, shaped the earth, filled the seas, and populated the skies. But now the language slows down.

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

That is not accidental.

The Hebrew word translated God here is Elohim. El is the singular form. Elohim speaks of three or more. So even in the very word used for God, there is already a hint of the Trinity. Then when you come to the words, “Let us make man in our image,” that hint becomes even more striking. Right in the opening chapter of the Bible, there is already a whisper of the triune nature of God.

And because man is made in God’s image, there is something about us that reflects that reality.

We, too, are triune beings.

We are body, soul, and spirit.

The body refers to our physical being. It is the outward part of us, the part that moves through this world, works, walks, sees, hears, and touches.

The soul refers to the mind and the emotions. It is the part of us that thinks, feels, reasons, remembers, and relates to people around us.

The spirit refers to our eternal being, the deepest part of who we are, the part that relates to God.

That is what makes man unique.

Animals have bodies and souls. They have physical life. They have awareness. They have instinct. They can respond in ways that are even emotional at times. But they do not have spirits, because they are not made in God’s image. Only man is a spiritual being.

That is why man can never be explained merely in physical terms.

You are not just a body.

You are not just feelings.

You are not just instincts and impulses.

You were made to relate to God.

That is why a man can have food on the table, a roof over his head, and people around him, and still feel empty deep inside. The body may be fed. The soul may be occupied. But if the spirit is untouched, there is still going to be a hunger nothing in this world can satisfy.

Because man was made in the image of God.

That is the great distinction.

That is the great dignity.

That is what sets humanity apart from everything else God made. We are not just another creature walking the earth. We are image bearers. We are beings with body, soul, and spirit, created with the capacity to know God, respond to God, and walk with God.

And that is why redemption matters so much. Sin did not erase the image entirely, but it surely marred it. It distorted what was meant to be whole. Yet the Lord still looks on man as one made in His image, and that is why He moves toward us in grace.

Made in His image.

After His likeness.

That is where human worth begins.