LET US MAKE MAN: A DISSECTION
In this segment an attempt will be made to address the divine council theology developed in part by Gen.1 26 with proof texts in the settings of a divine court of "gods" commonly recognized throughout scripture. That a divine council exists there is no question, and to deny it would be to reject bible truth, the existence of all angels and devils, and even Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father. The question of this segment is not to expound in any detail on the dynamics of said council, or the politics involved in an extraterrestrial civilization, but to simply decide from scripture if Gen 1.26 is indeed a reference to it. In this discussion the idea of polytheism may indeed be conjured, however we as Christians claim 1 Timothy 2:5 as a simple antidote to such conclusions.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
We push forward with the Bible as our guide to all truth, and simply ignore all persons susceptible to the conclusions of emotional analysis, and irregular logic. Those who are easily recognized and avoided by an overzealous propensity to proliferate their paradigm as the only means to interpret our human progression of existence. And an interpretation of scripture that rides roughshod over the normal grammatical approach, usually leaving the perpetrator with perceptual cataracts.
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. Gen 1.26
Was this statement, "let us make man in our image" a proof text for the trinity? Or is it a statement to the heavenly host, the sons of God, as to the biological requirements of man.
Psalm 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Hebrews 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Here we see that man is made "lower" than the angels, in this context the preceding accolades attributed the the Lord Jesus sets the tone for "lower" as being less in glory and honor, than that of the angels. Jesus also took not on the nature of angels, this being contrasted with seed of Abraham. Jesus was the offspring of Abraham setting a restraint on his salvific purpose and limiting his atonement to those who's nature he retained. And the nature of angels specifically being that they are not he seed of anyone but themselves "sons of God" Jesus being the first born among them. Adam was the seed of none, but a son of God, thus the Son of God is also the Son of man, to redeem the children of men.
It was God's stated intention to create man in His image, the degree of which was to be retained in mans likeness, but hardly in his omniscient and omnipresent properties. Hence "In our image" means the image of the other sons of God. It seems simplicity itself since in the genealogy of Christ says in truth what Adam was.
Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
If in fact Gen 1.26 is merely a comment circulated among the members of the trinity, the overwhelming truth still prevails: that man unequivocally images the sons of God upon the redemption of our mortal body, and it is certain that before the fall, man was made in the image of the son of God.
Colossians 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Finally after laying this ground work we resort to the analysis of the below table, a parallel comparison of the one other time when God uses the term "let us" in his dealings with the dwellers of planet earth.
Gen 11.6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Such a passage makes sense in the context of the trinity only if one can imagine God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, jointly taking a guided tour of the tower, and of the city that would soon become known as "Babel". "...the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded." Gen 11.5
"Let us go down" must then be addressed to personal assistants, that accompany the LORD on his earthy reconnaissance. Other incidents in which we see the LORD not alone but with accompanying emissaries, include: Ge 18:1-2 , Mt 17:3, Joh 20:12, Ac 1:10. After reading such accounts consecutively a new vibe must accompany the reading of any passage that contains "Let us" when the LORD is speaking. However we turn our attention to the chart below.
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Ge 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after
their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and
God saw that it was good. |
Ge 11:5 ¶ And the
LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children
of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. |
In verses 5 and 25 God sees, and makes observation of his creatures. In verse 5 it is the children on men that he reconnoiters. In verse 25 it is the created beasts, before man that God sees. In verses 7 and 26 "Let us" is the first person plural imperative, used as an address to the cooperative constituents of the heavenlies, involved to carry out the LORD's doings. In verses 27 and 8 it is seen that God or the LORD Himself, initiates the decree of his announcement. In verses 28 a blessing is passed from God himself on his creatures. In verse 9 a judgment of scattering takes place at God's bidding, and the title of Babel is retained as a monument of this judgment.
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As we grasp at new points of view it may be tempting to recoil, and turn to the proof texts that tell us of a trinity that conversates among themself. Joh 1:1, Joh 17:11, Isa 6:8. Jesus speaks to the Father, and the Word is with God at the creation in the beginning, it is perfectly logical for this to occur. But we must recognize when the LORD speaks to his Father, as opposed to His subjects. In conclusion, the answer lies directly in the context of Gen 1.
Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:22 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:
It becomes apparent to the careful reader, that in context the "gods", mentioned by the serpent in tempting Eve, were just that. "one of us". The gods that Eve had obviously taken notice of whether in or around the Eden environment, were the cynosure of temptation for the First Lady. To find this surprising, is to lose all grasp of the reality of the created world in the beginning. Did not the LORD walk with Adam in the cool of the evening? Wasn't the Serpent possessed by a heavenly being to entice Eve? Weren't there Cherubims, and a flaming sword at the gate of the garden? To deny that Eve was innocent to the existence of other-worldly beings, is ludicrous in the superlative. "Ye will be as gods" carries no illustrative weight, if the mother of all living had no elucidation as to who the "gods" were.
Summation: "Let us make man in our image" has now been substantially attested to as an address the the heavenly host, the sons of God. It can be said that this is a statement to the trinity, while not incorrect, the idea that the sons of God were not present at this declaration is foolhardy.
2 Samuel 14:17 Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.
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