What did God mean by ” Let us make man in our own image”?

A. Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our own 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.

This Scripture has caused much confusion within Christianity and is one of the main reasons many people think there is a trinity. Not to mention it is a mystery of the Old Testament, that was revealed in the New Testament with the birth of salvation, in the person of Jesus Christ; our Saviour.

First as with the bible itself, we must leave all preconceived notions and human ideas we have of our own out of this answer and strictly look at what the word of God says.

Isaiah 54:8 For my thoughts are not, your thoughts, neither are are your ways my ways, saith, the Lord.

In Genesis 1:26 God is having a conversation with Himself (just as we often do, even speaking out loud to ourselves). In the same manner, God was speaking into existence the thought of what He should make His future body to look like. God had always planned to dwell among his people, however when ” He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:11) We must remember God is a Spirit (John 4:24) and a spirit needs a human body to operate in this plain of existence. So when He created man He created man in His own image, ” Who is the image of the invisible God, the first begotten of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:15-17) From this Scripture we know that Paul is talking about Jesus Christ. Now if Paul is talking about Jesus Christ, this means that Jesus is God because as we know by Genesis 1:1 that, ” In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”. Jesus was not with God when He was in the process of creation,(but he was God’s thought of what the design of what man should be because God was not ready to reveal His body or His name.  However we do know that, ” when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4) Galatians 4:4 is also the fulfilment of the first prophecy of the word of God in Genesis 3:15, ” And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel”. Once again, this speaks of Jesus Christ, because “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. ” (Psalms 110:1) See also (Matthew 22:44, Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35) Careful examination of Psalms 110:1 simply verifies that the Lord said to Himself. Jesus being the ” heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” (Hebrews1-3)

Shema: Hear O’ Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: (Deuteronomy 6:4)

The Lord said unto the Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 110:1) Careful examination of Psalm 110:1 reveals that God was speaking to Himself.

Simply put God was having a thought of how he should design man. That man being created perfect first was Adam. However, Adam fell from grace, but God had always planned to come Himself to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21, Matthew 16:21, Genesis 22:8, Genesis 22:14)  The second Adam God created (Romans 5:12) was Jesus (whom he was speaking of creating at creation) Perfect in all ways being the body that God created for Himself, by Himself (1 Timothy 3:16), to dwell in. Matthew 3:17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” (meaning, this is the only body that I am well pleased to have my own Spirit, the Spirit of God, reside in permanently) to pay the ultimate price for our sins. Because ” almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9: 22)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made was made. (John 1:1-3)

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld the glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)