At Genesis 1:26-27, we read, “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness…. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” The Hebrew noun ṣelem is defined as “from an unused root to shade, a phantom, image, likeness, [or] resemblance.”[1] So, what does it mean to be made in the image of God? God is immaterial and immortal. God is a unique combination of spirit and soul, and we are made in His image.
At John 4:24, we read that “God is spirit.” At Matthew 12:18, we read that God, the Father’s soul (psychē) delighted in His Son. At Hebrews 10:38, we read that if we fall away from our walk of faith, God’s soul (psychē) has no pleasure in us. The Greek noun pneuma is defined as “spirit or breath.”[2] The Greek noun psychē is defined as “soul or life.”[3] At 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we learn that we humans are body, soul, and spirit. As to the Old Testament, the Hebrew noun rûaḥ is defined as “wind, spirit, or breath,”[4] and the Hebrew noun nep̄eš is defined as “life or soul.”[5] We humans are trichotomous, which means that have three parts, but like God, we have both a soul and spirit.
At Romans 8:16, we read, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Our human spirit gives us the ability, capacity, and responsibility to have fellowship with God. Our relationship with God is spirit to Spirit. Adam and Eve were different from every other earthly creature because they had the capacity and duty to have fellowship with God. It is God’s will for us humans to live in fellowship with Him. The writer of Hebrews warned us to “be subject to the Father of spirits, and live” (Heb: 12:9). True and authentic living is fellowship with God, our Creator. True living includes accepting God as our ultimate authority. Walking in faith is a place of obedience (Rom. 1:5). Paul explained that we serve God in our spirit (Rom. 1:9).
At Ecclesiastes 12: 6-7, we read,
Remember your Creator before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Our body is comprised of dust, but our spirit comes from God, and when we die, our human spirit will return to God, who gave a human spirit to each of us. At Psalm 146:4, speaking of the day of our death, the psalmist wrote, “His spirit departs; he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
Some have taught that as a result of the Fall, we humans lost our human spirit as a part of our spiritual death. Further, some teach that at the moment of first believing, we regain our human spirit. Personally, I disagree with these teachings. In my opinion, every human (believer or unbeliever) has a human spirit, and we are free to pursue or not pursue a relationship with God, who is Spirit. Further, we humans (because we have a human spirit) can interact with evil or false spirits. The Zeitgeist (or “spirit of the age”) is constructed by false and evil spirits. Both believers and unbelievers can listen to evil spirits. At 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul wrote, “But the Spirit [of God] explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” On a daily basis, we are impacted by good and evil. We can pursue a relationship with our Creator God, or we can listen to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons.
In both the New and Old Testament, we read about evil spirits. At Luke 4:33, a human is described as being “possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon.” In the Gospels and the Book of Revelation, we read about unclean spirits twelve times. Since the First Advent of Christ, every believer is indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 7:34). Personally, I do not believe that a believer can be indwelt by an evil spirit, but we can be influenced by an evil spirit. Now, every believer receives the gift of the Holy Spirit from God (Acts 2:38; 13:52). Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). At Ephesians 1:13, we learn that we believers have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. However, even though we are indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, Paul warned us not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). We are free to pursue a relationship with God, or not.
At Proverbs 29:23, we learn that “a humble spirit will obtain honor.” What separates one human from another is humility. We must be teachable. We must be willing to draw near to God and accept correction from God. In contrast, we have been warned to avoid “paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). The Zeitgeist is full of lies that capture and destroy humans. The United States has largely abandoned its Judeo-Christian heritage, and the vacuum has been filled by the indoctrination of evil spirits and the teaching of demons. On a daily basis, we are bombarded by weird and bizarre ideas.
In addition to a human spirit, every human (like our Creator) has a soul, which is also immaterial and immortal. Hebrews 4:12 acknowledges that it is hard to distinguish between the soul and spirit. At Matthew 22:37, we are told to love God with all of our souls. The human soul was created with the capacity to appreciate God and His creation, to include other humans. By means of our souls, we form bonds of affection for God, other humans, and even some animals. However, our souls can also experience things like grief, depression, anxiety, despair, and anxiousness (Matt. 26:38, Ps. 13:2, 19:7, 43:5, 94:19). We can also experience restoration (Ps. 19:7). Speaking of Jesus’s death by crucifixion, Simeon told Mary, the mother of Jesus, that “a sword [was going to] pierce her own soul” (Luke 2:35). Further, even Jesus experienced strong emotions in His soul. In anticipation of His own death, Jesus said, “My soul is deeply grieved” (Matt. 14:34). The answer to the longings and needs of the human soul are found in our relationship with the Creator God.
At Acts 14:22, we learn that our souls can be strengthened by the preaching of the Word of God. Speaking of his love for God, Isaiah said, “At night my soul [nep̄eš] longs for You, Indeed, my spirit [rûaḥ] within me seeks you diligently” (Isa. 26:9). In summation, we humans are created in the image of God. We, like God, have a soul and spirit, which are both immaterial and immortal. Most importantly, we all have the potential to live in intimate fellowship with God because we have both a spirit and soul.
For more information regarding being made in the image of God, please see this YouTube Bible Class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eShGaPc_3Xs
[1] “H6754 – ṣelem – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Oct, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6754/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
[2] “G4151 – pneuma – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Oct, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4151/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
[3] “G5590 – psychē – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Oct, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5590/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/>.
[4] “H7307 – rûaḥ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Oct, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7307/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
[5] “H5315 – nep̄eš – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Oct, 2024. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5315/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
