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God-Kind, Reproduction after
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 1:26-27  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The implication here is very clear! When man is compared to the animals, man's image is not just of himself (let each reproduce after his kind) but in the image of God! The implication is that man is reproducing after the God-kind! It is not directly stated, but it is strongly implied when the contrast is made between verses 26 and 27 in reference to man and to the other verses that address the beasts of the field and of the sea and of the sky. Man is not just different—he is like God! Man is after the God-kind—not animal-kind and not angel-kind! But how is man like God? It is not merely a matter of form and shape, though that is certainly included. It is principly in terms of more important things: intelligence; broad, emotional capacity; self- and other-consciousness; abstract, spatial, and artistic thought; creative powers to bring plans to pass; and most of all, desire for and capability to grasp spiritual content such as living forever. Man has mind! That is how man is like the God-kind. Man has mind in which the character of God can be created! Certainly, these verses do not say all of that here. They can be gathered from other parts of the Bible, but the ground work for it is laid right here at the very beginning, as God shows that man, though physical and mortal, is after the God-kind. God does not hide vital truths like this by putting them in some obscure book—like the book of Obadiah, one chapter long and which few people ever read! Yet, almost everybody reads the first chapter of Genesis! And there it is—right at the very beginning of the book! The first strong implication that man is after the God-kind is in the very first chapter! Man is different! Man is distinctive from all other created beings! John W. Ritenbaugh We Shall Be God! (Part 1)

Genesis 1:26-27  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) From the beginning of the Bible, man is shown to be in an exalted position, different from the rest of the natural creation. He is given dominion over all of the earth. Man's exaltation, his glory, is in the fact that he is in the image of God. In the Old Testament, the primary thrust of being in the image of God involves shape and form. God strongly implies that man is created after the God-kind. What we can derive from this, when connected to other scriptures that show the same general principle, is that when we are changed—when we are transformed (Job 14:14; I Corinthians 15:35-54)—we will be changed into the kind from which we have sprung—God! John W. Ritenbaugh We Shall Be God! (Part 2)

Ephesians 1:3-4  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) "For I am the LORD. I do not change" (Malachi 3:6). He has never deviated from His purpose from the foundation of the world. Once He had planned what He would do, He set out on to fulfill His purpose, and He has never strayed from it. Genesis 1:26 suggests this strongly: "Let Us make man in Our image." What is He doing? He is reproducing Himself. If He is creating man "in His image," then He is reproducing Himself! John W. Ritenbaugh The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 1)

 

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