The IMAGE and LIKENESS of GOD

The Relationship between GOD, JESUS CHRIST and MAN

Introductory comments

This began as a study of the similarities and differences between Jesus and humans, as pertaining to being "in the image of God." It expanded to include all the related terms that are used in various passages to describe the changes that occurred when Jesus became a human, or the changes that saved individuals are undergoing, to become "Christ-like." Included are all the forms of those words - nouns, verbs, etc. - and all the passages that contained those words (whether or not they proved to be applicable to the study).

       1.    Some of the initial words that were studied were: IMAGE, LIKENESS, APPEARANCE, FORM, etc.

       2.    Contrasting concepts, mentioned in some passages, were also included, because they explained the specific relationship between Christ (and his ministry) to various Old Testament entities: SHADOW, PATTERN/EXAMPLE, etc.

       3.    Comparison words were added, such as: EQUAL and LIKE.

In this study, I observed the amazing, painstaking accuracy that Scripture has, in even the tiniest details regarding the relationship of God to Jesus Christ and man (humans). Seemingly "insignificant" words that people often tend to overlook (and thus use in a "sloppy" manner) are carefully used to communicate with precise clarity. Verses written at different times, sometimes by different human authors, "mesh" together to form a harmonious "whole." Moreover, the message that is being communicated is not influenced (or changed) by any of the manuscript variations that may exist.

Some explanatory remarks:

Greek Definitions

The Greek definitions are from Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon. Be aware that not everything found in Thayer will be applicable to the verses found in the outlines. Thayer's definitions may include ways the words were used during the New Testament era, even when they are not used that way in the New Testament itself. Consider it just a help in trying to understand the concepts.

Sometimes I included comments about Greek definitions found in the New American Standard Concordance. For some verses in Genesis, I used the Hebrew definitions from Strong's Concordance.

Manuscript Variations

(In my comments, the word "manuscript" is abbreviated "mss.") I include information about manuscript variation for those who are interested in technical details. Sometimes the specific word may be different (and we can choose to include or exclude it from our list of verses), but these variations do not cause a change in the over-all message of the Word of God. It is perfectly acceptable for a person to not be concerned with such issues; for ignoring them will not cause a person to fall into error!

Scripture quotations

The Scripture passages are not a direct quote from any specific translation, but are a basic summary of what the passage says.

Numbers / Letters in [brackets]

All the words that were studied were numbered by "word group," with letters to indicate the specific words within each group. For example, [2A] refers to the second "word group" and the first word in that group. (You could say it like this: "Group 2, Word A.") This is for consistency and ease, when referring back to words, especially on the summary pages.

In some instances, verses that were studied led to additional comments or the examination of "secondary" words - often just to get a better understanding of the specific verse in question. These were also numbered - such as [2A-1]. (This would refer to "Group 2, Word A, Comment 1.")

Dennis Hinks © 2006

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