All
Fall Short of the Glory of God
Out of all the creatures God made, only one creature, man, is said to be made in the image of
God
Genesis
When God says "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, the meaning is that God plans to make a
creature like
Himself.
Both the Hebrew word for image (tselem)
and the Hebrew word for likeness (demut)
refer to something that is similar but not identical to the thing it represents or is the image of.
Even though men are now sinful (unlike Adam when he was first made) there is
still enough
likeness to
God remaining in them that to murder or curse another person is to attack the part of creation that most resembles God and is viewed as an
attack on God Himself.
Genesis 9:6 - "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by
man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
James 3:9 - With the tongue
we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's
likeness.
However, since man has sinned, he is certainly not as fully like God as he was before. Hence, where man once reflected the glory of God, he
now falls
short
of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
But the New Testament emphasizes that Gods purpose in creating man in His
image was completely realized in the person of Jesus Christ. In Jesus we see human likeness to God
as it was intended to be.
2 Corinthians 4:4 - Christ, who is the image of God.
Colossians
Therefore it should cause us to rejoice that those who have been redeemed by Christ have now been
predestined to be fully conformed to His image!
Romans 8:29 - For whom He foreknew, He also predestined
to become conformed to the image of His Son (NASB)
1 Corinthians