‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth”.'
“Let us make man.” The thought is intimate and personal, and carefully considered. Here will be one who has connections with the infinite, and Heaven is called on to consider this special act of creation, and indeed to participate in it to some extent, for it will affect them too. But as Genesis 1:27 makes clear, ultimately it was the act of God Himself.
So the next question that this verse raises is, who is the ‘us'? The answer is not difficult. We can compare its use in Isaiah 6:8 when God is surrounded by seraphim. The writer could only have in mind the spiritual beings, called in the Old Testament ‘the sons of God' (Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6; Job 2:1; Job 38:7 - see also 1 Kings 22:19 etc; Isaiah 6:2 etc), from whom came His messengers (‘angels') that He would send to earth, and one of whom was Satan himself (Job 1:6). In Hebrew the term ‘sons of --' indicates not those who have been born from, but ‘those who are connected with' or sometimes ‘those who behave like'. Thus these ‘sons of God' are those connected with the sphere in which God operates rather than in the sphere in which man operates. They are not literally His sons.
This brings out the meaning of the remainder of the verse. Man was to have the ‘image and likeness of the heavenly beings, of the elohim'. While the word ‘elohim' usually means God it can, as we have seen, also refer to ‘out of this world beings' e.g. 1 Samuel 28:13. Man was thus to have heavenly status and a spiritual and moral nature capable of communion with God, of active choice and of moral behaviour. While in one sense an earthly creature, bound to earth, he would also have a spiritual nature which could reach into the heaven of heavens.
Note that God said ‘OUR image'. Thus He associated Himself in this with the heavenly beings. The image in which man is made is not the unique image of God but that which He shares with the elohim. This justifies the above interpretation. Man is made a spiritual being.
But the idea of ‘in our image' possibly also includes the idea that man is placed in a position of dominion. He is to stand in the place of God and His court. In a later period ancient kings would erect their images in subservient countries as a reminder of their authority. In Zechariah 12:8 ‘the house of David (the royal house) shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them'. In the same way man is here seen as present to represent God's court on earth. This was what warranted his being placed over all that God had made.
We might differentiate by saying that as the image of God he stands in God's place and has dominion, while as the likeness of the elohim he can communicate with God in spiritual terms, but the separation must not be pressed. The two ideas are inter-linked and merge into one. ‘Likeness' is intended to limit ‘image'. Later ‘like God' signifies ‘knowing good and evil' stressing the moral aspect of the likeness (Genesis 3:5).
(As mentioned the phrase ‘sons of God' does not suggest direct relationship, but that such beings are closely connected with God. The Old Testament can, for example, also speak of ‘sons of Belial' (Jdg 19:22; 1 Samuel 2:12; 2 Samuel 23:6) as describing those who behave like Belial. They are not literally seen as being born from Belial).
“Let us make man (adam).” The word ‘adam' always appears in the singular. It is a collective noun signifying mankind as a whole. But the verse goes on to say ‘and let them have dominion'. Man's procreation is immediately in view. Sovereignty is not given to one man but to all mankind.
“Over all the earth.” Man's dominion is not limited to the living creatures. He is to dominate the earth for its good.