God has clearly revealed Himself through His Word, declaring that He possesses form and shape. In Genesis 1:26-27, it is stated that man is made in His image and likeness, a direct and concrete resemblance, not an abstract concept. This image was accomplished at creation, as man was formed in the physical likeness of God, reflecting His purpose to reproduce Himself so that we might ultimately be exactly like Him. The Bible uses terms like "tselem," "demooth," and "icon" to describe this image, consistently indicating shape, resemblance, and form, whether applied to God, man, or idols. These words affirm a visible, tangible form, not merely a spiritual or moral likeness, as seen in various scriptures where the same terms denote physical representations. God's revelation is not meant to be incomprehensible or vague; He has made known His nature to His children through His Spirit, ensuring clarity in understanding His form. Despite this, some within the church cast doubt on these plain statements, suggesting that God does not truly mean what He says about His image. Such doubt mirrors the tactics of satan, who questioned God's clear instructions to Adam and Eve, sowing uncertainty about what God has plainly declared. Yet, God is not a man that He would lie; it is not in His character to deceive, as affirmed in Numbers 23:19 and I Samuel 15. To claim that God does not have the form He describes is to accuse Him of falsehood, a serious contradiction to His nature. The consistent testimony of scripture, from Genesis to the teachings of Jesus Christ, supports that God has a form visible to the eye and a voice audible to the ear, as seen in references like John 5:37 and Luke 3. Jesus Himself taught that a spirit being's body is not vaporous or ghostly but solid, possessing spirit flesh and bones, affirming that both He and the Father have form. Thus, believing what God declares about Himself is the safer and more accurate path, recognizing that He, as the author of the Book, knows best what He is and has disclosed this truth to us.

Both male and female together are created in the image of God. God is creating a Family modeled after His own characteristics, but not all Godlike characteristics are found in one sex or gender. It bears repeating that God did not create a superior and inferior sex. God has characteristics that are considered to be masculine and feminine, and together, men and women make up a composite image of the living God. Individually, we are incomplete, partial, and lacking something in our personality. One of the reasons God gave us marriage is to learn how the other half of the God-image behaves, adopting traits and characteristics of the opposite sex to become complete God-beings. God the Father is not in the process of making macho-warriors or goddesses, but balanced members of His Family. Part of this process involves the male incorporating Godlike feminine characteristics such as tenderness, mercy, and patience, while the female needs to learn masculine characteristics such as strength, assertiveness, and decisiveness. To qualify as members of God's Family, both men and women need to incorporate all these characteristics into their personalities.

God has declared His purpose for mankind with clarity in Genesis 1:26, stating, "Let Us make man in Our image." This reveals His intention to create humanity as a reflection of Himself, a product built on and through the earth He meticulously prepared. His creation follows a logical progression, beginning with a raw and formless earth, which He shaped and ordered to serve as the foundation for this purpose. Despite this clear declaration, many fail to acknowledge His plan, choosing instead to assume He has no purpose or remains uninvolved. Yet, God's reality is evident in what He has made, leaving mankind without excuse for denying His existence or His intent to form us in His likeness. His creation of humanity in His image is not a whimsical act but a deliberate process, designed with thoughtful planning to achieve His ultimate goal.

God created humanity in His image and likeness, declaring through the plural "Let us make man in our image" that the work involves the God-kind rather than the animal kind. This declaration establishes the foundational purpose of creation as the reproduction of God Himself, forming a family with character like His own. The process unfolds in two stages: an initial mortal, physical creation followed by a continuing spiritual creation that conforms individuals to the image of God's Son, granting immortality and everlasting life. This purpose remains hidden from most of humanity, as God selectively reveals it to those He calls and draws, enabling them to understand their destiny within the Kingdom of God. The same image-bearing role grants dominion over the physical creation, with greater authority over all things yet to come in the world to come. God further models this through commands to dress and keep the garden and to establish the family as the basic unit for character development and relationships. These elements connect directly to the Feast of Tabernacles, which reorients participants on their pilgrimage toward the Kingdom rather than the Millennium alone. Believers are therefore called to trust God fully, yielding to His Spirit so that they may be led as sons, become joint heirs with Christ, and receive the inheritance prepared from before the foundation of the world.

God's creative work in Genesis establishes the foundation for understanding His nature as actively forming man in His image, and this purpose stands as the central goal behind all His creative activity, expressed in the statement "Let Us make man in Our image." The physical creation described in the opening chapters of Genesis serves as preparation for this greater work, His ongoing formation and shaping of mankind according to His holy, spiritual character. This introduces God not as a passive observer contemplating His creation, but as the Mover, Shaker, and Shaper actively performing the occupation of creating, with the shaping of man in His image representing the second and more significant step following the preparation of a suitable physical environment. This creative purpose of forming man in God's image connects directly to God's sovereign planning, which extends backward into eternity itself. The prophetic statement that God's works have been known to Him from eternity indicates that His purpose of reproducing His own image in mankind was not a reactive decision but part of a plan established before the foundation of the world. Paul's teaching that believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, predestined to adoption as sons, reveals that the process of shaping individuals into God's image was determined in advance rather than left to chance or human initiative. Peter's reference to election according to the foreknowledge of God the Father reinforces that God determined in eternity past to bring certain ones of His creation into a special relationship with Himself at specific times, showing that the formation of man into God's image involves not merely a general plan but specific, predetermined workings in the lives of individuals. This understanding of being created in God's image thus becomes inseparable from recognizing God as the Prime Mover who initiates, sustains, and completes His purposes rather than merely reacting to human actions. The shaping of man into God's image requires God's active, ongoing involvement, including His use of circumstances, trials, and even calamities to produce righteousness and to conform His people to His character. Whether through the calamity imposed on nations, such as the division of Israel and Judah, or through trials brought upon individuals, such as Job, God demonstrates that His creative purpose of forming His image in mankind continues through direct intervention in human affairs. The ultimate goal of all these workings, both grand and personal, remains the same: to produce righteousness, to glorify God, and to bring His creation into conformity with the image He purposed to create from the very beginning.

God creates humanity in His image as an ongoing spiritual process rather than a completed physical act. This workmanship begins after deliverance by grace, as stated in Ephesians 2:8-10, where believers are already saved and then formed in Christ Jesus for good works that God has ordained. The new creation replaces the former pattern of life, as Paul describes in Galatians 6:15, where neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters but only the new creation itself. This formation follows the model of God Himself, as Ephesians 4:23-24 indicates by instructing believers to put on the new man created after God in righteousness and true holiness. The process parallels the original declaration in Genesis 1:26 yet shifts emphasis to spiritual, moral, ethical, attitudinal, and character likeness. God functions as sculptor, artist, and potter who alone supplies the vision, materials, and power, requiring no contribution from those being shaped. Psalm 100:3 and Job 14:15 establish that the same Creator who made humanity physically continues to desire and complete the work of His hands through the sending of His Spirit. Psalm 104:30 states the governing principle that God sends forth His Spirit and things are created or renewed. Passages such as Isaiah 32:15, Ezekiel 36:25-27, and Ezekiel 39:29 confirm that this outpouring produces cleansing, a new heart, and the ability to walk in statutes, demonstrating that good works arise as effects of divine initiative rather than causes of deliverance. Consequently, works pleasing to God are those activities and attitudes that reflect His own nature and are empowered by His Spirit, enabling believers to manifest the salvation already received and to serve as witnesses of His continuing creative activity.

Being created in God's image, as declared in Genesis 1:26, stands as the earliest and clearest revelation of God's purpose for mankind, establishing that humanity was made after the God kind rather than the animal kind implied by evolutionary theory. This creation is purposeful, not accidental, and comes in two stages: first the physical, then the spiritual, which begins once a person is called and elected by God and starts to understand the spiritual dimension of that creation. Ephesians 2:10 confirms this ongoing process, declaring believers to be God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand—meaning each person is an act of creation in progress, with the responsibility to make right choices that aid God in this creative work. The command in Genesis 1:26 to exercise dominion is directly tied to the ultimate destiny described in Revelation 20:6, where the saints become priests of God and Christ, reigning with Him for a thousand years. Genesis 2:15, instructing Adam to dress and keep the garden, establishes a model of labor and responsibility that applies not merely to Adam and Eve but to all mankind, since God intends this principle of purposeful work to prepare humanity for its ultimate destiny. This dominion is further explained in Hebrews 2, where David's question, "What is man, that You are mindful of him?" finds its answer in the destiny of being crowned with glory and honor, with all things put in subjection—a destiny shared with Jesus Christ as the firstborn among many brethren. Being made in God's image ultimately means becoming like God in kind, not merely in authority. Just as a newborn child is fully human despite lacking the growth, knowledge, and wisdom of its parents, so believers, though not yet fully mature, are of the same kind as God and will grow into complete likeness with the Father. This is confirmed in passages such as John 10:34, where Jesus tells the Jews "you are gods," and I Corinthians 15:45-50, which contrasts the earthy image borne from Adam with the heavenly image believers will bear, being transformed into the image of the Lord from heaven. First John 3:2 states plainly, "we shall be like Him." This creation in God's image is not static but progressive, requiring growth in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, becoming holy, and being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, the Forerunner and pattern for this transformation. The goal is not the Millennium itself, but sharing rule and life with Christ as co-heirs, governing creation as God's own family. Seeking first the Kingdom of God, therefore, means pursuing this profound purpose of being remade into God's image, growing toward full likeness with the Father through faith, obedience, and the working out of salvation already granted.