Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.

Genesis 1:26

By creating humans in His image and likeness, God demonstrates that He is all about relationships, and the grace of growing healthy relationships flows from an authentic relationship with Him.

Tselem is the Hebrew word for "image," and demuth is the Hebrew word for "likeness." These two concepts, "image" and "likeness," have very similar meanings but are not interchangeable.

"Image" is translated as "a model," like a three-dimensional or structural representation of someone or something, such as a son's physical resemblance to his father or a carved statue of an idol or a ruler. Because God granted Adam stewardship over all creation, Adam was God's ambassador on Earth (Genesis 1:28, 2:19). In other words, because of the image of God in him and the divine mandate to care for and be responsible for God's creation, Adam was at the top of a hierarchical relationship with the rest of creation.

Adam was God's gardener in Eden (Genesis 2:15), and he was to "tend and keep" the garden so that he might return the garden to God in the same or better condition than when he first had it. Adam worked from a posture of rest before the fall and had no trouble carrying out his responsibilities. Indeed, the task was light, especially because God planted all of the trees in the garden (Genesis 2:8) and granted Adam free access to their fruits, with the exception of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16). Furthermore, God gave Adam a co-worker in the form of Eve to assist him (Genesis 2:18), and God also brought the animals for Adam to name (Genesis 2:19-20).

"Likeness" is translated as a "mirror-like picture or representation," similar to how a mirror reflects the true image of a person standing in front of it. When God breathed His Spirit into Adam, he received the likeness of God.

Despite the fact that Adam was physically formed from dust, he was created in the image and likeness of God. Being made in God's image and likeness distinguishes Adam and his human descendants from the rest of the animal kingdom. Humans are the only creature with a physical body, a soul that can reason and a spirit that can know God. In this way, Adam was endowed with godly qualities and attributes that enable him to mirror God's life in all aspects of his life.

God has made you a new creation when you have Christ in you. As a result, there is nothing standing in your way of having a genuine relationship with God that will bring blessings and abundance into your life.