Made in the image of God or the Holy Court?

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Genesis 1:26a(ESV)

This is something that I have struggled over since my Old Testament class in seminary with Dr. Gordon Harris. In my opinion there are really two views to this passage. First, God is addressing the Holy Court. The word "us" refers to God addressing all those a part of His royal court. Second, God is addressing the Trinity. Here the word "us" refers to the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. There may be other options, but these are the only two I have heard.

Let's take them one at a time. If the word "us" refers to the Holy Court then by inference male and female would be created not only in the image of God but also of angels or other beings (like the creatures with eyes all over their body). Now, I'm no Hebrew scholar and the two commentaries I have looked at seem to avoid the issue all together (or maybe they think it is so obvious they don't feel the need to address it), but why would God tell the entire court that he is going to make man in their image? Especially since the next verse says we were created in the image of God. So, even though Gordon Harris may know more about the Old Testament than I do I get a sense that he is wrong.

If the word "us" refers to the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit then the passage would make more sense. We are not only made in the image of the Father, but also the rest of the Trinity. We are not made in the image of everyone in the Holy Court, only God. So, I believe that this is the earliest reference to the Trinity in the scriptures.

Again, I'm not a Hebrew scholar. So disagree with me if I am wrong. What do you think?

Ignoring God on Purpose

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:16 (NIV)

Oh, how often I have read the stories about Jesus and his mighty works and thought, "Man, He did such awesome deeds. I wish I could do that, but of course He is God and can do anything."

It is true. Jesus is God and I am not. Thank goodness for that. But there was more to Jesus than His divinity. He was also fully human. He got tired and needed to sleep. He got hungry and needed to eat. He got thirsty and needed to drink. He got overwhelmed by His surroundings and needed some time alone.

Too often I get down on myself because I am not fulfilling the will of God in my life. It seems too much at times to always be fighting my two natures: sinful and righteous. But even though I may never heal a leprous man or bring someone back from the dead does not mean that I cannot do what Jesus did.

Let me explain. The Gospels are filled with situations where Jesus performs a miracle or stands up to the leading "spiritual" leaders of the day and calls them vipers or hypocrites. Oh, how I wish I had that tenacity. But where did Jesus get that tenacity and confidence to stand up to the truth? Yes, He is God, but I feel that Luke 5:16 reveals a major part of Jesus confidence. He often withdrew to be alone and spent time with His Father in heaven. Jesus still relied on His Father for strength and even though the crowds continued to grow where ever He traveled He always took the time to commune with the Father.

Boy, do I miss the mark some times. The worst is that many times I choose to miss my time with the Father. I let emails or phone calls or meetings get in the way. Other times I just don't want to meet with Him and I purposely pull something out to distract me. I feel like the words of Paul in Romans were written for me. "Why do I do what I don't want to do." Do feel that way sometimes?

Learn from Christ. Take time, no matter how busy, to spend a significant amount of time with your Father. Easier said than done. But we will be so much better for it. If it was something that Jesus needed, and He was divine, then how much more we need it as humanity.