Man "according to the image" of God
As we have already stated, man was created according to God's image; the Triune God is man's archetype. Consequently man is by nature not an isolated being but a communion of persons. It is impressive and moving to ponder upon the fact that God did not create individuals but a communion of persons. Holy Scripture observes: And God created man "according to the Image of God"; "male and female He created them" (Gen. 1,27). While Scripture refers to the creation of man, it underlines that God created man as a pair and not as two isolated individuals.
God created human nature, the "one man" who has myriads of persons. Thus to the mystery of the Triune God is added the mystery of man. Hence we cannot approach the mystery of man independently of faith in God, Who is his prototype, for without this faith we are unable to accept the unity and the simultaneous distinction between men, and out of necessity are led either to the confusion of the persons or to isolation.
According to the Christian faith every human person possesses a specific, unique and unrepeatable being and this entity includes all of man. Thus the entity of the human species is not due to factors outside of human nature itself. It aims not at serving common goals nor is it based on common concerns and interests; it is not of a sociological, but rather of an ontological nature: it refers to man's essence. Man "is" man only in communion with all of mankind. Without this communion he denies his very nature, i.e. he is alienated and lives the tragedy of hell.
According to the Christian faith this unity of the "one" man constitutes man's hope, which, as we shall now see, after the fall is realized in the person of Christ and in the body of Christ, the Church, where again every distinction is done away with and all become "one in Christ"; one man in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3,28). This is why Jesus Christ is also called "the last Adam", "the second man" (I Cor. 15,45,48).
This unity of human nature and multiplicity of human persons proves that man, just as his Archetype, is a community of persons. In this way the unity of mankind and the particularity of each man is preserved.
All these things give us a dimension of the image according to which man is created. We must however underline that the "according to the image' does not refer to the similarity of the essence. For God, according to His essence is unapproachable and incommunicatable. The prayers and hymns of our Church, especially those that refer to our brothers who have fallen asleep in Christ, often speak of the "according to the image" and in general to the creation of man.
One of these hymns says that You created my body from the earth; my soul however You bestowed upon me with Your vivifying breath:
"From the earth Thou didst shape my body,
and didst give me a soul
by thy divine and quickening breath".
"Thou didst honour the creation of your hands,
Ο Saviour, with thine image,
by presenting in material form
the likeness of your noetic essence;
and you made me a partaker of it, Ο Word,
by placing me as master over the earth
with free will.
For this reason, Ο Saviour,
do thou grant rest to your servants
'in the land of the living'
and in the tents of the righteous".
The Orthodox Church especially puts forth another dimension of the "image", commenting on God's word to man: "and subdue the earth and have dominion..." (Gen. 1,28). A prayer states "...So that the honour might be distinguished from the life of the others, He planted a garden in Eden, graced with all types of plants, free from sadness and care, making me a partaker of divine life, and making me slightly lower than the angels upon the earth".
The Fathers of the Church say that the "according to the image",, refers to the similarity of authority. Man was placed as "having authority" over the rest of God's creation; he was raised to the level of becoming God's collaborator. This "authority" however should not be exercised in an arbitrary manner: contrary to man's nature and to his responsible place in God's world or contrary to the nature of the other creatures.
God determined a certain meaning for man's life. Likewise, all the other creatures came into existence with a specific purpose. All of creation constitutes an unique unity and harmony which in the Old Testament is expressed with the words: " And God saw all that He created, and behold it was very good" (Gen. 1,31). Man's authority over the rest of creation must be in harmony with God's will and His plan for all of creation.
This dominion and authority is not infinite. God placed man in paradise "to till it and keep it" (Gen. 2,15). The fulfilment of man's mission required a deep knowledge of the creation. Man could have brought this task to a blessed conclusion. As the "according to the image" of the all-wise and almighty God, he could have developed science and knowledge to a wondrous degree and realized God's command to "subdue it and have dominion" (Gen. 1,28). This does not mean, as we have already said, that man has the right from God to make egoistic use of the world. Such a thing would shatter the unity and harmony which man was called, in accordance with God's plan, to serve.
But the personal God is also defined by freedom. And every man, being created "according to the image" of God Himself, has been created a free being.
This means that apostasy is not to be found in man's nature, but in his disposition. If man were by nature an apostate, i.e. a sinner, then apostasy would be a necessity in his life. No one could then choose the path of virtue and communion with God. This is why we mention that apostasy has its roots in man's free choice, i.e. his will.
Man therefore has the possibility of accepting a communion of love with God and serving creation in accordance with God's plan. Indeed, the Creator endowed man with His grace so as to easily be in a position to increase in virtue.
But one could ask, why didn't God create man virtuous without the possibility of apostasy? If apostasy did not exist as a possibility within man's will, then the exercise of virtue would be compulsory, something which would completely negate its value; because that which is done out of force is not virtue but necessity. If we now should want to correlate man's freedom with God's command "to subdue", we would say that man is able to enter into a communion of love with creation, serving it, or to proceed to an egoistic use of the environment with unforeseeable consequences for himself and for all of God's creation.
God therefore offers man the possibility of salvation without crushing him. He desires to have man's free consent. Even the most sacred of purposes which refers to the deeper meaning of man's life, i.e. his communion with God, does not move God to violate man's will, "for his own good". Here we are dealing with a communion of love which is possible only "in freedom". For that matter, what would paradise itself be if man were obliged to live there by force?
Source:http://www.egolpion.com
