Answers

By   •   June 5, 2006

Q:

Does God have hands and eyes and feet, and so forth, like we do? I know you'll probably say He doesn't, but what does the Bible mean then when it says we were created in His image? I'm a new believer, and I'm embarrassed to ask this, but I don't know very much about the Bible.


A:

Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions about the Bible; God wants you to know what it teaches! The Bible is God’s Word, and the main reason God gave it to us is so we could know Him and allow His truth to change our lives.

No, God doesn’t have hands or eyes or feet; God is a spiritual being without form or body, and He is far greater than any physical being. Sometimes the Bible speaks about God’s hands or eyes, but when it does, it is using symbolic language to convey some truth about His activity: “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

When the Bible says God created the human race in His image, it means that God put His character or imprint on our souls or spirits. We aren’t God–but we are like Him (although limited). Because of this, we have the ability to love, and to know right from wrong. Because we bear God’s image, we are different from the animals, and all human life is sacred.

The tragedy is that God’s image within us has been defaced and twisted by sin (although not destroyed). But Christ came to make us whole, and someday “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). In the meantime, make it your goal to grow closer to Christ and serve Him with all of your life.