the “Holy Spirit,” for we know that God is One, and that there is no such thing
as a trinity of persons. (Lord 55) In order to resolve this difficulty, it should
be remembered that this story is not about physical creation – it’s about the
regeneration or re-creation of the human spirit.
In other words, when God says, “Let us make man in our image,” He is
speaking about the present moment. He is speaking about how He is working
with the angels to give us a new spirit. As it is written in the prophets, “I will
give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” (Ezekiel 36:26) “I will
put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” (Ibid. 36:27)
All of this is taking place in us now – to the extent that we cooperate with the
Lord’s leading through the ministry
of angels. Slowly but surely the Lord
is working through the angels to
bring each of us into higher states of
spiritual consciousness, saying: “Let
us make man in our image.” Slowly
but surely the Lord is helping us to
identify all desires that are contrary
to His will. Slowly but surely, the
Lord is driving the cravings of our
lower nature out of our hearts and
minds so that new desires can arise.
Slowly but surely, He is helping us
to lose interest in satisfying selfish
desires, while quietly encouraging
us to develop a greater interest in
the desires of the spirit. Slowly but
surely, the Lord is helping us put off
our animal nature so that we might
put on a new nature that is truly human.
As we read in True Christian Religion 328: “So far as anyone indulges in
the lusts of the flesh, he is a beast and a wild animal; but so far as he takes
delight in the desires of the spirit, he is a human being and an angel.” This is
what it means to become a human being.
In the deepest sense, though, when the Lord says, “Let us make man in
our image,” He is not only speaking to the angels. He is also speaking to every
one of us.
It is as if the Lord is saying to each of us, “You need to work with Me here.
I want to give you everything that I have – all My love, all My wisdom, all My
power for useful service. All that I have is yours. (See Luke 15:31) But you must
receive it. You need to cooperate with Me if I am to make you into My image.”
It is as if the Lord is saying
to each of us, “You need to
work with Me here. I want
to give you everything that
I have – all My love, all My
wisdom, all My power for
useful service. All that
I have is yours. But you
must receive it. You need to
cooperate with Me if I am to
make you into My image.”
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