What if God was one of us?
The early chapters of Genesis contain a number of stories about people attempting to become God(s) in their own right and on their own terms. In each case, the narrative exposes the foolishness of their endeavours and also the deeply painful consequences to both them and those around them. What’s strange and ironic though, is that these people could have enjoyed god-like status, power and authority if they’d just worked with, related to and obeyed Yahweh instead of essentially trying to usurp them. The New Testament even invites us all to experience god-likeness ourselves. But what does this truly mean? And how can we learn from the stories of those who have reached for it and failed?
Genesis 1-11 is super repetitive. Yes, the characters and details change, but the essential story and message stays the same: God is God, and you are called into a godly role and to enjoy a godly status but according to a particular vision of godliness. To try to become God in other form or by any other means damages you, others and the world around you.
Let’s take Adam and Eve as our best example. Here we have two people who are placed in a garden at the centre of the newly created paradise (Eden) and given a godly role: to tend to and cultivate the garden - on behalf of Yahweh (Gen 2:15, cf 1:28). In return they get to enjoy it and experience it to its fullest - like Yahweh (Gen 2:17a). But they are cautioned not to partake of one particular fruit as that would ultimately lead to death (2:17b). But then they conceive that the forbidden fruit would actually make them like God (Gen 3:5-6, cf. v22) and choose to eat it anyway. Their grasping at their own version of godliness leads to relational breakdown between themselves (Gen 3:7,12), between them and Yahweh (Gen 3:8-10, v23), and between them and the creation they were meant to take care of (Gen 3:17-19).
Sadly, the same story is repeated in the lives of Adam and Eve’s children.
Cain kills Abel because he’s angry about what does and doesn’t please Yahweh (Gen 4:3-5). He wants to make the decision for himself and despite being warned to just stay in the Yahweh-lane and rule over his desires and emotions (Gen 4:6-7) , he instead chooses to kill Abel. Cain takes on the role of Yahweh as ‘giver and taker of life’ (Gen 3:22 cf, Gen 2:9, 4:15). This, obviously, is a breakdown between Cain’s relationship with Abel (Gen 4:10), which also leads to a breakdown in relation with Yahweh (Gen 4:14) and a break down in relationship with the creation he had, until this time, been caring for (Gen 4:11-12, cf 2). Cain apparently goes off into a land of ‘wondering’ (Nod) and plants a city: the very antithesis of a garden paradise (Gen 4:16-17).
The story continues, repeating again, in the life of Cain’s great-great-great-grandchild Lamech (Gen 4:17-18). God had promised to bring seven-fold vengeance against anyone who killed Cain (Gen 4:15). Lamech chooses to take this promise and twist it. When he is merely wounded - not killed - by a man, he (not God) kills the wounderer in response, boasting that he would avenge himself seventy-seven times over against anyone else who wronged him (Gen 4:23-24). So Lamech here is, again, reaching for his own version of godliness; assuming God’s role of avenger and bringing his own warped and extreme version of justice to bear in a way that causes suffering and death.
Believe it or not, the god-grasping continues…
At the beginning of the Noah narrative, we’re told about some demi-gods known as ‘Nephelim’ or ‘Gib.bor’ (mighty men) who, like many ancient rulers, were powerful individuals that were considered god-like, or even believed to be the direct offspring of divine beings (Gen 6:4). These ‘sons of God’ used their power to subvert God’s design for equal human monogamous marital relationships (Gen 2:24) and instead ‘take’ women for themselves - marrying whoever and as many as they chose (Gen 6:2).* Essentially they used their power to their own gain at the expense and freedom of others leading God to conclude that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Gen 6:4). In the narrative that follows, creation itself becomes undone by this evil. The next time we meet one of these mighty men they’re building a city; and not just any city but Babylon itself (Gen 10:8-10). Which leads us to our last example of grasping at godliness…
In Genesis 11 we encounter the whole world together in Babylonia rather than having filled the earth as God had intended and commanded (Gen 1:28, 9:1). They decide that they want to ‘make a name for themselves’ by building a great city, including a tower that will enable them to access heaven (Gen 11:3-4). Amusingly they seem to want to do this in order to avoid having to obey Yahweh by filling the earth and subduing it. Their plan for building the city is to use artificial resources instead of natural ones (Gen 11:3) Once again then, we can see this rebellion and grasping entails fractious relationships with God and creation and it leads to fractious relationships with one another too, when the people are scattered by God as a preventative measure (Gen 10:8).**
Through all these stories we see a consistent invitation to godlikeness - to work with God in the world as God’s representative ‘images’. But this invitation is always rejected in favour of self-interest: to become godlike in other ways or on other terms. The problem is, these other versions of godlikeness seem to lead to terrible relationships between humanity, creation and the Creator. This is because ultimately they are self-determining (Adam and Eve), self-seeking (Cain) self-vindicating (Lamech) self-serving (Nephelim) and self-elevating (Babel). And all these things are the antithesis of who Yahweh actually is, and therefore what it means and looks like to be made in and called to bear, Yahweh’s image.
But what then, does Yahweh actually look like? For this, it makes sense to leap ahead into the Second Testament and look at Jesus - who, in the words of Colossians, “is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).
Paul, the one accredited with those words, seems to have a very clear view of the way in which Jesus bears Yahweh’s image:
‘Because*** he was in the very form of God
he did not consider equality with God as something to be used for his own advantage rather, he emptied himself;
taking on the nature of a slave
being born in human likeness
and being found in human form
he humbled himself
he became obedient
- event to the point of death
- even death on a cross!(Phil 2 - my rendering)
The thing is, Jesus bore God’s image by being the antithesis of the selfishness that we read about in the early chapters of Genesis. Rather than being self-determining he is obedient. Rather than being self-seeking he empties himself. Instead of being self-vindicating he chooses to be the victim rather than the perpetrator of violence. Instead of being self-serving, he adopts the nature of a slave. Instead of self-elevating, he chooses to set aside his equality with God. In all these things this is what makes Jesus such an accurate picture of God. Through all these things Jesus demonstrates his godliness. The nature of Yahweh is selfless, humble, downwardly mobile, faithful servitude. And that is what he calls those who take on his name - the mantel of Christian or ‘little Christs’ to be.
Our world continues to be filled with people like those we encounter in the opening pages of the Bible. Those who would rather set themselves up as gods - seeking their own gain and advantage, building their way up to the top, trying to live life entirely on their own terms and for their own means and using, exploiting and damaging creation and even other people in the process. Genesis is very clear that we should expect things form humanity, be wary of these tendencies within our own selves, and come back to the basic and fundamental truth: that we are invited to be godlike (Gen 1:27-28, Ps 8:1) but if we’re going to become like God, we need to keep reminding ourselves and meditating on what God is actually like.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table,[a] took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet… (John 13:3-5a).
*This, incidentally, seems to be a pattern started with Lamech. Rather than conceiving of his wives as ‘flesh of my flesh’ and partners in divine work (Gen 2:23-24 cf 1:27), his two wives were there to be mere ornamental posessions (Adah) and shade (Zillah) - a euphemism if ever there was one (Gen 4:19).
**This preventative measure, incidentally mirrors those taken in our previous case studies: Adam and Eve are sent out of the Garden to keep them from the tree of life (Gen 3:22-23); similarly, in the time of the Nephalim, humanity is given a life span of 120 years to stop them from living forever (Gen 6:3). Cain is given a mark to discourage others from murder (Gen 4:15), and after the flood God decrees new ‘laws’ for humanity to limit their evil particularly with regard to killing animals and other humans (Gen 9:4-6 cf 8:21).
***For a discussion on why it is reasonable to translate the beginning of this hymn as ‘although’ and ‘because’ see my paper ‘A Critical Evaluation of Michael Gorman’s Portrayal of Paul as a Cruciform Apostle).
