How could God make man in His image if He is not physical?
God is Spirit, so His image in man is not physical appearance. Scripture indicates the image resides in the spiritual, eternal, invisible part—the personality made of mind, will, and emotions. Man is a three-part being: body, soul, and spirit. The body is merely a temporary tent; the inner person reflects God.
Les explains that when God created man in His image, it does not mean God was in the form of a man or that man would look like God. The triune God is Spirit, so the image is not physical. Les teaches that God did not make a creature that looks like however a spirit looks. Instead, the image is spiritual, eternal, and invisible—the personality. God made Adam a trichotomous being, a three-part being of body, soul, and spirit, as Thessalonians lays out. The body is the outer tent, the covering, used for the five senses and temporary. Inside that temporary tent are the eternal things, and it is in this inner area that man is made in the image of God, not in the body. God never had a body with five senses to pattern man after, but He is a personality comprised of mind, will, and emotions. Les uses circles on the board and notes that over 20 years of teaching, many people commented they received more enlightenment from this teaching than almost anything else. He acknowledges there are differences of opinion in this area.