Like God but not

We are like God, His image bearers, but in time -- i.e. created, not eternal. Christ bears God's image eternally -- no beginning or end -- and we everlastingly -- no end but a beginning. Christ is the only eternally begotten and perfect (exact) image bearer of the Father and we are image bearers who are begotten ¹in time. 

This, in part, is why God can love us with the same love he loves his Son. Both Christ and ²we are in God's image and both reflect the Father -- Christ is called our elder brother for good reason. Christ is the eternal Son of God, and if we are in Him, we are the everlasting sons and daughters of this same God. 

What is fascinating is since there is no time with and for God and he knows all things, we eternally existed in the mind of God before we became a tangible being, with self-awareness,  at a specific point in time.

Our coming into being was real nevertheless because prior to our actual existence, even though God knew us, we were not conscious i.e. We did not know God because we had no existence and the awareness that comes with it -- a part of our experience that occurred only when we came into being -- nor did we have interaction with God -- a part of both Christ's and our experience -- even though God was fully aware of us with all our unique attributes and skills -- as if we already existed -- and also aware of all of our days before they actually occurred. See Psa 139. 

For a further discussion on time click here. 

For a further discussion of the value of being in God's image click here. 

For a further discussion on what distinguishes us from others click here.

For a discussion on Christ being the only begotten Son of God click here. 

For a discussion on the significance of the incarnation, click here. 
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¹Certainly there are many other aspects that distinguish Christ from us. The most obvious being He is God along with all the incommunicable attributes associated with God -- all knowing, all powerful, sovereign to name some main ones. 

As God, Christ is also co-Creator with the Father. We are mere creatures, but creatures that are like God in very significant ways nevertheless. 

²Of course, many of our other attributes, as well as time, do not match Christ's. We are not the all knowing, all powerful co-Creator of all things; only Christ is.