Made in Their Image: Why God Said 'Let US Make Man'

When God created humanity, He didn't say "Let ME make man." He said "Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness, and let THEM rule" (Genesis 1:26, NKJV).

That little word "us" changes everything about how we understand male and female relationships.

For years, I read right past this crucial detail. Like most people, I focused on individual verses about marriage and gender roles while missing the foundational truth that explains everything else: humanity was created to reflect the plurality of God Himself.

But when I finally paid attention to what the text actually says, I discovered that God's design for relationships is far more beautiful—and far more radical—than I'd ever imagined.

The Overlooked Plurality in Genesis 1:26

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'" (Genesis 1:26, NKJV).

Notice the stunning shift in this verse. God speaks in the plural about Himself ("Let Us make man in Our image"), then immediately shifts to the plural about humanity ("let them have dominion"). This isn't accidental. It's intentional, revelatory, and foundational to everything that follows.

From the very beginning, when the Trinity created humanity, they emphasized their own plurality. God is not a lonely, singular being who rules by divine decree. God is a community—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect unity, perfect love, and perfect partnership.

And humanity was created to reflect that reality.

This is why the text continues: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27, NKJV). The image of God isn't found in maleness alone or femaleness alone—it's found in male and female together, reflecting the unity-in-diversity of the Trinity.

Why the Trinity's Unity-in-Diversity is the Template for Marriage

When we understand that humanity was created to reflect the Trinity, everything about relationships changes. The Trinity isn't a hierarchy where the Father bosses around the Son and Spirit. It's a perfect partnership where each person of the Godhead is fully God, fully equal, yet distinctly different in role and function.

As I studied this truth, I realized that true honor and love can only exist in mutual, reciprocal relationships. You can't love in a vacuum—love requires an object to love. Honor also has to be mutual and reciprocal. When we create pyramid structures where honor flows only one direction (always upward), we're operating in the wrong kingdom. That's not truly honor—that's homage.

Honor is mutual and reciprocal. Love is mutual and reciprocal. And this is exactly what we see in the Trinity.

Think about Jesus' relationship with the Father. Jesus submitted to the Father's will, even unto death. But the Father also honored the Son, giving Him a name above every name. The Spirit glorifies the Son, but the Son sends the Spirit. It's a beautiful dance of mutual submission, mutual honor, and mutual love.

This is the pattern for human relationships—not hierarchy, but perichoresis, the Greek word that describes the fellowship and relationship within the Trinity. It's an ebb and flow, a divine dance where each person contributes their unique gifts while maintaining perfect equality.

How 'Echad' (Complex Unity) vs. 'Yakid' (Singular) Transforms Our Understanding

The Hebrew language gives us beautiful insight into God's design for unity. When Scripture says "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4, NKJV), the word for "one" isn't "yakid" (singular) but "echad" (complex unity).

Someone explained this to me in a way that made perfect sense: yakid is like a singular grape, while echad is like one bunch of grapes. It's still one, but it's not singular—it's more complex than that.

This distinction is crucial for understanding both the Trinity and human relationships. God is one (echad), but He's not singular (yakid). He's a complex unity of three persons who are so united it's hard to know where one stops and the other begins, yet they remain distinct.

Similarly, when the Bible says "the two shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24, NKJV), it's describing echad unity, not yakid singularity. The husband and wife become one in the sense of complex unity—deeply connected, perfectly partnered, moving as one—but they don't lose their individual identities or become singular.

This is why it "was not good for man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18, NKJV). The word "alone" actually means "a part separated from its whole." The original human was incomplete not because something was missing externally, but because the feminine was lost inside, subsumed, unable to have fellowship or contribute her unique perspective.

The Dangerous Lie of Hierarchical 'Oneness'

One of the most damaging lies in Christian marriage teaching is the idea that oneness means the wife gets absorbed back into the husband, losing her voice, her identity, her individuality. But that's exactly the problem God was solving in creation!

When the female was "lost on the inside" of the original human, it wasn't good. There was no room for fellowship, no space for the love that births new life, no possibility for the kind of partnership that reflects the Trinity's nature.

God's solution wasn't to create a hierarchy—it was to create differentiation within unity. He separated the female from the male so they could truly fellowship, truly love, truly partner together. The "deep sleep" wasn't a minor surgical procedure—it was major surgery because something substantial was being taken out and fashioned into a distinct, equal partner.

This is where abuse and narcissism enter the picture. The enemy would love for the female to get lost back inside the male again—subsumed, voiceless, without individual identity. But this violates God's design and purpose. And it can go both ways, with either partner seeking to absorb or control the other.

Whether it's patriarchy in practice or matriarchy behind the scenes, there's an "archy" somewhere, and that's always the wrong kingdom. It doesn't matter if it's the male dominating to get his way or a woman manipulating to get hers. The whole idea of someone needing to "get their way" violates the mutual submission that reflects God's nature.

Practical Steps Toward Trinitarian Marriage

So what does Trinitarian marriage look like in daily life? How do we live out this vision of complex unity that reflects God's image?

1. Embrace Mutual Submission Just as each person of the Trinity submits to the others in love, husbands and wives practice mutual submission. This isn't about who has the "final say"—it's about seeking God's wisdom together and deferring to each other's gifts and insights.

2. Honor Each Other's Unique Contributions Like the Trinity, where each person has distinct roles while maintaining equality, couples can embrace their differences without creating hierarchy. Maybe she's better with finances; maybe he's more gifted with the children. Let gifts and wisdom guide decisions, not gender stereotypes.

3. Create Space for Individual Growth Healthy differentiation is crucial. Each partner needs room to grow, to hear from God individually, to develop their own relationship with the Lord. Unity doesn't mean losing yourself—it means bringing your whole, healthy self to the partnership.

4. Practice the Trinitarian Dance Like perichoresis in the Trinity, healthy relationships flow and move. Sometimes one partner leads in a particular area or season; sometimes the other does. It's not rigid hierarchy but responsive partnership.

5. Seek Consensus Rather Than Control When disagreements arise, the question isn't "Who's in charge?" but "How can we find God's wisdom together?" This might mean waiting for clarity rather than forcing decisions, but it produces outcomes that both partners can fully support.

The Image of God Revealed in Partnership

When couples embrace this Trinitarian model, they become a living demonstration of God's nature to the world. Their relationship displays:

• Unity without uniformity (like the Trinity)

• Equality without hierarchy (like the Trinity)

• Love that flows in all directions (like the Trinity)

• Strength that comes through mutual support (like the Trinity)

• Decisions made through consensus and love (like the Trinity)

This is what Genesis 5:2 reveals: "He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created" (NKJV). God called them—plural—by one name. The image of God was expressed through their unity, their partnership, their reflection of His own plural nature.

Beyond Marriage: The Kingdom Pattern

This principle extends far beyond marriage into every relationship in God's Kingdom. Whether in church leadership, business partnerships, or friendships, the pattern is the same: unity in diversity, mutual honor, shared power flowing through love rather than force.

This is why Jesus said, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant" (Mark 10:42-43, NKJV).

The Kingdom of God operates on different principles than the kingdoms of this world. In God's Kingdom, power flows through love, leadership means service, and relationships reflect the mutual honor and submission we see within the Trinity.

The Revolution Hidden in Plain Sight

The truth about being made in God's image—plural image—has been hiding in plain sight all along. We've been so focused on establishing who's in charge that we've missed the revolutionary truth: God isn't a dictator, and He didn't create us to relate through dominance and submission.

God is a loving community, and He created us to reflect that reality through relationships of mutual honor, mutual submission, and mutual empowerment.

This doesn't threaten Biblical masculinity or femininity—it fulfills them. Men don't become less masculine when they practice mutual submission; they become more like Christ. Women don't become less feminine when they step into their full strength and authority; they become more like the ezer God designed them to be.

When we embrace the truth that we're made in the image of the Trinity—plural, unified, equal, diverse—we discover relationships that are more beautiful, more powerful, and more reflective of God's heart than hierarchy could ever produce.

This is the marriage and relationship model that the world is waiting to see: partnerships that demonstrate the very nature of God through mutual love, honor, and submission. It's the Kingdom reality that transforms not just our homes, but our communities and our culture.

Have you experienced the beauty of Trinitarian relationships, or have you been stuck in hierarchical patterns? What would change in your relationships if you truly embraced being made in "their" image? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Blessings,
Susan 😊