Balancing Divine Attributes with Human Analogies in Theology
Theology frequently employs human analogies to describe divine attributes, yet it also emphasizes the incomparable nature of God. This tension is evident in biblical texts and theological reflections. For instance, Job 25:4 asks, "Can man be compared with God?" [1], and Job 22:2 similarly questions whether "man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge?" [2]. These passages highlight a fundamental distinction between the Creator and creation.
Despite this distinction, the Bible often uses anthropomorphic language, attributing human characteristics to God. For example, Luke 1:66 refers to "the hand of the Lord," which is understood as an anthropomorphism signifying God's active involvement [7]. Such language helps convey divine action and presence in human terms without suggesting that God is limited by human form.
A key concept in understanding the relationship between humanity and divinity is the imago Dei, or "image of God." Genesis 1:26-27 states that humanity was made in God's image, endowing humans with dignity and a charge to rule [6]. This shared image means humans possess qualities that reflect God's nature, such as the capacity for relationship and companionship [4]. However, this does not imply an equivalence. John Calvin, in his Commentary on Genesis, acknowledges that "there is something in man which refers to the Father and the Son, and the Spirit," but he insists that a definition of the image of God "ought to rest on a firmer basis than such subtleties" [3].
The New Testament further explores this dynamic. Believers are said to "share his divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), which is interpreted not as a merging of souls with God, but as sharing God's qualities, such as holiness and righteousness [5]. This participation in divine qualities is distinct from being divine. In Christ, the "fulness of the Godhead bodily" dwells (Colossians 2:9), meaning the divine nature fully resides in his human nature, making him the ideal human who perfectly realized God's purposes [6, 8]. This unique union in Christ underscores both the distinctness of divine and human natures and their profound connection. Adam Clarke notes that the opening of Hebrews presents God not through his essential attributes but through "manifestations of his love to the world," particularly in the person of his Son [9].
Sources
- Job “Numquid justificari potest homo comparatus Deo ? aut apparere mundus natus de muliere ? -- Job 25:4”
- Job “Job 22:2 (DRC) — Can man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge?”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 5.31: and fourteenth books on the Trinity, also the eleventh book of the “City of God.” I acknowledge, indeed, that there is something in man which refers to the Father and the Son, and the Spirit: and I have no difficulty in admitting the above distinction of the faculties of the soul: although the simpler division into two parts, which is more used in Scripture, is better adapted to the sound doctrine of piety; but a definition of the image of God ought to rest on a firmer basis than such subtleties. As for myself, before I define the”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 2:18: 2:18-23 As human creation was the climax of ch 1, so human intimacy is the high point of ch 2. God’s concern for mutual human support and companionship finds no parallel in ancient Near Eastern literature. 2:18 It is not good: This is God’s first negative assessment of an otherwise excellent creation (1:31). The Lord God is portrayed as a father who obtains a bride for his son (cp. ch 24). • The answer to the man’s need is a helper who is just right for him; she is his perfect complement, made in the same image of God (1:26-27), given the same commission (1:28; 2”
- 2 Peter (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 2 Peter 1:4: 1:4 enable you to share his divine nature: Peter probably did not mean that our souls are merged with God but that believers share God’s qualities (cp. Lev 11:44; Matt 5:43-48; Eph 4:24; 5:1).”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 8:5: 8:5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God: Humans bear God’s image; the Lord has endowed humans with dignity and charged them to rule (Gen 1:26-27). Hebrews 2:6-8 applies these words to Jesus Christ, the ideal human who fully realized God’s purposes.”
- Luke (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Luke 1:66: 1:66 the hand of the Lord: This anthropomorphism (describing God with human characteristics, cp. 1:51) meant that God was at work in John’s life.”
- Colossians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Colossians 2:9: For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. This is to be understood, not of the doctrine, or Gospel of Christ, as being a perfect revelation of the will of God; but of Christ, and particularly of his human nature, as consisting of a true body and a reasonable soul, in which the Godhead dwells in a most eminent manner: God indeed is everywhere by his powerful presence, was in the tabernacle and temple in a very singular manner, and dwells in the saints in a way of special grace; but resides in the human nature of Christ, in the highest and most exalt”
- Hebrews (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Hebrews 1:1: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners - We can scarcely conceive any thing more dignified than the opening of this epistle; the sentiments are exceedingly elevated, and the language, harmony itself! The infinite God is at once produced to view, not in any of those attributes which are essential to the Divine nature, but in the manifestations of his love to the world, by giving a revelation of his will relative to the salvation of mankind, and thus preparing the way, through a long train of years, for the introduction of that most glorious Being, his own Son”