God’s intention for man was made clear from the very beginning. From the Bible account, He made man in His own image. As a starter, what does it mean to say that man is the image of God? If we try to understand this in the light of anatomy or physiology we will run into problems; for then must we have to answer the puzzle of whether God is masculine or feminine. Remember that when He made man in His image, it was male and female He created. The Hebrew word from where we have the word image means representative. The original intention of God for creating man is to make him a divine representative on earth. For as long as man remained in God’s image he was able to fully represent Him. It was only when he fell that what he had ruled over before became sources of dread.
That original intent of God did not change over time. The enviable position which the first Adam lost was restored by the last Adam. Apostle Peter made it plain from our text that the reason why God worked our escape from Satan, sin, and corruption is to share in His divine nature. This reminds us of the same original intent of God, to make man share His image to be His representative. As we effectively put on the nature of God we can be His spokespersons here on earth. The more of His nature we share, the more His power can move in our lives. More of His nature also means more effectiveness in our duty as ambassadors of God on earth. The Spirit of the Lord has been given to us to supervise our transition from one level of God’s glory to another.