we remember that Gen. 1: 27 is directly quoted in I Cor. 11: 7; man is the "image and

glory" of God, and the Lord Jesus Himself is described as the "Image and glory of God"

(II Cor. 4: 4). The magnitude of God's glory is such that, unmediated and unveiled, no

creature can see or endure it. It can only be seen partially by creation in Image--the Lord

Jesus Christ.

To some extent the uncovered glory of God in its full blaze of light and majesty

must be veiled.  This Moses had to learn when He desired to see God's glory (see

Exodus 33: 18-23). This tremendous glory then is bound up with Christ, the eikon,

Image of God. God is spirit (John 4: 24) and as such He has no dimensions or shape

from which a likeness could be fashioned, as in the creation of Adam. God cannot be

seen in His essence; only in His Image, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He wills that all the

redeemed will finally be conformed to this Image (Rom. 8: 29). Even in the heathen

world, it has been shown that an image, eikon, was not held to be a mere representation

of an object, but was believed in some way to participate in the being of the object it

symbolized. In some way, it was the object it represented, and as it has been expressed, it

was "the reality itself coming to expression". How much more is this true with the

Godhead! In Christ alone we see expression of the Divine glory, "the light of the

knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 4: 6).  James 2: 1

literally reads "our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory".

Summing up then, morphe (form), eikon (image), and doxa (glory) are definitely

connected in the Scriptures and throw light on each other. This should help us when we

come to consider morphe by itself. It is not too much to say that a clear understanding

here with respect to morphe gives us a good foundation for the correct appreciation of the

rest of the hymn. We intend to proceed carefully and reverently, studiously avoiding

ideas that are not backed up by the clear testimony of Scripture. We realize that this

study is very difficult, but we have no means or ability to turn the "strong meat" of the

Word, the deep things of God, into milk that all can receive without effort.