God used plural form to represent himself in the following verses.
Is God speaking of Himself and the angels? of course not. Man is not made in the image of angels. Angels are spirit beings who are another form of creation. So man cannot be both in the image of God and in the image of angels.
Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God [elohiym, plural] created the heaven and the earth.”
Gen 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Gen 3:22 “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:”
So who is in view in the above verses? God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as one Triune God.
Col 1:14-20 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15Who [Lord Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”
John 1:1-3,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14And the Word was made flesh [Lord Jesus Christ], and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word [Word in flesh], and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are at work of Salvation as Triune God.
Deu 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”
Isa 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
Isa 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son [Lord Jesus Christ] is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor [Holy Spirit is the Counsellor, John 16:13], The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest [God the Father] shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Isa 61:1 “The Spirit [God the Holy Spirit] of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD [God the Father] hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me [God the Son] to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
Col 2:9 “For in him [Lord Jesus Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
Matt 3:16-17 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven [God the Father], saying, This is my beloved Son [Lord Jesus Christ], in whom I am well pleased.”
Isa 44:6 “Thus saith the LORD [God the Father] the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
Rev 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord [Lord Jesus Christ], which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Holy Spirit and Christ as our intercessors before God the Father.
Eph 2:18 “For through him [Lord Jesus Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
Rom 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Hebrews 7:25-27 “Wherefore he [Lord Jesus Christ] is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 26For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;27Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”
Commission and blessing to all believers.
Matt 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
