“…[M]an in God’s image is unfallen and eternal.” (SH, page 476.)
In chemistry, “noble metals” belong to a class of elements that are resistant to corrosion, such as gold and silver. (For example, the gold coin minted in Britain at the time of Edward III was called a “noble”.) Whereas metals such as iron become irreversibly changed by corrosion through exposure to oxygen, noble metals have a high resistance to reacting with any elements or compounds in their environment that could cause corrosion; they are so stable that they cannot readily attract to themselves the least substance that could so affect them.
Similarly, in chemistry, the “noble gases” are so named because of their stability: whereas other elements can react with one another to form compounds that can change their basic identity virtually beyond recall, the noble gases display very little tendency to react with other elements.
It is useful to think of these noble elements as symbolic of God’s child being a law unto himself or herself, having an established, secure, “unfallen and eternal” identity in Christ.
“God’s man” is a generic term for the noble man or woman who has attained the high calling of God — anyone who has achieved understanding of his/her oneness with God (known as God’s very own “image and likeness”) – an eternal state of invincible stability that does not react with his/her environment in unstable ways. Jesus demonstrated this principle by subjecting himself to the most convulsive of stressful environments before and during his crucifixion. Through it all, he had this testimony: “The prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in me.” (John 14:30.)
“Man is the noblest work of God.” (Hymn 51, CS Hymnal, 1932.) God’s image is more noble than the noblest of material elements. God has endowed you, me, everyone with the ability to remain stable, incorruptible, “non-corrodible”, steadfast, immovable, regardless of our surroundings, like the 3 Hebrew children who remained unaffected by the super-heated flames surrounding them in the fiery furnace!