THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN

GENESIS 1:26–31

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness”

(Genesis 1:26a).

Central to our understanding of the nature of man is the fact that he is created in the image of God. There are relatively few specific references to man as “the image of God,” leading some to maintain that it is not a very important concept. However, the basic concept is assumed in many places where the particular vocabulary is not used.

The importance of the phrase “image of God” is not seen in the number of times the term is used in Scripture, but in the importance of the places where it is used and the significance that is attached to it in those places. At critical, crucial junctures in biblical revelation we find the statement that man is created in the image of God.

Man: Different from the Animals

Not only does the Scripture clearly teach that there is a difference between man and God, but it also quickly establishes in the opening chapters of Genesis that there is a difference between man and the rest of the creatures. It is that particular difference that we are seeking to understand when we talk about man’s being made in the image of God.

The Whole Man as God’s Image

It is a mistake to locate the image of God primarily in the abstract qualities of human existence: his mind, will, and conscience. Rather, we have to take seriously that in the Bible it is the whole man that is in the image of God, including his body. This does not mean that God has a body, but it does mean that the human body is an aspect of man’s imaging of God.

What makes mankind different from all other species is his unique capacity to reflect the Creator. An image or likeness is something that reflects something else. Of course, everything in the universe reflects God’s glory to some degree, but there is a unique sense in which man was created to do that. Man alone is God’s special image.

CORAM DEO

In a general sense, all men are image bearers, and not even sin can totally erase this. In a particular sense, however, Christians reflect the image of God by being like Him in righteousness and holiness. That is what it means to be a “godly” person. List the ways in which you think your life reflects the image of God.

For further study: Genesis 9:1–7; 1 Corinthians 15:35–49; Ephesians 4:17–24

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