The Significance of the Image of God

In the movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, after USAF Tech Sergeant Epps sees the Autobot Optimus Prime transform, he muses, “You gotta wonder: if God made us in His image, who made him?”[1]  Whether or not we answer Epps’s question about autobots is secondary compared to his underlying conditional assumption: if God made us in His image. One of the foundations of the Christian worldview is that God not only created the heavens and the earth, but also humans in His image.  This is tremendously significant.  While the Bible only makes a few references to the image of God in man, they provide a key theological starting point for conceptualizing a biblical view of humanity (Gen 1:26-27; 5:3; 9:6; 1 Cor 11:7; James 3:9).   These references are in a sense like “product placements” or advertisements in a movie, which underscore God as the Creator and Sponsor of His story.

There has not been a Christian consensus as to what the essence of the image of God is (rationality, original righteousness, dominion itself, immortality, relationship with God, etc.),[2] except that it is something that makes humans categorically different than all other animals.  Moreover, Christians throughout the ages have generally agreed that the IOG (regardless of exactly how it is defined) is a crucial theological concept that speaks to how we relate to Him, to one another and to creation.[3]  This article will then try to stress what the Scriptures do say about the IOG and why it is significant for all humanity.

Significance for Us as a Species

That we humans are made in God’s image is incredibly significant for us as a species.  However, contemporary culture is fascinated with other “life forms.” So what makes humans distinct as a species if they are made in God’s image?  Since the essence of this idea in Scripture is more implicit than explicit, we must focus on how the concept is used and what it implies for the human species rather than fixating on an exact definition of what it is.  Therefore there are a few key qualifiers that give focus to the image of God concept.

First, being made in the image of God differentiates humans from the animal world or lower forms of life.  Humans are a copy (Hebrew selem, Greek icon) of something about God, while not some kind of carbon copy of God Himself.[4]  Mankind, male and female, is made “in the image of God” just as the tabernacle and its utensils were made “in the pattern” (Ex 25:9, 40) of what God revealed to Moses.[5]  Being made in God’s image is never used for anything other than mankind.

The Book of Genesis makes a clear distinction between species (“after their kind” Gen 1:1:24-25).  Humans and animals, as God’s creations, do share breath, life, garden, desire for and ability to seek out food, and the ability to reproduce.  However, God uniquely filled the nostrils of man with His “breath of life” in a special moment, something not done to any animal (Gen 2:7).  Yet the garden the LORD God planted (from the Hebrew gen, from a Persian load word for a king’s palatial garden) was the very place God placed man at the climax of creation for him to manage.  Furthermore, the pinnacle of God’s creation of the garden itself was His creation of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Mankind’s relationship to the two trees shows that animals do not have moral self-determination (and do not fulfill the creation mandate).  Furthermore, this ability to exercise moral capabilities would result in intentions and actions of humanity that would be worthy of praise and blame, censorship or punishment (2:15-17).  This distinction is followed by the capstone according to 2:18, in that there was no “helper suitable for him” or located anywhere.  This anticipates the institution of marriage and its “one flesh” relationship so very distinct from the merely reproductive drive of animals.  Therefore, Feinberg draws the following implications.

The image of God constitutes all that differentiates man from the lower creation. It does not refer to corporeality or immortality. It has in mind the will, freedom of choice, self-consciousness, self-transcendence, self- determination, rationality, morality, and spirituality of man. The ability to know and love God must stand forth prominently in any attempt to ascertain precisely what the image of God is.[6]

Thus the image of God distinguishes humans from animals not just in certain capacities but also in functional and relational expressions of an essential reality.

Second, because God did not allow the position He gave to human beings to any other created thing, the Bible is explicitly clear that humans are the highest of God’s creative achievements.  The creation of Adam and Eve has a unique setting, that is, the climax in the Genesis narratives.  All else that exists was the result of the “Let there be” of divine fiat (Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20).  Yet mankind’s origin is the result of divine deliberation, “Let us make man in our image,”[7] and for a unique purpose, “let him have dominion” (Gen 1:26).  This accords humans intrinsic value and worth, a crucial implication that will be developed below.

Third, humans as special creations in God’s image rules out that we are an accident of nature through the evolutionary process over millions of years.  Even theistic evolutionists like John Lennox find humans as special creations in God’s image distinct from animals an inescapable conclusion from the Bible.

The image of God in man was not produced as a result of blind matter fumbling its unguided way through myriad different permutations.  Thus Genesis challenges atheism’s fundamental assertion that human life has appeared without the activity of God’s mind, so that there is nothing special about human beings.  I am tempted to add that it looks as if the writer of Genesis foresaw the contemporary debate![8]

In his survey of the debate on origins, Rau states that while there are differences in the interpretations of the scientific evidence, “All agree that there is a God and that people, made in God’s image, have innate worth.”[9] Thus it is incredibly important that humans are “not just hairless apes with cranial capacities slightly larger than those of other primates,”[10] but rather were made with intention.

Fourth, regardless of a Christian’s position on the effects of the Fall of Adam on the image itself, the image is a characteristic of humanness.  Because there is such a strong distinction between humans and animals in the Scriptures, Bray shows the devastating implication if the image was lost at the Fall. “Man would not merely behave like an animal, but would actually be an animal, and therefore hardly responsible for his behavior.  The presence of the image is the presence of responsibility, which is at once the glory and the tragedy of fallen Adam.”[11]  Thus the sum total of the essence of the human species is not mere biological life, but a responsible self in relationship with his or her Creator.  Bray’s words are especially poignant at this juncture.

We see that the real importance of man’s creation in the image and likeness of God is that, unlike the rest of creation, human life is not an end in itself.  A dog or a rose may come into existence and complete its life-cycle without engaging its Creator.  A dog may do any number of things which, if they were done by a human, would constitute a sin, and even a crime.  Man is different.  To him alone is given the privilege of fulfilling his earthly existence in relation to God, and this entails responsibility for his actions.  The sort of ignorance which would be present if the image were removed is no excuse; there is no salvation by mitigation!  In God’s image is found man’s primaeval uniqueness as a creature, his historical tragedy in Adam and his eschatological hope of redemption in Christ.[12]

If the image was even severely damaged, which depends on one’s view, the image-humanness remains and makes humans distinct.

Finally, only humans as a species have been given dominion over all other creatures on the earth (Gen 1:28).  Not only are they distinct from the rest, but they are also to rule over other creatures as in God’s place.  This significant distinction will be developed under the next main point.  It must be noted, therefore, that humans cannot be reduced to just another link in the chain of creatures that stretches back to evolving energized amino acids in a pond millions of years ago.

Significance for Our Life’s Purpose

That we humans are made in God’s image is incredibly significant for our purpose.  In the Scriptural data there are two main foci of how mankind expresses the imago Dei.  First, humans were made mainly to reflect God.  In 1 Corinthians 11:7, Paul argues that men should not have their heads covered in worship, “since man is the image of God and the glory of God.”  This reverent submission to God flows from man’s two-fold identity and thus purpose.  While Paul says man is the glory of God, “woman is the glory of man.”  In other words, man is a directly created reflection of God and thus subordinate to Him, while woman is a directly created reflection of man (taken from his rib) and thus has a subordinate role as helper.  This obviously does not mean that women are not made in God’s image or created to glorify God, they just do it some ways differently than men.

While the image of God cannot be lost or retracted (cf. Gen 5:1-3; James 3:9), the glory of God, intended to be reflected in man, can be diminished.  Since the Fall humans are falling short of God’s glory by sinning or failing to live according to the standard of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23).  In other words, while humans were created in the glory of God, they rebelled against it and sought another object to worship (Rom 1:23).  Nevertheless, humans can and are to reflect the glory of God.  Paul states, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  Therefore, in salvation, believers are restored in the glory of Christ, and in sanctification, transformed in the glory of the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18; 4:4).[13]  The Westminster Shorter Catechism is surely correct when it answers the question of what the chief end or purpose of mankind is, “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Second, humans have been given a functional purpose as image bearers.  Genesis 1:26-28 shows that God created humans in His image so that they would have dominion over His creation as His governors or vice-regents.  “Let us make man in Our image” is followed by “and let them rule over . . .” every other created thing on earth.  God makes it clear that humans, through the marriage bond, create families that will not only populate the planet, but subdue it and have dominion over it.

This lordship of God over all creation mediated by humans is the foundation of the Christian worldview.  Thus humans have been made in the likeness of God with an ability to manage, fulfill responsibility, to relate, and be representatives.  This concept is found in the Egyptian pharaoh’s lordship over lower orders of creation as the image of God.[14]  The Bible, however, claims that all humans have this function.  This responsibility not only calls for the creation of families, the population of the planet, and the cultivation of livestock and crops, but extends to the creation and management of tribes, towns, cities, and culture.  All of this is done, not merely as humans see fit, but as representatives of God and His priorities and standards.

This functional purpose also implies a responsibility for creation.  It is more than just dominion; it is careful management of it as a resource and sacred trust.  Every natural resource is God’s and must be treated as such.[15]  Like the feeling one should have when driving someone else’s car for the first time, humans should feel a sense of responsibility for God’s property.  It also means that further research and exploration of God’s creation has always been and continues to be a warranted human pursuit and vocation.[16]

Significance For Our Relationships

That we humans are made in God’s image is incredibly significant for our relationships.  First, this is an amazing display of God’s ability to craft a unique relationship that is beyond mere subordination.  As we have seen, mankind’s purpose flows from the imago Dei and is inextricably connected to this relationship.  The use of the “Us” and “Our” in the creation narrative demonstrates God’s desire to design a unique personal partnership with humans on the earth.  Edwin Hui shows the profound nature of God’s relationship with us His creatures.

The created ‘substantial’ person comes about because the triune God intends to relate to a particular person as expressed in and actualized through the act of creation, specifically in God’s making it possible for a particular sperm to merge with a particular ovum, through the conjugal act of a male and female joined in a marital covenant.  The formation of a zygote affirms God’s intention to create a new human being as his image and to relate to this unique human being.  This points to an eschatological future.  Potentialities and capacities are given from the moment of God’s creative act as part and parcel of the created ‘substance’ and as tools needed by God’s image-bearers to engage God and other creature in relations.  But God’s relation with the created human person (substance, image) has already been established through the personal, unilateral and specific act of creation.  What is essential to human personhood is this God-creature relationship, intentionally and unilaterally established by God.[17]

This purposeful relationship is demonstrated in Genesis 3 when God is seen walking in the Garden with man, and this then reverberates throughout the rest of Scripture.  Therefore the very nature of what it means to be human is tied to being in relationship with God.

Also, the image of God is significant for both males and females.  Genesis 1:27 states, “God created man in own His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.”  Both genders are made in the image of God.  This is very significant because it demonstrates that there is an equality of personhood and importance between genders.  One gender is not more valuable or important than the other.  Genesis 2:18 indicates that the woman was created as a helper to man.  However, it does not say that she has less of the image of God or is less of a person.  She just has a different role.  But as the “weaker” sex with a different role (1 Pet 3:7), she is never to be objectified, used or exploited.

Moreover, human relationships are to be governed by the foundational assumption that humans made in the image of God have inherent dignity.  Because of this inherent value or worth, human life is sacred and must be protected.  This assumption is made explicit in Genesis 9 immediately after the flood when God gives instructions for Noah and the rest of humanity.  In Genesis 9:6, He declares, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.”  In other words, innocent human life is not to be taken or murdered.  Murder is associated here with the greatest of punishments.

Human dignity from the image of God has crucial bioethical, and thus life and death, implications.  Bioethics as a personhood issue touches life from the embryo to the terminally ill elderly and thus includes, but is not limited to, abortion, reproductive technologies, eugenics, adult human stem cell research, human cloning, physician assisted suicide, euthanasia, genetic testing, and distributive justice in health care.[18]   Thus all innocent human life, including the incapacitated and handicapped, has the “right to life protection by the community”.[19]

Finally, since humans are made in God’s image, they are never to be treated with distain or dishonor.  James argues that it is a great inconsistency to use one’s tongue to bless God and at the same time curse another person (James 3:9).  In that context, Jews who would recite the “Eighteen Benedictions,” concluding with “Blessed are You, O God,” may have struggled with cursing non-Jews.  However, the roots of prejudice in any age cannot co-exist with a right view of humanity.  Thus the initial element of a cure for all types of socio-religious evils from terrorism to tribalism is a robust understanding of humanity as made in God’s image.

Conclusion

Humans, male and female, embryo and elderly, Jew and Gentile, all bear the image of God.  Carl F. H. Henry, the senior statesman of 20th century evangelical theologians, provides a solid summary of the foundational biblical teaching and significance of humans made in God’s image.

On the ground of transcendent revelation it vouchsafes certain sureties:  man is not merely an animal or even a product of animal ancestry; man is a special divine creation made in the image of God who fashioned him from dust and enlivened him for a distinctive role in relation to God, the cosmos and his fellowman; man was made for lifelong union in monogamy and for lifelong duties to his neighbors; man was made a responsible steward of this planet.[20]

Even though there is disagreement among Christians as to what the essence of the image of God actually is, there is great agreement as to its significance.  This is because it is not tied merely to a few isolated explicit references, but to much broader implications about the nature of humanity.  Humans are created by God with a uniqueness and dignity unknown in the animal world.  We are a significant species, with a significant purpose and with a significant relationship with our Creator that governs all other relationships.