What Does It Mean to Be Made in the Image of God? (Genesis 1:26-28)

This sermon was preached on Sunday, 11th October, 2009

Thomas Boston begins his well-known book Human Nature in Its Fourfold State by saying that there are four essential things that have to be realised by any person hoping to get to heaven. They are what man was in the state of innocence as God made him, what man is in the state of sin, what man is in the state of grace, and what man will be in the state of glory. The image of God is crucial to each of these states: it was given in the state of innocence, it was marred by the fall of humanity into sin, it is being renewed in those who trust in Christ, and it will be restored fully in the state of glory.

There have been various suggestions in the past as to what this image involved. Some have suggested one feature, such as rationality; others have suggested another feature, such as personality. I suspect it is a mistake to focus on one feature; rather we are to look at every relevant detail that this passage mentions.

The image of God in humans is the basis today of Christian beliefs concerning the sanctity of life, for example in the church’s opposition to the practices of abortion and euthanasia. It is the foundation of the command given by God to Noah concerning capital punishment. It is the starting point of civil rights. But the use of the concept is not limited to such issues, for the Bible uses it as an argument for the proper use of the tongue in James 3:9-10: ‘With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.’

The terms ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ are virtually synonymous. If there is a distinction, it is that ‘image’ indicates that humans represent God, similar to the way a statue can represent a person, whereas ‘likeness’ indicates that humans are similar to him. These terms suggest that in certain ways humans are like God and represent him to other creatures. It is interesting to note that all the other creatures are said to be created ‘after its kind’, whereas humans are created in the image and likeness of God. A dog is like a dog for it was not modelled on anything else, but a human is like God.

Created in the image and likeness of God
1. Divine consultation – the dignity of humans. In Genesis 1 we have the account of the creation of the original humans. As we look at the details of their creation, there is a striking difference between their creation and the creation of everything else. Their creation is preceded by a discussion within God. This pointed to the plurality of persons within God, a plurality that is fully revealed as the Trinity. But this discussion does not only reveal that there is more than one person in God, it also indicates the dignity of man.

Two details can be deduced from the occurrence of this divine council. First, humans are distinct from all other creatures. None of them can represent God or imitate God. Humans alone possess rationality, the ability to think about what they are doing. In this they are like God. Indeed Paul says in Colossian 3:10 that each believer ‘is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator’.

Second, there are no insignificant humans. Whether one is a president or a pauper, a baby or a pensioner, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, intelligent or not, none are insignificant. The fact that God discussed our creation gives significance and dignity to every human.

The term has something to say about the search for personal fulfilment that is found in the outlook of each person today. ‘Who am I?’ is the unspoken question of every heart. This question has increased the more that society departs from Christian values. People are looking for self-worth, but they are looking in the wrong places. They try to find it in what they do or have and not in what God made them.

This sense of inadequacy or failure is not limited to non-Christians. Richard Pratt, in his book Designed for Dignity, writes: ‘Surprisingly, many Christians have little sense of the honor they bear as God’s images. We look in the mirror every day and see someone who disappoints us…. Take another look at yourself. God has declared that the person in the mirror is his regal image. You are not perfect – that should be plain enough. But you are still valuable because you are God’s image. In God’s eyes, you are as important as any king and as valuable as any nobleman who ever walked on this earth. Discard the lies of the world and joyfully acknowledge the dignity God has lavished on you.’

2. Divine character – the disposition of humans. In addition to the dignity of man, there are three other ways in which I want to mention a similarity to God, and the first refers to resemblance to God’s character. Adam when he was made possessed an original righteousness that included an understanding of what God required, a willingness to obey God, and a love towards God and his ways. Yet he was created capable of losing it, which he did when he rebelled against God. But in believers, this image, composed of ‘true righteousness and holiness’ (Eph. 4:24), is being restored.

3. Divine community – the delight of humans. The next way in which Adam and Eve were like God was that humans were created to live in a community. To begin with, there was Adam and Eve, but eventually there would have been millions living together in harmony. Within this human community there would be equality yet distinctions in the roles that each would play. This human community was an image of the divine community, the Trinity, in which there is equality of persons but distinctions in the roles fulfilled by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In a way that would resemble the joy and happiness of the Trinity, the human race was created to live together in harmony and joy under the blessing of God. Of course, they were not to only have fellowship with other humans, they were also to have fellowship with God.

4. Divine control – the duty of humans. The final way in which humans are like God is that they have dominion over the rest of creation. In Genesis 1:28 we have what has been called ‘The Cultural Mandate’, the command from God to populate the earth, control the environment, and have authority over all the lower creatures. In this, man was reflecting God, who is the supreme sovereign of all things. In this command of God, we see the dignity of work. Today, many people regard work as a chore, and sometimes it is. But according to Genesis 1, work is a creative activity, with each role assigned to us by God. God has given each of us the necessary gifts for the roles he has for us. The functions we do each day are part of God’s wise calling. ‘God has given each of us a portion of his kingdom to explore and develop to its fullness’ (Pratt). Paul reminded the Colossians: ‘Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ’ (Col. 3:23-24).

In summary, we can say that the image of God in humans is that which makes them rational, righteousness, relational and regal. These all combined together in Adam’s status as the son of God. This would have been the lot of every human if Adam had not sinned. As we think of what we once were, two responses are appropriate.

First, there should be lamentation regarding the height from which we have fallen. Each of the above features has been affected by our sins. Take our rationality. Our minds have been darkened so that we no longer know what is good for us. We make choices that have long-term negative repercussions. What about our righteousness? We have lost that also. Humans still do ‘righteous’ things in the sense that they do good deeds on behalf of their fellowmen, but they do not do them for God’s glory. Our relationships are no longer marked by harmony. Instead there is conflict, stress and war. Our rule over creation is affected too as we destroy the environment and mistreat the other creatures. Humans, made in the image of God, given the status of sons of God, are rebellious creatures, disinherited from the family inheritance, living under the judgement of God.

Second, there should be longings within us for the world that we have lost. Humans have within them an awareness that there can be a better world than what we have despite our advanced technologies. They long for a place where the elements that composed the image of God can be restored in their fullness. And this is what the gospel promises us.

Jesus, last Adam
One of the titles given to Jesus by Paul is the ‘last Adam’ (1 Cor. 15:45). This title indicates that in some ways Jesus and Adam are parallels, the two heads of humanity. It is important to note that Jesus is not just the ‘second’ Adam, because that could suggest there may be a third or a fourth. Rather Jesus is the ‘last’ Adam because what he accomplished means that there will never be a need for another Adam. So what did Jesus do to restore the fallen image of God in humans?

First, he became a human in response to divine counsels. We noted earlier how the first Adam was created after a divine discussion. In a similar way, the Son of God became a human because it was the divine will. When he became a human, Jesus as far as his human nature was concerned was made in the image and likeness of God. He possessed a rational mind, he understood that others were made in the image of God (think of the way he treated those whom others despised as outcasts, such as lepers), that self-worth is found in being made in God’s image.

Second, as the last Adam, he lived a righteous life. Each feature of his human nature responded perfectly to God, appropriate to each stage in life. His mind thought about everything in the light of God’s revealed will in the Bible, his emotions expressed themselves in the light of God’s character (he loved holiness, he joyfully blessed others, he wept over human sinfulness), and his will delighted in obeying God. Unlike the first Adam, Jesus could not lose this righteous lifestyle.

Third, as the last Adam, he lived a relational life, both towards his heavenly Father and towards other humans. Jesus enjoyed interaction with others, and others, no matter their age, found him easy to speak with. Children could speak with him, fishermen could speak with him, learned scholars could discuss with him, despised women were unafraid to talk to him.

Fourth, as the last Adam, Jesus engaged in his own contribution to the cultural mandate by being a carpenter in Nazareth. There, in obscurity as far as human ideals of achievement were concerned, he worked day-by-day under the approving smile of heaven. He lived as one who had authority from God to make the world a better and more comfortable place for himself and others.

Throughout his earthly life, Jesus lived as those made in the image of God should have done. The four aspects we have mentioned – rational, righteous, relational and ruling – were perfectly fulfilled by him. He did what the first Adam failed to do.

The last Adam rescues his people
But as we think of this lovely life of Jesus, we remind ourselves that he did not only live it for himself. He lived it on behalf of others, because as the last Adam he is the representative or head of the human race who has come to rescue it from perishing by creating a new race composed of all who will trust in him. When a person trusts in Jesus, this perfect life of Jesus is reckoned as theirs.

Yet Jesus had to do more. As the last Adam, he had to rescue those he represented. Therefore he had to pay the penalty of their sin, which he did on the cross of Calvary, when he endured in his perfect human soul the wrath of God against their sins. As he suffered, he was fulfilling the divine counsels, he did so righteously (although made sin, he did not become sinful), he did so relationally (he loved God and sinners, even although he was abandoned by both), and he did so as one given a work to complete by God (He cried eventually, ‘It is finished’).

There was still more to be done. As the last Adam, he had to rise from the dead on behalf of those he represented. His resurrection was in fulfilment of the divine counsels, he arose as a righteous man, he arose united to his people (the guarantee that they will yet experience their own resurrection) and he arose to possess authority (he was exalted to the throne of God, there to work on God’s behalf for ever).

There is still more to be done by the last Adam. He is in the process of creating a community of humans who will have fellowship with one another and with God for ever. Each one of them is currently being renewed in the image of God, as they are conformed to the image of Christ. As they have borne the image of the man of dust: ‘Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven’ (1 Cor. 15:49).

The day is coming when that community will be complete and the full number of those who will inherit the earth will be realised. The command to the first Adam that the earth be filled will be achieved by the last Adam bringing his people to be with him. Similarly, the command to the first Adam that the earth be subdued will be fulfilled when the last Adam, with one mighty word, creates the new heavens and new earth, a new world inhabited by righteous people, fully restored to the image of God. Then Jesus, the last Adam, will with his people enjoy the fullness of eternal life in the presence of God.