Created in His image

The Image of God in Man¹
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2001

Several passages in scripture state that, from the beginning, God made man in His image.²

Gen 1:26a Then God said, "Let us make man in our image in our likeness...." 27 So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Gen 5:lb When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

Was that image limited to Adam, and did he lose it as a result of the Fall? Do only those whom God regenerates get it back? ...No, God's image is inherent in man, even in unregenerate man. After the Fall, he still bears that divine impression (distorted but not demolished, defaced but not destroyed).

Gen 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

1 Cor 11:7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

Jms 3:9b ...men...have been made in God's likeness.

All men possess the image of God, but all may not reflect that image with equal clarity; that is, to the same extent as when God originally impressed it.

What constitutes the image of God? Is it corporeal or incorporeal? The answer may include elements of both aspects. The Hebrew term for "image" appears 34 times, and its Greek counterpart appears 15 times. A synonymous Hebrew term "likeness" appears 25 times, and its Greek counterpart appears 7 times.


I. Lexical Considerations

A. The primary denotation of these words is "facsimile," something that resembles the appearance of something else.³

1. As a son resembles his father⁴

Gen 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

1 Cor 15:49a ...we have borne the likeness of the earthly man....

2. As a picture resembles its model

Ezek 23:14b She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans portrayed in red, 15 with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them [had the likeness of] Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.

2 Kgs 16:10b He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction.

Matt 22:19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 21a "Caesar's," they replied.

3. As a casting resembles its exemplar

1 Sam 6:5a Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and pay honor to Israel's god.... 11 They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors.

2 Chr 4:3a Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it....

B. The appearance may lack the sharpness of the original or distort the original, but it still bears some resemblance.

1. As a shadow marks only an outline

Ps 39:6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

Heb 10:1a The law is...a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.

2. As a dream is often indistinct

Ps 73:20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

3. As a grimace contorts one's normal expression

Dan 3:19a Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed.

C. The most common use of the terms is to designate idols.

1. They presumably resemble the deities they represent.⁵

Amos 5:26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols the star of your god—which you made for yourselves.

Rev 13:14b He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

2. They are often humanoid in appearance, even to the point of having gender.

Dan 2:31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze.... 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.... 35c But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for [a likeness in the image of] mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Ezek 16:17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you.. .and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.

These terms normally refer to physical features, suggesting that the imago Dei is corporeal, that man possesses a form similar to God's form. Jews and Christians, however, have generally dismissed such an idea, insisting that God is incorporeal.

II. Theological Considerations

A. Biblical authors seem to describe God as lacking visible form.

1. Moses⁶

Deut 4:15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol an image of any shape whether formed like a man or a woman.

2. Isaiah

Isa 40:18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will You compare him to?

3. John

John 1:18a No one has ever seen God....

John 4:24a God is spirit....

4. Paul

Col 1:15a He is the image of the invisible God....

1 Tim 1:17a Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God....

1 Tim 6:16a ...who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.

The point of such passages, however, may simply be that God's form is obscured from human sight because He "lives in unapproachable light" (1 Tim 1:16; cf. "fire" in Deut 4:15). Indeed, several other texts indicate that God has (or assumes) perceivable form⁷ and, although surrounded by the brilliance of His glory, that He appears to man.

B. Biblical authors often describe God as having visible form.

1. Abraham⁸

Gen 18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham.... 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.... 16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.... 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.... 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. 19:1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

2. Moses⁹

Exod 33:19a And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you.... 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." ...22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

Num 12:5a Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent.... 8a With [Moses] I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD.

3. Micaiah

1 Kgs 22:19b I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.

4. Isaiah¹⁰

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Amos

Amos 9:1a I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake."

5. Ezekiel

Ezek 1:26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the [the likeness of the] throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown....

6. Daniel

Dan 7:9 As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.

7. Amos¹¹

Amos 7:7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand.

8. John

Rev 4:2 ...there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.... 5a From the throne came flashes of lightning....

Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

9. Stephen

Acts 7:55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

Given the physical denotation of "image" and the fact that God does appear with visible form, it seems likely that man bears some outward resemblance to his creator (i.e., to the form God most often assumes). Such resemblance, however, is not limited to external features. According to Paul...

C. The divine image includes other aspects of man's makeup.

1. Mental¹²

Col 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

2. Moral¹³

Eph 4:24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

There may be other or more specific ways in which we resemble our maker—such as the ability to exercise dominion,¹⁴ to create things, to communicate abstract concepts, to appreciate aesthetics or humor—but we will have to wait for more information.

The divine image is a reflection of God, separate from Him and subject to distortion. As Paul indicates, the mental and moral aspects of God's image have become corrupt.¹⁵ Consequently, man does not mirror his Creator precisely. There is one person, though, whose imago Dei is intact.¹⁶ Moreover, what was marred by sin will be mended by salvation.¹⁷

D. The divine image is not irreparably lost.

1. It is present in Jesus.

2 Cor 4:4c ...Christ, who is the image of God.

Col 1:15a He is the image of the invisible God....

2. It is renewed in believers.¹⁸

Rom 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son....

1 Cor 15:49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

2 Cor 3:18 And we...are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory....

Because the primary uses of "image" and "likeness" denote physical resemblance, we must not ignore the possibility that the divine image in man may start at the surface ("skin deep") before penetrating to include sub-dermal layers of his character. "It is probable that it is the whole person who is in the image of God rather than some specific aspect of that person to the exclusion of others" (Curtis 1995 3:390). We should also not presume that man is the only one who bears the divine image; angelic beings may as well, for they possess (or assume) human form and have mental and moral aspects to their nature.¹⁹ Nevertheless, it is wonder enough that God saw fit to make us in some way(s) like Himself, an aspect of His grace we should contemplate more often than we do.

For the Endnotes, including the Hebrew and Greek, see the pdf here.