Doctrine of Man (Part 2): Biblical Data Concerning Man as the Image of God

Biblical Data Concerning Man as the Image of God

Last week we began a new locus in our survey of Christian doctrine, namely the doctrine of man. We differentiated empirical, philosophical, and theological approaches to anthropology. Today we want to turn to our first topic in theological anthropology which is man as created in the image of God.

Let's look first at the biblical data concerning man as the image of God. The classical theological term for this in Latin is the imago dei – the image of God. Man is created in God's image. Let's look at the biblical data that's pertinent to the doctrine of man as the image of God. The classical biblical text on this subject is Genesis 1:26-27. There we read:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Notice here that there are two words used to express the resemblance of man to his creator. The first word is the Hebrew word tselem or “image” which connotes a representation or a literal image of something. The second word is demut which is translated “likeness” or “resemblance.” Tselem and demut – image and likeness. Man is said to be created in God's image after, or according to, his likeness. In this Hebrew text there's probably no difference between these two. It's not as though these represent two different aspects of man's nature – image and likeness. It's rather a sort of parallelism to describe the resemblance or relation of man to God.

The image of God is also referred to in Genesis 5:1 where it says, “This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness [demut] of God.” Finally, Genesis 9:6 is God’s command concerning capital punishment for murder. Genesis 9:6 reads, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image [tselem].” These are the passages in Genesis that describe man as made in the image and likeness of God.

But we might also want to compare with these texts Genesis 5:3. This verse speaks of Adam's begetting his son, Seth. Genesis 5:3 says that Adam, “became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.” Here the offspring of Adam is said to be in Adam's image – tselem – and also his likeness – demut – in the same way that Adam was created in the image and according to the likeness of God. So just as Adam was created in the image and after the likeness of God, so Adam’s offspring were in his (Adam's) image and likeness.

Genesis is certainly the locus classicus for the doctrine of the image of God in Scripture, but there are also a couple of passages in the New Testament that speak of this concept as well. For example, 1 Corinthians 11:7. Here Paul says, “For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image [the Greek word here is eikōn] and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.” Notice the asymmetry here. Paul does not say that woman is the image and glory of man. Paul knows that, according to Genesis, woman is created in the image of God just as much as man is. When you go back to Genesis and look at the locus classicus for this notion (namely, Genesis 1:26-27) it uses the plural pronoun “them” – “let us make man in our image after our likeness. Let them [plural] have dominion over the fish of the sea . . .” Then verse 27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Clearly in Hebrew thinking man and woman alike are created in God's image. So mankind is created in the image of God, and mankind comprises both male and female. They are equally in the image of God. That's why Paul says woman is the glory of man. He doesn't say she is the image of man. The woman is the glory of man, but he understands that she is just as much in the image of God as her husband is.

Finally, in James 3:9, speaking about controlling our tongue, James says the following, “With it [the tongue] we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God.” The word in the Greek here for “likeness” is homoiōsis.

So in both the Old Testament and the New Testament we have this notion of human beings as being special, singled out in being created in God's image and likeness, unlike all of the rest of the creatures in the biosphere.

As I reviewed this material, I wondered if there weren't some aspect of it that might be pertinent to this Christmas time of the year that I could share, and to my surprise there was an aspect of this doctrine that did strike me in this way. Because the New Testament not only speaks of man as being the image and likeness of God, it also uses language which is the very reversal of this expression to say something very radical – that God himself was made to be in the image or likeness of man. Philippians 2:6-7:

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men [homoiōsis].

Though Christ was God himself, Christ humbly came to be born in the likeness of man.

Similarly in Hebrews 2:17 we read that since we share in flesh and blood, Christ, “had to be made like [homoioō, same root] his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest . . . to make expiation for the sins of the people.”

So at this time of year as we think about man as being made in the image and likeness of God, let's not forget as well that in Christ God was actually made in the image and likeness of man for the sake of our salvation, and that's what we celebrate at Christmas.

You'll notice that there's no indication in the biblical text that this image or likeness is lost through the fall of man into sin. In fact, in the command in Genesis 9:6, where the rationale for capital punishment is given, it says that man is in the image of God even in his fallen state. So even fallen man retains the divine image in which he was created. So there isn't any indication in the biblical text that this image or likeness to God is something that is lost through the human fall into sin.

Let's talk briefly about Christ as the image of God. There's another use of the word “image” with respect to God's image; that is to say, Christ is the image of God. In Colossians 1:15 it says that Christ “is the image [eikōn] of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.” This is quite a different use of the expression “image of God.” Here Christ is said to be the visible representation of the invisible God in a special sense that is not true of Adam and Eve. Christ is God's image.

Finally, let's say a word about man in Christ as the image of God. Man in Christ is said to be conformed to Christ's image. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image [eikōn] of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.” Here we as Christians are said to be destined toward conformity with Christ’s image. Similarly in 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness [eikōn] from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Here we are said to be sanctified as we are brought into the image of Christ the Lord. There is a kind of image of Christ toward which believers are destined and progressing.

Such are the biblical data with respect to the image of God. Man is created in God's image. Christ is God's image. Man in Christ is brought into conformity with the image of Christ.