“What am I?” Second only to the question “What is God?”, it is the greatest question we can ask. Only with that question answered, can we know and understand our place and purpose in the world.
And the Bible recognises the centrality of this question. Right in the first chapter of Genesis, God tells us who we are. He says of humanity, in distinction to all the rest of creation: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen.1:26-27).
These two short verses reveal that humanity is distinct from God. We are created beings, and in this, unlike God. But humanity is also distinct from the rest of creation. Uniquely, humanity, male and female, is the fruit of divine council, “let us make”. And, again uniquely, humanity is made in the image and likeness of God.
So, right at the beginning, the Bible gives us the answer to the question “What are we?” It says, we are creatures, but creatures in the image and likeness of God. But what does it mean to be God’s image bearers? One fruitful way to explore that question is to look it through the lenses of creation and redemption.
The image of God in creation – Who is God?
When Genesis talks about the image and likeness of God, what does this mean? The idea of “image” is an artistic depiction, a model almost. We see this in the idols which were meant to “image” false gods. Interestingly, therefore, by definition, an image is physical. This means humanity’s physicality is inherently good and integral to our imaging God. “Likeness” also refers to a resemblance, a similarity. Taken together, all this means, in the words of Joel Beeke: “Human beings are limited, visible, earthly creatures that resemble God, for His glory.”
But in what ways do humans image God? Well, as the creation narrative teaches us about God, it is also teaching what we, as the image of God, must be like. The God of Genesis 1 and 2 is the God we image. So, what does Genesis 1 and 2 tell us about God, and therefore about ourselves?
Well, rather obviously, in creation we see God’s power on full display as he creates ex nihilo. Perhaps this is best captured in Genesis 1:16: “And God made the two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night – and the stars.” The whole cosmos for God is just three words, “and the stars”. It is nothing to Him to create all that we see in the night sky, almost an afterthought to His power.
Related to power is authority. Through the creation narrative God evidently has authority. Everything He wishes, He enacts. That sovereignty is seen in His naming of creation: “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” (Gen. 1:5). Whoever names something has authority over it.
God’s power and authority is not something that should alarm us, because the God of creation is good. Everything He does is good, culminating in “behold, it was very good” (Gen.1:31). And God does good, because He is good. In His goodness, God also shows His personality. He delights in what He has done (Gen.1:31). He takes joy and pleasure in the work of His hands. And because God is personal, He is the God who communicates. He speaks: “God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). God is a communicative being.
The diversity and beauty of creation also reveal God’s creativity. Throughout the creation account there is beautiful unity, “according to their kinds” combined with diversity, e.g. “every creature … every winged bird”. But as well as diversity, there is order. God imposes order on the world – time, rhythm, pattern. In Genesis 1 there is the separation of light and darkness, v.4; of the waters, v.7; of water and land, v.9. And so on. God brings order and a regular rhythm to the world. There is also order in the parallelism of the days themselves: day one, light and darkness are created, linking to day four, the sun and moon; day two, the waters on earth and the waters in the heavens are created, linking to day five, the waters are filled with fish and the heavens with birds; day three, the land is created, linking to day six, animals and humanity populate the land. God in creation, we might say, works decently and in order.
And in this there is sublime wisdom, wisdom in the ordering of activities on the days and their parallelism. And wisdom in the divine council that resulted in the creation of man: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man…’ ” (Gen.1:26). There is deliberation, the execution of a plan. Here is a wise God. And the wise God is not a monad, but a triune God. In the light of later revelation, we can see the creation account is marked by the activity of the three persons of the one Godhead. Verses 1-3 show us the creator God, the Spirit of God and the speech, or the Word of God. Verse 26 shows us the deliberation of the Triune God: “Let us make man”.
The image of God in creation – Who is humanity?
We expect these creation truths about God to be “imaged” in humanity. And they are.
As God has power, so humanity is given power over creation: “have dominion … over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen.1:28). With power comes authority. Just as God in authority named created things, so does man: “The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field” (Gen.2:20). Again, God’s goodness is reflected in the good being and moral character of humanity. It is only when humanity is created that God pronounces over His creation “it was very good”.
Humans are also clearly beings with personality. Adam rejoices over the companion he receives in Eve: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen.2:23). Humanity is also communicative. God speaks to man (Gen.2:16) and man speaks (Gen.2:23).
Creativity is also a capacity of humanity. Although not revealed significantly in Genesis 1 & 2, all Scripture shows the creative gift humanity has. Art, literature, architecture, and so on. And just as humanity is creative, so we are beings of order. There is the calling to “subdue” creation (Gen.1:28), to bring order to the rest of the world.
We also see that humanity is wise. Adam wisely recognises he needs a partner, and that in all creation there was not a helper fit for him (Gen.2:20). We also see humanity is made for community: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). So, just as God is a unity of three persons in unbreakable bonds of love, Rick Philips states: “As ‘male and female’, mankind bears God’s image in a community of love.”
So, from the first two chapters of Genesis, the holistic nature of God’s image in man is clear. Calvin captures this in his commentary on Genesis 1 when he says: “By this word [image] the perfection of our whole nature is designated.”
But there is one more idea inherent in the creational “image” of God – worship. Man as the image of God is a worshipping creature. The Garden of Eden itself resembles a temple. Joel Beeke notes: “The garden functioned as a prototypical temple where God dwelt with man” (e.g. 1 Kings 6:29, Ezek.31:8-9, Ezek.20:40, Rev.22:1-5). Images in temples are for worship. As worshippers in the garden temple, humans are, in a sense, prophets, priests and kings. As priests, Adam and Eve were to offer the sacrifice of praise and to “keep” the temple garden (Gen.2:15). Sinclair Ferguson states: “Adam … was the priest of the original creation, the one who supremely and representatively led and expressed the worship of God.” Humanity is also kings, exercising “dominion” over the earth (Gen. 1:26). And there was the prophetic office too. Adam and Eve were given revelation from God, for example: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen.1:28). And that revelation was clearly to be taught to their descendants. As Sinclair Ferguson comments: “We find Adam being called to the prophetic task … to pass on, first of all to Eve, and then to his family, what God had revealed to him.”
And with this we have the picture of the creational image. There is a dignity, a glory, to what it means to be human that is almost overwhelming.
The image ruined
But we can learn more about God’s image as we consider redemption and the image of God. First, however, it needs to be acknowledged that Adam and Eve did not live up to the glory of the image and likeness of God. Abandoning their prophetic calling, they turned from God’s word to the Devil’s lies (Gen.3:3-5). They also abandoned their kingly calling to bring creation into subjection, by becoming subject to a snake (Gen.3:1). And they abandoned their priestly calling to praise God, by doubting Him. They abandoned their calling to keep the garden temple, by subjecting it to the futility of death.
And with that fall the image of God was ruined and defaced. Human relations were immediately damaged: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Gen.3:7). The presence of God now became a fearful thing (Gen. 3:8). The beautiful garden became subject to a curse (Gen.3:17). And the penalty of death fell on humanity: “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen.3:19). There followed the immediate degeneration of the world. There was murder (Gen. 4:8), there was polygamy, and boasting in sin (Gen.4:23-24).
But even among all the ruin, there are hints that something of God’s image remains. In Genesis 4:17, there is creativity in building. There is the dominion over animals (Gen. 4:20). There is creativity in music (Gen. 4:21). And there is dominion over creation in the development of industry (Gen.4:22). While the goodness of the image is gone, other elements of the image remain.
And this is made clear in Genesis 5. There we have “the book of the generations of Adam”(v.1). This begins with Adam’s creation: “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.” The generations of Adam then continue: “Adam… fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Gen.5:3). The idea is clearly that the image of God in Adam passes on to his offspring, as they bear his image.
And after all the wickedness following the fall, wickedness that led to the judgement of the flood, we have: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Gen.9:6). John Murray comments: “The thought is that assault upon the life of man is a particularly heinous offence because it is an assault upon the image of God … The assumption is negated if man thus assaulted is not in the divine image.” In other words, the taking of human life is only a heinous offence if humanity retains the image of God.
The New Testament also teaches that the image of God remains in man. The classic example is James 3:9, “With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” That is, anyone we curse is an individual made in the image of God.
Retaining a concept of the image of God in humanity matters immensely. If we say the image is gone, humanity really is gone. As John Murray says: “The divine image defines the distinct identity of man. The fall does not … destroy man’s distinguishing identity.”
The Image Revealed in Christ
So, the image of God in man remains, but it is almost utterly defaced. As Calvin said: “God’s image … was subsequently so vitiated and almost blotted out that nothing remains after the ruin except what is confused, mutilated, and disease-ridden.” We cannot see looking at the world today what that image truly looks like.
But God sent One into the world who would reveal that image again clearly, and in whom it would be restored. As Calvin says: “[Christ] himself is the living image of God, according to which we must be renewed.” We are told repeatedly in the New Testament that this is the case. For example, 2 Corinthians 4:4, “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (c.f. Heb.1:3, Col.1:15). Jesus, as the divine Son, is the image bearer in a far greater sense than Adam, but undoubtedly, as man, Jesus was the true image of God in the flesh. In that sense, as the true enfleshed image bearer, Jesus is “the second man” (1 Cor. 15:47) and “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45).
So, if we want to see the image of God, amid the wreckage of the fall, we look at Jesus. Anthony Hoekema says: “In Christ we see the image of God in its perfection … There is no better way of seeing the image of God than to look at Jesus Christ.”
The image restored
And because of the perfect image bearer, Jesus, we can be restored as true image bearers. Calvin says: “God repairs His image in us, through our Lord Jesus Christ”. In a sense the whole goal of our salvation is the renewal of God’s image in us: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29). Predestination’s purpose is the glorification of the Son, as we are renewed in His image (c.f. 1 Cor. 15:49).
This remaking of the image of God in us is, for believers, an already present, but not yet complete, reality. It is already true that: “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God … has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4-6). The new creation has come into our lives. The light of Christ, as the image of God, is shining in our hearts.
But the realisation of that light in all its fullness is a progressive work: “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). We have that ongoing work of the Spirit enabling us to “become who we are”. We are not yet as Christlike as we should or as we will be. That is why we have the continual exhortations to imitate Christ, e.g. Eph. 4:32-5:2; 1 Cor. 11:1; 1 Thess. 1:6; Phil. 2:5; John 13:14-15. We are not yet fully imaging Him as we should.
But, as we increasingly image Christ, there are three elements of the original image of God, three elements of the original core image of goodness in humanity, that are revealed. And these are knowledge, righteousness and holiness.
We see knowledge in Colossians 3:9-10: “you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” Before humanity sinned, we knew God. We knew the truth about God, and we knew God in glorious personal fellowship. But sin alienated humans from God and the understanding of our minds became darkened. But those who have put off the old self in Adam, and who have put on the new self in Christ, are restored to knowing God, and increasingly know Him. The knowledge lost in the fall is being renewed.
There is also righteousness and holiness in the renewed image. For example,: “be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24). In the fall, righteousness was lost, but the renewed image in Christ restores righteousness and holiness. In Christ we are righteous, for He is our righteousness, and we are holy, set apart for the Lord in Him. And increasingly as we reckon ourselves dead to sin, as we put to death sinful deeds, these elements of the image of God shine out.
Well, in redemption we see clearly that the image of God in man includes knowledge, righteousness and holiness. These are the great areas in which the image is restored to us in Christ. And the day is coming where we will image all these things perfectly. When we shall bear the image of Christ, apart from sin. Where we will be the sons of God Adam failed to be: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). That is our hope.
What does this mean today?
Because all of humanity are still image bearers, there is a Godward direction to human life. As Calvin says: “All men are born to live to the end that they may know God.” There is therefore a hole in the heart of all who have not trusted in Christ, the hole left by a ruined image. This means there is a thirst in every heart which only the image of Christ can quench, opening a door for evangelism.
The divine image also brings an inherent dignity to all human life. Calvin says: “Whatever man you meet who needs your aid you have no reason to refuse to help him … Say that he does not deserve even your least effort for his sake; but the image of God, which recommends him to you, is worthy of your giving yourself and all your possessions. Now if he has … also provoked you by unjust acts and curses, not even this is just reason why you should cease to embrace him in love and to perform the duties of love on his behalf.” So, the life ruined by drug addiction. The life devoted to sexual sin. The body marred by “gender reassignment”. All remain image bearers, and deserve the respect and love that entails.
Divine image bearing also highlights the horror of taking human life. A murder of a human life is the most heinous of crimes. Abortion, euthanasia, and all murder are a striking at the image of God. As society has detached itself from Christian values, it is a great tragedy, but no surprise, that the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable image bearers are increasingly at risk. And just as image bearing calls us to value human life, so it calls us to wisely care for the created world in fulfilment of our God-given role.
The equality of all humanity also flows from the divine image in us. This highlights how sinful racism is and also provides the basis for the basic equality before God of men and women. The difference between men and women (c.f. 1 Cor. 11:7) does not in any way undermine the place of women as image bearers: “in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27).
The Bible’s teaching on God’s image also reveals the high calling of redeemed sinners. Everyone who is “in Christ” bears the renewed image of God. But believers are also to eagerly await that future day, when we will fully bear the image of God in Christ for, as Calvin notes: “it will attain its full splendour in heaven.” Let us hold on to the hope of that day, sure in the knowledge that one day we will be fully like Christ.
FOR FURTHER READING: John Murray, “Man in the Image of God” in Collected Writings of John Murray, Volume 2 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1977), 34-46. Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).
