What is the image of God

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So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [Gen. 1:27]

What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Mormonism maintains that human beings are literal offspring of “God” and that “God” exists in a body. Because Christianity believes in creation ex nihilo, such unsubstantiated beliefs have no place in our faith. God created the physical universe and cannot himself be physical.

The traditional Christian view of the image of God distinguishes between his image in two senses. In a broad sense, human beings are spiritual image-bearers of God in all that they are, with the result that they govern creation. In a narrower sense, each person is to live in God’s image in holiness and righteousness. Thus, when Adam sinned he lost the image in the narrow sense but retained it in the broad sense. This conception emphasizes the spiritual and moral core of humanity. However, we must be careful not to go too far to separate the spiritual from the physical qualities of human life.

Perhaps a variation on this idea might help us keep a balanced understanding. The Hebrew term for image means “reflection.” Every individual has the capacity to mirror God as a spiritual being and the responsibility to reflect God in thought and action. Jesus Christ, as the second Adam, was in his essential being the utter reflection of God. And Jesus utterly reflected God in the obedience and justice he demonstrated before the world. As that perfect image-bearer Jesus received dominion over all creation (Heb. 1:3). In the same way, as we are renewed to conform to the image of God, we are called to faithfully reflect God in all that we do.

Adam did not want to reflect God through submitting to him. Rather, he wanted to be like God in the sense of being the same as God. Thus, Adam distorted what it meant to be the image of God in the narrow sense, and that distortion corrupted all of God’s image in the broader sense.

In your prayers today, ask God to show you more fully what it means to reflect him in your home, your school, or in your work. Think about what you have to do today and lay those responsibilities before him in submission. Ask him to make you a better mirror of his holiness and glory.

Sproul, R.C., Before the Face of God: A Daily Guide for Living from the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1994.

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