The Image of God in Man
by Bryan Carlson
“The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God and represents God. The image of God in man refers to the aspects of humanity that reflect the character and nature of God. It is a spiritual and moral quality, rather than a physical resemblance, and it encompasses aspects of humanity such as reason, free will, creativity, and the capacity for relationship and community” (Grudem 442).
This doctrine is based on several key passages in the Bible, including Genesis 1:26-27, which says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 5:1 says, “When God created man, he made him on the likeness of God.” God created a body, but the life—the Spirit—came from God. Man is a spirit being living in a human body (Ezra 1:5; Job 32:8; Psalm 51:12; Prov. 20:27; Isa. 57:16; 1 Cor. 2:11). God also created woman from man and was created with this same spirit. Man was created by God in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27; 5;1; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9). This is what gives man more worth than the rest of God’s creation. Genesis 9:6 says that if a man sheds another man’s blood, his blood must also be shed for man is created in the likeness of God.
What about the Fall? Sin entered the world through Adam and now is inherent in all men. Man is now conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5) and dies as a result of sin: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Since all mankind is conceived from Adam and since we have all chosen to sin, man’s natural state is to now be separated from the love of God for all eternity. God’s image was distorted, but not lost (Gen 9:6, James 3:9).
So, what is the “image of God” in man? Many ways in which we image God is done through physical means—God given skills, thinking and creativity, bearing children who bear our image (Gen 5:3). “Even the body is destined to in the end a spiritual body, that is, a body which is completely spirit-controlled, a perfect instrument of the soul” (Berkhof 205). Morally, we have an inner sense of right and wrong. Spiritually, we relate to God and are immortal. Mentally, we possess things rationally, logically, with abstract reasoning, the use of abstract, complex, language (Isaiah 1:18-20). We have an awareness of time—past, present, and the distant future, music, art, literature, technology, and complex emotions. Relationally, we enjoy work, church, family, marriage, fellowship (John 17:20-26). Functionally, “the exercise of dominion over the creation” (Erickson 527); (Psalm 8). (Roy 15).
The image of God in man has significant practical implications for life and Biblical Counseling. First, it provides a foundation for the value and worth of every human being, regardless of their circumstances or background. Second, it provides a framework for understanding the purpose and meaning of life. Recognizing that humanity is created in the image of God can help individuals seek to fulfill their role and purpose in life, as they seek to glorify God and live in accordance with His plans and purposes. “It is only the Christian, then, who can be counseled. Anything short of the effort to bring about the renewal of the divine image in man is an unacceptable goal because likeness (alone) is God’s goal for man. That is why Christian counseling, stressing salvation and sanctification, is adequate” (Adams 120). “The goal of counseling should be to facilitate the restoration of the image of God to its proper functioning in all of the practical ways it has been shattered in the lives of those who come to see a counselor” (Lambert 190).
Our goal is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18) and to put on “the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator, to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Colossians 3:9-10; Ephesians 4:22-24). Jesus is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). “He is the image to the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:8-9). He is the exact representation of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). “When he appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). One day, when we are glorified, we will be in the perfect likeness of God once again. “We do not get to choose whether we represent God in the world. That is already true of us. The only issue that remains is whether we will acknowledge that fact and respond to it in a way that honors God” (Lambert 189).
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 442-450.
Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, New Com. Ed., 202-210.
Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 517-536.
Don Roy, IBCD, ACBC Theology Exam Study Guide, 15.
Jay Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling, 118-120.
Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling, 180-213.
