Letters to a New Believer #2: Imago Dei - Jonathan Voos

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Letters to a New Believer #2: Imago Dei

On Genesis 1-2, Psalm 139, Luke 12, and man’s creation in God’s image and likeness.

On Genesis 1-2, Psalm 139, Luke 12, and man’s creation in God’s image and likeness.

Dear reader,

Previously, I discussed the Trinity and God’s creation of the Earth. John 1:1-5 and Genesis 1:1-5 both affirm that our divine creator intentionally formed the Earth and all that’s in it, including mankind.

Because God intentionally created man, mankind is not flotsam and jetsam floating around meaninglessly on a random rock in a chaotic universe. Rather, each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.

The Bible consistently teaches that God’s care for us and knowledge about us is deeper than we can fathom, and that human beings are inherently valuable. Take Psalm 139 and Luke 12, for example:

Psalm 139:13-16 says: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

And Luke 12:6-7 says: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves, and numbered each and every day in our lives before it came to pass. As Genesis 1:26-31 shows, God made us in His image and likeness, gave us authority over His earthly creation, and saw that His creation was very good indeed.1

This idea that all humans are made in God’s image—long called the “Imago Dei” by Christians—undergirds the Christian view of human nature. Because we are made in the image of God, we have inherent value.2 Accordingly, Imago Dei’s implications are widespread and fundamental in Christian doctrine and social teaching.

As image bearers of God, we are unique among earthly creatures—the capstone of God’s earthly creation. Our authority to rule the earth is not shared with lions, tigers, or bears. Each one of us is called to cultivate the earth in alignment with God’s character and design.

Accordingly, Imago Dei informs the church’s teaching on caring for the poor, the sick, the orphans, and the widows. It is the basis for the Great Commission and the second-greatest Commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.3

Imago Dei also informs the church’s teaching on abortion, homosexuality, assisted suicide, and transgenderism. If man is made in God’s image, and God knit us all together in our mothers’ wombs, then abortion and assisted suicide kill persons who are made in God’s image.4 If God created us male and female such that “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh,” then homosexuality contradicts the order of creation.5 And if man and woman are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image, all ideas that a transgender-identifying person was “born in the wrong body” are incompatible with Christianity.6

Thus, rather than looking inwards to our desires and insecurities to find purpose, Imago Dei requires us to look beyond ourselves. It gives us all meaning in life by calling us to become more like Christ, “[f]or we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” True purpose in life comes through transformation by the Holy Spirit toward Christ-likeness.

That said, our creation in the image and likeness of God does not make us equal to God or mean we share divinity with God. As the next letter will discuss, the human race is stained by sin that renders us unable to live in communion with God on our own. We need salvation through Jesus Christ—the perfect image of God—to share in his design for our lives.7 Thus, while we are valuable to God, we cannot count ourselves as equal to God or as “little gods” as certain progressive8 or word of faith9 heresies might suggest.

Ultimately, we can be assured of our value to God because the Bible teaches that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. Each one of us—no matter our physical flaws—was knit together intentionally in our mother’s womb. We are all part of God’s very good creation, and we all have a divine purpose to become more like Christ each and every day.

For References, please see original post.