The Image of God

Genesis 1:27, Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24

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In Genesis chapter one, God says this about Adam and Eve.

God created the man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

That Bible passage tells us that we are created in the image of God. All human beings are created in the image of God, both male and female. What does that mean? I think many times we wonder, does that mean that we have eyes like God’s eyes or nose like God has a nose or fingers and toes like God has? Well, it’s good for us to keep in mind that God, in his essence, is spirit is what the Bible tells us. Obviously, in the person of Jesus Christ, he takes on human flesh, doesn’t he? But in his essence, God is spirit. So he doesn’t have those things like the way that we have. So what does it mean that human beings are created in the image of God?

Well, a very helpful passage for us to consider is Colossians chapter three, verse ten, and it says this.

Put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in knowledge, according to the image of its Creator. (Colossians 3:10)

That passage talks about the new self, sometimes referred to as the new man. Or we talk about as we come to faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, we are a new person, right? We are born again as well. And it talks about that new self as a new self that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. So it talks about the image of God in connection with this new self, that it’s being renewed in knowledge. And so I think that gives us a lot of insight into what it means in the Bible when it talks about Adam and Eve being created in the image of God, that they had perfect knowledge of God and of his will, they had a perfect relationship with him as well.

And there’s another passage that goes along with it from Ephesians chapter four that says this

Put on the new self, which has been created to be like God in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)

Again, it refers to that new man or new self as it mentions there, but it says, what’s the connection? Well, it’s been created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. And so that’s another aspect of the image of God that we are righteous and holy as well too. So both those things are true knowledge of God, a perfect relationship with God, but then also that holiness and righteousness, all of that is part of what it means that human beings were created with the image or in the image of God.

So why aren’t we that way today? You know, why aren’t we righteous and holy? And why do we sin? And why is our relationship with God broken? Well, it’s because of sin, isn’t it? As Adam and Eve fell into sin, they lost the perfect image of God. Maybe another way is to think about it as being clouded or tainted by sin. And so there isn’t that perfect knowledge of God. There isn’t that perfect relationship with God. We were separated or divorced from him by our sin, but also we ourselves aren’t perfect. We are corrupt because of sin.

And yet, the good news for us is to know that by faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, through trusting in him, that relationship and that image is restored, that God has given us a new self. We are a new creation, new people in Christ, and that in him God is restoring the image of God in us. He is giving us that knowledge of him. He is sanctifying us by His Holy Spirit, making us holy. And one day we will be perfectly holy as we see God face to face in life eternal, not because of us and the things that we have done, but only because of Christ and what he has done for us, and how he has given us new birth and made us a new creation, giving us God’s image in full, a perfect image once again in glory. Amen.