5 Ways Humans Reflect the Image and Likeness of God
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There are many ways individuals can descend into heresy when discussing the doctrine of the Imago Dei or image of God. The Latter-Day Saints elevate humans to the position of God, stating that the Father was once a man who achieved godhood and continues to have a body of flesh and blood, thus allowing him to procreate spirit children with his wives. In their teachings, everything about humans must be true of God because they are progressing toward godhood.
Cult groups are not the only ones who teach falsehoods. Even within the realm of orthodoxy, Christian teachers and writers can go awry in their assumptions. Most believers know that the Lord created males and females in His image, yet some theologians can go too far in their emphasis on gender in regard to God. We miss the truth of how both men and women can reflect the beauty of the Lord when we focus too much on defending Him against those who make surprising claims (such as the idea that God is a woman).
In thinking about how we are made in the image and likeness of God, we must avoid the common pitfalls of elevating humanity to the position of godhood or bringing the Lord down to our level. The living Lord God of the Bible is set apart from us, and His ways are not like our own (Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 55:8). We were made in His image, but that does not mean we are equal to the Lord or that we will become God.
Also, we have marred the sacred image, though it still exists inside every sinner. In our sinfulness, we reflect the Lord, but only as a broken mirror imperfectly provides reflection. This is why the Son came to save us. As Athanasius, the early church theologian who defended the deity of Christ, wrote in his classic On the Incarnation of the Word, “the Word of God came in person, so that, being the image of the Father, he would be able to recreate humanity afresh in that image.” Only as new creations in Christ do we start to fully reflect the likeness of our Lord (see Ephesians 4:24 and Colossians 3:10).
Even in our fallen state, though, the Imago Dei is present. Every human life has dignity and worth because God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27). May we learn to recognize how people have the capacity to reflect Him, and point them to the One who is the Image of God: Jesus Christ who perfectly reveals the Father (John 14:9; Colossians 1:15).
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1. To Think and Reason
Some people reject belief in God because they think that a supreme being who rules all things is illogical. Yet, they fail to realize that the only way they can use their reasoning capabilities is because they were made by an intelligent God. We see His design around us in creation and in the laws set up in the universe. Even in our bodies, we find His mark through the intricate workings of our organs and vital systems. Our mental capacities are just one of many ways that show the intelligence of the Lord God.
Even in our fallenness, with all the issues of mental and psychiatric illness, humanity continues to reflect the image of God through our ability to formulate ideas, construct systems, and create technology. Inventions as simple as an arrowhead to the advent of the internet display the logic that people employ to solve tasks and meet needs. These capabilities can become avenues for sin to flourish, such as in the creation of the gun or atomic bomb. However, by God’s provision, He has brought about great blessings through humankind’s ability to think and reason, like medical treatments and farming systems.
Although general examples in the human ability to reason can sometimes be eschewed, those who display biblical wisdom in their lives more fully reflect the image of God. He is our wise Lord, and true intelligence starts with reverence or fear of Him (Proverbs 9:10). The man or woman who uses reasoning to dismiss the existence of the Lord overlooks the brokenness inside themselves, like a broken jar claiming it formed itself – and that it can fix itself. For the same capacity that enables the wise person to praise the Lord is the same faculty that leads some to deny God and thus become fools (Psalm 14:1).
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2. Morality and Freedom
The resounding word throughout the first chapter of Genesis is “good.” Even at the close of the narrative cycle, the emphasis is on this word: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31, emphasis added). Everything that the Lord God created was good because it stemmed from a holy and righteous God. He could not create anything ugly or bad, as that would contradict the essence of His character.
When He created humans, He declared them to be “good” as well. But something was different about the man and woman. They had the breath of God, and Scripture is clear they were made in the likeness of the Lord (Genesis 1:27; 2:7). And just as they reflect Him in their ability to reason, they also demonstrate the image of God through morality and agency.
Adam and Eve had been given the command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which means that they knew that obeying God was what they were meant to do –– that it was the right thing to do –– and they had the freedom to choose to obey Him. Yes, they were tempted to be like God in knowing good and evil, but they had already been created with a sense of what was good and beautiful (Genesis 3:5). Their eyes were opened to the presence of evil, specifically the ugliness of sin after they disobeyed the Lord.
But even after the fall, humans maintained their sense of moral direction, understanding that there were certain acts that did not fit with how they had been made. This moral direction, or compass, is known as a conscience. Deep down inside us, we know that there are behaviors and actions that are wrong, which is why cultures across the world have rules against things like murder and stealing. As image bearers, we have the God-given capacity to tell right from wrong, and the ability to act on this understanding. Such functionality reflects our Lord who is perfectly free and good.
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3. Creativity
Another way the image of God is shown in us is through our ability to create. Of course, we do not make things ex nihilo (or out of nothing) as the Lord does. We can call out for meals to be cooked and artwork to be painted, but our words will not bring forth what we say. God is the One who speaks and brings life into being (Genesis 1:3, 24). Yet, even in our finiteness, we have the ability to be creative, to use our energy to cultivate order amid chaos.
We see this exercised through the very first human, Adam, when he bestowed names on the animals (Genesis 2:19-20). This required logic, yes, but also creativity in noticing the attributes of the animals and considering the sound of words. Adam and Eve also had to use their imagination when tending the garden that the Lord had planted, for He had made it to be beautiful as well as useful (Genesis 2:9, 15).
Throughout Scripture, we find individuals engaging in artistry. The Holy Spirit empowered Bezalel and Oholiab to create artistic designs for the tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-11). David crafted songs and poetry through his writing of psalms. Solomon used his wisdom to make the temple lovely in design and wrote proverbs and songs (1 Kings 6; see also 1 Kings 4:32 and Proverbs). Tabitha exercised her skill in creating articles of clothing to give to those in need (Acts 9:36-39).
Any time a person engages in their work imaginatively (regardless of it being labeled as creative or not), they reflect the creativity of the Lord. He is the first and greatest Artist, who called stars into being, brought forth plants and trees from the earth, and formed humans from the dust of the ground. Our art pales in comparison to the beauty of God –– yet His mark is still evident on every garden, meal, painting, song, story, or woodworking project we create.
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4. Emotions
Christians are often wary of emotions. As it is, feelings come and go, so why should we place an emphasis on them? Scripture tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). Following our emotions, then, would be foolish.
We too often forget, though, that we have feelings because the Lord God has emotions. The Bible teaches that God experiences happiness (Psalm 147:11), sorrow (Genesis 6:6), and anger (Exodus 4:14). He can be grieved by the choices of people, and He takes delight in seeing us walk in His ways. To think that emotions are inherently evil contradicts the teaching of Scripture and does not fit with God’s revealed character.
Only because of the fall are our emotions sometimes influenced by sin. Unlike God, our anger is not usually righteous (James 1:19-20). Our sorrow can be excessive and worldly (2 Corinthians 7:10). And we can often derive happiness from ungodly acts (Proverbs 2:12-14). Emotional outbursts that come from a place of sin are what we should guard ourselves from, not the ability to feel itself.
We continue to be thinking and feeling creatures even after we have been made new in Christ. Our Savior does not command us to become listless followers, suppressing feelings that are legitimate and which should be given proper avenues for expression. When we, for example, take delight in a part of His creation, giving praise to God, this is a holy expression of happiness. Likewise, if we honestly voice our grief in the context of relationship with the Lord, as the psalmists did, we are acting as humans aware of the need for grace.
The human ability to laugh in joy or cry after loss mirrors the God who created us.
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5. Relationship
Before humans were made or the universe existed, God lived in perfect communion with Himself. The members of the Trinity joyfully engaged in relationship (see John 17:5). Our Lord is never lonely because He has all He needs within Himself as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Making us in His image, then, means that we reflect this need for communion with Him, as well as with other humans. Whenever we meaningfully engage with others, developing God-honoring relationships, we are acting as image bearers, for our Lord has forever existed in fellowship within the Trinity. To have friends and family is to live as people made in the likeness of God.
Like every other realm of life, though, our relationships do not always glorify God or perfectly reflect His image. Adam and Eve experienced issues in their friendship and marriage because of the fall –– something that was not a reality in their original, innocent state (Genesis 3:16). Sin is what led Cain to murder Abel, Ham to dishonor his father, the sons of Israel to hate Joseph, and countless others who dealt with complex relationships in a fallen world.
But in Christ, we are given a new way of communing with others. No longer do we have to live as slaves to sin, destroying relationships with others through our choices and actions. We are brought into a new family, the church, which is established upon Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross (Mark 10:29-30).
The Body of Christ is united by love for Him and a desire to build one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). In this fellowship communion, we more clearly see and reflect the character of our Lord.
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