Made in the Image of God

By John G. Frazier III, Ph.D.

Made in the Image of God

The words of Scripture tell us that we are created in the image of God, but what does this really mean? And, why is this important? As we discuss these questions, we will see that being “made in the image of God” is indeed a marvelous truth that enriches and ennobles us. Moreover, we will learn that it is critical that we understand this in order to avoid a wrong view of man which demeans and robs us of our dignity. We begin by reading the account in Genesis of God’s creation of man.

The Creation of Man

Genesis 1:26-28 NIV reads: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and overall the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'” Then in Genesis 2:7 NIV it says: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

In these verses, several things are emphasized. Man is created by God, not evolved; Man is not a descendent of lower animal life – he is a separate creation; Man is created “in the image of God” making him qualitatively different from and superior all other creatures; Man is created with (only) two genders – male and female; Man is created to rule over all the creatures made by God and to care for the plant life in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15 NIV); Man is given authority and responsibility and thereby becomes accountable to God for his work.

Man is said to be unique in two principal ways. 1) First, he is made in God’s image and as such “is worthy of honor and respect; he is neither to be murdered (Genesis 9:6) or cursed (James 3:9).” [NIV note, p.7] Man is of value! He is a treasure! And, he is to be treated accordingly. Further, man, made in the image of God, has the capacity for God-consciousness which allows him to communicate with and relate to his Creator.

2) Second, “man is the climax of God’s creation. God has crowned him with glory and honor and made him ruler over the rest of his creation.” God, who is a “divine King, (has) delegated sovereignty (kingship)” to man as ruler. [NIV notes p.7]

Thus man by virtue of being made in the image of God has both a unique relationship with God Himself and a unique delegated relationship with God’s other creatures and with plant life as sovereign ruler and steward under God.

Also, the Bible tells us that man was formed with a body, soul, and spirit. Thus man is complete; and he must have a spirit if he is to be in the likeness of God, who is a Spirit.

How We Resemble God

Man is like God in two major ways. He is intrinsically like Him because of his nature – he is made in the image of God. And, he is functionally like Him because of his abilities.

Intrinsic Likeness

So, how is the nature of man like the nature of God?

First, it is his spiritual nature. He was made for God, to know God, and to have a personal relationship with God. As such he becomes a servant to God and a worshiper. He can talk to God in prayer and God speaks to him in his Word, the Bible. There is joy in this relationship and certainty. Men, in this relationship, are grounded in truth about creation, the moral order, their own personal identity, and their purpose and destiny. Man is anchored to the source of all reality, the living God. He can be sure about himself because he is sure about his God.

Second, man is given a moral nature. The Bible spells out for us God’s moral standards in the ten commandments and in other passages. It also tells us in Romans 1:18-32 that these standards are written in the hearts of men so that deep down everyone really knows the difference between right and wrong, even if they neglect or suppress that knowledge.

Third, man is given an eternal spirit. Death is not the end for man, his spirit lives on.

Fourth, man possesses self-awareness. He is consciously aware of himself in real space and time. He can think about the past, the present, and the future. He is aware of his inner self, his body, the physical world – things, the social world – people, and he has the potential for awareness of the spiritual world – God.

He can think about his impressions, even think about his thoughts. He can evaluate, reflect, ponder, analyze, form opinions, construct logical arguments, agree or disagree, like or dislike, love or hate, feel peace or tension, feel pleasure or pain. He can weigh evidence, consider pros and cons, evaluate alternatives, build a case for or against something, and make decisions regarding his thoughts, speech and behavior. He is a “Me.” He is a “Self.” He experiences “Himself” every day of his life.

Fifth, man has free will. God created man to have free will so he could choose to obey, love and serve him. God didn’t want a race of robots; he wanted a relationship that is built on the choice of love with man.

Sixth, man is a social creature, as is God. The Bible tells us that throughout eternity – past, present, and future – God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – has fellowship and relationship with himself within the Trinity. We are made to be social, to engage in relationships, both with God and with others.

Seventh, man is creative. He can conceive of things that don’t exist and devise ways to make them. He cannot create something from nothing as God can do, but he can create something from the materials that God has given him to work with.

Functional Likeness

Man is also like God because of his abilities.

Intelligence: Let’s begin by noting that man’s likeness to God is demonstrated by his intelligence. Out of man’s intelligence comes many things: language, mathematics, accounting, science, computers, engineering, technical expertise, inventions, use of tools, philosophy, music, arts, drama, fashion (clothing), jewelry, cooking, culture, government, social organizations, and the ability to domesticate animals.

Man can create complex mathematical formulas which allow him to accomplish amazing engineering feats such as designing computers, harnessing electric power, building houses, buildings and bridges, making appliances, and manufacturing cars, airplanes and a myriad of other goods. He can develop large farming operations and build factories which require extensive planning, organization, and implementation.

Language: Man is also like God with regard to his language skills. The English language is said to have approximately 170,000 words. A child at age two will know about 300 words; at age twelve about 12,000 words. A college graduate will know about 20,000 words and those with advance degrees and superior intellects as many as 35,000 words. These amazing skills enable us to think far better than we could without language and to communicate effectively with ourselves, others, and God. God uses language to communicate and he endowed us with the same ability.

We now understand that man is like God in his nature and in his abilities. Man exhibits a vast intelligence, a breadth of personhood, a depth of soul, and a presence of spiritual being that reflect the nature and capabilities of God.

In The Image Of God!

So what does “made in the image (likeness) of God” mean? As discussed, we resemble Him in our spiritual nature, moral nature, eternal spirit, self-awareness, free will, social nature, and creativity. In addition we are like Him because we have intelligence, language ability, and authority over the earth and animals as delegated from Him. Further, we derive from our sense of being in the image of God, an awareness of who we are – our identity, and why we’re here – our purpose. We are immortal spirits created to do good and to love and serve a God who created us and loves us dearly. What joy it is to be made in the image of God!

We are not God, but we are like God in our very nature. He made us this way. And this makes us to be of inestimable worth and value. This gives us dignity. The animals do not share these endowments. Thus man, in his very nature, is unique and superior to all other earthly created beings.

A Marred Image Of God

When Adam was created by God, he was created innocent. But something happened – he disobeyed God and God’s punishment fell upon him. Adam was created “from the dust of the earth,” which made him a material being, and God breathed into him “the breath of life” which gave Adam his spiritual nature. When he sinned, Adam’s body and spirit were affected; he would die physically and loose his close fellowship with God, a spiritual death.

As a result, the moral image of God that we see in every man is marred. Men are capable of evil. We all are. So we have to understand that while we are like God in many respects, we are not like Him with respect to our sinfulness.

What We Believe About This Really Matters

Francis Schaeffer, a Christian philosopher, theologian, pastor, and counselor wrote repeatedly that there are basically two views of reality in Western culture: 1) The view that man came into being through the process of evolution and 2) the opposing view that man is a creation of God. And he said that the view that one holds results in inevitable consequences for the individual and for the institutions of society. ¹ These consequences have to do with both the valuation and the treatment of man.

Evolutionary Theory

Scientists who hold to Darwin’s theory of evolution “believe simple life (forms) have changed over millions of years into more complex states by a process of natural selection. …life arose naturally into a one celled animal, then mutated and changed or evolved over millions of years into the various kinds of life we see today (with) humans being the highest on the chain.” ² They believe therefore, that all creatures, including humans, are descended from a common ancestor. Their view is that we all are the result of natural causes without any intervention from God. This is an atheistic view of creation.

However, these beliefs have been questioned in recent years by reputable scientists. For one thing, the fossil record shows exactly the opposite of what they claim. Thus, on purely scientific grounds, it is reasonable to reject evolutional theory and label it a false idea. Other reasons to discredit this theory are found in an article on this web site, “Why Christians Believe in God.”

Belief in the theory of evolution inevitably results in the devaluation of human beings. It robs man of his dignity, value, true identity, and purpose. It eliminates the basis for morality, removes life’s meaning, cancels out free will, destroys the value of life, trashes hope, altruism, and love, introduces irresponsibility and despair, creates arbitrary values because there are no standards, resulting in arbitrary rules and laws which reflect the whims of whoever is in charge. This can lead to governmental tyranny and the loss of individual God-given rights.

Belief in the theory of evolution inevitablyresults in the devaluation of human beings

A wrong view of man, the view that man is merely the result of natural forces, corrupts because it makes it possible to treat ourselves and others with disrespect, indifference, and contempt, destroying the plan God has for us to love ourselves and others as he loves us.

Man Is A Creation Of God

Belief in man made in the image of God inevitably results in the ennoblement of human beings. This belief affirms man’s dignity, value, true identity and purpose. For people who know that God is their Creator, life has meaning; there is a real basis for morality, love, and altruism; there is free will; there is life after death; there is great hope and an expectation for ultimate justice; moral lines are drawn and we know the difference between benevolence and cruelty; we have the privilege of taking on responsibility for others, our self, and toward God; we can value our self and others because we are made in the image of God; and we treat our fellow man with respect and kindness because they too are made in the image of God.

Belief in man made in the image of God inevitablyresults in the ennoblement of human beings.

It is interesting to note that most people feel they have a right to these hopeful views, especially when it comes to the value of one’s self, even if they are agnostic or atheist. But what gives the atheist the right to think this way? By his own standards he has no such right, but he does so anyway. Why? I think it is because they “know” in their inmost being that they have intrinsic value. This to me is God’s witness to them through their own humanity that He is real and He is their Creator.

How does this view manifest itself in our society? Christian organizations counsel young women with unwanted pregnancies to help them understand that the unborn baby in their womb is made in the image of God and they give them support in making the right decision. Christians gather around their elderly, give them their time and presence, make them feel loved, make them as comfortable as possible, encourage them with the hope of eternal life, and pray with them.

People give time and money to charities. Soup kitchens and food banks provide meals and food for the disadvantaged. The homeless are fed and housed. Charitable organizations help working people pay utility bills and rent when due to no fault of their own they can’t quite make ends meet. Businesses treat their employees well, make reliable products, and give back to society.

Families strengthen themselves and stay together. Mothers love, care for, teach, and raise their children. Fathers are committed to their families. Parents make sacrifices for their children. Spouses are faithful to each other. People are considerate of others’ needs – not just their own. People show kindness. They show respect for others’ persons and property. People make friends and keep friendships. People forgive each other and give each other a second chance.

Churches teach God’s truth and provide tangible service to the community. Christians individually and organizationally promote God’s truth about the true identity and value of man who is made in His image. They teach the world about God’s moral standards, his love, eternal life, heaven and hell, and the wonder of God’s plan for each person’s life. In each of these examples people are treated as persons of value, as made in the image of God.

The Value Of A Person

What’s the value of a human being? A man, a woman, a boy, a girl? Is $5,000 enough? $50,000? A million dollars? Is there any price great enough to equal the value of a human soul? If we were to take the entire sum of all the wealth that exists in the world today, it would not be enough to equal the value of one person.

But the heart of the value of a person is not monetary, it is that we are loved and treasured by Almighty God. Each of us is given an infinite value by our Creator. In his eyes we are special, a treasure, precious, and intensely and intentionally loved by him.

The right view of man, the view that he is created in the image of God, liberates him from the devaluation of himself, enables him to view himself with dignity, allows him to embrace his true worth and love himself and others because Almighty God made him and loves him.

A Crisis Of Human Dignity

Stephen Nichols gave a talk, “The Dignity of God’s Image Bearer,” at a 2020 Ligonier Ministries conference, with the topic “Made in the Image of God.” In his talk, Dr. Nichols points out that we have a “crisis of human dignity” in our culture. He gave these examples: Existentialism holds that life is meaningless. Political philosophies such as Adolph Hitler’s reduced the value of “unacceptable persons” to zero and judged them worthy of death. Communist-Socialist Marxism redefined the worth of each individual to whatever that individual could contribute to society. Humanism ascribes dignity to man but then says life is meaningless. The LGBT community says that identity is the same as sexual orientation, missing the profound truth that God has given us a unique identity, superior to and apart from our feelings and behaviors. And, “for the first time in history” we now call gender a social construct instead of a given at birth. All this indicates, says Dr. Nichols, that there is a lot of confusion in our society about man’s God-given dignity and true identity.

Then he addresses the question of how we can begin to talk about the dignity man in our society, with so many philosophies floating around which attack that very dignity? He replies that the only correct answer to the question. “Who am I?” has to be theological because the secular answers are always unsatisfactory. Thus, the only way out of this confusion is to get people to recognize, understand, and embrace the fact that all men are created in the image of God.

So, how should we respond to this crisis? Dr. Nichols urges us to affirm that every person has value and the right to life; to show kindness and respect to everyone; to love our neighbor and ourselves; and to teach others that they are made in the image of God.

Summary and Conclusions

In this article, we have discussed what it means to be “made in the image of God.” The fact that God, in His wisdom and love, decided to make us like him in nature and abilities, is truly astonishing. To think he loves us and wants a personal relationship with us for eternity is both humbling and heartening. It gives us hope, and hope gives us the strength to face life daily.

We noted that what one believes about this matters a great deal. If we believe we are merely the result of natural forces, we devalue ourselves; if we believe that we are God’s creation, we ennoble ourselves. When a person knows he is created , “in the image of God,” he will value and treat himself and others with respect and kindness. Moreover, he will have a firm basis for morality, meaning, love, altruism, justice, belief in eternal life, and fellowship with God.

Intuitively, we know we have value. Otherwise, why do we put forth so much time and effort to take care of ourselves and our loved ones? We contend that this is because real value is derived from God, and he has bestowed it upon each of us. We hope this article will help the reader understand and appreciate that they are made in the image of God, and therefore are of inestimable value and worth.

Further, it is incumbent upon Christians to let the world know this truth of God which liberates from despair and elevates to dignity every person who grasps it. We owe it to them because they are made in the image of God. And let us embrace this gift from God and move forward, valuing human life personally, relationally, and in our society. May God give us the grace to live out this marvelous truth that we are all made in the image of God!

We close with two Bible verses:

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV. He cherishes us!

“I will praise You, forI am fearfullyand wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, Andthat my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14 NKJV. He made us wonderfully!

This article shares information with the article, “Man is Superior to Animals.”