The greatest, most exciting, astonishing reality of our identity is that we are made in the image of God. According to Genesis 1:27 (NIV):
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
This high view of humankind applies to all people, no matter their sex, ethnicity, religious beliefs, mental struggles, or anything else. The view is also unique to Christianity. Even Judaism, which sees Genesis 1:27 as Scripture, cannot recognize the fullest, deepest meaning of the grandeur of this truth. But what does it even mean to be made in God’s image?
This question may be more difficult to answer than you originally anticipated. To say we have God’s image cannot simply mean that we look like God. After all, people with physical deformities or missing limbs are just as much in God’s image as anyone else. So, over the years, theologians have speculated what the image of God means. Some have argued that the image of God refers to our soul, our rationality, or our original righteousness before sin entered the world. Perhaps the two most common views today are that the image of God refers to our ability to have relationships or our dominion over other created things. It could be that some or all of these views are correct. But I find there are deeper, more profound, and exciting meanings that virtually all Christians can agree on.
Related article: Self-Image: See Yourself as God Sees You
We have unique position because we are made in God’s image
We see in God’s story of creation that only humans have the privilege of being made in God’s image. So, of everything in the universe—animals, forests, oceans, mountains, stars, planets, galaxies—NOTHING resembles God more than we do.
We have unique value because we are made in God’s image
We are not just a random result of a mindless, thoughtless, evolutionary process in an uncaring universe. We were made as the crowning piece of God’s handiwork, reflecting the glory of the artist himself. This means that no matter who you are, how you feel, what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you, you have infinite dignity, value, and worth as a human being. Nothing can take that away from you.
We have unique purpose because we are made in God’s image
God’s image gives us undeniable meaning and purpose. We are made to reflect who God is to the world around us. This is why I suspect God called the first humans to have dominion immediately after they were made: because God is the king of the universe, and we, bearing God’s image, share in that quality. Later, more ways to reflect God would be revealed, like in Leviticus 11:45— “Be holy, because I am holy.” Notice that our reason for holiness is the nature of God. Why does that matter? It matters because we bear God’s image.
It’s interesting that when Genesis 1:27 says we are made in God’s image—this bombshell of a statement—it doesn’t tell us plainly what that even means. It’s as if the Bible intentionally left us to ponder, chew on, and marvel at the depths of this mystery. Indeed, Christians and religious Jews have mined the depths of its meaning for centuries. But then, something happened that both added focus and opened the doors even wider.
Related Video: What it means to be made in the image of God
We marvel at the One who is the image of God
Arguably, what is possibly the greatest, most exciting, astonishing description of Christ is Colossians 1:15–23. Read it and marvel. But pay attention to what is often missed in verse 15: that Christ, the supreme head and ruler over all things, IS the image of God (See also 2 Cor. 4:4)! Reading on, Colossians 2 says that those who receive Christ Jesus as Lord are “brought to fullness” or “made complete” in Christ! What?!
Breaking all odds, Christians now have a wider, vaster cave of riches to mine than God’s people in Old Testament times. If we are made “in” the image of God, and Christ “is” the image of God, what does it really mean that we are “in” Christ? I wish I had all the answers! It seems that we will never truly understand what it means to be human until we begin to grasp who Christ is and what he has done for us.
