What Does it Mean to Be Made in God’s Image?

One of the most crucial worldview-shaping statements in the entire Bible is found near the very beginning. In Genesis 1:26 Scriptures says, “Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.”    

But what does it mean to be made in God’s image? Put simply, being made in God’s image means reflecting something about Him. But what specifically do we reflect? And what is it about humanity that images God? Theologians have made many suggestions.  

Humans are Moral, we care about good and evil. Six years ago a lion named Cecil was killed in Zimbabwe, leading to public outcry even greater than after Harambe's death. An internet mob went after the hunter. His family was targeted. He was physically threatened. His dental practice was forced to shut down. Why? Because in the minds of many, the killing of Cecil the Lion was an act of pure evil.  

I don’t know enough about big-game trophy hunting to know if this hunter broke any laws. But I do know this: the only ones crying out about Cecil’s death were humans. The lion community has yet to issue a statement.

Humans are Spiritual—we worship! Beavers build dams, birds build nests, spiders build webs, ants build mounds. But animals don’t build cathedrals, temples, synagogues, churches, or altars. They’re not spiritual beings.

Humans are Judicial, we care about justice. Last week I told you about Happy the Elephant’s case in New York. Her attorney’s are arguing she’s being unjustly imprisoned at the Bronx Zoo. But Happy didn’t tell anybody this. Happy isn’t defending herself, humans are. Happy won’t appear before a jury of elephants, but of humans. Humans care about justice, elephants (and other creatures) don’t.  

There’s much more than sets humans apart from the animal kingdom. Humans are relational, we care about relationships with family and friends. Humans are Aesthetical—we care about beauty. Humans are Rational—we care about reason and truth.

All this is true, but it doesn’t get to the heart of what it means to be made in God’s image. In his book, Reenchanting Humanity, Owen Strachan writes "The image of God is . . . not fundamentally a trait or attribute. . . . [It] is not a quality which may wax or wane in a human person. The image is not dependent on a rationality-nurturing environment, for the image does not reduce to intelligence or powers of reason. The image is not inhibited by physical deficiencies, for the image does not derive from a certain bodily state. The image is not unlocked when a person gets married, for the image does not flow from personal relationship. Neither can we say that the image is lost or obscured or marred or in any way compromised by the fall of Adam, as deformative as the fall is. Mankind is made in the image of God. The human race may recognize, celebrate, hate, or ignore this truth. It matters not. The human race is the race made to display the glory of God in all the earth in a special way. The human race reflects and represents the person of God even after the fall. One person is no more an 'image-bearer' than any other." [1]  

Humans are image-bearers of God. The image isn’t potential. It’s not partial. It’s part and parcel to who we are, regardless of what we have or what we do.  

[1]Owen Strachan, Reenchanting Humanity: A Theology of Mankind (Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2019), 29-30.