Imago Deo

Genesis 1:27

My good friend, Tunch Ilkin, who is now with the Lord, introduced me to a great historical fiction series called The Lion of War that follows King David and his mighty men. The author, Cliff Graham, stays close to Scripture and adds his own imagined dialogue between David and his men. In one imagined conversation, his men are talking about a recent event. One of them laughingly said, “Don’t tell David. He’ll write a song about it.”

In an interview I had with Graham, the author described David as a complex man. Think about it. David was a warrior, king, poet, musician, and songwriter. He was also a great worshiper of God who experienced great success and failure, with many highs and lows. David’s psalms offer a glimpse into his soul as he praises and wrestles with God. 

In one of David’s psalms, he reflects on the greatness of God and the smallness of humanity. We can only imagine it was a dark night when David was gazing into the heavens and wrote these words:  

Psalm 8:3-5
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, and human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 

We asked the same questions. We cannot begin to understand the greatness of God. He is Yahweh Elohim—the all-powerful, personal God. He spoke the universe into existence. He placed the moon and stars in their positions. And then there is us—small, fragile egos, sinful hearts, thinking thoughts we wouldn’t dare to share with our closest friend. Why does God think two thoughts about us? Why does God care for us? And to think that God crowned us with glory and honor. Why? Genesis 1:27 helps answer that question. 

Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 

The Bible reveals who God is and who we are. God is unimaginably magnificent, and we are delicate and often see ourselves as insignificant. But stop right there. That mindset underestimates God. God created us in his image. Let’s think about what that truly means. This is crucial for understanding God’s story and his people.

What does it mean to be created in the image of God? 

Theologians usually categorize God's attributes into two groups: those he shares with humans (communicable) and those he possesses alone (incommunicable). Let’s begin by considering the attributes that God shares with us. 

We know that God is love (1 John 4:8). And God shares this attribute with us. We can love deeply and experience the intimacy of relationships. God is just and shares that desire for justice with us. We desire what is right. God is the great Creator and shares creativity with his creation. As I am writing this, our daughter is getting ready to deliver her third child, our ninth grandchild. We can create little humans! And when it comes to art, music, science, education, medicine, business, and all disciplines, humans can think, paint, build, teach, heal, and innovate. Other communicable attributes of God are mercy, grace, goodness, rational thought, and truthfulness. We are made in the image of God!

However, and this is an important point, because of sin, we cannot experience these attributes as God does. Our love and justice are flawed. Our mercy and grace fall short. Our truthfulness is sometimes tainted by half-truths or outright lies. We are creative but can only create things with existing materials. God created everything that exists from nothing. 

The good news is that as the Holy Spirit works in our lives, we can experience all these attributes in new and more meaningful ways (2 Cor. 5:17). The Spirit enables us to mature in displaying love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit allows us to see God's grace and mercy in profound ways as we contemplate and embrace the work of Jesus on our behalf.[1]

While there are some attributes we get to experience, there are incommunicable attributes of God that are not shared. God’s self-existence and self-sufficiency belong to him alone. He is immutable (free from change). Our lives are constantly altered. God is eternal and omnipresent, free from limits of time and space. We are bound by time and space. God exists in simplicity, meaning there are no elements in God that can conflict. We, like David, are complex individuals with conflicting thoughts and inconsistent actions.[2]

We will always be tempted to worship ourselves instead of God. That’s a problem. But to belittle ourselves? That’s a mistake. We are made in the image of God and crowned with glory and honor! Loved so much by the eternal God that he became man so we can live with him forever. You are a special, amazing creation of God! Live like it! 

And by the way... before I finished writing this, our ninth grandchild arrived! We can’t wait to see God’s new creation and his precious gift. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD 
Time in the Word: Read Genesis 1:27 and Psalm 8:3-5—Contemplate what it means to be made in the image of God.

Talking to God: How does being created in the image of God reshape the way you see your own worth and the worth of others?

Have questions? Please send your questions to our team. We're happy to assist as we explore God's Word together. Submit your question below, and we'll respond soon. If you're interested in learning more about a relationship with Jesus or seeking spiritual guidance, let us help you take the next step.

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