I. Man and woman were Formed in God’s Image at Creation (See Part 1)
II. The Image of God was Deformed at the Fall of Man into Sin
As Ryrie states it, the image of God “was defaced though not erased” (Basic Theology, first edition, p. 192). The image of God was not totally erased or the following exhortations relevant to the image of God would be meaningless.
A. The image of God is the basis for the exhortation not to murder (Genesis 9:6).
B. The image of God is the basis for the exhortation for men to be heads of home (1 Corinthians 11:3-16).
C. The image of God is the basis for proper speech (James 3:7-9).
D. The result of the Fall was Total Depravity. Every dimension of man was tainted by sin. All of the above areas of the image of God were also corrupted so that we are not as much like God as we were before the Fall. “His moral purity has been lost and his sinful character certainly does not reflect God’s holiness. His intellect is corrupted by falsehood and misunderstanding; his speech no longer continually glorifies God; his relationships are often governed by selfishness rather than love, and so forth” (Grudem, page 444).
III. The Believer is being Transformed into the Image of God since Salvation
Though the sinner is totally depraved and the original image or likeness of God in us has been greatly distorted there is the hope that salvation can start restoring that likeness. This is the assurance of 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Since our conversion we are closer to the original image of God. There are two parallel passages that make this point. The first is Colossians 3:10 where image is mentioned. The next is the parallel to Colossians 3:10 which is Ephesians 4:24 which alludes to creation. “Charles Hodge contends that ‘knowledge’ refers to (true) knowledge of God, since the word has this sense in Colossians 1:6, 9, 27-28; 2:2-3, that ‘righteousnesss’ refers to moral rectitude toward one’s neighbor, that is, justice, and that ‘holiness’ refers to the Godward relation known as piety toward God….this means that these three’ renewed image virtues are indicative of right relationships with God and neighbor” (Reymond, p. 429).
The key is in Colossians 3:10 which says this restoration of the image of God takes place as we are “renewed in knowledge.”
According to Romans 12:1-2, this renewal and transformation are taking place by the renewing of our minds in Word of God.
IV. The Believer will be Perfectly Conformed to God’s Image in Heaven
The perfect image of God is Christ. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul promised that we are being changed more and more into the image of the Lord. A few verses later in 4:4, Paul says that Christ “is the image of God.”
A. This Image will include a physical likeness to Christ
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes the future resurrection body of the believer. In 15:49, Paul says “we have borne the image of the earthy” that is Adam. Because Adam sinned, God said, “This day you will surely die.” Because we bear the image of Adam, we physically are dying. Paul described how that physical likeness to Adam causes us to die in verses 42-45: Our physical body which is like Adam’s dies in corruption, dishonor, weakness, as a natural body.
But Paul also promises the believer that “we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (15:49b). Because we know Christ though buried in the image of Adam we will be raised in the physical image of Christ’s resurrection body or “in incorruption, in glory, and in power” (15:42-45).
Every person now has the physical image of Adam stamped on his person but eventually we will perfectly be like Christ physcially and morally.
B. This Image will include a moral and spiritual likeness to Christ
One day we will be like Christ morally and spiritually (1 John 3:2). According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:44, we will enjoy a “spiritual body” that is a physical body with spiritual significance just like the children of Israel ate real meat (called “spiritual meat”) and drank real water (called “spiritual drink”) that had a spiritual significance in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).
Paul in Romans 8:28-29 says we are being conformed to the image of Christ who according to Heb. 1:3 is the “express image of God.” In 2 Cor. 3:18, Paul writes that believers are being changed or transformed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The end of this process of “glory to glory” is gloryfication (intended misspell) or glorification or perfect likeness to Christ.
What are some important implications of the Image of God
1. Capital Punishment is Biblical because the murdered was in the image of God. A Connecticut jury has deliberated for days whether convicted murderer Steven Hayes gets the death penality. Steven Hayes raped and murdered Mrs. Petit and put the two girls of Dr. and Mrs. Petit in bed and then set the bed on fire. What is there to deliberate about?
2. Abortion is wrong because pre-born babies are in the image of God.
3. Euthanasia is also wrong. The elderly do not lose any of the image of God with age. Not only should we have programs and ministries for the children and youth but the elderly.
4. Racism is sin because all peoples are made in the image of God.
5. The deformed are important to God because they bear His image.
6. The comatose is still a person. The sanctity of life nor the image of God is not reduced when the quality of life is reduced.
We should make it an ongoing goal to strive to be more like Christ each and everyday. We need to look to His perfect example to constantly look to transform our lives around the perfect model He gave us when He came to this earth and lived a perfect life and showed His love for us by willingly giving up His life on the cross so we can be justified through our faith in Him. As Christians, we we should have the greatest value on life not because we our in ourselves valuable, but because our creator makes us valuable.
Hunter,
I enjoyed what you said about us having value. Our creator does make us valuable. Sometimes it’s hard to live each and every day for Christ alone because we put what we have to do first. Our selfish desires and goals come before Gods all too often I’m afraid. It’s encouraging that God tells us that though we may fail time and time again, He will forgive us every time if we are sincere. I can’t wait to be conformed in to the perfect image of God once again when we get to heaven. To be able to see and touch Christ and talk to Him, that’s what makes living on this earth filled with sin worth it everyday. Thanks for the post.
Before the fall of man, there was no sin in the world. God created us in His image without sin. Everything was perfect and peaceful. Once man sinned against God, his image was distorted. We have to live with this everyday. That’s why the Bible says that we need to die to self everyday. Not kill ourselves, but die to our selfishness daily so that we can strive to be more like Christ daily. We are made in the image of God, but ever since the fall, our image hasn’t been the same. As stated above, we have to wait until heaven to be perfectly conformed to the image of God once again. Until that day, it is our responsibility to glorify God every day and to live our lives focused on one thing, don’t let the sin from the fall of man overtake our lives, but fight it with the Words of God and our growing relationship with Him.
God in all of His wisdom used His son to redeem man. The regenerative power of the Holy Ghost and the word of God restores man’s ability to make good choices, lead his home, and reverence God in the right relationship. Yes we were defaced at the fall but in the end we will look like him (Son).
Everyday is a struggle to conform to the likeness of Christ. I am so thankful that we are washed by His blood. The stain of sin of the world is an ugly mark but Christ is the victor and we must always remember that He is who we are to look to not the world. Christians face tough decisions daily and we need his word to lift us. It brings us closer to understanding God and His redemptive plan. The Bible tells us just how important we are to Him no matter where we are or what we look like.
It is so true that being conformed is a struggle. Sometimes we even struggle against our own sinful desires to stay in our sin. Sin is often so much more temporally enjoyable and we decide to go that route instead of the one that makes us more like Christ in the long run.
Great thoughts here. I agree that our struggle with sin not only cause our relationship with Christ to be broken, but it also mars us from the appearance of Christ, yet it does at times seem so much more enjoyable that we do not even think about the consequences. It takes focus and determination to fight to remain consistent with our reflection–the image of God.
What is great about our journey in growing in the likeness of Christ is that we have victory. God’s power and strength is perfect in our weakness and desire to be more like Him (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Prior to the Fall, we were perfect in our image and likeness of God, now we need Him even more daily in our imperfectness, weaknesses, and choices.
Man is made in the image of God but it has been marred by sin. Everything we do is effected by sin but the great truth of Christianity is that we can begin to be restored through the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. Though the effects of sin will never be reversed on our physical body the process of our soul being restored has begun. We are informed by the image of God about headship, unity, and the value of life. Ultimately to have our image restored is to become like Christ’s life and death.
The transformation (or sanctification) that we are going through as Christians only helps to strengthen the identity to the lost world. I did not realize until reading this how deep and important the idea of being formed in the image of Christ really is. Just because we were defaced at the fall does not mean that we can not come forth and shine like gold. That must be our, as believers, motivation–to be more like Jesus Christ.
This is a great reminder on how important it is to continually be transforming to be more like Christ so we can be a light to a lost world. It is so important to show a difference in our lives that always points to Christ. This shows that a life truly can be transformed by the grace shown to us by our Savior. That is the best way we can make an eternal difference for the cause of Christ.
It is incredible how much we still feel and see the effects of the fall. It is only by and through Jesus Christ that those effects are rendered dead. It is so much more amazing that sin has been defeated and we have been set free!
It amazes me how, despite humanity’s continued rebellion, God continues to save. We were created in His image to bear His image and bring glory to His name.
I love how God not only plans to transform us into his image, but he gave us an example to see how we measure up, and that is Jesus Christ. We always fall short of Christ and are entirely dependent upon his grace in salvation, but we still ought to rejoice that we are being progressively transformed more and more into God’s image.
Isaiah 64:8; “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” God is shaping us according to His purpose and plan. We are His creation and His creation is good and was meant for His good. Genesis 1:31; “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Just as in the Garden of Eden, there will come a day where we will be brought back to the fullness of likeness and image of God that we were created to be.
We are made in the image of God and it is such a beautiful thing. The only reason we can call humanity dignified is because we are made in the image of God. He is the true stamp and measure of beauty in this world. We must strive everyday to be like the most high God.