Image and Likeness

What is meant by the statement that God in Trinity made man in his own image and after his own likeness?

We ended yesterday with a statement followed by a question: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” is a repetition for emphasis. We are made in the image and likeness of God. But what does this mean? One older Christian catechism offers this by way of explanation:

“God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.”

In knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Okay. Let’s take those three things and analyze what was meant by the writers of that catechism. As human beings we are moral and rational beings. This cannot be said of anything created prior to us, and this is certainly a part of what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. It also means that man was created upright, morally good, though capable of evil. These are things affirmed by all Protestant Christians for centuries. It is not the case that we were created morally neutral, for there is nothing morally neutral in God’s universe. Everything he made was pronounced good in a moral sense, and humankind especially so.

Ecclesiastes 7:29 ESV - See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.

So we, as human beings, were created in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. So far so good, but let’s dig a little deeper now. Louis Berkhof, in his Systematic Theology has this to say:

‘The usual opinion is that the word “likeness” was added to “image” to express the idea that the image was most like, a perfect image. The idea is that by creation that which was archetypal in God became ectypal in man. God was the original of which man was made a copy. This means, of course, that man not only bears the image of God, but is His very image. This is clearly stated in I Cor. 11:7,’

Let’s look at that verse to see what he means.

1 Corinthians 11:7 ESV - For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God,

Whatever Paul means by head coverings, it is clearly stated that we are, as currently constituted, the image and glory of God. So whatever took place at the fall to mar that image, it did not obliterate it. The imago dei is still intact.

What is clear, though, is that in creation we human beings were intended to represent God in the physical universe. We are his image and likeness within the physical realm. We represent God to the rest of creation. And we are to act, we were originally intended to act, on his behalf as his vice-regents in this physical world. How do we know this? In the ancient world the son of a sovereign would be endowed with the authority to act on his behalf—in his image and after his likeness. Listen to what Luke says about Adam in his genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3, the very last verse:

Luke 3:38 ESV - the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

That statement that Adam was the son of God speaks to his being made in the image and likeness of God and being given dominion, lordship, over all of Creation, to rule over it in true righteousness and holiness. That was our original purpose in creation. We see that in the words coming up as we finish out verse 26. Before we get there, though, I want you to stop and think about that in the context of your life and the way we, all of us, typically think about our role in the world and our relationship with and to God. We were made with a purpose and given a responsibility. How have we done?How has the world done? When you look at the history of the world, to what does it testify? If you see it bearing witness to anything that doesn’t include wretchedness and depravity and evil and everything other than the goodness, righteousness, and holiness of God, then I have to wonder whether you have ever even read history. The whole history of the human race is one atrocity laid on top of another.

Now consider your own life. How have you measured up to this lofty, this royal, this godly origin and purpose? Have you lived your life fully and purposefully to reflect his glory and righteousness and holiness within the physical realm? Let’s not kid ourselves. We are completely and utterly fallen. But there you have our original purpose contained in those words…

Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

But that’s not all the divine counsel between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit stated as to the purpose of this crown of creation. More tomorrow.