Made in the image of God

All our lives we've heard that we're "made in the image of God."But do we ever stop to think what it really means?

We read in the scriptures:

I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

                                                                                                                           Psalms 82:6

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

                                                                                                                       1 Corinthians 3:16 (KJV)

Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods?

                                                                                                                                            John 10:34 (KJV)

"Made in the image of God" is a bold statement; a statement carries some responsibility with it. Maybe it is easier for us to think that we are godlike, rather than gods.

Our confusion about whether or not we are god arises from what is described god - likeness as defined in the first chapter of the Bible. Genesis 1:26-27 reveals, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness' ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

So, what does it mean to be created in God's image? The Hebrew root of the Latin phrase for image of God is, (imago Dei) means image or likeness of God. We are imprinted with godlike characteristics. Our godlikeness is our path to recognizing and cultivating our highest potential. We will feel the greatest joy and wholeness when we, who are made in the image of God, develop and reach our full potential. When in fact we realize who we are and can with conviction proclaim, I am of God. Yet our godlikeness can also be a drawback, when in a pretentious way we confuse being like God, with being God.

About us and Godlike Aptitudes

Let us look at in what way are we an image of God? How are we godlike? Theologians have long debated this question, but the answer becomes clear when we read the description of God in Genesis 1, and then ask: If we could take a snapshot of God, what would we see and what would it reveal about humans created in God's image?

First, we need to assume, that we are creative because God is creative: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). We know that God is creative. Every human makes things. Artists make things with paint. Poets, writers, philosophers write philosophy, doctors make people healthier; every human being has the capacity to make things, to create, because we are all made in the image of a creative God.

Second we are spiritual because God is Spirit: "The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" (Genesis 1:2). Every human possesses spiritual aptitudes and capacities. We are more than the sum of our physical parts. Our spiritual nature, though unseen, is as real as our physical nature. Nurturing our spirit is as important as eating, drinking and exercising are to our physical body.

Third we communicate because God communicates: "God said, 'Let there be light'" (Genesis 1:3). Anthropologists agree that the emergence of symbolic language, first spoken, then written represents the sharpest break between animals and humans. The human ability to think and reason, to use language, symbols and art far surpasses the abilities of any animals. This gift was bestowed when the communicative God's image was imprinted on us.

Fourth we have the capacity to be intelligent because God is intelligent: "In the beginning was the Word [logos, a Greek word meaning reason, or logic] and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Logical thought flows from the orderliness of God's mind. As a result, though we are not all intellectuals, we do possess a mind with discriminative faculty called intellect and have a way of thinking and learning. Jesus commanded us to love God with our minds (as well as our hearts, all our strength and with all our soul). Because of God's intelligent image imprinted on our lives, though we possess different degrees of intelligence, each one of us is to develop his mental capacities to the fullest potential.

Five is about relationship with God. “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 2:18). The phrase, "Let us make man in our image" reveals a sense of union or relationship. This capacity for a relationship with God extends to all.

Six is about moral responsibility. “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’" (Genesis 2:16-17). Just as there are natural laws that govern the universe, universal moral laws govern human behavior. The Bible teaches that these laws are written on human hearts and are universal.

When we fully grasp what it means to bear God's image, we are at once struck with the grandeur of our possibilities and the tragedy of our unrealized potential. To be fully human is to fully reflect God's creative, spiritual, intelligent, communicative, relational, moral and purposeful capacities, and to do so holistically and synergistically. Furthermore, though all humans possess these godlike capacities, each one of us has the potential to express them distinctively, because God's image has been imprinted uniquely on each of us. In God's infinite creativity there are no duplicates; each one of us is who he or she is and will be.