Ask the Pastor 118

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

This is what we read in Genesis 1:26, “Then God said ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;’” and verse 27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them.” The creation of man is based upon a special decree of God and a special act of God, not like just speaking a word and bringing the rest of creation into existence. The word man is a generic term which is both male and female, therefore, both are in the image of God. But how can we be in the image of God when God is invisible? Obviously, what is meant here is that we possess certain attributes of God that are not possessed by animals. Morris in his book The Genesis Record, states it this way, “. attributes such as moral consciousness, the ability to think abstractly, an understanding of beauty and emotion, and, above all, the capacity for worshiping and loving God.” Keil & Delitzsch wrote, “This consists rather in the fact, that the man endowed with free self-conscious personality possesses, in his spiritual as well as corporeal nature, a creaturely copy of the holiness and blessedness of the divine life.” Within every man and woman there is a consciousness of God and the need to know Him and worship Him. Mankind is not an extension of the animal kingdom but a special creation that is superior to all of the animal kingdom. When God chose to come to earth to reveal Himself, He does so as a man. This makes a big difference in how we think about men and women, it is different from how we think about animals or anything else in creation. Therefore, it is a great tragedy when murder takes place, especially that of the unborn, and is the reason for capital punishment. The way in which we fill the void of knowing God is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and then the Holy Spirit awakens our spirit to know and love God.

Have questions about the Bible? Send them to Dr. Greg Koehn at gak4850@gmail.com and read the answer here in this article.