Spittin' Image

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

Yes, but what does that mean? What does it mean that man was created in the image of God? What distinct faculties of man make him God’s image? What separates us from the animals? Or is the question moot? Has the Fall into sin destroyed God’s image in man?

When wrestling with questions of systematic theology, a good place to begin looking for answers is in our Confessional standards. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, in answer to question 10, states, “God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.” God’s image in man consists primarily in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.

The Westminster Divines based this statement on Colossians 3:10 and Ephesians 4:24. Both of these texts talk about how the new man, saved from his sinful state, is being renewed in the image of the Creator. Christ’s blood washed away our sin. By good and necessary inference, then, we can apply what is true about redeemed man to the first man in his innocent state.

Colossians 3:10: “(You) have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.” Knowledge of what? The context of this verse is an exhortation to live holy lives, putting off sin. A life of sin is opposed to the knowledge in which we are being renewed. This knowledge is spoken of in Jeremiah 31:33, “`But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says the LORD: ‘I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’” The knowledge in which we are being renewed, the knowledge which characterized Adam and Eve at creation, is the knowledge of the law of God, his holy rule for our lives. As God’s covenant people, his law is written on our hearts, causing us to live an obedience which glorifies him.

This is reinforced by Ephesians 4:24, which comes in the midst of a passage which parallels Colossians 3. “(P)ut on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Here again, the image of God in man is displayed by living lives which please and glorify the Lord. Just as God is holy, man is to be pure and without sinful intent in all aspects of his life. He is to uphold the law of the Lord in his every deed. This is why Paul can sum up his exhortation to Christian living with “Therefore, be imitators of God.” (Eph 5:1)

If the image of God consists primarily in holiness, some might argue man is not the image of God. Sinful man is by definition not holy, and even Christians must struggle with a remnant of sin. Our passages from Colossians and Ephesians teach that sanctification is a process, and we will not be perfectly holy until we pass into glory. After the Fall, can we truly say man is still the image of God?

Our Confession provides a helpful corrective to this line of argument. Look particularly at the Shorter Catechism, questions 17-19, and at chapter 6 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. In discussing the effects of the Fall on mankind, the Confession at no point says man is no longer in the image of God. This is because the Bible nowhere teaches such a thing. In fact, Scripture teaches the opposite. In Genesis 9:6 (after man’s Fall into sin in Genesis 3), we read “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.” Capital punishment is based upon the image of God in man. Ultimately, every murderer is trying to destroy the Lord; the death penalty is the proper consequence for attempted deicide. Therefore, even sinful man retains the image of God.

How this is so may be understood by reflecting upon the nature of an image (pun intended). Let’s do an experiment: Gaze in a mirror. That’s what you look like, right? Now drop the mirror on the floor. (Kids, don’t try this at home.) Gaze in the mirror again. Is that what you look like? Well, yes and no. Each shard of glass may reflect back a true likeness, but the whole picture is lost. You may see bits of yourself in the mess on the floor, but you most definitely don’t look like that.

In the same way, we have become distorted reflections of God’s holiness. Instead of perfectly imitating him, we twist his image, reflecting back sin instead of righteousness. Corrupted by our wickedness, fallen man is like a funhouse mirror, distorting the truth about God, testifying that the holy Lord is sinful. Every time we sin, we claim God sins. Regeneration rescues us from this lie. Rebirth in the Holy Spirit (John 3) makes us able, by faith, to act righteously, thereby testifying that the Lord is righteous. This is why the Apostle Paul tells Christians in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 to live holy lives. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit is renewing us in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, so we might faithfully reflect the image of God.