Made in God’s Image
In one sentence: Human beings have unique dignity, purpose, and responsibility because we were created in the image of God.
The Bible does not begin with humanity in sin. That is important. If we start the story of humanity with Genesis 3, we will misunderstand ourselves from the beginning. The first thing the Bible tells us about human beings is not that we are broken, sinful, rebellious, or guilty. Those things are all true after the fall, but they are not the first word God speaks over humanity.
The first word is blessing. Genesis 1 tells us that God created mankind in His own image. “Male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Before there is shame, blame, fear, hiding, death, or exile, there is dignity. Human beings are not accidents. We are not merely advanced animals. We are not machines made out of meat. We are creatures made by God, for God, and in some way meant to reflect God within His world.
That is what Christians mean when we speak of the “image of God.” This does not mean that we physically look like God, because God is spirit. It does not mean that we are little gods, because we remain creatures and He alone is Creator. It means human beings have been given a special place in creation. We are made to know God, represent God, reflect God, and rule under God.
Genesis 1:28 says, God blessed humanity as he commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over the creatures He has made. Dominion language might sound strange to modern ears, but it is not permission to abuse creation. It is a calling to steward the world under God’s good rule. Humanity is placed in God’s world like royal representatives, called to cultivate what He has made and care for it according to God’s wisdom. This gives every human life deep and unshakable worth.
Our value is not based on usefulness. It is not based on age, intelligence, strength, health, beauty, wealth, productivity, independence, or social status. A child in the womb bears God’s image. A person with severe disabilities bears God’s image. The elderly person who can no longer work bears God’s image. The poor, the weak, the forgotten, the inconvenient, and the unwanted bear God’s image.
This also means our bodies matter. Christianity does not teach that our bodies are prisons for our souls. God made human beings embodied creatures, and He called His creation good. Our bodies are part of His design, not an accident to escape. This is one reason Christians care about birth, death, sickness, sexuality, work, rest, hunger, poverty, and justice. Human beings are not souls temporarily trapped in disposable shells. We are whole persons made by God.
Being made in God’s image also shapes our relationships. Genesis says God made humanity male and female. There is both sameness and difference. Men and women share equal dignity before God, and yet humanity is not meant to exist in isolation. We are relational creatures because we were made by the relational God. We were made to love, serve, speak, listen, work, worship, and live in fellowship.
Of course, we know the world does not look like this now. Human dignity is constantly denied. People are reduced to bodies, opinions, votes, problems, customers, enemies, or burdens. We use one another. We ignore one another. We harm one another. We rank human worth as though some people matter more than others. That is sin, but that is not how the story begins.
The story begins with God making humanity good. Sin will soon enter the picture, but sin does not erase the image of God. It distorts it. It vandalizes it. It corrupts it. But even after the fall, human life still matters because human beings still bear God’s image (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9). That means we should be honest about human sin without becoming careless about human dignity. The Bible gives us both. Humanity is glorious and ruined. Dignified and fallen. Made for God and now turned away from Him.
Before we talk about what went wrong, we need to see what God made good. Humanity was made in His image.
Why does this matter?
This matters because we cannot understand sin rightly unless we first understand human dignity rightly. Sin is not serious because humanity is worthless. Sin is serious because humanity is precious. Evil is so tragic because it corrupts creatures made to reflect the glory of God.
This also matters for how we treat people. Every person you meet is someone God made in His image. The neighbor who annoys you, the child who exhausts you, the elderly person who feels forgotten, the unborn child, the political enemy, the criminal, the stranger, and the person who can do nothing for you all possess dignity given by God. If we believe this, it should make us humble, patient, protective, and compassionate. We do not get to decide whose life matters. God already has.
For Further Thought
These questions are not meant to create arguments, but to encourage careful, charitable, Bible-shaped conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts/answers to any/all of these questions in the comments.
- Why is it important that the Bible begins with human dignity before it speaks of human sin?
- What are some ways our culture measures human value differently than Scripture does?
- How should the image of God shape the way we treat people who are weak, unborn, elderly, disabled, poor, or difficult?
- How does being made in God’s image give purpose to ordinary work and relationships?
- Why is sin so serious if human beings were made to reflect God?