The Image of God

1. The Image of God By Pastor Dan Domke

2. Michelangelo - The Creation of Man, 1508-12, Sistine Chapel

3. The basics of the Image of God[1] • Old Testament • Genesis 1:27 • 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [1] • 27וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם׃

4. The basics of the Image of God[1] • Genesis 5:1-3 • This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. 3When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. • Literally, “Fathered a Son likeness”

5. The basics of the Image of God[1] • 6 שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת־הָאָדָם׃ Genesis 9:6 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. [1]

6. Tselem and Demuth • The words, “image/likeness of God” (tselem and demuth) appears in only three passages in the Old Testament all in the opening chapters of Genesis (1:26-27; 5:1-3; 9:6). There is widespread consensus that the idea is more frequent, however, especially in Genesis 2-3, Psalm 8, and possibly Ezekiel 28.[1]

7. New Testament • The references to the “image of God” are nearly all Pauline: I Corinthians 11:7; 15:49; II Corinthians 3:18; 4:4; Colossians 1:15; 3:10

8. The Image of God • Hebrews 1:3 is conceptually parallel, but it does not use the word eikon. In addition, there are a few New Testament passages where “likeness” (homoiosis) appears: Romans 1:23; 5:14; 6:5; 8:3; Philippians 2:7 - plus James 3:9, where the Greek homoioma is used.

9. The Image of God • 1 Cor. 11:7 • For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. • 7Ἀνὴρ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ὀφείλει κατακαλύπτεσθαι τὴν κεφαλὴν εἰκὼν καὶ δόξα θεοῦ ὑπάρχων· ἡ γυνὴ δὲ δόξα ἀνδρός ἐστιν.

10. The Image of God • Note: "The expression "image of God"…refers to man being the representative of God, particularly in his authority over the creation (Genesis 1:28-30).[1]

11. Man is the glory of God in his creation as a work of art brings glory[1] (praise and honor) to the artist so it is with the creator. Man is God’s glory because man is the greatest and highest of the Lord’s creative work. • In this, "Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor."[2] This means that God created man as the highest of all his creatures, in knowledge, holiness, and in his abilities. • 1 Cor. 15:49 • Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

12. The Image of God • Alfred Rehinkle said, • “Man was created a person. God is a person. • Man is a finite replica of the infinite personality of God. By person is meant the ego in man, the "I am" in man. • A person is a self-conscious and self-determining being. • Man alone can contemplate himself: he can know that he is, that he was, and that he will be. • He knows that he is a distinct individual, that he has a history, that he is responsible for what he does or has done.

13. The Image of God • He alone is able to consciously relate himself to the universe and to God. Note: Rehwinkle understands that the Image of God in man is man’s ability to recognize that God created all that exists. Hence passages like: Job 12: 7 ff make more sense.

14. The Image of God in Man Personality Emotionality Self-Determination Morality Rationality Immortality Sovereignty Intelligence

15. Incarnational Theology rooted in God Himself and in the created stuff He made out of nothing and from which He became a man. • The “man of dust”, speaks of the image of Adam we all carry, the sinful nature, the carnal man, the Old Adam.

16. More important the “Image of God’, is more than an image as we think of images. It is who God is and thus defines reality and truth. Images are important, they teach… • Images: They teach About God: • Images: They teach About Sexual Orientation: • Images: They teach About Gender Roles and the distinction between the two genders: • Images: They teach About being a Man and a Woman: • Images: They teach About the created Order

17. Images are important, they teach… • Images: They teach About Headship. • Images: They teach About being a Father – Mother, Husband – Wife • Images: They teach About spiritual leadership in the church and home.

18. Man Made in Image of God. Let us make man . . . Man made in spiritual image not physical. John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”[1] [1]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

19. In the narrow sense the image of God is spiritual. • The image of God in man is purely spiritual…things like • Having an eternal soul • Having righteousness… • Having love for God and our fellowman

20. In the Wide sense…non Spiritual Dimensions • The image of God includes… • Things like reason, knowledge, creativity and more… • The over all picture of the image of God are the following and are usually expressed in trinities…or threes.

21. The first of the trinities… 1) Intellect (knowledge of God) • Mind • Reason, • Memory, • Knowledge, • Wisdom, • Senses

22. The second of the trinities… 2) Righteousness (holiness, doing God’s will); • Holiness, • Conscience, • Morality, • Justice, • Soul, • Spirit, • Virtue

23. The third of the trinities… 3) Will (happiness in God). • Free cooperation with God, (after conversion) • Happiness, • Freedom of choice.

24. If there are no spiritual qualities in man, what makes us different than the animals? • Thesis: The image of God refers to intellectual and relational abilities not found in animals —- the ability to think and reason, specifically to make moral decisions.

25. If there are no spiritual qualities in man, what makes us different than the animals? • Thesis: Our ability has been corrupted by sin, but humans still have the potential for a kind of secular morality. This morality is not the same as the righteousness required by God, and gifted to man by grace.

26. The difference between man and animals. • 1) Thomas Aquinas located the image of God in the human ability to think and reason, to use language and art, far surpassing the abilities of any animals.4

27. Man and Animals • Calvin agrees that even after the fall human beings retain traces of the image of God which distinguish them from animals: “We see in this diversity [of gifts] some remaining traces of the image of God, which distinguish the entire human race from other creatures.”[1] • [1] Calvin, Institutes, 2.2.17.

28. Image of God in Man • 107. Do people still have the image of God? (10) [Page 3]107. Do people still have the image of God? No, this image was lost when our first parents. (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation.)

29. Image of God in Man • What Constituted the Image of God • The image of God in man consisted in much more than in his possession of intellect and will, in his personality; it consisted in the right disposition of his intellect and will, in his knowledge of God and [Vol. 1, Page 517] the will to do only God’s will. 3 Cp. Luther’s remarks on this nakedness before and after the Fall, St. L. I:170. • Pieper, F. (1999, c1950, c1951, c1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed.) (367). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

30. Image of God in Man • What Constituted the Image of God • And his sensuous desires (appetitus sensitivus), in his eating, etc.—if we wish to distinguish this from the intellect and will—were free from all ungodly propensity. This is clear not only from Gen. 1:31 (“very good”) and from Gen. 2:25: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed,”3 • 3 Cp. Luther’s remarks on this nakedness before and after the Fall, St. L. I:170. • Pieper, F. (1999, c1950, c1951, c1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed.) (367). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

31. Image of God in Man • Image of God in the Wider and in the Proper Sense • The Lutheran theologians are agreed that the image of God, which consists in the knowledge of God and holiness of the will, is lacking in [Vol. 1, Page 519] man after the Fall, since Col. 3:10 and Eph. 4:24 distinctly state that it is being restored in the believer. • Pieper, F. (1999, c1950, c1951, c1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed.) (367). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

32. Image of God in man • Luther (loc. cit.): “While it is true that man has lost this image through sin … yet it remains true that it can be again acquired through the Word of the Holy Ghost.” This interpretation presents a thought which is found throughout Scripture from Gen. 3:15 on. Pieper, F. (1999, c1950, c1951, c1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed.) (367). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

33. Image of God in man • Luther (loc. cit.): “The only reason why God still concerns Himself with fallen mankind and preserves it—and for its sake also the world—is that, according to Scripture, He desires to renew fallen mankind to the image in which He originally created it (Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24). Pieper, F. (1999, c1950, c1951, c1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed.) (367). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

34. The Image of God in Man • The real seat of the divine image is not the body, but the soul of man, since the knowledge of God and holiness inhere in the soul. But, naturally, the divine image was manifested also in the body, since the body is the organ of the soul and an essential part of man. Pieper, F. (1999, c1950, c1951, c1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed.) (367). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

35. Genesis 1:26 Creation of Man God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [1][1]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

36. Man made in the likeness of God is see in…Gen. 1:26 • Man made to rule! Gen. 1:26 • Man created male and female to rule • together! 1:26 • Man created Good – No Sin – Perfect • like God! 1:31

37. These are the images of God • Rule over the creation. • Male and Female to rule the creation together. • Mankind created perfect.

38. The Likeness of God The ability to make moral ethical decisions Intellectual ability The ability of social beings to love… Love among the Persons of the Trinity and His love for sinners The ability to operate in the spiritual realm

39. Father Son Holy Spirit (Masculine) Christ (Male) Christ Body Converts Husband Wife Children Pastor (Male) Believers Converts

40. Evolution Twisted Image of God Leads To Immorality & Idolatry And False Doctrine Homosexuality Female Pastors Distortion of Gender Roles HomosexualPastors

41. Biblical Creational Teaching is essential to avoid twisted images of false man created gods. Gnosticism

42. Biblical Creational Teaching is essential to avoid twisted images of false gods. Gnosticism a major source from which false ideas and false doctrines are built.

43. Biblical Creational Teaching is essential to avoid twisted images of false gods. Greek Philosophy, Jewish ideas Christian Concepts

44. Biblical Creational Teaching is essential to avoid twisted images of false gods. And Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is a philosophy concerning the struggle between aša “truth” and druj “lie.”

45. Occult Symbol • Ying – Yang • Complementary opposites

46. Old Testament God A different God than is the New Testament Jesus Gnostic False Teaching says…

47. Old Testament God Is Evil, creates matter, earth, Universe. All matter evil. Maleness Evil. Used only For purpose of procreation. Gnostic False Teaching says…

48. Out of this distorted view Of creation and the creator – a Twisted view of God - follows: Gnostic False Teaching says…

49. God the creator is neither male or female. But He has gender and his gender is masculine. Photo by Brad Veenstra - 2009

50. Redefinition of Mom & Dad Sin is rampant! Feminism Cross Emptied Of its power I Cor 1:17 Homosexuality Gnosticism Sees Matter And All Created Things as evil. Loss of the Sacredness Of Human Life Twisted Understanding Of Love Twisted Image of God