IMAGO DEI

Genesis begins by giving us a generously detailed account of the creation of the world. It follows a pattern where the intent behind the creation of each creature formed is clearly prescribed. Six days of profound endless power and creativity displayed.

When it comes to the creation of mankind, Moses is privy to an inner council meeting where the inspiration behind the concept that will become mankind is pitched;

Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Hence, the term ‘Imago Dei’ was coined out, which forms a major belief in Christian theology and even Judaism. But what does it mean?

Following tradition, it’s been argued substantially that being made in the image of God does not mean God possesses human-like features, speaking from a strict anatomical sense.

The Apostle Paul corroborates this position in his letter to the Philippians;

Philippians 2:5-7 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

There is a distinction of form, hence the form of God is not the form of man. Therefore, image and likeness does not mean physical attributes but something far deeper.

In fact, the glory of God in this concept called Man is revealed in the reverse. In that, the form of mankind pales in comparison to that of the elohim(heavenly host), and yet God chooses them to reveal His person.

Examine the words of the Psalmist:

Psalms 8:3-6 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

The Psalmist observes the heavenly constellations and the glory of the heavens, compares it to the form of humanity and shudders in complete awe at a revelation. In beauty and splendor, from an objective lens we don’t meet up.

Think about it for a second. The Sun shines so brightly, what better creation to champion showing the world God’s power and radiance. What about the oceans? The majesty of those waves. The stars? Shining light years from us, and yet their combustion reaches us as light. And yet, they cannot show the fullness of the Person of God to this world. They can testify in part, but God chooses us to reveal Him. Absolutely mind boggling!

In composition and attributes, the psalmist declares we are lower than the angels;

Psalms 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Psalms 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Judging by physical attributes, we don’t exactly seem to amount to much from an objective lens when compared to the hosts and the works of God in the firmaments. So what is man? Why are you mindful of him? I mean, why us?

Something profound strikes this Psalmist’s heart, and in the heat of divine epiphany he proclaims yet;

“…and thou has crowned Him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:”

God chose the one made from dust to rule and portray His image. It’s more about a position than composition. Which is consistent with God’s character;

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

This tells us that our lives were made specifically to give glory to God. Our function is rooted in the revelation of God. It’s a simple irony. If we focus on revealing ourselves, all the world will see will be us; Frail, insufficient, lacking in any form of glory and splendor, void of divine life. And when the world turned away from God, the world assumed this shape.

We can infer from the writings of Genesis that we are malfunctioning if we aren’t portraying God. You know, System error. Because, we were made insufficient on purpose, because our sufficiency was designed to come from God.

Our weakness and frailty were/are a perfect fit for God’s strength and power. Our humanity is a perfect fit for His Godhood. Our reliance on God is how we were designed to function. We are made to be temples of the living God. And as God is over all things, He designed to put man in this world to be head of all things made, reflecting who God is. The image and likeness of God; In character, in relationship with one another, in authority, in creativity, in dominion.

However, we are told in scripture that this divine pitch captured in Genesis falls short of manifestation because of the choices of the first man.

He chooses rather to be a god to himself, eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, defining things for Himself apart from God.

Hence, God’s proclamation after the fall;

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

And from here it’s just a downward spiral, because God’s prized creation has rejected God’s plan for him. As a result, God’s image is scarcely seen in all its radiance in creation. The world becomes violent, self-serving, and God’s reflection is not seen in the world. The One made to rule, was now being ruled and subject to death. A complete opposite of God’s image. Humanity needed a reboot.

Which brings us to the second Adam who appears, and here’s an interesting verse about Him;

Hebrews 1:3-4 He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high, [Taking a place and rank by which] He Himself became as much superior to angels as the glorious Name (title) which He has inherited is different from and more excellent than theirs.

Get this. Jesus comes in the form of men, but He is deemed the sole expression of God’s image whilst other men are not given that description. Why? Because unlike the first Adam, Jesus accepts the role given by God to Man, for us men. He portrays all that is within the divine pitch made concerning mankind from the beginning. He portrays the attributes of God, the character of God, the glory of God, the Person and nature of God. So we see God coming down Himself to show the world the way Man ought to be, and how he ought to live because we had lost the script.

Now, If creation ever wants to view the image of God, they now have Jesus, who is a Man, but also God. He is God in Man, fully God and fully Man, God-Man, God manifested in the flesh. Incarnate. He does all the Father wills, says what the Father would say, acts how He would act, and displays the power and authority of God. We see such a profound and beautiful uninterrupted connection between the Father and the Son.

And now that Man(Jesus), having fulfilled all He came to do(which is revealing the love of the God on the cross), He sits at the right Hand of God(position in terms of administration more than location) and reflects the glory of the Father. He is Imago Dei.

Furthermore, having given His Spirit to all who believe, He calls us to be Imago Dei too. By His Spirit, we manifest the presence and the Glory of God to this world, dominating and subduing it as it were intended from the beginning.

He takes away everything that dents the image of God in humanity. Breaks the hold of Sin, crucifies the flesh, and defeats Death. All things that oppose the reign of God in man are subdued by His finished work. Now, Man is restored to the divine pitch from the beginning through Jesus our Lord.

Now, here’s the thing. We may not look like it now, but like the Apostle Paul puts it;

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Christ appeared like nothing He was. Nothing spectacular about His physical attributes depicted that He was God. Hidden in this mortal frail frame, the Lord walked amongst men, and it was that way on purpose.

John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

God came down, and men did not know it. Why? Because they expected to see someone out of this world in terms of physical appearance. But Jesus doesn’t come that way on purpose, because God designed that men would see Him not by physical attributes but by faith in His word. And the Word had proclaimed by the prophets of Old that Jesus would come performing miracles only God could, healing and delivering men, and finally setting the captives of death free. But not once did the scriptures say He would come looking like God.

Why is this important?

It is in the office of the Imago Dei to reveal the unseen God. And the One true God has chosen in this era that He will not be revealed to this world through us because we shine like the Sun, nor because we have the splendor of the heavenly bodies. We will not reveal Him because we posses the physical attributes of the elohim(heavenly hosts). Rather, God will be seen in us through His Power and Person replicated in us in the midst of our mortality. In the midst of our physical frailty and insufficiency God steps in to testify of Himself in our lives. Imago Dei!

Similarly, for us, we do not also appear like the sons of God, just like the Jesus once too. However, that time will come.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

A day will come when our bodies as well will reflect this divine position. But in this world, we operate by faith to reveal God, first believing in Jesus’ work, and then the whole word of God, including this divine mandate. We walk by faith and not by sight. The world will see Him through us. What we show is enough!

In summary, Imago Dei does not mean physical appearance in this world, but rather the accurate portrayal of God’s Person in this world, such that men see fruits of God and glorify God alone. Light shining in the darkness, and gentiles coming to that Light. The early Church did so, and they were deemed “Christians” meaning “Christ-like”

You are made in the image and Likeness of God. The Lord has ordained you to be so. In Christ, you’ve received this mandate afresh. Be conscious of this divine role you’re to play. Walk, Talk and Act like it. Occupy this world in the same. Shalom❤️

Till next time. I promise, I’ll be putting out much more content. If this blessed you, leave a comment on the part that stuck out for you most. Also, share with a friend. God bless you❤️