Restored Icon Model – The problem of identity

The Restored-Icon model is essentially just Recapitulation but with a greater emphasis on mankind created in the image of God. That image, or icon, was smashed by the devil in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned and now we must come back to our true identity and glory to be reconciled to God to glorify Him. This reconciliation can only happen if our icon nature or function is restored and that happens by the Word (the Son of God) becoming man to pick up the shattered pieces of the icon, attaching it to Himself and His divinity, and restoring the lost image through His perfection. What Christ achieved then becomes ours through the indwelling presence of Christ infusing the likeness of God to us, conforming us back to that image from one level of glory to another. Additionally, Christ shows us what the image is supposed to be by His example and reminds us of our purpose and identity as image bearers so that we can walk out that path. Since in the previous lessons we covered most of this information, this lesson will cover what exactly it means to be created in God’s image.

This is a very important subject to understand because how we view ourselves determines what kind of people we are going to be and what level of faith we will have. In this document, the word “man” will be used to refer to both men and women. The views I present here of the Restored Icon Model have been gathered from many sources along with my own views so this is by no means an agreed upon consensus from anyone else who uses the term Restored Icon. We must remember that the word Atonement means “At-one-ment,” that is, to be reconciled. So although I will not be speaking much about what the death of Christ accomplished, the subject of man made in the image of God is still very relevant for humanity to be reconciled back to God.

What does it mean for man to be made in the image of God? Theologians have debated what this means and here are some of the questions revolving around this discussion: Is the image of God essence/identity? Or function? Was the image of God lost totally after Adam and Eve sinned? Or does it remain? If so, how so and how much? When people come to faith in Christ, is the image restored totally or partially? Were animals or angels created in the image of God? Or just mankind? Finally, is there a distinction between being made in the image of God and being made in the likeness of God? Some of these questions will be answered in this lesson.

The image of God has implications for subjects like abortion, violence, euthanasia, and verbal abuse, etc. Is man’s dignity inherent to him? Or is it something that is developed from nothing or can be developed and then lost? Are some people less human than others? Do some people have less dignity and worth than others? How we define the image of God and humanity has major implications to how we view and treat one another.

So, what is the image of God? There are two general ways we can seek the answer to this question. The first is by acknowledging that God never said any other creatures were created in His image except for mankind. From this, we can deduce what man is by differentiating mankind from all other creatures. What the creatures do not have that mankind does have is who mankind is. Or, at least, this is what sets him apart from all other creatures as distinct and those aspects are more probable to be what man created in the image of God is. The second method we can use is to figure out who God is and who God is revealed through Jesus who is the image of God. It’s kind of like when a victim of a crime is put together with a police sketch artist to have the person of interest drawn based upon descriptions of that person. Based on something like that, you can get a general idea of what the person of interest looks like. The picture is not exactly what the person looks like but it is a representation of their image. Or, you could think of it like a painting. Paintings are images or copies of the original person but are not that person in essence. In the Bible, the word “image” is often used in reference to graven images or idols. This could even be a statue like the one King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. On our coins and paper currency, we also have images or icons printed or stamped onto them. So the basic idea of man being made in the image of God is that man represents God, has some of God’s features, or functions similar to God.

The “image” is both a verb and a noun. It’s something we do and something we are. It’s about representing God as well as innately reflecting who God is.
Herman Bavinck writes:

Man does not simply bear or have the image of God; he is the image of God. From the doctrine that man has been created in the image of God flows the clear implication that that image extends to man in his entirety. Nothing in man is excluded from the image of God. All creatures reveal traces of God, but only man is the image of God. And he is that image totally, in soul and body, in all faculties and powers, in all conditions and relationships. Man is the image of God because and insofar as he is true man, and he is man, true and real man, because and insofar as he is the image of God.
(Created in God’s Image: Hoekema, 65)

Humans in Contrast to Animals

Let’s begin with the first method of discovering what this image is by examining the animals and let’s see if we can find some things that man can do that animals can’t. There is a gorilla that can communicate with sign-language. There is an elephant that can artistically paint. There are dogs and dolphins that have rescued humans at the detriment of their own lives. What we know about animals is that they have personality and ingenuity. They can sense, feel, love, and rationalize. However, they do not have a moral rational mind. Animals don’t sin. Rather, they act according to instinct, impulse, and temperament. They also do not build, create, and engineer using creativity to further progress their species’ comfort, ease, and advancement. In this sense, they do not take dominion over the earth to rule the earth and build civilizations. Animals do not build roads, aqueducts, plumbing, advanced housing, etc. Ants and birds and sea creatures have not built empires. They’ve built things the same way for most of or all of their existence as a species. While animals can show some level of ingenuity, they cannot produce advanced civilization. A high level of creativity and self-autonomy is necessary for mankind to take dominion over the earth. By self-autonomy I mean self-direction and freedom. Creativity is also foundational for taking dominion. Animals are also bound to the natural whereas mankind can transcend into the spiritual. People can have a relationship with God and can communicate at higher levels of communication.

The three things that stand out among mankind that are distinct from the animal kingdom is that they have a moral rational mind, creativity to produce civilization and take dominion over the earth, and are spiritual beings meant for spiritual connection. We can also deduce that animals are not made in the image of God because God never said they were made in His image and also if they were, then God would not be okay with animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. God specifically commands not to kill humans because they are made in the image of God (Gen 9:6). But for animals, there is no such command.

Humans in Contrast with Angels

Next, there are the angels. With angels, we can only presume that they were not created in the image of God because we’re not given information on this. But how do humans weigh against angels? Let’s take a look at Psalm 8:3-8

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

Some translations say “angels” instead of “God” in verse five. The word here is “elohim,” which is mostly translated as God but sometimes translated as little god, angels, or judges. The Septuagint, along with Hebrews 2 renders the word as “angels” so that is the translation we will use here. The word “made” also is not speaking about physical creation but about position. It’s about being placed in a position of authority. In this case, a position less than that of the angels. This interpretation is supported by the Greek and Hebrew along with the author’s interpretation of the word in Hebrews 2. The phrase, “a little lower” can also mean, “for a little while” or for a short time. This means that the position is not permanent. Altogether, verse five could be translated, “Yet You have placed him for a time lower than the angels.”

To extract a doctrine of man from this passage, we would emphasize man’s identity by his function and position of authority here as only a little lower than the angels. But lower, how? 2 Peter 2:11 says that angels are greater in might and power than humans, and the second line of verse five would indicate that angels have more glory and majesty than humans. We don’t have a glowing radiance like the angels do and nor do we have supernatural powers or strength. However, one day we will be like the angels so this condition is not permanent (Mt 22:30). Daniel and Jesus said that after this life, the righteous will shine like the sun and stars forever and ever (Dan 12:3; Mt 13:43). Hebrews 2:9-10 says, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory …” Jesus Himself, having taken on human form, was placed lower than the angels in regard to His glory and honor. But once He resurrected, He was crowned again with glory and honor. He did this for the purpose of bringing many people to salvation. The specific aspect of salvation mentioned here is “glory,” that is, the end state of salvation. To be glorified is to be made whole and complete. It means to spiritually illuminate, to become fully restored to be all that we were made to be. For Jesus, the glory He received after His resurrection was His glorified body and all the riches of heaven. He returned back to His supreme functions and dignity and rest. If we continue to endure in our faith, then little by little and unto completion, we also will attain back the dignity of man that was lost in Eden. We will become radiant like the angels and perhaps even more radiant than them since many are promised to rule and reign with the Lord (2 Tim 2:12). However, of the angels, the Lord has not promised them this kind of dominion in the world to come (Heb 2:5). Rather, Paul writes that believers will even judge angels (1 Cor 6:3) and the psalmist writes, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Ps 115:16). Therefore, even angels will be subjected to mankind. Our rightful dominion over the earth is something that clearly sets us apart from angels. However, authority itself is not uniquely human because angels have authority as well. They rule the heavens but we rule the earth. Relationship to God is also not something uniquely human because the angels stand in God’s presence, communicate, relate to, and worship God.

What is the Substance of the Image?

I believe the image of God is this glory and radiance. The substance of God is not material because He is the invisible God, the God who is Spirit, the God who is Light (1 Tim 1:17; Jn 4:24; 1 Jn 1:5). Therefore, the image of God is also immaterial. Though, I do not mean to say that the material body is excluded completely, only that the essence of the image is not material. However, the image can certainly be expressed through the material body. That, I have no doubt. What we don’t want to do though is to say that someone is a lesser human being because they’re not of a certain race, skin color, skull shape, or because they have some physical deformity. That would be ridiculous. All men are created in the image of God and are for this reason of sacred value. Our entire created substance is from God and because of this, we are His children or offspring (Acts 17:28). This is our identity. This is a status that begins at our creation and a status that cannot be revoked. Because we are all children of God, we all have inherent worth and dignity. Herman Bavinck says:

Man’s body also belongs to the image of God…. The body is not a tomb but a wondrous masterpiece of God, constituting the essence of man as fully as the soul …. It belongs so essentially to man that, though through sin it is violently torn away from the soul [in death], it is nevertheless again united with the soul in the resurrection.
(Created in God’s Image: Hoekema, 68)

Genesis 9:6 says, "Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man." God doesn't have a problem with animals being killed for sacrifice because animals were not created in the image of God. However, humans are. Because they are, this is why humans should not be killed. This verse also does not say "a righteous man's blood" but simply "man's blood," indicating that this applies to all people from birth. Genesis 5 does say that Seth was a son after the image or likeness of his father Adam. However, this does not exclude the image of God. Since, after all, Adam's genes in the image of God would be passed down onto his progeny. Furthermore, many years later, David writes of his own creation from God, saying, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb" (Ps 139:13). This indicates that God continues to have an active role in the creation of human beings. Therefore, it is most reasonable to conclude that all people are made in the image of God from birth. However, it's not a perfect image but because of the effects of sin upon earth and humanity, it is a tainted image. This is one of the reasons for salvation: that we would become as fully as we can be the image bearers that we have been created to become.

James 3:9 says that with our mouths “we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.” Genesis 1:26 mentions both “image” and “likeness.” Some people have tried to separate these things as distinctly separate but that may not be completely accurate, since the Bible uses these terms interchangeably (Gen 5:1-3; cf. Hoekema, 13). For this reason, when James says that we shouldn’t curse people, he says this because all people have been created in God’s image after His own likeness. Therefore, to curse or disparage someone, is to attribute these words to God. In this way, cursing and violence against humanity is cursing and violence against God. To this, we would also have to include negative self-talk, self-hate, and self-depreciation. Being made in God’s image, we have inherent worth and dignity. It is an affront against God to disparage that dignity. It would be like saying to the painter, “I hate your painting, it’s really ugly.” But by saying that, we insult the artist and designer. Or, in our negative words to others, it would be like spraying graffiti on or cutting away at a statue of a president or a king. Or, burning the American flag. As God’s representatives, this is completely unfitting for us to do. Both Genesis 9 and James 3 affirm the belief that all people from birth have been created in God’s image.

I believe the essence of this image is light because God is light. This light is also glory. But what is this glorious light of God? It is the purity which comes from God—all His goodness and perfections, His morality. It is also the spiritual life that is within God that He breathed into man when he came to life as a living soul. Man was created from the dust of the ground (atoms) for his material substance which God formed with His hands and from the breath of God for his immaterial substance (Gen 2:7; Ecc 12:7). James says that the body without the spirit is dead (Jas 2:26). It is the spirit which animates the body and this spirit is also higher-consciousness. This consciousness continues even after death. There are many stories of people who were clinically dead, yet they recounted their spirit leaving their body, and could even recall events that happened in another room even though their body was not in that room. One such example was that a person died and then saw a shoe on top of the roof of the hospital and when she was revived, she asked why there was a shoe up there. The nurses went up to check and there it was just like she had said. Have you ever noticed that when someone gets old or becomes depressed or ill, there is a radiance they once had that becomes dim? And the further it goes in that direction, the dimmer it becomes. This is the light of the image of God within mankind. Sin will do the same thing. It breaks apart this light within. However, this light or lack of it is not always detectable. Some people with the gift of discerning of spirits may be able to easily detect this because they are more sensitive to the spiritual realm. Some might even call something like this an aura. But it is not merely that. Animals may have auras and angels have glory but only is man a moral rational being endowed with his Creator with authority over the whole earth. Both man and animals have a soul for consciousness but humans have a higher consciousness, a spirit, which is capable of relationship with God (Gen 1:21; 2:7). However, angels can relate to God, they are holy, and they are spirits. So what do we do here?

In Genesis 1:26 God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Michael Hieser suggests that the “us” in this verse is referring not specifically to the Trinity but also to the whole heavenly hosts (angels). If that’s the case, then mankind would be created after the image of God as well as the angels. According to this view then, angels and mankind have been created in the image of God’s Spirit and light. Angels are God’s representatives in the heavenly realm and mankind are God’s representatives for the earthly realm. I would have to concur with this view because without it, I don’t see how we can be rationally cohesive otherwise.

However, something needs to be clarified here. Angels did not create mankind. To defend this, verse 26 speaks about the image and likeness in which man would be made and then verse 27 speaks about God in the singular sense actually creating mankind. We see that they were created as both male and female. That is, as a plurality after the plurality that exists in heaven and in the very nature of the Triune God from which all plurality comes from. But, it was God alone who did the creating. This plurality though is very important. Can any one man on this earth adequately represent the fullness of who God is? It is for this very reason that God has made many people after His likeness because there are so many aspects of God to be revealed. We are all like painted canvases. Each one of us offers something unique in our representation of God. There is a perspective behind each painting. Some of us may be very emotionally expressive. Others very rational and logical. Others can display God’s sense of humor. And both men and women have something to show of God.

While I do not believe that the “us” in Genesis 1 is technically speaking about the Trinity, I still believe that theologically, we were created from the Trinity because the Trinity is One God and we were created from God. Since we were created after the image of the Trinity, we were designed for fellowship and communication. For this reason, we will more greatly fulfill our purpose and design on this earth if we live in community and operate according to the triune nature of our beings—body, soul, and spirit. While I acknowledge that soul and spirit are often used interchangeably in the Bible, I do not believe they are one and the same since the Bible also lists them separately (1 Cor 15:45; 1 Thess 5:23; Heb 4:12). The soul and spirit have overlapping things in common. I believe that even as the Trinity is three in one sense and one in another so also the soul and spirt are two in one sense yet one in another. Therefore, you could say that I hold to the nature of man being both trichotomous and dichotomous. However, the depth of that particular discussion is for another time.

Also, as another note: we were not created after the “kind” of angels. We were created original and different from them. Everything else prior is said to be made after its kind but humans were not made after any kind.

What is the Function of the Image?

The image of God is light. All people have some degree of light but not all use their light or built up the radiance of their light to glorify their Creator. It is through our morality in loving God, loving people, and taking care of the earth that we build up and shine forth the breath of God that is within us. Many unbelievers can actually shine brighter than many of the religious folks out there since many of those people can be so divisive. On the other hand, there is a lack of light that unbelievers will have since they don’t live by faith in Jesus. This means they are breaking the first and greatest commandment and in this way, cannot truly glorify God. They also do not have the Holy Spirit living within them and in this way, they do not carry the glory of God. Here is an illustration to distinguish the believer with the unbeliever. There is a difference between being radioactive versus carrying the plutonium while being radioactive. One can have the remnants of radiation without having the source of radiation. In a similar way, all men are created in the image of God and can radiate glory/light, but not all men carry the glory of God as the source. We might also say that Adam and Eve carried the glory as well when they were in the garden through infusion from the tree of life. They had direct access to the source of physical and spiritual life energy and this would have made them glory-carriers of the very source life of God. But then they sinned and were deprived of this life since they were cast away from the garden where the tree of life was. This caused their light to fade and the light of humanity to flicker. Sin corrupted their energy and without that energy, the light was no longer at its full radiance. However, humanity could choose to represent God well by shining their light.

Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” If you remember, whenever Moses spent time in the light of God’s presence, Moses’ face and skin would shine (Ex 34:29-35). And even Stephen, being so full of the grace and power of the Lord with the manifest presence of God’s Spirit within him, it says that when people looked upon him, they “saw his face like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Jesus commanded His disciples saying, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16). From the passages mentioned so far, there is a connection between God’s glory shining and the holy life. Now, for some people, this is too mystical for them and they get uncomfortable. They may refuse to believe in this spiritual radiance emanating from the holy life but I’m just presenting what the Scriptures have shown. Even in the artwork of the early church, radiant halos are drawn around the saints. But just because not everyone can see this radiance with their physical eyes, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Sometimes, the radiance is veiled by a dark night of the soul or by God’s sovereign purposes. But this by no means proves the absence of the light and the holy life. There will be a day at the end of the age when this light will assuredly be revealed to all. In Isaiah 60:1-3 Isaiah prophecies and says:

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

I believe this passage is speaking about the coming tribulation and millennial reign of Christ on the earth in the latter days. In our current state though, “we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). That is, we are progressively becoming more and more like Jesus through the transformation of His glory. We as image bearers are becoming more like that very image we bear. We are like blurred paintings because of being left out in the rain but the painter is continually renewing us as we subject ourselves to Him. He’s clarifying and perfecting that blurred mess that we’re in so that we can image Him better. This is our current state of progress but one day Jesus will return for His people. When He does, we will meet Him face to face and be transformed into the glorious state of His body and spirit. John says, “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 Jn 3:2). And Paul writes that Christ “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:21). And what does this look like? Matthew tells us by saying that Christ “was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Mt 17:2). As Christ was transfigured, so shall we also be. At that time, our lights will shine fully because our spirit, soul, and body will not be corrupted by sin or hindered by the things of this world or veiled for any reason. The image that we were created in will become perfectly clear. We will finally be able to represent God in the fullness of His splendor and glory in accordance with our nature as imagers. His light will shine on us like the sun and we as stars will reflect His radiance as Daniel says, “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Dan 12:3). Throughout the Bible, it is made clear that we were designed to represent God. The Bible says that we are a royal priesthood and ambassadors of Christ (1 Pet 2:9; 2 Cor 5:20).

When God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” right after that He said, “and let them rule…” Because that was said right after, it is conceivable to think that, part of what it means to be an image-bearer of God is to rule. It is to take dominion over the earth. Our relationship to God may be like Joseph to Pharoah where Joseph was given the signet ring of authority to act on God’s behalf to represent the king’s will and wishes to the world. Or, at least, that’s the ideal. However, this level of authority was lost when Adam plunged the world into sin and death. It was lost because sin keeps us in bondage. It was lost because Satan had legal rights over us through our sin and unbelief. And it was lost because we forgot our original identity as image-bearers of God. But the truth is we are children of God and sons and daughters of Adam. And by faith, we are sons and daughters of God. A son of God means that I am not a slave. It means I am a rightful heir of my Father’s inheritance, the authority, and riches of His house (Gal 4:7; Lk 15:22, 31; Eph 2:6). Therefore, my true identity is Christ in me; I am a son of Adam and a son of God. This means that even as Jesus performed great works, so can I (Jn 14:12). Even as the disciples cast out demons, so can I (Lk 10:19). And as a son of Adam, this means that the domain of this earth rightfully belongs to me and not to the devil. It is in failing to exercise my rightful duties and to speak in the name of Jesus that the devil has stolen that authority from me. But it was never his to take. It never belonged to him. But he laid claim to it because of my silence, my absence, and my sin. All I have to do is be who God has called me to be to receive that authority back as a son of Adam and as a son of God. All of this could only be won back for me through the victory of Jesus on that cross and through His resurrection.

One of the implications of being created for God and being born again is this new identity we have. But it is also an old identity, an identity that we forgot about because we lost touch with who God created us to be. In 1 Corinthians 6:13-14 it seemed as though the Corinthian Christians had forgotten who they were and whose they were. Because of this, they were indulging in sexual immorality and probably repeating this phrase, “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food” to defend their actions. The idea was that the body has a stomach. Therefore, the body requires food and lives for food. In the same way, they thought, the body has sexual organs and therefore requires the use of them and to live for sexual gratification. So, Paul responded to them by saying “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.” Paul was saying that the need for the stomach and the need for food would one day no longer be a reality. Then he says that the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord. That is, even though God created the body with sexual functions, those functions are not the person’s true identity. The person’s identity is to be an image-bearer of God because that is the primary function of the body. God made our bodies to honor and glorify Him first and foremost. That means that as Christians, we are not bound to serve the passions of the flesh. The body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body. Paul switches the phrase on them to help them change their way of thinking. Instead of immorality being a necessary function to fulfill, Paul is indicating that honoring God is a necessary function for our bodies to fulfill. Coming into alignment with our true identity has major implications for purity and holiness as Christians. It also has major implications for the lesbians and homosexuals that this doesn’t have to be their identity. They can come out of that. They can break agreements that they have made with the devil over their identity. Confess those things to God and renounce them and turn to Jesus for salvation and live for Jesus to be healed. If there’s a demon behind this, then tell it to leave in the authority of Jesus’ name. Jesus came to set the captives free and bring you back to your true identity.

Natural Man in Contrast to the Spiritual Man

When we speak of the natural man, we mean the man who is not indwelt by God’s Spirit. On the other hand, the spiritual man has the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, Irenaeus believed that unbelievers only have a soul and body whereas believers have these but also have a spirit (Hoekema, 35). Are we born with a spirit? Or do we receive only the Holy Spirit upon salvation to then become tripartite creatures with body, soul, and spirit? I believe that all men have body, soul, and spirit because Scripture indicates that without the Holy Spirit, man still has a spirit (Mt 26:41; Lk 8:55; 1 Cor 2:11). Irenaeus also believed that Adam and Eve in their innocence were not in the fullness of their image-of-God likeness but had they not sinned, they would have fully matured into it. This is very possible and so far, I do not see any negative implications for believing it. However, that might depend upon what one’s definition of the image of God is. For Irenaeus, it meant man’s “nature as a rational and free being, a nature which was not lost at the fall” (Hoekema, 34). By implication then, this would mean that Adam and Eve would have matured in their rationality and freedom had they not eaten of the forbidden fruit. It would also mean that because they ate of the fruit, they did not lose their rationality or freedom, but was it corrupted?

The question we must ask ourselves is: did mankind lose something at the Fall or was his very nature corrupted or both? While I disagree with Irenaeus’ conclusion that mankind lost their spirit after the fall, I agree with the sentiment that mankind did lose a sense of spiritual connection to God that receives divine influence into the spirit. This was a spiritual death that occurred to all of Adam and Eve’s descendants. They were born separated from God. However, spiritual connection to God could still be won back because we read of Enoch who walked with God and then was raptured before experiencing death (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5). The testimony of his life was said to have been pleasing to God and that’s why God took him. By all of this, we are right to assume that Enoch had a very close relationship with God. Nonetheless, for all of Adam’s descendants, they were born in a state of spiritual death without the glory of God filling and fulfilling their soul and bodies to be made whole. Without that wholeness, the image of God was fragmented because they would all choose to sin. That sin corrupts the image of God because God is holy and never sins. God is pure light in whom there is not a single ounce of darkness or shifting shadows (Jam 1:17). How then can mankind accurately represent God if they sin? Instead of being a proper ambassador, they disgrace His name. They do not represent His will, wishes, and plans. Instead of reflecting God’s light, they spew out darkness. What use then does God have for these sinners? What will He do to them? They’re good for nothing except to be thrown out into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. If they continue living in that condition, God will fire those worthless ambassadors and they will be cast away from His presence forever. But God desires to save and redeem humanity to not leave them in the mess they’ve made for themselves. His compassions do not fail. That is why He sent to us His only Son Jesus, to show us the way back to God and to take up within Himself all the failures of mankind so that being united to Him in His perfections, we can be made whole and useful again.

Though I speak of the image of God here as function, I believe it is also inherent in every person as the substance of their being. The function was marred or lost by sin and death but the substance remains in all, although it is also corrupted. That substance, as I have said before, is light. The light is functional in moral conduct, of which even unbelievers can demonstrate to a degree, but the light is also substance and is humanity’s aliveness. Since all people are alive, all people have this light. This aliveness is the breath of God within man and the spiritual luminescence that radiates from that life and sometimes transcends from the spirit and into the natural realm. Though animals have soul/spirits according to the Hebrew words, they were not made with the same spirit that man has to transcend into the spiritual realm and commune with God. The light within man in it’s pure and unrestricted state, shows forth as glory like the kind of glory that radiates from angelic beings. This light, both substantive in glory and functional in morality is the image of God that we were created in. It is something already and something yet to be. All people have dignity and inherent worth because of the express intention in which God made man for a purpose, the substance of their light, the function of their light, and by the fact that they are icons or statues that God expressly made to represent Him. Therefore, any violence or undue treatment against mankind is violence and injustice against God.

We did not lose the image of God after the Fall because Genesis 9:6 gives the express reason not to murder one another because we were created in the image of God. Therefore, that image is still in effect, albeit, however tarnished it may be. Another Scriptural argument would be that we retain the image because God created us—each and every one (Ps 100:3; 139:13-14; Jer 1:5; Isa 43:7; 44:24; 64:8; Job 10:8; 33:4; Zech 12:1). And God only creates that which is good because as James says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (Jam 1:17). When God created each and every one of us, He did not make any mistakes. We are remarkably and wondrously made because all of His works are good.

Though the image has not been lost, it has been corrupted. Romans 1 speaks of people who deny that there is a Creator and choose instead to be foolish despite observing all the beauty and complexity of the world that has been made, whether it be visible or invisible. They refuse to believe because they refuse the idea of being accountable to God. They cannot see the truth because they have blinded themselves through their own unrighteousness. It’s a heart problem more than it is an intellectual problem. Because of this, Paul says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Ro 1:22-23). Instead of worshiping the alive and all-powerful God, they decided to worship idols of dead men and weak creatures. Because of this, God gave them over to their sins so that they would become depraved. Not that they started out depraved but they devolved into depravity and corruption through their sin and because of their arrogance against God. As a result, the text says three times that God gave them over to their sin. This is the wrath of God’s abandonment spoken of in verse 18 which means that God withdrew His sustaining and restraining grace so that those people are allowed to operate in accordance with their own free-will to do depraved things. Morality and truth help to keep humanity rational but without these things, people degrade both themselves and others in the entirety of their being. By humanity worshipping idols and all the idols they place in their hearts by loving everything other than God, they have lowered themselves below their created state and placed themselves under those idols making themselves less than those idols. It’s a slippery slope. It starts with suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, refusing to acknowledge the Creator and give thanks to Him, then the heart becomes darkened, progressing in more foolishness, then idolatry, lust, degrading passions (LGBTQ+), and then a depraved mind which unlocks a whole host of sins and evil.

Sin was not just a one-time corruption in Eden but remains a continual corruption of the God-image. With each additional act of sin, the image is increasingly distorted becoming more like the resemblance of animals, material elements, or of the devil. We are like stone-carved statues representing God. Pieces can be broken off or chipped away so that we resemble less and less our original design. We could also compare mankind to currency. If I were to take a one-hundred-dollar bill with the face of Benjamin Franklin and then draw a clown face on top or sketch his face to look like some evil and violent man like Hitler, that would desecrate and mock the image. It’s called defacing currency and under Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code, it is prohibited to mutilate, cut, deface, disfigure, or perforate any U.S. currency. It’s a federal crime punishable by jailtime and/or other fines. But if this is just money, what will be the outcome of those who disfigure the image of God through their actions? God says that He will not let the guilty go unpunished (Ex 34:7). But not only is it a crime to deface the image, it also in some cases loses its value because some places won’t accept it because it doesn’t function as money anymore and nor does it look like what it is intended to represent.

What other analogies can we use to describe the corruption of this nature? When mankind left Eden, they left the fountain of living water and the tree of life which constituted man’s wholeness and smooth operation. Without such nutrients, man’s entire nature begins to break down and fragments. This is death—both physical and spiritual. Though the essence of man’s nature is the same, the operation of it is not. Or take the example of a vehicles. Without fuel, they do not function and vehicles with diluted fuels not intended for their engines, do not function well. Also, bodies without proper healthcare and nutrients become ill. A pinched nerve prevents the full and efficient processing of the brain to the body part and the body part to the brain. Fragmented and corrupted data on a computer will cause an unstable system and the computer or programs will crash. In a similar way, without God and His glory and graces operating within us, we also are fragmented and break down. We still maintain our substance as light but without sufficient energy we are as light bulbs that flicker, branches that do not receive nutrients from the Vine, and plants without the sun for photosynthesis. In this way, apart from faith in God and the indwelling presence of Christ, we are cut off from the glory and presence of God, even as Adam and Eve were cut off from Eden. We were born into this state but that doesn’t mean as infants we have no dignity and worth. Our substance was planted as seeds of light. We are living and our substance is true even though we have not yet fully blossomed into the full light we were made to become.

So far, we have discussed what we are in our natural state apart from God, what our substance and functions are, how they have been corrupted through sin and death, and the need we all have to turn back to God to return mankind back to his primal state. Now we shall discuss more on what we shall become if we continue to pursue God and Christlikeness through Him. Can we be restored to our former glory? And can we surpass that former glory? I will not focus on the specific answer to those questions as that would be an entire lengthy subject to explain here, but I will briefly touch on this subject of sanctification in relation to our purpose on this earth and what that image should look like.

Colossians 1:16 tells us the purpose of our being created, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Being created in the image of God like statues or ambassadors of Him, we were not made to serve ourselves but to serve God. We should therefore not be surprised if we find our greatest fulfillment in operating according to the pattern that we were designed in. We were made to walk in God’s commandments. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” For this reason, we should not see God’s commandments as a burden for us but as a blessing, for it is through His commandments that our corruption and disintegration begin to be reversed. Psalm 1 speaks of this, saying, how happy or blessed is the man who does not choose the path of sinners but instead chooses to delight in the ways of God. This is the way that leads to life, vitality, and prosperity but the way of the wicked is the opposite of this, leading to barrenness and death.

The image that we should look like is Jesus “who is the image of God,” and “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His [God’s] nature” (2 Cor 4:4; Heb 1:3). In John 1:4 Jesus as the eternal Word (logos) is described as life and light. These two things are directly correlated because life and light are energy. The Word as life is the source of all that is and the Word as light is the radiance of that life. The life of God created all things and the light of God sustains and illumines all things. John writes, “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (v. 5) and “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (v. 9). Being made in His image, then, we are extensions of His life and light. The illumination to which John speaks is about making God known to the world, His invisible attributes and divine nature, to reveal His grace and truth. That is what Jesus came to show the world and that is what we are responsible of illuminating to the world as well. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (Jn 8:12) and then He gives us this task of being the light as well, saying, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Mt 5:14; Phil 2:15). Life, truth, grace, and wholeness are found in Jesus and this is the Light. Those who do not believe in Jesus do not have His light to illuminate their hearts and minds (Jn 12:35, 46; Eph 5:8). For this reason, they are in the dark and walk in the dark (Eph 5), meaning, they do not obey God to come out of their corrupted and darkened stupor. Darkness is death, corruption, disobedience, blindness, and enslavement to the powers of darkness and of the devil. It is the absence of God’s life and light. Jesus wants to deliver us from this so that we “may become sons of Light” (Jn 12:36), for that is the purpose for which we were made. Paul tells the Christians to be renewed in the spirit of their minds “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:24). The likeness of God is that very image that we are designed to reflect. We put on the new self by continually drawing from the life and light of Jesus so that we continue to transform into that image of who He is in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Elsewhere, the Christians are instructed not to sin because they have already laid aside the old self “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Col 3:10). In this case, we are to stop sinning because it is not in accordance with the new nature that we have received from Christ when He saved us and came to dwell within us. Therefore, we are supposed to act in accordance with who we truly are and who we were meant to become.

Conclusion

To be made in the image of God means to be a reflection of God on earth to all creation as God’s light-bearers. The substance of the image is light, the spirit, and the moral rational mind to display that light. It is also the entirety of the human life made by God’s hands and in this way is His offspring, His own children, and in this way, irrevocably of that status and identity with inherent dignity and worth. The function of the image is for man to use his freedom and creativity to make moral choices to love God, love his neighbor, and care for the earth to rule the earth for the glory of God. Additionally, as God’s representatives, to reflect the goodness of God’s attributes to all through both body and spirit. The perfect life of Jesus being both divine and of human flesh was necessary to fix humanity’s broken pieces of the image so that through His death and resurrection, Christ can dwell within us to progressively and ultimately fix our brokenness so that we can fully bear the light we were designed to carry. For those who walk in the Light, the wrath of God does not abide upon them because they have become sons of the light, they have fellowship with one another and “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). There is an ongoing process of sin being purged from them. They have demonstrated that they do indeed have Christ living in them and through them and by their faith and obedience, they have their human nature cleansed from the darkness and corruption of sin to walk into their true identity as image bearers to glorify God and be made whole to operate optimally as human beings. Once people realize their true identity by Jesus and come to Him to believe in Him and live for Him, they can take back the authority that the devil stole from them so that they can rule the earth to be truly the sons of Adam and sons of God that they were intended to be. They can be awakened to the fact that sin is what has been destroying them all along and so they can fight against it and put off the old habits that had been corrupting their humanity. And once they die, they shall rise to life again to rule with Christ on the renewed earth as His agents and their light will shine like the stars and even as the transfigured Christ.