By David Closson | ERLC.com
Published in May of 2016
SUMMARY: There are three basic understandings of what it means to be made in the image of God. One is a structural view that believes humans’ ability to reason and have a conscience reflects the image of God. Another theory is relational where being made in God’s image means living in a relationship with God and other people. The third view is functional where humans are representatives of God on earth. Whichever theory that one ascribes to it dictates how we are to interact with the world and our fellow human beings — we are to treat people with “dignity and respect irrespective of gender, race, age, nationality or economic status because we remember our King’s words that as we did for ‘the least of these my brothers, you did also to me'” (Matt. 25:40).
KEY QUOTE: “The fact that human beings are created in God’s image shapes the Christian worldview and affects how we see God, the world and one another. It informs how we understand the rest of the Bible’s story and provides a theological foundation for ethics and engagement. In short, a proper understanding of the image of God should animate everything we do, and as a result, we should endeavor to define it biblically; this will enable us to then survey what issues Christians should care about.”
Read more at ERLC.com
Our latest curated media on the image of God:
LEARNING CAPSULE: The Image of God
What is the image of God and how should this foundational doctrine change how we interact with people on a daily basis? Find out in our image of God learning capsule.
Read more
PODCAST: The Image of God Series
After reading the article The Value of Human Life and watching Image of God Biblical Theme, dig deeper into the doctrine of the image of God with this four-part series that details the history of the doctrine and what the philosophy means for Christians and how they live in the world. The historical context that…
Read more
PODCAST: Uniquely Unique | Image of God
Finishing a six-part series on what it means to be human Language of God hosts Jim Stump and Colin Hoggerwerf, along with scientists and theologians, turn their focus onto defining the complicated statement of humans being made in the image of God. Some have postulated that it is because we can see things as they…
Read more
Sunday to Saturday 