Image of God
"Imago Dei"
What is This Doctrine?
Made in the "Image of God" ("Imago Dei" in Latin) is "the core Christian doctrine that humanity, unique among the entire created order, was fashioned by God distinctly in His own image and after His own likeness. It’s a teaching that echoes throughout Scripture and is anchored in the opening chapter of Genesis... God has made us to be like Him in a number of key ways, that we might reflect and represent Him within His created order." - Subby Sterszky (Focus On The Family)
"That we are created in the image of God says something awesome about God in His creative purposes. It also says something wonderful about the uniqueness of humans in God's grand design." - Don Donavant (SBC Life)
"The invisible God created humans to be a visible display—a picture—of what He is like." - Jeff Vanderstelt
"Man, made in the image of God, has a purpose – to be in relationship to God, who is there. Man forgets his purpose and thus he forgets who he is and what life means." - Francis Schaeffer
"The image of God is a foundational concept for understanding our significance and purpose. Understanding how we are made in God’s image helps us to see the basis for the dignity and purpose of our life and work." - Art Lindsey (Institute for Faith, Work & Economics)
Then God said, “Let Us make mankind 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 livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Genesis 1:26-28 NASB2020
ARTICLE: Made In The Image of God: What Does It Mean And Why Does It Matter? (Focus On The Family)
ARTICLE: Man ~ Made In The Image Of God (SBC Life, Journal of the Southern Baptist Convention)
ARTICLE: Made In The Image Of God: The Basis For Our Significance (Institute for Faith, Work and Economics)
Follow Up Questions
IMPLICATIONS: What are the implication of this doctrine for believers in the way they live their life and carry out their work?
APPLICATIONS: What are the personal applications you are living out in your daily life because of this doctrine?