Imago Dei

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CCN-601 Topic 2 Overview

Divine Creation: A Christian Theory of the Person - The Imago Dei

Introduction

It is time to unpack the story a little bit more. The Bible begins by telling where the world and

its inhabitants came from. It asserts that God created all of it, simply by his word. Words are

powerful. There is an old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never

hurt me." One's personal experience and the Bible itself (Prov. 18:21a: "Death and life are in

the power of the tongue." ESV) can be used to debunk this proposition. Human words are

powerful, and much more so, God's. The first few verses in the Bible reveal a Being that has the

capacity to create realities simply by imagining and speaking them into existence. Creation ex

nihilo is the Latin expression meaning, "making something out of nothing."

So, this creative Being is the first cause of all things, who is himself uncaused, in other words

eternal—he has no beginning and no end. (By the way, if this is true, it answers several very

difficult philosophical questions: How did something come from nothing? How is the something

that individuals know—universe, earth, ourselves—ordered rather than disordered? Where

does a sense of morality and reason and beauty and love come from?)

The biblical God created light and space, and then the earth and the plants and animals, and

then the symphony rises to a crescendo as he creates a man and then a woman. What is unique

about the biblical God, compared to most of the other gods on offer during the time Genesis

was written, is that he seems to be so kindly disposed toward people. The earth, from its

atmosphere to the seasons to the plants and animals all seem to be form-fitted by God, just

right for the man and the woman. Scientists call this the anthropic principle: the earth, sun,

moon, atmosphere, plants, and weather seem to be perfectly fine-tuned to sustain human life

(Barrow & Tipler, 1988).

In addition, the biblical story says that God made the man and the woman for a particular

reason: to serve as his representatives, as benevolent caretakers over everything he created.

So, toward that end he gives them instructions about what they are to do: have children,

multiply and fill the earth, take good care of it, and basically oversee everything. Then in a very

interesting twist in the story, he tells them there is one thing they should not do: Everything on

the planet is for them except for one tree, which they must not eat from because if they do they

will die (Gen. 1-3). This discussion will resurface in the Topic 3 Overview.

The Imago Dei

Read Psalm 8: How does this Psalm teach you to think about people? What is the psalmist's

response to his realizations about people and God? How should this psalm impact how you go

about the task of counseling?

You may not have thought about it this way, but the Bible is a very personal book: it is replete

with passages describing people and God, who is himself the prototype for personhood. For

example, Psalm 8:5-6 says that people are crowned with glory and honor and granted

dominion, with all things on earth being placed under them as if they were kings. And yet it is

important to notice in Psalm 8 how the Bible's perspective on humanity is God-centered: "You

are mindful of him… You care for him…You have made him…and crowned him… You have given

him…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." On the one hand the dignity

and value of the person is celebrated, but on the other hand this psalm is theocentric, because

that is how reality is. God is worshiped, not man. God is the sun, and people are but moons.

People do not generate light on their own.

God intended (and still intends) that one particular part of the created order, humanity, would

reflect his light and his glory, thereby representing his image.

Central to what it means to be a person is that every human being is created by God, like God,

and for this God. Following are some thoughts and applications of the Imago Dei (Latin for

"image of God") to counseling.

Every Person Is Created by God.

Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis are written to highlight two things: God is the creator of

everything, and people are his special creation.

Genesis (1:26) contains an interesting transition when it describes how God created people. At

that point, the Creator's method gets personal. There is a transition from the previously typical

mode of creating, "let there be" (an impersonal metaphysical decree) to "let us make" (a much

more personal and relational statement like one might say to a spouse or child, "let's make

dinner together.")

And then again in Genesis (2:7), God's creative method gets personal: the Lord God "formed

the man…and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils."

God's personal touch is obvious in the description of how he made this particular species, this

particular part of his creation.

Even the name of their location, "Eden," in Hebrew carries the connotation of delight, luxury, a

pleasant place. The trees and fruit are designed in such a way that they are "pleasant to the

eyes and good for food" (Gen. 3:6). Like a good father designs a home for the children he loves,

God pays special attention to how he made people and even the place in which they were to

reside. As noted earlier, this planet, from its atmosphere, to the motions of the sun and moon,

to its geology, to the composition of plants, all seems to be tailor made, just right to support

human life.

Furthermore, God's creative role is not confined to the original creation of the forefathers in

Eden, but instead is continued every time a baby is conceived and then develops inside and

then outside of the mother's womb, by God's providential design for all things.

Psalm 139:13-14: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's

womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works."

That people are created by God has implications for counseling. It means that every person you

counsel is not here as a result of an impersonal, unguided evolutionary process, but is specially

Every counselee exists because of God's choice.

That they are made by God, in such a personal fashion, confers great value upon them. Like

pricey designer purses or watches whose value goes way beyond their functionality, individual

value comes from the one who designed and made people. This is the source of the counselee's

identity and value. The honor and dignity inherent in each counselee calls you to care for them,

to respect them, and to listen well to them.

Created Like God—in the Imago Dei.

Perhaps the most amazing thing the Bible has to say about people, however, is not that they

are created by God, for that does not in itself set people apart from the rest of creation, but

instead that people are designed in the very image and likeness of God. This is reiterated three

times in Genesis 1 and 2, and in several other places in Scripture.

To be human means to be made, not just by, but even like God. So, every man, woman, and

child you counsel is a reflector and in some way a representative of God, which should lead to

humility and awe. You have been chosen by God to serve them, to love them, to speak truth

into the broken and wrong places in their lives. The image of God in a man or woman may be

effaced, but it cannot be erased. Those you counsel are similar to God in a way that may not be

visible, however, because of the devastating and distorting effects of sin and suffering in their

lives.

Theologians refer to this similarity, this likeness, as the Imago Dei, and have debated what it

actually means to be created in the image and likeness of God, especially what constitutes the

image. Millard Erickson's (2013) Christian Theology provides a helpful review of the variety of

perspectives, pointing out that some theologians anchor the image in the human mind—that

people are rational, intelligent, self-aware beings; others in the human conscience—that people

are moral/ethical beings capable of discerning and choosing right and wrong, good and bad;

others believe the Imago Dei consists in that we, like God, have the capacity to exercise a type

of dominion, control, and stewardship over this delightful planet. People represent God as

subcreators of culture, fulfilling the cultural mandate (Gen. 1-2).

Some theologians believe that the essence of the Imago Dei is relational, that people, like God,

are relational beings capable of communication and personal connection, of loving and

receiving love. People, like God, are not solo acts but instead are pervasively relational beings

and are to be properly connected with one another and with God.

The Imago Dei is what separates every person from the animals, plants, and the rest of

creation. The unique dignity and sanctity of every human life, regardless of age, color, race,

gender, or economic status in life is rooted here. This is the basis for a radical equality of worth

and value—among all persons, regardless of color, status, gender, age, appearance, IQ, or

religion.

James M. Houston (1989), when commenting on Blaise Pascal's conversion to Christianity,

wrote, "Now the grandeur of the human soul, in spite of the reality of human sin, gripped him

with new power" (p. 17). Learning to see each human as an Imago Dei should "grip us," sanctify

your view of those you counsel, and dignify your relationships with them.

Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9-10 say the reason people should not murder or even curse a human

being is that to do so is deface the image of God (cf. Job 31:13-15; Prov. 14:31). Some people

might take offense if they saw someone burning their country's flag, because their flag is more

than a piece of cloth to them; it represents something much greater and more important to

them. You should be offended and repulsed in the same way when God's image bearers are not

loved and taken care of as they should be. To disrespect a person made in the image and

likeness of God disrespects God, because that person represents him. It is far worse than

desecrating your national flag.

Created for God

Part of what makes any relationship with God "proper" is acknowledging that we

ourselves are creatures, that we owe our very existence to God, and that there's

nothing so special about us that we need to exist in the first place. We live at and for

God's pleasure…So learning to be a Christian is, in a sense, learning to see all of life as

gift. (Shuman & Volck, 2006, p. 44)

The Bible's take on the purpose and order for individual lives is theocentric. Isaiah 43:6-7 says,

"Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called

by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Furthermore, Acts

provides the following:

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the

earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling

place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find

him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "In him we live and move and

have our being." (Acts 17:26-28)

Every human being is created, designed for God.

According to the Westminster Assembly (1647), to answer one "Man's chief end is to glorify

God and to enjoy him forever." The essence of the Imago Dei is the capacity for a particular

type of relationship with God, characterized by love, worship, and obedience.

A direct implication of this theocentricity in counseling is that every thought, desire, emotion,

action, and impulse of each counselee is both known by God and evaluated by God. Your

counselees are responsible for themselves. And, even more importantly, they are responsible to

another. Everybody is morally obligated and accountable to God (Heb. 4:12-13). Ed Welch

(1994) writes, "properly comprehending the image of God teaches us to see people, at their

very root, as people-who-live-before-God and as people-who-are-to-live-for-God" (p. 31). To

counsel persons made by, like, and for God means that there are no God-free zones in the

counselee's life or in counseling.

Every counselee exists because of God's intelligent and purposive design. They are not

autonomous independent, self-made beings, but instead are contingent beings put here by

someone else and for that someone's purposes. Whether counselees realize it or not—and

often you must help them remember, according to the biblical story, a Christian worldview, and

psychology—it is God's mission for which that they are created. Realizing this and helping them

to realign their life with God's purposes may be difficult, but it helps them to recover a true and

lasting sense of purpose and meaning. As they apprehend God's mission with their minds and

then if their hearts are captured by his vision of a glorious life, their desires, affections,

thoughts, motivations, and then choices, actions, relationships, habits, and practices can be

progressively reordered for their good and God's glory.

Human Constitution: Body and Soul, Natural and Supernatural

"The Word Became Flesh" (John 1:14).

It is nearly incredible to contemplate the descent of God, an onmicompetent spiritual Being

who created and sustains everything in the universe, pinpointing himself in the velvet skin of a

baby, weighing just a few pounds, unable to feed himself, or walk, or talk.

It is just as remarkable that this supernatural, extraordinarily holy spiritual Being would not only

become flesh but would also choose to reside within the bodies of flesh. Nevertheless, that is

the story and it is the New Covenant: God would come someday and not just dwell with people

but also dwell within man. The Christian faith and its practice is about both the body and the

soul.

It is obvious that the persons you minister to are not angels—mere spirit beings. Nor are they

mere physical beings—biological robots. What are the implications of this belief that people are

both soul and body, for counseling?

How Do You Minister to Embodied Souls?

God is a spirit being who created people in like manner, as spiritual beings, but also in his

wisdom with bodies as the means/instruments through which to accomplish his mission on

earth. With inspired bodies people serve God, exercise dominion over the rest of the material

world, and love and counsel other embodied persons.

The body cannot be reduced to spirit, and the spirit or soul cannot be reduced to body. Each of

these two parts of the person has its own integrity. However, even though body and soul are

different things (substances or essences), they are made for each other, and it is their union

that makes people human beings. Therefore, you should be careful with questions like, "Is that

a spiritual problem or a physical problem?" that tend to force individuals into simplistic

dichotomous responses. The Bible affirms that people are both natural and supernatural

beings, and that the material body and the immaterial soul affect each other.

It is important to note that "psyche" and "mind" are other commonly used terms that refer to

the immaterial aspect of individual being. In fact, the word "psyche" is derived from Greek and

is usually translated "soul." (Please note that "mind" is not synonymous with "brain." The brain

is a physical thing while the mind is not.) Soul, spirit, mind, and psyche are each closely related

terms that refer to particular aspects of individual inner nonphysical self. With respect to the

essential nature, or constitution, of human persons, many conservative evangelical Bible

scholars and theologians, as well as many historic orthodox Christianity, have embraced what

philosophers call substance dualism (Cooper, 2000). This simply means that people are

composed of an immaterial soul or spirit and a material body. Human persons are

simultaneously supernatural and natural beings, composed of two parts or essences

("substance" is the philosophical term), which exist in a constantly interacting unity but an

essential duality: one functionally, but two essentially. A human person is an embodied spirit

being, made in the very image and likeness of God.

References

Barrow, J., & Tipler, F. (1988). The anthropic cosmological principle. New York, NY: Oxford

University Press.

Cooper, J. W. (2000). Body, soul, and life everlasting: Biblical anthropology and the monism-

dualism debate. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway

Bibles.

Erickson, M. (2013). Christian theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Houston, J. (1989). The mind on fire: Faith for the skeptical and indifferent. Portland, OR:

Multnomah.

Shuman, J., & Volck, B. (2006). Reclaiming the body: Christians and the faithful use of modern

medicine. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.

Welch, E. (1994). Who are we? Needs, longings, and the image of God in man. Journal of

Biblical Counseling, 13(1), 25-38.

Westminster Assembly. (1647). Westminster shorter catechism. Retrieved from

http://www.westminsterconfession.org/confessional-standards/the-westminster-shorter-

catechism.php