We can all identify with the experience of the psalmist in Psalm 8. In the dark of the night he gazes up at the sky riddled with stars. Beholding the beauty and enormity of it all, he considers his relative smallness. Overcome by mystery and wonder, he speaks to God, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:4).

The psalmist recognized his relative smallness in respect to visible reality. And now, in light of modern science, we moderns have a greater sense of the vast scale of the cosmos. And we feel even smaller. The ancient question remains relevant: "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:4)

The psalmist's answer is rooted in the creation account found in Genesis 1. Humankind has been made by God in the divine image and likeness, and therefore, holds a unique and special place in the world. Informed by the Genesis account, the psalmist poetically answers his own question: "You have made human beings a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5).

What is it from the Genesis account that caused the psalmist to speak in such elevated and beautiful language? The answer lies in the pregnant phrase, "the image and likeness of God."

The Sixth Day

The sixth day of creation stretches almost as long as the previous five days put together. The day is broken up into two parts. In the first section, animals arise from the earth. In the second, something completely new and unprecedented occurs.

Prior to the creation of humankind, God holds a divine counsel: "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Genesis 1:26).

Before this moment, God speaks with authority: "Let there be..." And there was! Now, God speaks with affection. This divine deliberation highlights the special event that is about to occur. For the golden-tongued preacher of the ancient church, John Chrysostom, God's divine counsel evidences humankind's dignity and value:

Who is it that is to be created that he is granted such honor? It is man--a great and wondrous living being, and for God more precious than all the creation... There was counsel, deliberation, and communication, not because God has need of counsel--may this not be!--but in order by the very means of expression to show us the dignity of what is created.

In other ancient accounts of creation, humankind is little more than a slave to the gods. For example, in the Atrahasis Epic, the lower deities tire of the work demanded by higher deities and rebel, creating the human race to do their menial tasks. In the biblical account, humankind is not created to be a slave but to rule as a mirror of God, reflecting the divine image and likeness.

Before we develop the deep significance of this, it is interesting to consider who is actually speaking and who is being spoken to in the divine counsel that precedes the creation of humankind. Some argue that God is speaking in "plurality of majesty" - a lofty style used by kings speaking of themselves. This is one possible explanation. Others suggest that God is speaking to angels. Yet, the sacred scriptures clearly teach that we are not created in the likeness of angels (Hebrews 2:14-18). Others teach that this is a heavenly counsel of the gods. But Israel rejected polytheism. Furthermore, the scriptures repeatedly pronounce that no one is God's counseler: "Who has been his counselor?" (Isaiah 40:14; Romans 11:33-36).

I believe, with many other ancient interpretors, that this text remains a mystery until light is shed upon it by the New Testament. It may be that we are listening into a discussion among the three persons of the Trinity. In other words, this text foreshadows the profound truth that God is triune - one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. If this is the case, then it makes perfect sense to speak of humankind as a bearer of the divine image. The "us" is God and the image we bear is a reflection of God in God's relational fullness revealed in Christ and by the Spirit. Psalm 8 validates this interpretation. "You have made human beings a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5). The image we possess is that of God.

The creation of humankind in the divine image is a product of God's agreement among Godself to create a special and unique creator that distinctively reflects the divine glory. The plants and animals are made "after their kind" (Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24-25). Only humans are made in the image and likeness of God. Though humans share life in common with animals (Genesis 1:20), they are differentiated from all creation in that they also bear the divine image.

What is the Image?

What then is the image of God? What is the meaning of this pregnant phrase?

It helps to begin by establishing what the image is not. The image is not dominion itself. This is an expression or activity of the image. It is the result of possessing the divine image and not its inherent meaning.

The image is also not sexuality - maleness and femaleness. This indicates the scope of the image, encompassing both males and females.

Numerous other suggestions can also be put to rest. The image is not exhausted by considering that humankind is creative,[1] moral, rational, self-aware, self-conscious, self-reflective, uses language, or possesses an upright stature. All these things are true, but they do not get to the heart of the meaning of the image of God. With these things out of the way, we can begin to move toward a meaning of the image and likeness of God.

Numerous hints are provided by the biblical text. In the next occurance of the phrase in Genesis 5:3, the image indicates a father-child relationship. In ancient culture, it was assumed that children - especially sons - would resemble and obey their fathers. This is the implication in Genesis 5:3. Adam's sons (and Adam's son's sons) share a father-son relationship. They bear the image of their father. Just like a child has the capacity to mirror the image of its father, so we are created with the potential to mirror God.

The next occurance of the phrase in Genesis 9:6 reveals that the image is unique to human beings and essential to human personhood. It distinguishes us from the animals and is an essential component of what makes us human. Without the image, we are inhuman - less than human. Whatever the image is, it is certainly not lost at the Fall (as Luther suggested). This kind of language is not found in the biblical text. Rather, all humans possess the image of God - and continue to possess it in spite of sin (see James 3:9).

Surprisingly, image language vanishes after Genesis 9:6 and doesn't reappear until the New Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus is declared to be the image of God (Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4; cf. 3:18). In some way, the key to the full meaning of the image of God remains hidden until the revelation of the true Son of God who completely fulfills the divine intention for humanity. When humankind soils the image and likeness through sin, God does not abandon humankind, but sends Christ, the true image-bearer of God - the one human who completely fulfills the divine intention for humanity. In modern computer language (to use a poor analogy), Adam is Humanity Version 1 and Christ is Version 2 (or 1.1 at the very least). The redemption Christ brings provides the necessary upgrade we need to know the fullness of the divine image and likeness.

Through the Spirit, we are being "conformed to Christ's image" (Romans 8:29), transformed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our hope is that "we shall be like him" (1 John 3:2). Through grace, Christ restores and perfects what Adam ruined (what Adam failed to bring to full potential).

We also receive a hint of the meaning of the image from ancient culture. In the ancient world, image (Heb. tselem) is a common term used to describe a statue or image that a conquering king would set up in an occupied land in order to assert his sovereign rule in a place where he himself could not be present (a good example of this is found in Daniel 3). The image stood as a physical representation of the king, symbolizing his rule and sovereignty over the land.

Similarly, humankind is given a distinct kingly vocation. The divine intention is that we would represent God by reflecting God's work in the world, ruling on God's behalf. This is exactly what we find in Genesis. Humans serve creation as priests - not slave-laborers - in the cosmic temple. We are stewards in God's house. Our role is to exercise royal dominion that reflects God's character and divine intention, and, in the process, to attain to priestly holiness.

The significance of the image is great and broad. The image confers upon us dignity, responsibility, and the capacity to mirror our Creator in the world. Dignity is reflected in that we bear the stamp of royalty - patterned after the divine archetype. Nothing else in all creation reflects God as humans do. When the Creator looks upon us, the Creator looks upon Godself. God sees Godself in humans more than any other creature. Because of this, we bear a great responsibility to rightfully reflect God's dominion and glory. The words from Psalm 8 are appropriate: "You have made human beings a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5).

This is a grand and noble view of humanity.[2] This is especially evident when we compare the biblical view with naturalistic views of humankind. P. W. Atkins argues that "[h]umanity is an intriguing but insignificant assemblage of atoms arranged into a structure of sufficient complexity to experience the illusion of significance." That's encouraging, is it not? Remarkably, some people find almost "religious" delight in this assessment. Carl Sagan writes,

I am a collection of water, calcium and organic molecules called Carl Sagan. You are a collection of almost identical molecules with a different collective label. But is that all? Is there nothing in here but molecules? Some people find this idea somehow demeaning to human dignity. For myself, I find it elevating that our universe permits the evolution of molecular machines as intricate and subtle as we are.

Questions

Do you see yourself in the same way God does? Do you recognize that you are a special and unique creature made in the image of likeness of God in order to reflect God's goodness and grace? Do you understand that you possess an inherent nobility, a sacred dignity?

Furthermore, do you see others as image-bearers? No matter what gender, social status, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic identity, age, or intelligence - all are made in the image and likeness of God and deserve our dignity, honor, and respect.

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© Richard J. Vincent, 2008