Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. …
Genesis 1:26 ESV
God, in his wisdom, created the heavens and the earth and filled them with celestial objects like the Sun, Moon, stars and birds of the sky, and all kinds of plants, and animals on the earth and it pleased him. He then created human beings, a man and a woman, in his own image and without sin (Genesis 1:27). He also gave them authority to rule over the fish of the sea, birds and every living thing that moves on the earth (Genesis 1:28). This is not to say that he created everything for the sake of man, but rather for his own glory (Colossians 1:15-16).
Being made in the image of God means that humans share God’s likeness morally, mentally, and socially. When God created Adam, He had a personal relationship with him and provided for his needs without Adam having to ask. However, this relationship was broken when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command in the Garden of Eden, resulting in the desecration of God’s image in humanity. One of the ultimate goals of God’s redemptive plan is to restore His image in humanity by conforming believers to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, through the process of sanctification (Romans 8:29, 2 Cor 3:18).
In all humility, we all can join with the psalmist saying, what is the man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him that God must send his only son to redeem and save depraved sinners like us through faith in him. (Psalms 8:4, Colossians 1:19)
Being image bearers of God, as Apostle Paul prays for the church at Colossae in Colossians 1:9-20, means that we should strive to be filled with the knowledge of His will, possess spiritual wisdom and understanding, and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him, bearing fruit in every good work, and continually growing in the knowledge of God.
Being the image bearers of God means to strive to have the knowledge of God’s will, possess spiritual wisdom and understanding, conduct oneself in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him, bearing fruit in every good work and continually growing in knowledge of God. It also means dying to self, putting away sinful emotions and actions, and putting on a new self that is renewed in the image of God(Ephesians 4:24.)
