In The Image Of God

In the Image of God

God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.”

Genesis 1:26

The Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.

1 Corinthians 15:49

When you look in a mirror, are you looking at yourself? Not really. You’re looking at an image of yourself—a reflection of who you are.

Similarly, when God looks at us, he sees an image of himself, a reflection of who he is. This isn’t an identical image, but he does see creatures similar to himself in many ways. We are God’s image in our ability to think and feel and love, in our ability to know right from wrong, and in our ability to make choices. We’re like him in that he is Spirit and we have a spirit.

God made humans in his image beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but something terrible happened to that image when they sinned. The image got distorted and damaged. So now, while we are still made in God’s image, some part of that image has gotten lost and twisted along the way.

That is why Jesus came. In Jesus we see what human likeness to God was intended to be. He is the perfect image bearer of God in human form. And one day we, too, will look like Jesus, when we are “conformed to the image of [God’s] Son” (Romans 8:29, NASB). In fact, the process of becoming more like him has already started. Paul says that we are to “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10, NIV). Even now, as we grow in godliness, we are becoming better and better reflections of God. When God looks at us, we are getting closer to reflecting his image.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Who do you know who looks amazingly similar to his or her parents?

What are some ways we are like God? What are some ways we are not like him?

In what ways would you like to look more like Jesus?