identity in christ: made in the image of god
by abby Ralph
What does it mean to be made in the image of God?
We are a reflection of some of the attributes of God – we cannot in our humanity reflect all His attributes as He is the only one who is God. However, He made us to reflect some of His attributes in order to reflect His nature in our world. There are ways in which our nature is reflective of God’s, especially in our spiritual nature.
It is important as believers to look to church history and the great believers of the past. Many of us are only taught scripture and about the early church, but the believers who lived in the last several hundred years have so much wisdom we can learn from. Saint Thomas Aquinas is one of those believers. He said, “Since man is said to be the image of God by reason of his intellectual nature, he is the most perfectly like God according to that in which he can best imitate God in his intellectual nature. Now the intellectual nature imitates God chiefly in this, that God understands and loves Himself. Wherefore we see that the image of God is in man in three ways. First, inasmuch as man possesses a natural aptitude for understanding and loving God; and this aptitude consists in the very nature of the mind, which is common to all men. Second, inasmuch as man actually and habitually knows and loves God, though imperfectly; and this image consists in the conformity of grace. Third, inasmuch as man knows and loves God perfectly; and this image consists in the likeness of glory. Wherefore on the words, The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us (Ps 4:7), the gloss distinguishes a threefold image of creation, of re-creation, and of likeness. The first is found in all men, the second only in the just, the third only in the blessed.”
All of Creation Reflects Him
Let’s take Saint Thomas Aquinas’ first point that all are made in the image of God. He is our Creator, and we are His creation, we cannot help but reflect Him. There is a book, Epic by John Eldredge, which explains how all stories that have been written – books, movies, plays, they all reflect the Gospel (which is made up of more than just Jesus coming to earth, dying, rising again – it is the entirety of scripture) even if unintentionally. JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and admitted that her story is full of biblical themes – even though she is an atheist. We cannot get away from our origin story.
Psalm 19:1 - “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” This is a verse about creation reflecting God’s glory. Although only man is made in His image, all of creation cries out that God is God – our Creator.
A New Creation
Saint Thomas Aquinas’ second point is that when we become believers, we reflect Him through justification and continued sanctification. We have been made new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
When we are saved and therefore “in Christ” we are made into new creations. Paul says this based on Jesus’ teaching in John 3:3 – “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” We all must be “born again” in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
When we are born again, Jesus says we are born of “water and spirit.” So, we are born from trusting in Christ and choosing to follow Him, therefore receiving the Holy Spirit. From there, in obedience, we are baptized proclaiming our salvation to the world.
When we become a new creation, we are called to put off the old self in Ephesians 4:22-24 – “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
As new creations, we follow Christ in word and deed. We no longer live in selfishness living only to seek our desires (be they good or bad). We live to bring glory to Christ, win followers, and live out His purpose for us. In doing so, we actually receive the greatest desire of our hearts.
I am reminded of the C.S. Lewis’ book Voyage of the Dawn Treader. One of the characters, Eustace, due to his disobedience and selfishness is turned into a dragon. He encounters Aslan, the Christ figure in the story, and tries to scrape the dragon skin off himself, but it keeps returning. Aslan then turns to Eustace.
“Then the lion said - but I don't know if it spoke – ‘You will have to let me undress you.’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.
The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt.
Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off ... And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me - I didn't like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I'd no skin on - and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I'd turned into a boy again..."
Future Glory
Saint Thomas Aquinas’ third point is that we will reflect God perfectly one day when we receive our future glory. When we one day go to our heavenly home and live with our Father in heaven, see Christ face to face, and dwell among the saints who have gone before us, we will fully be His image bearer. We will be made perfect and whole in the presence of the King.
Romans 8:18 says “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:17 says “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”
And one day, we will experience the new heaven and the new earth – Revelation 21:1-4 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” One day, we will dwell in the presence of God just as we were originally meant to in the Garden of Eden.
In heaven, we experience fullness because we are in the presence of our God – the creation in the presence of the Creator. There, we get to see the perfect nature of ourselves in God revealed. Both in body and in spirit, we will be made whole.
The earth now grumbles and shows signs of longing to be whole – and one day we will see it come to light. The glorious ending of darkness and the eternal light shining on us all.