So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. - Genesis 9:6
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God.
- 1 Corinthians 11:7
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Ephesians 4:24
The concept that we (all human beings) are created in the image of God is expressed in various ways throughout the Bible. This idea is absolutely foundational to everything the Bible has to say about our identity, purpose, salvation, and ultimate destiny as human beings. Not only is the doctrine of the imago dei (image of God) foundational to understanding the message of the Bible, it has tremendous implications for how we understand our own culture and society.
Implications for our sense of self-worth...
Secular counselors and therapists are quick to tell us that we need to have a strong sense of self-esteem and self-worth, and that we need to improve our self-image. he problem is that secular philosophy can offer us no grounds on which to base this sense of self.
I see no reason for attributing to man a significance different in kind from that which belongs to a baboon or to a grain of sand. - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Man is the product of causes which had not prevision of the end they were achieving; are but the outcome of accidental collocation of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave. - Bertrand Russell
Quotations like these may sound cold and heartless, but this is simply the logical conclusion for those who reject the idea that we are made in the image of God. Only Christianity can tell people that their value and worth as a human being is based not on any philosophical or psychological ideas of men, but the very image of God Himself!
Implications for how we view and treat other people...
Where did the concept of basic human rights come from? Was it an invention of human philosophy? Some claim that it is a Western idea and it originated with the ancient Greeks. This sounds good, but the problem is that the ancient Greeks regularly practiced infanticide, euthanasia, and the killing off of those with mental or physical defects (not exactly espousing basic human rights). The great Greek philosopher Aristotle said that some races are born to be slaves! No, the concept that all human beings have certain value, dignity and rights, is a Biblical idea, it comes straight from Genesis 1:26-27 - the Imago Dei!
C.S. Lewis put it best in his brilliant essay called “The Weight of Glory”...
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. - C.S. Lewis
Today, ask God to help you see His image in the face of every single person you encounter!
Jeff Frazier
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