The Nature of Humanity: Divine Image Bearers
One of the most powerful concepts of the Christian worldview is the truth revealed in Genesis 1:26-27 that humanity was created in the image of God (or imago Dei in Latin)–spirit beings like him. But you were created with both a spirit and a body, indicating that this is your natural state. This becomes even clearer as you learn in the New Testament that one day you will be resurrected to new glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:42-53). Assignment: Fetal Abnormality Case Study Paper.
There is some diversity of opinion among Christians about what the Bible means by the “image of God,” but fundamentally it is what sets human beings apart from all other creatures and what endows human beings with intrinsic value and dignity. To have intrinsic value and dignity means that one’s value and dignity do not come from anything external or extrinsic. For example, money has value that is purely external or extrinsic because we value it, not for its own sake, but for the things it can get us. Furthermore, there is not something intrinsically valuable to green paper (in the United States) that gives it worth. By contrast, a human being’s value and dignity is inherent such that it is something everyone possess by the very nature of what it means to be human. Human beings have intrinsic value and dignity because they are the only creatures that are created in the image of God.
The image of God is equally present in all human beings regardless of one’s worldview or religion or whether or not one believes in God. Millard Erickson notes
there is no indication that the image is present in one person to a greater degree than in another. Superior natural endowments, such as high intelligence, are not evidence of the presence or degree of the image. [Furthermore], the image is not correlated with any variable…[but is] something in the very nature of humans, in the way in which they were made. It refers to something a human being is rather than something a human being has or does. (Erickson, 1998, pp. 557-558)
It follows then that any theory of moral status which equates a human being’s value with certain external characteristics, or any function a human being must do, is not compatible with a Christian view of human persons. In addition, the image of God provides a foundation for the genuine equality of all human beings regardless of race, color, creed, gender, etc. It should be noted that the well-known bioethical principle of “respect for persons” (National Commission, 1979) is well supported by the Christian worldview. Assignment: Fetal Abnormality Case Study Paper.
While the image of God is equally present in all, its full expression may be hampered by disease, disability, or even sin. The image of Godalso indicates that you also have remnants of God’s character within you, and when fully expressed may include the capability to love (even those who seem unlovable), the capability to create for purpose or simply for beauty, the ability to reason on a very high level, the ability to explore the universe, the capability to communicate with our Creator and to consciously worship him, the ability to sacrifice for others, the ability to be fair (a sense of justice), and an innate ability to sense right and wrong (a sense morality).
But Christians have been called to an even higher purpose–to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29)–that is, restored to the perfect image of God; a lifelong process sometimes called sanctification. The body of a Christian is referred to in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and as such, Christians are to purify themselves, being transformed by the renewing of their mind (Rom. 12:2).
Humanity was created to love as God loves, to worship and commune with him as he does with us, and to work as he works. Adam and Eve were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, and they were given dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:28), which is a high order. They were placed in a beautiful garden to care for it and “work and keep it” (Gen. 2:15 NIV). Adam was even given the task of naming all the animals, thus becoming the first biologist, doing a work that continues to this day as new species are still being discovered. Thus, humanity from the beginning was engaged in good work and given responsibility and authority over other creatures, to care for them, and to expand God’s kingdom under his sovereign rule. Unfortunately, as will be seen in the next discussion, human beings are fallen image bearers.
Conclusion
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