The Bible, Wisdom and Human Nature
Image of God Within the order of the canon we are first introduced to the concept of being ‘made in God’s image’ amidst the story of creation in the opening chapter of Genesis: ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness... So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them’ (Gen. 1:26–27). This is a profound truth within the Christian faith, the meaning of which has been much debated down through the centuries. A variety of interpretations have been developed, as Scripture itself does not conclusively work out the theological meaning. Grudem gives a general interpretation of ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ – we are made like God and made to represent Him. This view, he believes, is how the original hearers of Genesis would have understood the phrases. However, he is dubious as to whether we can exceed this general statement with confidence. Hoekema believes that there is no essential difference between ‘image’ and ‘likeness’. Likewise, Calvin did not perceive any significant difference in the meaning, believing that ‘likeness’ was added as an exposition of ‘image’. Smail, whilst acknowledging that in many ways we are different from God, agrees that likeness explains the meaning of image as a real resemblance to God. Ferguson backs up Smail’s point in asserting that ‘likeness’ qualifies ‘image’ in two ways: negatively, in that our resemblance is limited; positively, in that we should live like him as a ‘created analogy’. In the early centuries of Christianity both Irenaeus and Tertullian distinguished between ‘likeness’, which was seen as our spirituality, (believed to have been lost by the Fall) and ‘image’, which was interpreted as our humanity (not lost at the Fall). Defining the ‘image’, the Waverley Model Trainers’ Notes state: ‘To be made in God’s image means that we have within us the capacities of personhood, enabling us both to relate to God, and represent Him on the earth.’43 Not all theologians would universally accept this statement and its emphasis. Historically four views have been prevalent, and in the light of Grudem’s comment regarding difficulty in pinning down the precise meaning of ‘image’, and from the vantage point 42
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