2008 Issue 2 - The Whole Man as the Image of God: A Biblical Perspective - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/11/2019 2008 Issue 2 - The Whole Man as the Image of God: A Biblical Perspective - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The

Whole

Man as

the

Image of God

Biblical Perspective

Rev

Jess

Stanfield

ntroduction

Any culture

at

war with God

is at war with

nlan,

beoause

man images God. To hate

God

is

to love

death.

As our

culture's affinity for abortion

demonstrates,

we live in a

culture of death.

Man

is the

likeness of God (although sin

has heavily

distorted

that

likeness),

and

anyone

who

suppresses

that truth

distorts,

murders,

and

deceives. This

confusion coupled with

anemic preaching on

this

doctrine has created

anemic

Christians, ill-equipped to

combat this culture of

death.

The

purpose

of this paper is

not

to

outline fully the effects

of a skewed

understanding-of

man's

origin,

nor

is

it

to break

new

ground

on the biblical

understanding of man as

God's

image-bearer.

Instead,

we will review the biblical

treatment

of

man

bearing the

image of God in every facet,

the Creator

God who

defines

and determines all in all.

To gain an understanding of

the doctrine of man we must

first look to man's origin. To

appreciate the fullness of

man's

origin, however, we

must also

look to the

second

Adam. The two

Adams

must be

juxtaposed, for they together

teach

us the depth and wonder

of God's majestic

character

and

good

providence in creating

mankind. We will first briefly

discuss

several distorted views

of

man,

comparing

these

along

with various comments by

Reformed

theologiaris. Next, we

will

examine

God's perspective

of

man as

His image

bearer as

a

spiritual being. Finally, we will

review mankind as God's image

bearer in his physical

makeup.

The Reformed View

Compared to Distortions

Man

is not autonomous

even

when

he

thinks

he

is, and

he

does

not define himself. He

must be

defined

according

to

his image,

character,

and

calling. We know

that

all things

have

their being in

God

in

terms of His sovereign

decree

and purpose, and departure

from that course will mean

only disaster.1 The Bible

says

that God

made man

in

His

own

image (Genesis 1:27).

What

is

that

image of

God?

Reformed theologians

speak

of the image of God making

man human.

Though

there

is

variation among

the Reformed

community on the details of the

image, most all agree

that

God

is the fountain of

humanness.

In

other

words, man is

what

he

is because God is who He is.

The image of God is essential to

man;

without

God's

image

man

is simply

an animated

animal.

The following comments

demonstrate

the Reformed

perspeotive of the image

of God in man:

1.

Man is from the outset

the

recipient

of unique

endowment and dignity. 2

Here

John

Murray emphasizes

the uniqueness of man as

compared

with

the other

creatures. He

is

given

dignity

and

blessed

with value far

above the

other

creatures

because of the image of God.

2. But

the likeness

in man

consists

chiefly in man's

Original

moral

perfection, the

intelligence and rectitude of

his

conscience. 3 Dabney

highlights the fact

that

mankind's original innocence

The

ounsel of

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and

perfection is a stamp of

the iIuage of God

upon

hilu.

3.

"To

be

human is to

be

an

i m g e ~ b e r e r

of God, oreated

in His likeness

and

originally

righteous and holy. The

\vhole person is

the

iIuage

of

the whole deity ...

Yet

it is

important to insist

that the

whole person is the iluage of

the

whole,

that

is, the triune

God. The

hunlan

soul, all

the

hUluan faculties, the virtues

of knowledge, righteousness,

and

holiness,

and

even

the

human body images God.

The

incarnation of

our

Lord is

definitive proof that hU111ans,

not angels, are created in the

image of God, and that

the

human body is an essential

cOluponent of

that

image.

Frotu

the

beginning creation

was arranged, and

human

nature was inllnediately so

created that it was alllenable

to, and fit for,

the

highest

degree of oonfonllity to God

and

for

the

nlost intilllate

indwelling of God."4 Bavinck

here underscores the

Refon11ed perspective that

l a n ~ n e s s

is a

direct result

of

the

iIllage of God

borne

by Inankind. Vve will

touch

more on this subject later.

4. "He created 1uan, 1uale and

female, with reasonable

and

inlluo ttal souls,

endued with

knowledge, righteousness,

and

ttue holiness, after

His own iInage; having

the

law of God

written

in their

hearts and power to fulfill it;

and

yet

under a possibility

of transgressing, being left

to

the liberty

of

their

own

will, which was subject

unto

change." The \Vestininster

Confession, Chapter IV. Par. II

again develops this doctrine,

relating the image of God

with

the creation of 1nankind.

Making the Nations ChTist s Disciples

The lVhole Man as the hnage

of

God: A Biblical PeTspective

is pride,

and

its children

\Vith

this

backdrop, it nlight

be

are

arrogant

hU1nanists.

easy

for us

to

nlove on to

an

explication and application of Rotuan Catholicisnl espouses

these truths.

Before we do so,

another

insidious

and

however, we should be aware of unbiblical view of nlan. It

the weaponry that our enemy teaches

that

God

created

111an

Satan utilizes to undermine

with

positive righteousness, but

this Even the Church that 111an 1uerely

doctrine. t g ff needs grace added

The

a ar e

s ~ ~ r s to his positive

Church at

fron u n b l b l ~ c a l and righteousness.

large

dangerous

VIews

of

The "iluage"

suffers

Man which underluine

of God in 111an

fr0111 God s luajesty and simply 111eans

several luan s dignity... that positive

unbiblical righteousness

and

dangerous views of Man 1nust

be

activated

through

which

undenuine both

God's

grace

infused by

God and

111ajesty and

1uan's dignity, and kept by the work of

111an.

are

fertile soil for

the

wicked This

understanding

of

the

roots of heresy. Three of these il11age of God has created

unbiblioal views are: gross inconsistencies -

Pelagianis111,

R0111an including l110nasticisnl and

Catholicis111,

and

An11inianisnl. Gnostic isnl, as well

as horrible

Pelagianisnl posits that

God created 1uan l110rally

indifferent. Pelagius

taught

that

the

image of God in

nlan

consists only

in

a

natural

God-given possibility of

perfection. Mankind could

never lose this possibility of

perfection. Despite

any

change

associated

with the

Fall,

the

il11age of God

in

Pelagius'

view re1uained a part of every

hU1nan being. Every

human

therefote, could exercise an

ability to

becOl11e

a "co-worker"

with God in salvation. To

Pelagius, God provides

the

ability,

but 111an

provides

the

will. This false

understanding

of 111an allows hinl to define

hilnself. Essentially, it rejects

the Creator God and rejects

the sovereign de111ands placed

upon

the

creature

by

his

God. Although

this

view

e1uphasizes the "dignity" of

111an, it rejects the

source

of

that dignity - God Its father

heresies

- including 111ysticisnl

and sacerdotalisrll. Such

teachering points its students

to

look for

their

"inward

righteousness,"

and

thus

reject

Christ and

His perfection.

A

third

unbiblica l view of

the

"iluage of God" is widely

held by 111any

Protestant

An11inians. This distortion

teaohes that God created 111an

with His il11age in rationality

and freed0111 of the \vill. Man

should choose the spiritual

gift provided

by

God. In

this

view,

the

il11age of God siI11ply

1ueans that

111an

should

and

can exercise abilities given

hinl by God. According to this

teaching, fallen 111an does not

possess

positive righteousness,

but he is

innocent

before

God due

to

his bearing God's

itnage.

Such

a view

has

led 111any in the

Church

to

gravitate toward spiritualis1u,

and

created false dichot0111ies

between

the

"sacred" and

ontinued

on

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The Whole Man

as

the I1nage of God: A Biblical PeTspective continuedfr01n page

7

seoular, enlasoulating

the Churoh luilitant.

As

oontrasted with these

faulty

and

heretioal views,

the ReforIued view of

man

proolai1us

that

God is

the

arohetype of Man. Man is

man beoause he refleots

the

oharaoter of God

in

every

faoet of his being.

His

entire

existenoe - soul and body -

demonstrates that

he

is au

image-bearer of

the

Living

God. t is the task of Christian

Theology to enlphasize

that

the image of God is in man's

being

in

its entirety.5

The Image of od

in Man Spiritually

Certain oharaoteristios of

mankind

inherent ly display

the glorious iIuage of our

Creator God. Some

of

these oharaoteristios are

more tangible

or

physioal ;

others are spiritual in

nature.

The

inl1uateriality,

inl1uortality, reasonability,

knowledge, holiness,

and

emotions of

luankind

reveal

the

iIuage of God.

Immateriality.

Man was

separated

from

the

ani1uals

by

the triune God

taking oounsel together

and

fashioning

luan

then breathing

into hi1u the

breath

of life,

Gen

1:26, 27; 2:7.

Vve

not only see

man as spiritual

but

Spirit

filled. George Slueaton uses

Gen 2:7 to point out that God

breathed the

breath

of lives

(plural) into luan, thus filling

hhunot

only with a soul but

also with

the

Holy Spirit. The

fullness of the Spirit indwelt

Adanl like

no

other

man

save

Christ

HiIuself. So the

image of God in l11an relates

direotly to the inl1uateriality

IY1aking the Nations

Ohdst s

Disciples

of

luan

- his spiritual essenoe.

Vvithout it,

we

would

be

s o u l ~ l e s s

and

not

hUluan.

Inlluortality.

Adanl was oreated to live

forever. God is

eternal and

is everlasting;

luan

also is

an

eternal

being (though with a

beginning). Man's soul lives

and

will last forever,

either in

eternity

with a glorified body

or in Hell with a body

that

will

endure

everlasting punishment .

Man's inlluortality refleots

the

oharaoter of God,

and

shows

that

he

bears the iluage of God.

Reasonability.

God requires man

to

think His

thoughts after HiIu. Man is a

reasonable oreature oapable

of

hearing the

Word of God

and

oonsidering His ways. In

the book of Matthew,

Chapter

22:37,

our

Lord repeats

the

oonl1uandluent - to love

the

Lord with all your luind, soul,

and

strength, Deut. 6:5.

t

is

the

greatest oonlluandluent.

Man

thus

bears

the

iIuage of

God in his ability to

reason

and

oonsider oreation in

light of God's Word. Man

further

deluonstrates

this

iIuage through his ability

to deoide

and detenuine.

Making deoisions displays

authority

and

sovereignty. The

Godhead deoided to nlake

nlan in

theil' iluage,

and

God

ohoose a oertain nlan, Adam,

to represent

the entire

world.

Although luan's deoisions do

not shake the foundations of

heaven

and earth

his

thinking

and

deoiding

bears

the iluage

of his God. Man iIuages

the

Trinity when luaking

godly deoisions. Deu 29:29;

Deu 4:6; Ps 92:5; Ps 139:17.

Language.

Closely related to luan's ability

to reason is his ability to

speak. God does not luerely

oall

us

to think like HiIu,

we nlust speak

like Hilu

as

well. Adanl was luade

to

oonl111unioate with God. The

Godhead oonl1uunioates

anlong

One

another,

and

Adanl

inl111ediately oonlluunioated

with Eve as a vioe-regent of

God (Genesis 2; 3). Language

is a tool for rule

and

d01uinion,

and

God oreated

luan with

the

ability to oover and

subdue

the

earth with His \Vord. Man's

oonll11unioation

bespeaks his

being

an

iluage-bearer of God.

huportantly,

the

seoond

Adanl is oalled

the

Word of

God. Jesus spoke

the

words

given to HiIu by the

Father

(John 17:8),

and

His words

were

truth and

life. Jesus, the

seoond AdaIu, bore the iIuage

of God and spoke

restoration

and

truth

to His hearers.

Eluotion.

The iluage of God displays

itself further in the en otion

of

luankind. God loved AdaIU

and

deluonstrated

it

by

plaoing

hinl

in His

Garden

- the

Garden

of

Eden (or pleasure ).

God

also

gave

AdaIU

a helplueet,

one

like hilu, S01ueone for Adanl to

love. God loves Hiluself -

the

Father loves

the

Son ( This is

lUY

beloved Son, in

\Vh01U

anl well pleased ).

Adanlloved

Eve

the

nlonlent he saw her.

He even prophesied that

l11an

will leave father

and nl0ther

to

ole ave to his wife.

We

know

that Adanl understood love.

He also

understood

fear.

\Vhen

he and

Eve

sinned

they

were afraid of God

and

hid

from HiIu. While God

displays perfeot eI11otion

luankind's enlOtions are

oonfused

and nlarred by

sin.

They s01uetilues love

what

they

ought to

hate and

hate

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The Whole Man as the Image of

Goel

Biblical Perspective

what they ought to love.

They

fear man

rather than

fearing

God. Still, man shows his

image-bearing

through his

emotions. Jesus was saddened

when the rich

young

ruler

did

not

sell all he

had

to follow

Him. He was grieved over

Lazarus'

death.

He wept over

unrepentant Jerusalem. He

showed anger at those who

abused His Father house of

prayer. These emotions in the

God-Man

and

the emotion

in

mankind further

demonstrate

that man is the image-bearer

of his Creator. I John 4:16, 8,

12; Ps 33:18; Ps 5:4; Ps 11:5.

Knowledge.

God created Adam with perfect

(sufficient but incomplete)

knowledge concerning Him

and His will for man. Adam's

knowledge was not infinite

knowledge -

it

was limited

in scope

and

depth. He had

first knowledge and second

knowledge. First knowledge

was the inherent knowledge

with

which God

bestowed

Adam. For example,

God

created Adam

with

a mature

understanding of

himself

and

his

surroundings.

God

did not introduce Himself

to

Adam;

Adam

already

knew who God was. His

knowledge was complete; it

was exactly what he

needed

to know and

no more.

Second knowledge consisted

of God's revealed will to Adam.

God

commanded him to keep

and

tend the

Garden. God

commanded him further to

multiply and

fill

the earth,

to rule and

subdue

it. God

told him not

to

eat of the tree

in the midst of

the

garden

lest

he die. Did God explain

death? Did God explain

what

multiply meant? Did He

sit

down

and

lecture Adam

how to subdue and rule? No

but He unveiled His

plans

to man more and more fully

throughout history. Man needs

special revelation. Adam

required it

before

the

Fall;

how much

more

does fallen

man need this revelation?

The fact that man grows

in

the

knowledge of himself and

of God demonstrates that

he

is

an

image-bearer of his

Creator. Col 3:2; Eph 4:23;

Righteousness and Holiness.

God made Adam

with

original

righteousness, upright and

just in character. Adam

perfectly conformed to God's

standard and moral

law, for

it was

written

on his heart.

He perfectly

matched

Gods

standard without

cavil.

God

is righteous and the originator

of all

righteousness and

the

righteousness of

Adam

shows

that he bore

God's image.

Also, Adam was arrayed

with a holy character. God

set him apart

for His glory.

He

shined

with

holiness.

Holiness was

his

distinguishing

feature.

The

Lord

God

is

infinitely holy. He will never

be anything but holy,

and

all

His attributes have holiness

lavished on theni. Adam loved

and obeyed God the moment

he was created,

and

that

holiness reflects the image

of God. Eph 4:24; Col 3:10.

The Image of od

n

Man Physically

Not only do certain

spiritual

characteristics

of man convey

the

image of God, but man

also reflects

this

image

through tangible and physical

characteristics.

What God is

without a body, man is with a

body. A philosophy that does

not know or rejects this reality

always lapses in to empiricism

or rationalisnl, materialism

or spiritualism.6 Body and

Spirit

must be reconciled,

and biblical Christianity

perfectly harmonizes

these.

The Body of Adam.

God

created Adam's

body

out

of

the

dust of

the

earth. He

pronounced all that He had

made, including Adam, as

very good, or exceedingly

good. God, the only

fountain

of righteousness and the

infinitely holy One,

declared

His creation to

be

pleasing

and

satisfying. Man's

creation

completed

His creative work.

God's image being borne by

man

callsed God to proclaim

that all was very good.

The physical body of

Adam

thus perfectly and completely

fulfilled God's design for the

creation. He. endued Adam

with all the physical abilities

he would need to perform

the tasks God called him to

do. His

body

enabled

Adam

to work, to subdlle the earth,.

to multiply, to cultivate, and

to have dominion over the

earth as a vice-regent of

God. The goodness of the

body

of man

demonstrates

that he bears God's image.

Marriage.

God not only created Adam,

He

created

Eve. This

creation

wonderfully exemplifies the

Godhead.

Genesis 1:27

states,

God

made man

in

His own

image,

in

the image of

God

He

created

him;

male and female

He created them. Man is here

male

and female. God joined

the two together and

made

them one flesh (Genesis

2:24). Man and woman in

m r r i ~ g e are one flesh.

God

the Father, Son, and Spirit

are one

God

(Deuteronomy

The ounsel

of

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5/6

6:4). God oreated 111an; 111an

and wife p r o ~ o r e a t e . Man

is a father to

his

ohildren;

God is our heavenly

Father

(Matthew 6:9). The union

and oommunion

between

a

husband

and

wife is a glorious

representation of the union and

oonll11union of the Godhead.

The faot that Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit

0011lnlUne together

and oreated an

to

OOnlll1Une

with his wife deIllOnstrates

the image of God in nlan.

Inoarnation.

Our Lord Jesus

Christ,

the

second Adam, OaIlle

into this

world as a man in the flesh.

He is fully God and fully l11an.

Jesus did not 111erely "look like"

a

111an.

He did not

si111ply

act

like a man. He was an -

born

of a woman. At His

baptism

God was well

pleased with

Hi111 (Matthew

3: 17) . Jesus

the

man - body and soul -

pleased the Living God, and

He announced His pleasure to

the

world. The

Incarnation

of

our

Lord -

the

second

Person of the Trinity - shows

that

the body of 111anltind

bears

the image of God.

Redemption.

Just

as

Christ

the

second

Adanl

came

as fully

111an,

His work

of redemption saves

111an

fully.

Salvation conIes to the whole

man, not just his soul.

Christ

OaIlle in the likeness of 111en

so He oould redeenl His elect,

body and

soul (Hebrews

2: 14-

16).

Certain

Gnostics of Paul's

day hated this fact, and could

not

understand

how

God

(\Vho

is Spirit) oould C0111e in flesh.

But

we know that

God

created

an "very good" (body

and

soul),

and though

an's sin

has polluted and

distorted

the

body and mind (Jere111iah

17:9,

Titus

1:15, Gen

6:5), Christ

CaIlle in the likeness of sinful

Making the

Nations

Christ s

Disciples

The HTlwle ]l l[an as the bnage qf God A Biblical PeTspective

flesh and as

an

offering for sin,

He condeIllned sin in the flesh"

R0111ans 8:3). Jesus put away

sin by His saorifioe (Hebrews

9:26). "By

this

we have

been

sanotified

through

the offering

of the body of Jesus Christ

onoe for all" (Hebrews 10:10).

Rede111ption of the body and

A clear understanding

of the iluage of God

in luan is ituperative

for the Church to

cOlubat the dangerous

distortions around us

soul is certain. The Messiah

ca111e to rescue His people fr0111

their sins. These sins do not

exist

in S0111e ethereal

spirit

realm.

Instead

they occur in

real life, and oause real-life

proble111s. Just as the "life

of the flesh is

in the

blood"

(Levitious

17:11),

blood 111USt be

shed for the remission of sins.

Real blood

111USt be

spil t for

our sins to be forgiven. Praise

God that He sent His Son as

a real 111an to spill real blood

The reality

and physicality

of rede111ption shows that

we

bear

the i111age of God.

Resurrection. '

\Ve know

further that the

body

will be

resurreoted and

glorified (John

11:24;

Acts

24:15;

R0111ans

6:5).

Our

actual physioal makeup will

one day be reunited to our

souls,

and

we will have a

perfect body. His people - soul

and body - will be glorified to

sing His prai ses for eternity.

\Vhat

better truth

shows

the

i111age of God

in an

?

Conclusion

In sunll11ary, a clear

understanding of

the

i111age

of

God

in

111an

is i111perative

for the Church to c0111bat the

dangerous distortions

around

us.

\Ve

nlust

teach

this

truth

oonfidently to intercept

and

oounter the

X ~ G a I l l e S and

"No Fear" s u ~ c u l t u r e s

that

thrive on the adrenaline of

testing God. Vole nlust

counter

the 'Materialist who rejeots

his own soul, believing 111an

has

only the here and now."

The biblioal understanding of

the doctrine

of

an

counters

the E111piricist who believes

reality is what

he 111akes

of

it.

It

oauses such a 111an to

bow before

the great

Definer.

This doctrine brings healing

to the Pietist who

thinks

liberation will

C0111e

when

death

arrives; who falsely

believes

that

sin conIes

fr0111

his "body." The doctrine

is also a sword

against

the

Evolutionist, who clai111s 111an

00111es fr0111

nothing

to

nothing.

The truth of Man - the first

Adam understood through

the gospel of the last Adanl

- will give

hope

and deliver

fr0111 such vain

and

foolish

speculations. Only the

Reformed doctrine of 111an as

the image of

God

counters

these false understandings, and

gives hope to those who seek

hope.

The

faot

that

nlan bears

God's hllage in body

and

soul

stirs us to greater obedience

and

fruitfulness. t also

points

us

to

our dear

Savior. To

quote

Henllan

Bavinok, "Man fonlls

a unity of the 111aterial and

spiritual world, a 111irror of the

universe. A

connecting

link,

00111pendiu111, the epit0111e of all

of nature, a 111iorocos111, and,

precisely on that account, also

21


6/6

The Whole Man as the Image

of

God: A Biblical Perspective

the image and likeness of God,

his

son

and heir, a micro-divine

- being mikrotheos). He is the

prophet who explains God

and

proclaims His excellencies;

he

is the

priest

who consecrates

himself with all that is created

to

God

as a holy offering;

he is king who guides

and

governs all things

in

justice

and

rectitude. And in all this

he points

to One who

in

a still

higher and richer sense is the

revelation and image of God, to

Him who is the only begotten

of the Father, the firstborn of

all

creatures.

Adam,

the

son

of God, ... a type of

Christ/

Bibliography

A

New Systematic

Theology

of the Christian Faith, by

Robert L. Raymond

Dictionary

of

Theological Terms,

Third Edition by Alan Cairns

Calvin s Institutes

of

the

Christian Religion, Book 1; Ford

Lewis Battles

Translation

Collected Writings of John Murray

Collected Writings of James

Henley Thornwell, Volume I

Louis Berkhof

Systematic

Theology

Systematic

Theology, Volume

I and

II by

R.J. Rushdoony

Shedd s Dogmatic Theology,

by William

G T Shedd

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume

II

by

Herman

Bavink

Westminster Confession of Faith,

Free Presbyterian Publications

Endnotes

1 Systematic Theology Volume

II

by R.J. Rushdoony, page

903. EMPHASIS MINE

2 John Murray s Collected

tVritings Volume

II

page 5

3 Systematic Theology

by

R.L. Dabney page 294

4 Reformed Dogmatics God and

Creation Volume

II

by

Herman

Bavinck page 530. He excels

in

the doctrine of

man

and

this entire chapter on human

nature

is

well

worth

the read.

5 Dogmatic Theology Volume

II

by Herman Bavinck

page 555

6 Reformed Dogmatics

volume

II by Herman Bavinck page 559

Standing n Guard or Thee

The Past, Present and Future

of

Canada's Christian Right

Michael Wagner

Freedom Press

Canada Inc.

This book is the antidote to those who would portray the Christian Right as a

bunch of inarticulate Bible-thumpers, trying to

impose their morality on everyone else. Michael

Wagner proves, among other things, that

Christianity was here first. And that, rather than

being an American import , Canada's Christian

Right was a reaction to the secularist drive for

influence in society, and an attempt to preserve

what is best n Western culture.

... a gore-filled account of Canada's spiritual decline,but also a heroic tale of

(the) giants ... who have fought against the growing darkness. Jon Dykstra,

Reformed Perspective.

.. a monument to those who strenuously resisted (anti-family and anti-life)

policies. Gwen Landolt, REAL Women

of

Canada.

Available at www.ecpcentre.org

The

Counsel of Chalcedon

Documents

2008 Issue 2 - The Whole Man as the Image of God: A Biblical Perspective - Counsel of Chalcedon