Pagan temples in the ancient world always included images of the god who was said to dwell there. Our presence in the world as God’s image bearers testifies that this is God’s world. The God who made everything does not live in temples made by man (Acts 17:24). We are God’s “idols,” spread across the face of the earth (Acts 17:26), because the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof (Ps. 24:1 KJV).

Imago Dei

The importance of the imago dei cannot be overstated. Its significance ought to touch every area of life. Let me mention six implications of being made in the image of God.

1). Being made in the image of God, human beings are unique among all God’s creatures. We are qualitatively and constitutionally different from plants and animals. We have been made a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned with glory and honor (Ps. 8:5). The highpoint of all creation was not a mountain, a river, a badger, a beetle, a volcano, a fish, or a star. We were the climax, because we alone bear the image of God.

2) The image of God means that all human beings have inherent worth and dignity. This is one reason abortion is wrong. A person is a person no matter how small, no matter her development, no matter his environment, and no matter her degree of dependence on another human being. Innocent human life must be protected, even when that life is old or sick, even when the person wants to end his own life. Because every human being is made in God’s image, descended from the same human pair, there is no place for racism, partiality, or feelings of ethnic superiority.

3) With a proper understanding of the image of God, we can see what it means to be fully human.

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