As fallen human beings, we are not in a position to understand the image of God completely. We do not fully know what it means to be human. But we will know. The full glory of God’s image is a mystery that will be revealed with the coming of God’s incarnate Image, Jesus Christ.

Life is not absurd and meaningless. People are not disposable things to be used and then discarded when no longer useful. Neither is humanity another link in the chain of evolutionary progress, destined to be replaced by a more advanced creature. God created man in his image. The human race, therefore, is the pinnacle of God’s earthly creation. Man has purpose, and that purpose is inseparably intertwined with the God who created him.

It would take many volumes to unpack the implications of God’s image in man, but we cannot leave this theological study without briefly considering some of them.

1. Sanctity

Over all human life, from the womb to senile old age, flies this glorious banner: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Gen. 9:6). Man is sacred, and to take away his life without just cause is to assault the glory of God. People are not animals. Christ taught his disciples that their heavenly Father cares for the plants and animals, but regards people as far more valuable (Matt. 6:26; 10:29–31; 12:12). We must do likewise, and cherish human life. We must strive to bring to repentance and forgiveness of sins those involved in murder, abortion, unjust war, violent oppression, euthanasia, and all other crimes that wrongfully take human lives.

2. Spirituality

God is a spirit (John 4:24). Man, created in his image, reflects that spirituality as a being made to worship and seek transcendent glory. Man has a spiritual and religious aspect to his life that cannot be reduced to the interactions of mere matter and energy. As divine images, we are either glorifying God or engaged in idolatry. Each human being is inescapably religious, either in worshiping the true God or in rebelling against him in order to worship his creatures (Rom. 1:20–23). In a manner of speaking, we are all priests, whether to the Lord or to a false god.

3. Rationality

Man is a thinking, personal being, just like the God of Genesis 1. Created in the image of one who acts with power, wisdom, and goodness, he has mental faculties by which he thinks, reasons, chooses, speaks, and acts in the presence of the Lord. Just as God acted in creation according to an orderly plan for the sake of certain goals, so man acts not by mere instinct but out of motives, using means to attain rational goals. Therefore, we must address human beings, even in their fallen state, in a manner that exposes foolish means and wrong goals, and offers reasons and motives to embrace better ones. We must treat people as thinkers.

4. Dignity

Despite human wickedness, the image of God remains in some sense in fallen man. Therefore, we may not treat people with contempt and curses (James 3:17). Instead, Peter commands us, “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king” (1 Pet. 2:17). By using the same word “honour” (timaō) for our duty to “all men” and “the king,” Peter subtly reminds us that all mankind, even the poorest peasant, has the same basic warrant to receive honor. All bear the image of God. Proverbs 14:31 says, “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.” It is a mark of Babylon, the city of destruction, to count the “bodies and souls of men” among the commodities in which it traffics (Rev. 18:13 KJV mg.). People are not commodities for us to use, but images by which we honor God.

5. Integrity

By this term, we do not refer to moral integrity, but to the integrated oneness of human nature. We can speak of man’s parts and distinguish aspects of God’s image from others, but we must remember that God created man as a whole being in his image. This world tries to drive wedges between our bodies and morality, our intellectual lives and faith, and our emotions and obedience. The result is fragmentation. We must seek to understand and help people in the full complexity of their physical, mental, moral, vocational, and relational lives. Above all, we must teach people to direct every aspect of their lives toward glorifying God.

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