LOST: THE IMAGE OF GOD

There is something in that which is considered impossible that induces me take on the challenge of it being possible. Such is the question of true humanity. In a culture struggling for sexual identity the quest for what is truly man and what is truly woman has become high priority.

Into the search I want to bring the First Adam from the Garden of Eden and the Second Adam from the Cross of Calvary. The First Adam is the husband of Eve in the creation story. The Second Adam is Jesus of Nazareth from the Gospels. True humanity must be the gift to Adam and Eve when they were “created in the image of God” which they experienced before their disobedience to God’s instructions. True humanity must also be in the character of Jesus who was God incarnate, in the bodily form of fallen man.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:12-17 about the contrast of the First Adam to Jesus Christ, the Second Adam. Here are verses 12 and 17 which specifically address that contrast:
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. . . .For if , by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."

A parallel exits between the two Adams. In Genesis 1:26 we read: “The God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. . . .” And again in verse 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female he created them. More detail is given in Genesis 2:7. “And the LORD GOD formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”

What was lost when the First Adam sinned is regained in the Second Adam. Sin brought death when Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of the serpent. Jesus Christ brings life through his death and resurrection. The Apostle Paul continues in verse 21: “so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Likewise in Colossians 1: 15, 19 and 3:10 we read: “He (refers to the Son in the previous verse) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. . . . For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him. . . .and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” And again in Hebrew 1:3 we read: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all thing by his powerful word.” Another reference in Romans 8:29 reads:“For those who God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, the he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

More could be said about the claims of Jesus to be God, equal to the Father, and at one with the Father. These verify the proposition that Jesus is the image of God.

The parallel between the First Adam and the Second Adam is that both were in the image of God. Which raises two questions: (1) What was lost when Adam and Eve sinned which Jesus Christ restores? (2) What is the image of God that they both had? Both questions beg for the meaning of “the image of God.”

What did or what does Jesus Christ restore to humanity? He restores eternal life as seen in John 3:16 and as already quoted in Romans 5:21. Eternal life is in contrast to death. However, all die as a result of sin. Even Jesus Christ died as a result of sin. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed,” according to I Peter 2:24. Going back to Romans chapter 6 and verses 4, 8 and 23 we read: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Verse 8 reads: Now if we died with Christ, we believe the we will also live with him.” Verse 23: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ restored eternal life to those who believe in him. Adam and Eve sinned which brought death while the sinless Son of Man, Jesus Christ, restores life. Is this eternal life the “image of God?” It was Adam’s when he was created and it is the gift to man when he believes in Jesus Christ.

What died in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve’s relationship with God died. They became separated from God, and lost intimacy with God. In fact, they hid from God and made leaf garments to cover their nakedness. A death of relationship took place. No longer could God freely relate to humanity.

Death of relationship is also seen in the punishment received by Adam and Eve. Eve will have pain in childbearing but will have a strong desire for her husband and he will rule over her. Adam’s relationship to the earth changed from ground which yielded food in abundance to ground which yielded thorns and thistles. He would sweat and toil for food from his fields and eventually return to the dust from which he was made.

Cain and Abel are another example of death of relationship. Two brothers who probably grew up as buddies find jealousy resulting in murder. In their effort to restore a relationship with God they both offer sacrifices from their labors. Cain offered a sacrifice from his fields. Abel offered a sacrifice from his flocks. The Lord was pleased with Abel’s offering, but not with Cain’s offering. Cain became angry and plotted to kill his brother while they were out in the field together. He succeeded. Harmoniousrelationships between man with fellow man and man with God died. They needed to be restored.

Jesus Christ became the mediator between God, the Father and man. John 14:13-14 reads: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus Christ became the reconciler between the Father and fallen man. His teaching revealed to the people the nature of God and how to please him. His death on the cross removed the obstacle of sin so that people who believed in him would be restored to harmonious relationship with the God, the Father. Those who believed in him were given the Holy Spirit from God to be ever present in them, to lead, comfort, teach, and bring glory to Christ. (See John 14-16)

The first 10 chapters of Hebrews describes what Jesus Christ has accomplished as the Great High Priest, the mediator between man and God. The Most Holy Place in the earthly tabernacle represents the place where God dwells. Hebrews 10:19-22 offers this summary:

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."

I Timothy 2:5-6 reads: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time.”

This supports what is written in John 14:6 which reads: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus restores a harmonious relationship between humanity and the Father, Creator, in heaven.

What does a harmonious relationship imply? When there is harmony, communications flow effortlessly. Communication with God is restored to the ease which Adam and Eve experienced before their sin. The sin barrier has been removed by Jesus Christ. When there is harmony, a strong, close, loving friendship becomes possible. The relationship with God turns from being the opponent to being the ally. When there is harmony, there is order. Order will again be restored to creation when Jesus Christ rules Supreme. After the fall of man and continuing through today, death has brought chaos upon the earth. Man kills man; man kills animals; animals kill man; animals kill animals; and plants are destroyed by man and animals. All creation waits for the day of restoration when the Son of Man reigns.*Jesus Christ restores freedom to obey God. In Romans 6:17-18, 20-23 we read:

"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. . . . When you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those thing result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

The serpent in the Garden of Eden knew what it meant to lose his freedom to obey God. Before the Garden of Eden he had rebelled against God. There was no turning back. Consequently, he comes to the Garden and encourages Adam and Eve to go against God and eat from the forbidden tree. If he succeeds, and he does, man in the image of God also loses his freedom. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, they lost their freedom to obey God. Their heart turned away from obedience to God to rebellion against God. They became slaves to sin.

That is not to say that they could no longer obey God. The foundation of their being changed from obedience to rebellion. Home base, their starting point, became rebellion against God. This they would need to overcome. Years of offering sacrifices did not change their rebellious nature. Trying to obey the Law given to Moses did not change their rebellious ways. Adam, the symbol of all mankind came to a crossroads. He could choose to obey God or to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience to God. The road he chose determined the nature of his descendants. Mankind would have a rebellious nature, or a sinful nature as the foundation for his life. Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, defeats the power of sin and restores the freedom to obey God. Man faces the choice at the crossroads again. This time with presence of Christ within he has the power to choose obedience unto life, instead of disobedience unto death.

What the First Adam lost by disobeying God, the Second Adam restored by obedience to God, his Father. The First Adam was tempted and lost. The Second Adam was tempted forty days in the wilderness, time again throughout his life, and faced the ultimate of temptations during the last week of his life before dying a horrible death on a cross. He went obediently enduring the scoffers, the lies, the torment and torture to his death on the cross. The sins of the world laid heavily upon the shoulders of the sinless Second Adam when he went to the cross. The penalty of sin is death. He suffered death for all of mankind. He was God incarnate who could walk on water, heal the sick and raise the dead. Nevertheless, he refused to use his supernatural powers to escape the death that was necessary to destroy the power of sin upon mankind. If he had died and remained in the grave forever, the power of sin would not have been conquered. He was God incarnate and exercised his power over death. He lives. The Second Adam lives today to restore the “image of God” to his believing followers. Although tempted in every way, he would not yield to Satan. Now he restores to those who believe in him the “image of God” which First Adam lost in the Garden of Eden.

The image of God is not a form because God is a spirit (John 4:24). God himself commanded that no idol in the form of anything in heaven and earth be made and worshiped. It is impossible to draw a circle which contains God. The image of God is not a two-legged, two fisted, upright being with a head upon its shoulders.

The image of God is not the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Only man was created in the image of God. All animals have breath. All plants and animals have life. If the breath of life is the image of God, then reason says that all living, especially man and animals, have the image of God. That would border on pantheism, god is in all things. Once again, only man was created in the image of God. Man was uniquely in the image of God.

The image of God must be restored to man through Jesus Christ. If the image of God is present in all of mankind, would God send anybody to eternal damnation? Would this be a reason to believe in universal salvation? Everybody would have a little of God in them and therefore be saved in the end. Man without Christ today does not have the image of God!

The image of God must be: (1) Eternal life; (2) Freedom; and (3) Harmony. These are characteristics of God, but not all-conclusive. What God has revealed about himself, his characteristics, is in the Bible. Yet He remains indescribable. We know only in part.

True humanity was the First Adam before his disobedience. True humanity is the Second Adam who refused to disobey God, his Father, even when facing a cruel death on a cross. His victory over the power of sin restores true humanity to those who believe and follow him. This is the first step in discovering the real man and the real woman. The real man and the real woman have the image of God stamped upon them.

The second step in discovering sexual identity as real men and real women, true humanity, is to hear the voice of God speaking through his revelation to man, the Bible, and describing men and women with their shortcomings. First and Second Adam did not have shortcomings. What is lacking is needed to discover sexual identity. Harmony between man in the image of God and God makes it possible to know and be real men and women.

Those who believe and follow Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, are in the process of being restored to the image of God. Romans 8:29 says that they are being conformed unto the image of the his Son, Jesus Christ. Their struggles sometimes end in failures. However, upon confession of their sins they are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. They are promised to be like Jesus when they arrive in heaven.

OBJECTIONS and OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

1. (Genesis 5:3) When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

This repeats similar language used to describe the original creation of man. Adam passed down to his son his likeness and his image. Did Adam pass down the same image he possessed when God created him? Adam passed to Seth, his son a fallen image of man. He passed to Seth, his sinful nature, not the image of God.

2. (Genesis 9:6) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; or in the image of God has God made man.

Adam was uniquely created in the image of God. As such, he is to be respected and protected. Man was not created to destroy his fellow man, shed the blood of another man. However, in his fallen estate Cain murdered his brother Abel. In his fallen estate, man sheds the blood of his fellow man, murders other men.

3. (I Corinthians 11:7) A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but a woman is the glory of man.

I and II Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth, the believers who are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Do people rebelling against God, glorify God? The church consists of a holy people, not perfect, but a people called out of the worldly way of living into a life that brings glory to God.

4. (I Corinthians 15:45-49) So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

Adam was a mud-sculpture before he became a living being. We bear his likeness. The last Adam, Jesus Christ came from heaven to be born of woman. Believers will bear the likeness of Jesus Christ.

5. (Colossians 3:9-10) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. This is the conversion of the old self and its practices. The sinful nature changes into a new self which is being transformed by the renewing of the mind into the image of its Creator.

6. (Hebrews 1:3) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

This states that the Son is the exact image of God both in his radiance and his glory.

7. (Hebrews 10:1) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

The word “shadow” is sometimes translated as “image.” Was man created as a shadow, or image, of God? The law came after Adam’s disobedience. If fulfilled it would provide a “shadow” of what man was intended to be. Nobody was able to keep the whole law until Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, came. He is the only one who could, would, fulfill the law including every jot and tittle.

8. Did the saints of the Old Testament, such as those who are listed in Hebrews 11, have the image of God?

Yes, they did look forward to the coming of the Messiah, the promised Son of David. Today, believers look back to the coming of the Messiah described in the Gospels. Today believers have the presence of the Holy Spirit within them to transform them into the image of Christ, who was in the image of God. OT believers were being transformed by their faith and obedience to God.

Enoch and Noah were righteous men who were different from the status quo. Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were different from the status quo because of the faith and obedience to God. Kings like David, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah were different because they did what was right in the eyes of God. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi didn’t preach and teach like the status quo because the relayed the word of the Lord. There were unusual people. There was Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah and many more. All these exhibited faith “yet none of them received what had been promised. God planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40) All that they had was the promise. They had their eyes upon God and their faith in his promise. They lived accordingly.

Enoch walked with God. Noah and Job were righteous men, blameless among the people. Abraham heard the voice of God, left Haran, pleaded for the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, and laid his son on an alter as a sacrifice to the Lord. Isaac and Jacob believed the promise given to Abraham. Those who had the law that was given to Moses offered their sacrifices for transgressing the law, for their failure to be perfect according to the law. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for their sins and our sins. He fulfilled the law to perfection and then died paying the penalty for mankind’s transgressions. Through him the image of God is restored.

How did the OT saints know to have faith in God and to obey Him? They were aware of the fall of Adam and Eve. Their fall was a failure to obey God. They also knew of God’s preference for the offering of Abel and the sin of Cain. From the line of Seth, Cain’s youngest brother, came descendants who obeyed God. Noah was from the line of Seth, and those who lived after the great flood. Obeying God when he revealed himself to them created an accumulation of God’s laws to live by.

The law of God projected into their minds the ideal man. The ideal man would obey all the law of God and trust God in all circumstances. However, they learned that they could not obey the law of God. The sin nature inherited from Adam and Eve made it impossible to be perfect. They had to wait until the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed for their sins.

The image of God present with the OT saints would be limited to their desire and success in obeying the law of God and trusting God in all circumstances. That may be the reason why all kings were compared to King David, a man after God’s own heart. In the minds of the Israelites he was the closest to the ideal man of anybody of that day.

Why don’t all people have the image of God according to their good works which are pleasing to God? It is probably safe to say that every person does something that is pleasing to God in the area of good works. However, nobody is capable of trusting and obeying God without failure. Furthermore, people who depend on their good works to please God are not trusting God, but rather are trusting their abilities and determination. Their faith in God is limited by their performance which is not perfect. Early in the OT the offering of a sacrifice to God came into vogue. Cain killed Abel because God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice. But, the first sacrifice was when God took the skins of an animal to clothe Adam and Eve as an act of love. The Bible is silent as to how Cain and Abel thought that a sacrifice to God would win his favor. Noah offered a sacrifice to God after departing from the ark. Abraham was familiar with the meaning of the sacrifice. Somehow these pre-Mosaic people realized that a sacrifice was necessary to win God’s pleasure. See the story of Noah’s sacrifice in Genesis 8:20-21.

They were also aware of God’s compassion. From the provision of skins for covering of Adam and Eve through God’s protection granted to Cain and the deliverance of Noah and his family during the flood. Their was growing evidence that God was full of mercy and compassion. They could have faith in him.

What can man do to be reconciled to God? A sacrifice seemed logical. If man could slay an animal without blemish, a prized possession, perhaps reconciliation would be achieved. The sacrifice was an admission of man’s shortcomings, his sin and ingratitude. It was like a confession of sin punctuated with the shedding of blood. The sacrifice resembled the seriousness of the confession. However, it became easy to make the outward appearance of confession by offering a sacrifice while remaining unrepentant in the heart, the inner self. Jesus Christ became man’s sacrifice for sin by his death on the cross.

People can do their good works but what sacrifice do the make for their shortcomings? Whom do the trust? Whom do they obey? The OT people believed the promises concerning the coming of Jesus Christ. What were Adam and Eve’s thoughts when God said to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel?” The serpent would have offspring and the woman would have offspring. The offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent’s offspring but, the serpent’s offspring would also strike or bruise the heel of the woman’s offspring. Somehow the woman’s offspring would make the serpent’s offspring pay for what had happened in the Garden of Eden, but not without suffering caused by the serpent’s offspring. This finally makes sense during the last week of Christ’s life including his death on the cross. Christ was bruised, wounded by the offspring of the serpent, rebellious people. However, Christ crushed the head, or defeated the serpent’s offspring by his resurrection from the dead.

Abraham received the promise that his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars in the heavens. Abraham had two offspring–Ishmael, the results of his own efforts through his wife’s maidservant and, Isaac, according to the promise through Sarah, his wife. Nevertheless, Abraham believed the promise from God in Genesis 15:4-6; 16:1-4; and 21:1-7. The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:16 that the offspring of Abraham was Jesus Christ.

David received the promise that he would have offspring whose throne of his kingdom would be established forever and that his house and his kingdom would endure and be established forever before God in II Samuel 7:12-16. The people began looking for the descendant of David whose throne would be established forever. The longed for the promised Son of David because they believed the promise.

Other promises were received and proclaimed by the prophets pointing to a person who would be coming to rule the people of God forever. He would rule with mercy and justice.

People may practice good works, but fail to believe the promises. They do not have faith in God’s promises. They do not have faith in God.

The OT era is recognized by the people’s dependence upon the Law. Previous to the Law given to Moses, people accumulated a knowledge of “the Law of the Lord” through their experiences and those of the predecessors. The Law had the same effects as the Mosaic Law. It must be obeyed, which proved to be impossible since the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Hence, they learned that blood sacrifices were accepted by the Lord. God. All this was to no effect without faith.

Before Moses repeated the Law to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, he reminded them of the Lord God and all the great events they and their predecessors had witnessed. (Deuteronomy 4:32-39) He exhorted them to have faith in the Lord God who had intervened with mankind in this way. If there was no faith or fear in the Lawgiver, the Law could be disregarded. The first requirement in obeying the Law was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Failure to love the Lord your God, etc. and strive to obey the law would be idolatry. The Law would be greater than the Lawgiver. Likewise, for any who thought that they obeyed the law in its entirety, their works of obedience would be more important than the Lawgiver and become idolatry. They would have been guilty of breaking the first of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Law was impossible to obey. Therefore, the prophet Micah said, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Nothing is more humbling than standing justly accused of breaking the Law. So, act justly–obey the Law. Love mercy–you will need it. Walk humbly–you are guilty of breaking the Law. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” For the OT saints the reason for obeying the Law was the faith, love, respect, and fear that they had for the Lawgiver.

The faith, love, respect, and fear for God motivated the people to strive to obey the Law and to offer sacrifices in recognition of the failure, their sin. However, sacrifices could be offered which lacked significance. The offering of sacrifices also required faith, love, respect, and fear of God. It could not be done lightly without heartfelt repentance. King David wrote: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) The sacrifice could easily become just another chore to do and thereby become idolatry. The giver could boast in his works instead of the Lord God. It could be offered as an easy payment for the sin with no more effect than the practice of penance or it could be offered with a broken and contrite heart in the fear, respect, love and faith in God.

Faith was as necessary for the OT saint as it is for the believer in Jesus Christ today. When the Lord spoke to Noah, he had faith, love, respect, and fear for the Lord and built an ark according to the instructions he received from the Lord. Abraham heard the Lord speak , believed and acted accordingly. Likewise for all the saints listed in Hebrews 11 and all those unnamed saints whose acts of faith are given. This is a faith based on the testimony of others, as well as on personal experiences. This faith projected them into the future to act according to the unseen. The Apostle Paul says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Yes, the OT saints could have had the image of God in them. However, their standard for the image of God would have been the ideal man who completely obeyed the Law as a result of his faith, love, respect and fear for God. Who was their ideal man? The closest to it may have been King David. However, King David was an adulterer and murderer. He did not completely obey the Law. He is described as a man after God’s own heart. His attitude towards God was one of humble submission even when he sinned. More accurately, their ideal man was the promised Son of David recognized in the NT as Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate in the form of man. It is Jesus, the Son of David, whom believers are being conformed to. He is the one who restores the image of God to man. In him we recognize the very image of God.

The OT saints had the image of God to the extent that they had faith in God, obeyed God, and believed the promises concerning the future Son of David who was to reign forever. They looked forward to Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8; see also Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12 and Matthew 22:37) To this extent it could be said that OT saints revealed the image of God. However, all they had were the promises and the Law. They did not have God incarnate to recognize what the image of God would be. Their mission as a people of God was to tell the wonderful acts of God to their children and to the surrounding nations. Today, the wonderful acts of Jesus, the very image of God, are to be told to the children, neighbors and surrounding nations. It is difficult to recognize the image of God in the OT saints without first seeing the image of God in Jesus Christ.

I would like to say that OT saints had the image of God in them. But, according to the previous description of what is the image of God, it discourages that option. If the image of God is being restored to believers in Jesus Christ in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, then how could that image be found in people prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his death, and resurrection? Unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the conclusion must be that the OT saints did not have had the image of God being restored in them.

9. Does man having lost the image of God and now regaining it through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior change the significance of the Gospel?

Pascal is attributed this statement: “There is a god-shaped vacuum in every man which only God can fill.” That god-shaped vacuum could easily be the image of God which was lost when First Adam sinned. It is restored by the Second Adam. Jesus makes man complete. The curse of sin is vanquished. Now man can have freedom to obey God; have a harmonious relationship with God, his fellow man, and creation; and have eternal life in the presence of God.

10. The image of God is what makes mankind unique among all creation.

Certainly, it made Adam and Jesus Christ unique among all creation. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus was (is) the exact replica of God, in human form. Between Adam and Jesus Christ the complete man made in the image of God was lost.

Assuming that when Adam sinned the image of God was lost. What then would make mankind unique among creation?

(1) Man was a special creation of God. Man was made from what existed, from the dust of the earth he was formed. Then God gave him life. He blew into him the breath of life and man became a living being (soul). If that was how man became a living soul, it would stand to reason that all which had life also has a soul. God also formed out of the ground the beasts of the field and the birds of the air (Genesis 2:19). They also have the breath of life Man is not unique in the sense that he has life. He is unique because God made him to be different than monkeys, apes, gorillas, squirrels, pigs, sheep, etc.
(2) Man was ordained as ruler over all the living creatures on earth (Genesis 1:28). This was not lost when Adam sinned. However, it became more difficult. The living creatures became rebellious towards man.

(3) God communed with Adam and continues to do so throughout history (Genesis 2:16; 3:8-19). However, man’s communication with God became more difficult because of sin, although God could directly and indirectly speaks to man at any time. Mankind in his rebellion had difficulty in listening and heeding the message. God continues to be involved primarily with man while man deals with the rest of creation.

(4) Richard Deem wrote about the “image of God” with the title “Mankind
Created in the Image of God is Unique Among All Creatures of the Earth” found on the Evidence for God website. He actually dealt with the uniqueness of mankind among all the creatures of the earth. The uniqueness was due to the “image of God.” However, he never dealt with the theological implications when he linked uniqueness and the “image of God.” He listed seven categories which were unique to mankind: creativity; consciousness; personality; abstract thinking; body, soul, spirit; moral judgements; and social skills and learning. Each was confirmed with scientific evidence.

Mankind is unique among all the creatures of the earth. So are the elephants. That is why they are elephants and not mankind. Elephants exist in ways that man cannot. They are unique. The same can be said about every species. If they were not unique, the would blend with one of the other groupings. Which is to say, the uniqueness of man, monkeys, apes, gorillas, squirrels, pigs, sheep, etc. exists because that is the way God created them.