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The Story We Find Ourselves In (Part 3) - God's Image

This week, Pastor Dustin explores a bit of what it means to be created in the image of God . . . to have "God's thumb-print" on our souls.  From considering how this concept takes root in Genesis 1 & 2, we are invited to consider what it means to "image God" in our world.  To Listen to Pastor Dustin's Sermon, click here.

Human Beings in God's Image

In chapter 3 of  his book, The Book of Beginnings, Ben Clausen suggests a number of characteristics that reflect at least part of what makes us unique as human beings created in God's Image.  These include:

  • The realization that we are wholistic (as opposed to "dualistic" ) beings.   The human body was created good, and as human beings we experience conscious thought.  While consciousness cannot be fully explained naturalistically, neither can it be separated from our physical existence.  This is reflected in the way that scripture does not anticipate our final redemption in terms of disembodied spirits but in terms of a resurrection.
  • The realization that we possess free will.  In contrast to the concept of determinism, we have  the ability to act in ways that are not simply (or complexly) the result of other causes.  That is not to say that many of our responses are not the result of conditioning, but rather that we have the option of responding otherwise.
  • The realization that we are beings who are meant to live in loving relationships with each other.  Whether it is in the context of the intimacy of marriage and family, or the richness of shared friendship and community, reflecting God's Image is not something we can fully do in isolation.
  • The realization that we are given a unique role as stewards of creation, and that being in God's image is not only reflected in the fact that we have that role, but also in how we exercise it.
  • The realization that being in God's image implies, and requires, that we are in relationship with God.  Our ability to reflect God's Image in the world well involves honoring and responding to God . . . something that is richly symbolized in the Sabbath.
You will want to read more about this in chapter 3 of the book where these ideas (and much more) are developed more fully and eloquently.  If you would like to explore how others have reflected on what it means to be created in God's Image, you can check out these resources/links:


*If you would like to look at a study outline on the Image of God (used in a baptismal class) click on the study guide at the bottom of this page under "attachments"

God in Human Being's Image

Tony Compolo is credited with this saying:

"In the beginning, God created mankind in God's own image
 . . . and then mankind returned the favor"

One of the ways that discussions about what it means to be created in the image of God sometimes derail or go awry is when we get this reversed. 

Take a few moments to reflect on these classic texts that speak to what happens when this gets reversed:

How would you explain / describe what it is that goes wrong here?



Genesis 1:26-31

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves along the ground.

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the breath of life in it -- I give every green plant for food."  And it was so.

God saw all that he had made and it was very good. 



Reflecting God's Image in How We Rule Over the Earth

Some questions for reflection:

  •     Why is it important to look carefully at the God who is revealed in the first 5 days of creation, and how God regards creation before we read the verses about ruling over the earth?  How does this impact our understanding of how our stewardship is to be exercised?
  •     When you think about the way caring for God's creation is sometimes portrayed as getting in the way of what humans want, how do these passages of scripture help provide balance and perspective?


Other Resources to Consider When Reflecting on the Stewardship of Creation

And It Was Good - Review Article by Jo Ann Davidson

Adventist Environmental Advocacy

We Can Solve It

The Christian Environmental Association

A Christian Environmental Ethic



Attachments (1)

  • Study Guide 3-A Reason to Believe (Awareness of God's Image).pdf - on Sep 19, 2008 4:35 PM by Ken Curtis (version 1)
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