We Are Glory Reflectors

Over the last two millennia theologians, scholars, and pastors have suggested many ideas about what it means to be created in the image of God. 

• Some have identified it with our capacity for rational thought. But what about those whose brains do not function beyond the level of an infant? Do they bear the image of God? 

• Some have identified it with our capacity to walk upright among all the other creatures God has made. But what about those who cannot walk? Do they bear the image of God? By the way, we are told in the Scriptures that from eternity past God exists as Spirit [John 4:24]. So we cannot assign the image to our stature. 

• Still others have identified it with our sense of self-awareness. But what about those who lack a developed sense of self-awareness? Do they still bear the image?

We cannot locate the image of God in our rationality, physical stature, personality, or self-knowledge. The reason being that the Bible doesn’t compartmentalize us but takes account of our whole person. 

So, what does it mean to be created in God’s image? Since we are created in the image of God we have a unique capacity to reflect the glory of God back to Himself and out into the world He made.

“Since we are created in the image of God we have a unique capacity to reflect the glory of God back to Himself and out into the world He made.”

We are Unique Creatures

In Genesis 1:27 we see God take counsel with Himself and say, “Let us make man in our image.” This statement is unique among all the other creative acts recorded in Genesis 1.  Up until this point in the story, we see God saying “Let there be…” followed by the statement “…and so it was.” 

However, when God turns his attention to the creation of humankind it moves from the impersonal “let there be” to the personal “let us”. In fact, rather than just speaking humanity into existence, we are told in Genesis 2 that God forms the man from the dust of the earth and breathes life into him. God is up close, personally, and intimately involved in the creation of humanity.

In addition, instead of “and it was so” we see a threefold summary: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”.

That’s followed by a threefold blessing: “God blessed them…be fruitful & multiply, fill the earth & subdue it, have dominion over all other forms of life.”

Moreover, up until this point in Genesis 1, when God creates other forms of life like the things that creep along the ground, the livestock, the birds, & the fish He makes them “according to their kinds”. However, when God forms humankind, they are not made according to their kind but according to His image & likeness. In other words, the design specs for humanity are based on God Himself. 

So, if you haven’t been keeping track, you have the personal attention, the threefold blessing, and the blueprints for humanity based on God Himself. Each of these speak to the uniqueness of human beings as those creatures made in God’s image. While God cares for all that He has made, there is nothing else in all of creation as personal and precious as those made in the image of their Creator. While there are all sorts of unique species we have discovered across the globe, there is none more unique than human beings.

We are Glory Reflectors

What about this “capacity to reflect God’s glory”? The same language we find in Genesis 1:26-27 is used again in Genesis 5:3 when Adam has a son: “he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image.” In Genesis 5, when Seth is born, Moses tells us that Seth bore a resemblance to his father. Seth was “after his image”. In other words, when you looked at Seth you saw something of Adam. Many of us know this to be true when we look at our own children, my son not withstanding. When my son and I stand next to each other and I introduce him to someone as my son, the other person says, “I would have guessed that”. My son is “after my image” in that he bears a resemblance to me. Unfortunately for him, he looks like me! You might say he is a reflection of me. 

Just as my son is a reflection of me, Seth was a reflection of Adam. Adam, along with all who descend from him, are reflections of God. To put it as simply as I possibly can, being made in the image of God means we were created as glory reflectors. 

While there are so many ways in which inanimate creation declares the glory of God [Psalm 19:1] and lower forms of animate creation demonstrate the glory of God, it is only humanity that reflects the glory of God. We reflect back to God and out into the world God’s worth & weight, splendor & majesty, beauty & magnificence.

As the only creatures made in the image of God, we were created with a unique capacity to reflect God’s glory back to Himself and out into the world. This is what it means to be made in God’s image and whether we can walk, think abstract thoughts, or have a fully developed sense of self-awareness, we can all reflect the majesty & magnificence of God.

-written by Shannon Collins

Shannon is one of the pastors at Redeemer and has led the church through preaching and vision since its launch in late 2015. He and his wife Karen live in Fate with their two kids. You can connect with Shannon here.