A Troublesome Image

Introduction

Perhaps no doctrine is more secretly despised today, by the masses, more that the image of God in man. This may seem strangely peculiar given man’s natural inclination to think himself the Master of his fate and the Captain of his soul. That is to say, that man fancies himself to be his own God. Why then despise a doctrine that clearly separates man from the rest of creation and exalts him to such a degree as to bear the very image of the Triune God?

As Gregory of Nyssa pointed out,

“In what then does the greatness of man consist, according to the doctrine of the Church? Not in his likeness to the created world, but in his being in the image of the nature of the Creator.”

But herein lies the answer to our question. The reason natural man secretly despises this doctrine and is doing everything in his power to openly crap all over it, is because it is a constant reminder that he is not God and never will be.

Our country, our world is a powder-keg with the doctrine of man at the front and center of every cultural issue…That is, the question, what is man lies at the heart of every issue. If man is the evolutionary product of one great big cosmic fart than that certainly effects the way you killing babies, homosexuality, the sexualization of children and trannies of every shape and variety.

However, if man is made in the image and likeness of the Triune God of the Bible it changes everything…It means that man, has inherent dignity, value and worth by virtue of his existence. It means that his dignity, value and worth are derivative…which means it’s derived from God, which means it is an immutable characteristic in our being…We can rebel against it, but there it is constantly bearing witness too us that God is there that He is not silent.

Hence all of the vitriol, hence all the vehemence, hence all of the rage around killing babies, gay-sex, and gentile mutilation. The reason people will defend those things and defend them to the death is because they hate God. The most controversial in the Bible still are, and will always be, “In the beginning God…” Because it means that man is designed and that he was designed for a purpose, and that only God has the authority and ability to determine such things…

There has been an all-out assault to remove all vestiges of God from society and yet, His image remains stamped on us like iron on wax…we can deny it, we can rage against it…but there it is constantly staring us in the face every time we look in the mirror, there it is every time we create anything, there it is every time we make a moral judgment, there it is every time we think, there it is every time exhibit love for another, and so on…any time we do anything, there it is – patiently rapping and ever tapping at our chamber door – and I’m not taking about a raven or Lenore, but about the image of God that we will bear forevermore.

You can run from it, despise it, defile it, but there it is, and it ain’t going anywhere. I have said at sundry times and diverse manners that there is no outrunning the Hound of Heaven. This should become painfully obvious when we consider the man as made in the image of God…Like the Psalmist says, “the fool says in his heart there is no God.”…or as Lewis described the Atheist as the man who doesn’t believe in God and is very angry at him for not being there.

The more we deny that the more suicidal we become…God is light and life and in Him is no darkness at all. Outside of God there is darkness and chaos and ultimately death…As Blaise Pascal said,

“What a Chimera is man! What a novelty, a monster, a chaos, a contradiction, a prodigy! Judge of all things, an imbecile worm; depository of truth, and sewer of error and doubt; the glory and refuse of the universe.”

The more man rebels against His Creator, seeking to exalt himself and build a tower to the heavens the more he finds himself in the nonsense of his own making…for example,

hypothetically speaking of course, I can become a woman if I choose to be a woman, but under no circumstance could I choose to be a black woman or even a black man…why? Don’t know – I think it has something to do with blackness being an immutable trait, but when it comes to sexual organs – science has discovered human beings are like a Mr. Potato Head.

The point is, sin makes you stupid. In trying to become more other than human, or what sinful man would call superhuman, we soon find ourselves becoming subhuman…and acting dumber than the beasts – and there are an awful lot of pigs wearing lipstick these days.

All animals are equal, and some are more equal than others…but man is not an animal at all – he is the image of God.

The Image of God

Either man is special in creation or he is not. If he is simply one more piece of sludge from the primordial soup who cares about his autonomy, or his self-actualization…if all that we think say and feel is the result of differing brain-fizz what reason would anyone have to be emotionally invested in anything.

Why would I care about anyone else’s rights, assuming such a thing, or choices, assuming such a thing. Not only that, but assuming I cared about the advancement of

our species, assuming such a standard by which to determine advancement…the first thing I would eradicate would be the homosexuals and the trannies given their inability to propagate – do the math.

And given that they have no investiture in the next generation, their only focus will be on this current one and on their own needs, preferences, desires, feelings – whatever you want to call any one particular brain-fizz and any one particular time. Therefore, if, man as cosmic-fart theory were correct, nature, assuming such a thing, should have corrected this a long time ago…given that homosexuals and trannies would simply be a drain on the current generation and could do nothing to advance it…the same goes for babies murderers as well.

However, no one actually believes this. In fact, we’re constantly told the opposite…that the

homo’s, trannies and baby murders are the most enlightened among us – they’re so special, in fact, that they are like unicorn’s riding over their rainbows of pure joy…it’s only the ignorant bigotry of the close-minded among that keeps us all from said rainbow riding and such.

I think that great presuppositional Dutchy would call this the irrationalism of rationalism…All this to say, no one actually believes any of that malarky…The only reason people continue to perpetuate such nonsense is because they need a reason to justify their rebellion. Everyone believes that man is special, that only question is, which worldview can account for man’s specialness?...and this is not a specialness in isolation – it’s a specialness that runs all the down and all the through what man is.

“The entire world is a revelation of God, a mirror of His attributes and perfections. Every creature in its own way and degree is the embodiment of a divine thought. But among creatures, only man is the image of God, God’s highest and richest revelation and consequently the head and crown of the whole universe.” Herman Bavinck

In the beginning God created man in His image – in the image of the Triune God He created him – male and female He created them. Man is the only creature that bears God’s image – this is what makes him special. In this, he has a capacity for imitation and worship that no other creature has.

It is worth mentioning that in the ancient world statues…images would be erected Usually as a representation of something or someone great…like a god or a king. Man in the image of God is a creaturely representation of God’s awesomeness. That is, through man’s limited capacities and attributes we can understand something of God’s unlimited attributes.

Paul says in Romans 1:20 that, “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world”…Nowhere, do we see more of God’s invisible attributes than in His image bearers.

Man was not just created to be, but to do. He is to represent the Godhead in creation as His image through dominion over creation…He was created as a prophet, priest, and king over creation. He was to rule over creation according to the will of God. He was to be a mediator and representative to creation according to the will of God and was to speak God’s word over creation according to the will of God. Every capacity and attribute that man has was given to this end.

Certainly, man is a relational creature – in fact, the only thing that was not good in creation is that man was alone – he needed a helper fit for him. He needed one like him but different…one that is equal in value but different in function…a co-creator, a co-inhabitor…thus, man and woman in covenant union for life more fully image God in their unity and diversity, in their relational love and loyalty, and in their procreation multiplying their dominion…all of this because God is One God and yet, three distinct Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Existing in perfect love, union and loyalty within the Godhead – perfect unity and diversity which only Christianity can account for – that is, if you don’t start with it, you can’t smuggle it in later…

Man has a personality, every single last one of us is unique and different in some respects. I guess we’re all snowflakes after all – but not in a gay way. Again, if you don’t start with personality…namely, a Tri-personal God (unity and diversity)…you not going to get downstream – personality doesn’t just spontaneously spring up out of start dust…

Man has a mind, though that may be stretching it a bit for some these days – they still maintain the mental capacities: man has dominion over creation through the power of the

word…language, logic, mathematics – man thinks because God is all-knowing. Man was given a will to determine right from wrong, good from bad, righteousness from wickedness and so on because our God is a holy and just God. Without an absolute moral standard outside of man – all you have is might makes right (assuming such a thing)…

Man is an emotional creature…he is to love what God loves and hates what God hates…man laughs and cries, and sometimes cries when he laughs…man builds building, and writes stories and songs and poetry – we create and we want to share what we’ve created – all because God is a gracious and good-doing God and He blesses to a thousand generations of those who love Him.

What Happened?

Sin happened. Rebellion happened. Hence, refuse with the glory. The image of God in man was not lost through the fall…all of his capacities and attributes are still intact – it’s is what man is. Man was created as a mirror to reflect God’s glory…through the fall man sought his own glory – he sought to place himself on the throne of God by being the absolute moral standard over creation. Man was to rule over creation according to the word of God…man’s authority was a derivative authority, not an original authority – in that, it did not originate from him but rather, was given to him.

So instead of submitting to the word of God and crushing the serpents skull, Adam passively allowed his wife to sin whom he was to be the head over, he submitted to the creation through the serpent rather than His Creator – God said, and the serpent said, however I will decide for myself…as a covenant head and representative man – we all fell in Adam. In essence, what man did, was turn from beholding the glory of God, thus reflecting God’s glory, to looking in a mirror instead of being one – like Narcissus gazing at his own reflection only to drowned himself…

Fallen man is like a cut flower…The image is still intact, but the ends to which it is now directed is perverted and corrupted, one may say that we are robbing God of His glory. Is there then, any hope for fallen man? Left unto himself – absolutely not! Fortunately, by the grace and mercy of God He has not left us unto ourselves.

He promised to send a new prophet, priest and king into the world to do all that Adam did not…This last Adam, would crush the serpents skull, and perfectly represent God to creation ruling over it as the perfect image bearers – in fact, to see Him was to see the Father. Through His perfect obedience, too the Father’s will, and representation of the Father’s will – even to the point of self-sacrifice (not self-glory) He would be given a name above every name, and at this name every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

Therefore, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. Jesus Christ is the radiance of the glory of God the exact imprint of His nature…He is the image of the invisible God the firstborn over all of creation…He is the Son of God, and He is the perfect image bearer in true knowledge, righteousness and holiness…and through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is this image renewed and redeemed in man.

Only though the regenerating power and working of the Holy Spirit, circumcising one’s heart and enabling one to see Jesus as the perfect God-man who lived the perfect righteous life that he could live and died the death that he deserved to die and seeking refuge under the covenant headship of the Last Adam can one begin to function as God intended – that is, for His glory. Therefore, come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.” ― C.S. Lewis