Systematic Theology, Week 3, Summer 2015

What Is Man?

Image of GodWhen God created the heavens and the earth, crown of creation was the

creation of man and woman in God’s image. In this grand universe temple, humans were to be the representation of God. There is disagreement over what exactly constitutes the “image” of God, and likewise, there are misunderstandings regarding how the image of God is marred (or not?) in the Fall, and what the implications might be thereafter. It is important then that we should trace this theme through the Scriptures in order to find clarity on the matter.

Genesis 1:26ffAs noted above, the culmination of creation are man and woman, it is after they

are created that God declares “very good.” Only human beings are made in the image (Wnmlcb, in our (2 plural) image) of God and according to his likeness (Wgmlcb), and only humans are given a role in creation. In this text it is not explicitly stated what the “image” of God constitutes, but we can find some details about it, especially as it relates to the role humans are given in verse 26--ruling over Creation. This fits well with the two related explanations that are often offered for what the image of God constituted in the Genesis. Namely that humans are the image in the sense of: 1) a king placing his image in a remote part of his kingdom to represent himself to the kingdom and 2) the final piece of an ancient temple- the image of the god. Given that the tabernacle and Temple develop as God’s throne room, it is easy to see that both ideas could be employed here.

1. Created and therefore dependent.Genesis 1 depicts the Heavenly King making an image of himself. God made an

intentional decision (v. 26) to create human beings in a particular way and for a particular purpose. As Creator, creation depends on him for existence both in the moment of creation and for every breath. Furthermore, our Creator gives to us everything we have. As such, the Creator King has rights over his image-bearers—including the direction and development of their lives.

Likewise, Genesis 2 says that God “formed” the man and breathed life into him and put him in the garden (v. 7-8). This reinforces what we see in Gen. 1, we are dependent on God for existence, life, and everything we have.

The New Testament gives us further insight into God’s work of Creation. Hebrews, John, and Colossians all tell us that everything that exists was created through God’s Word—Jesus Christ. Likewise, we depend on him for our ongoing existence (Heb. 1:3), and belong to him, existing for his purposes (Col. 1:16).

2. In the Image of God and therefore subordinate to God the King, the Form.Humans are created in the image of God. The image of God includes: purpose

which includes dominion (we are to be vice-regents to the King); relationship (created male and female, and it’s not good that man should be alone); and holiness (or moral purity)- God called it “very good.”

Two related explanations are often given for the importance from God’s perspective of image-bearers in the Genesis. Namely that humans are the image in the sense of: 1) a king placing his image in a remote part of his kingdom to represent himself to the kingdom and 2) the final piece of an ancient temple- the image of the god. Given that the tabernacle and Temple develop as God’s throne room, it is easy to see that both ideas could be employed here.

It should go without saying then that being the image of we are subordinate to the one in whose image we are made. It is humanity’s job to reflect who God is and what he is like—and do that on his terms and in correspondence to his character and deeds. In other words, God has set the definition and parameters for what it means to be image bearers.

Furthermore, the image of God in a post-fall world is not a pristine image, as Gen. 5:3 teaches—Seth is born in the “image of Adam.” He inherits the rebellious, sinful, marred image of God as the image of Adam. It still entails a certain level of dignity—but not an Gen 1-2 image of God that can be appealed to in order to support the sentiment “this is who I am.” In fact this exactly the point that Romans 1:21f makes—people (from our first parents up to and including us)

3. Sexual differentiation is part of the created order, the very fabric of who we are is fundamentally male or female.

Genesis 1 makes the point that both man and woman are created in the image of God. “Male and female he created them.” It does not only say that God created humanity generally, but specifically male and female. So, being male or female is part of the created condition—we are en-gendered by nature. This runs contrary to some who want to claim that Gender is a product of upbringing and social conditioning. But the facts of the matter remain there are fundamental differences in chromosomes, hormones, sexual organs, body size, which in the majority of cases lead to particular behaviors in life.

Genesis 2 teaches that God made woman to be helper for man (cf. Ps. 10:14, 54:4, 115:9-11, perhaps John 14:16). This helper was not only not an animal, but not a man. The proper helper for man was like him—human—but different—female. Again we see the complementary nature of humanity, Adam was create as a male, Eve distinctly as a female. Jesus refers to Gen. 1:27 saying, “he who created them made them male and female” (Matt. 19:4).

The Scriptures uphold that there is a fundamental difference between who and what man is and who and what woman is.

4. Complementarity – created distinctly as male and female in complement to one another.

NT Wright points out that in Genesis 1, the whole scene plays itself out as complementary components: light/dark, Day/Night, water/land or Earth/Sea, Sun/Moon, and finally man/woman. Humanity’s complementary nature is not then arbitrary, nor is it just deeply engrained in humanity. This is not saying, in some new age way, that men and women are opposite forces or energies, but it is saying that complementary relationships are fundamental to creation itself. This is includes humanity.

Further, the call to live out the image of God—and humanity’s purpose in the world—can only be done as male and female—as complements. It is only these complements who can “fill the earth.”

Genesis 2:18-25The whole context of Genesis 2 is looking for a “helper’—presumably because

Adam had things he could not do, or things he could not do for himself—this implies a complement. In v 24 we find that the man and woman together become one flesh—only a man and a woman can become “one flesh.” And this “one flesh” happens in the context of marriage (when a man leaves his mother and father).

Again, Jesus refers to Gen 1 and 2 in Matthew 19. He mentions that humans are created male and female, and that the two join together to make “one flesh.” Though he is teaching on divorce, his understanding of marriage clearly includes the complementarity (and irreversibility) of man and woman. Consider also 1 Cor. 11:8, woman was made for man.

Paul also unpacks the significance of Genesis 2 in Ephesians 5 where he quotes 2:24. What is significant about Paul’s use of Gen. 2:24 is that he says the institution of marriage (the “one flesh”) exists because we are members of his body. In other words, the institution of marriage (along with existing for the purpose and glory of God and the good of humanity) exists in a mysterious sense to picture the Gospel. Marriage then is Gospel shaped (because it was designed to point to the Gospel) and requires that husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, and wives submit to their husbands as the church does to Christ. It would also seem to imply the complementary nature of the sexes. Eve is created out of Adam and in the same way Christ is the one through whom the church is created, and in salvation they are recreated in his image

Genesis 3:17-19After Adam and Eve fell into sin, God put them under a curse. While the curse

doesn’t remove the image of God, humanities relationship to the rest of creation is fractured, and their roles to fill the earth and subdue it will now be marked by pain and toil. If the above comments are accurate that the image is related to humanity’s role in creation, then we see that the image of God, while not removed, has been marred or broken in humanity.

Genesis 5:3In Genesis 5:3 Adam has a son in his own image and likeness and names him

Seth. Interestingly, this text is the genealogy that takes us from Adam to Noah. The narrative that follows this genealogy begins with the wickedness of humans. Taken with the comment of that comes immediately after the curse--that Eve was the mother of all the living--the implication is that Adam passes on the marred image of God to Seth. We

too have received this marred image of God from our first parents and await a remedy.

Genesis 9:6 (cf. James 3:9)Genesis 9:6 is part of the covenant with Noah and forbids murder on the basis

that humans are created in God’s image. God also says that he will demand an accounting for the life of every human being. So, we see that while the image of God may be marred by sin, there is an essential dignity that it entails which has ethical implications, as well as a punishment for not taking the “image” seriously. Noah is also told to be fruitful and multiply (9:7), linking us back to the original image bearers.

Exodus 20:4The next significant text in which we find the idea of the “image of God” is in the

Ten Commandments. God prohibits the Israelites from making an image of anything in heaven, earth, or the waters below for the purpose of worship. This is the first commandment Israel breaks in Exodus 32, making an idol of God from the gold they took from the Egyptians when God delivered them. Somehow, though it cost them 3000 lives that day, this becomes a constant temptation for Israel as they encounter the pagans around them who use images of their gods win worship.

Psalm 8Psalm 8 is a song of praise that revels in the mystery that the Creator God would

love humans and care for them. The psalm is framed by an inclusio (v. 1, 9): “LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” The psalm recounts how God put all things in their place from heavenly bodies to earthly beings, and yet he is mindful of humans. He even gives humans dominion over the creation. This leads the psalmist back to praise. In other words, the psalmist sees our “image-ness” not as a platform for boasting, but as an opportunity and occasion to glorify the LORD. This text comes from the period of the Fall, which further indicates that the image of God and the role implied therein is not lost entirely. However, setting this psalm in historical context, as simply as post-Fall, heightens the reader’s awareness that this is not how humans usually respond to God in light of our capacities. Actually, it is the opposite, the marred image in us leads us not to praise, but to striving for self-sufficiency.

Luke 3:23-37The “image of God” does not explicitly appear in this passage, but it should be

briefly considered given what we have said above about the marred image of God being passed on from generation to generation, starting with Adam to Seth. The genealogy of Jesus in Luke terminates at “Adam, the son of God,” and thereby sets the reader up to be thinking of Jesus in terms of the son of God, the New Adam, the one who carries the image of God that is unmarred. Jesus’s obedience as the son of God becomes an important theme in Luke, and in his obedience in the Gospel he becomes our hope. If he is obedient as Adam was not, the curse on us can be broken, and the marred image restored.

Romans 1:22-23In Romans 1:22-23, Paul says that humans, although they claimed to be wise,

exchanged the glory of God for images (εἰκόνος) made to look like created things. Not only does this show us a clear violation of the Exodus commandment that no images should be made and worshipped, but it also reinforces our reading of Psalm 8: humans do not turn back to God in praise in light of their wisdom, rather we exalt ourselves and rebel against God. The result of such rebellion is that God responds in wrath, and gives us over to the fullness of our depravity. So then, the marring of the image of God in us is a mortal wound, deserving death.

Romans 8:29 Here Paul makes a beautiful claim for those who are in Christ: that God is

working all things for us so that we will be conformed to the image (εἰκόνος) of his Son. Given what was said regarding Luke 3, in this text we have at least the promise that we will be restored to the original image of God, because of Christ’s obedience as the New Adam and the true Son of God. In fact, we will see below that the image of Christ exceeds the even Adamic image of God.

1 Corinthians 11:7In discussion of head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul grounds his opinion on

the matter in the theme “image of God.” His claim is that because man was created in the image of God and woman created from him, therefore the woman should have a sign of authority on her head that the man doesn’t. We do not have the space to rehearse all the considerations entailed in interpreting and applying this text, so for our purpose it will be sufficient to point to the principle of order. In other words, the image of God in man is a reflection of the God’s ordering of the universe. This order has implications for how we live and worship in God’s world.

1 Corinthians 15:49This passage makes a similar claim as Romans 8, in this case that just as we

have born the image (εἰκόνα) the earthly man, so we who will be raised with Christ on the basis of faith will bear the image (εἰκόνα) of the heavenly man. Here the idea of image seems to clearly beyond its link to humanity’s role in creation, as well as the inherent dignity of humans. In this case Paul is speaking of the bodies that the saints will receive at the resurrection. He contrasts them as perishable and imperishable, natural and spiritual, mortal and immortal, and the earthly and heavenly. For those in Christ Jesus, the promise is when the kingdom comes in its fullness, we will receive a body after the image of our Lord specifically one that is eternal and cannot die.

2 Corinthians 3:18Similar to the passage above, Paul here tells us that we are being transformed

into the image (εἰκόνα) of the glory of the Lord through ministry of the Holy Spirit. Whereas the text above seems to speaks of the transformation of our image in the day our of resurrection. In this case we get a picture of the steady transformation of our “image” as we grow in grace through the work of the Holy Spirit. Taken together we see the change in this life more and more into the image of Christ, and the final change where we receive the image of Christ in its fullness.

Philippians 2:6-7In the first clause of the Christ Hymn of Philippians 2 Paul tells us that Christ

though he was in the form (μορφῇ) of God didn’t regard that equality as something to be taken advantage of. Instead, he emptied himself and took on the form (μορφὴν) of a servant, even a slave, and died on the cross. Here we see image of God (in the truest divine sense) united with the image of God (in the Adamic sense) in order than Christ would die for us, be raised, and exalted for the sake of all the nations. As in Luke 4, Christ’s obedience for our sake is emphasized.

Colossians 1:15Here Paul tells us that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (εἰκὼν),

grammatically its closest to what we have in Genesis 1:26, but clearly the meaning is vastly different. His being the “image” of the invisible God is related to several other propositions that make clear that the derivative, Adamic image is not in mind here. Here we see Jesus as the one through, for, and by whom all things were made (v. 16). Likewise he is the one in whom all the fullness of God dwells (v. 19), and the one in whom we have reconciliation with God the Father (v. 20). In other words, here we are seeing Jesus as “the image of God” in the reference to his full divinity.

Hebrews 1:3Like the previous text, Jesus is here proclaimed as the fully divine Son. In this

case he is the “exact representation of the Father’s essence” (καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως) in whom all things hold together, and by whom purification for sins has been made. Clearly as above, Jesus being the representation, or image, of God here is not in the Adamic sense, but the divine. Though the finished work of Jesus is in view, here it is immediately related to his divinity.

Hebrews 2:17On the other hand, Hebrews 2:17 emphasizes that Jesus has been “made like

his brothers” in every way, in order that that he could make propitiation for the people. Though humanity’s image of God is not immediately in view, it is clear that it relates to this text. As Adam had been made in the image of God, so Jesus is made like his brothers for their redemption. He takes on the fullness of humanity in order to heal the marring of the image of God in us.

SummaryThe Scriptures begin with humans being created in the image of God. The

image of God in humans appears to be related to humanity’s role in creation and the order of creation. The Fall marred, but did not remove, the image of God in us. This is evidenced by the inherent dignity implied of humans and protected by God’s prohibition of murder. Though they are not to be worshipped, only humans are created in the image of God, and hence God prohibits the production and worship of other “images of God” in the Law. Psalm 8 glories in how God has ordered the universe and the role God has given to humanity. The New Testament adds another category of “image of God” when speaking of Jesus, in this case pointing to his divinity as opposed to the derivative image that humans carry. That is not to say that Jesus doesn’t carry that

image, in fact that is the point--Jesus is in the image of God as the New Adam, but also is the very image of the invisible God. In him the holiness of God touches the sinfulness of man, and through him, his finished work, and his Spirit, we are being transformed from one image (marred Adamic) to another (imperishable, glorified).

It is not uncommon to hear or read in the church arguments or assertions that find their basis in the premise that humans are created in God’s image. These appeals often address only Genesis 1:26, or perhaps a text like Psalm8, but don’t account for the shift in reality that occurs just a few chapters later that is just as important for us--the Fall. Paul’s exposition of human sinfulness in Romans 1 reminds us that those who are made in the image of God do not live or behave with the dignity that a naive reading of Genesis 1 would have us expect. In fact, we relish in “our” wisdom and use it to rebel against God. Paul implies the same point that God’s curse on our first parents for their sin makes has made clear--though the image of God is not removed from us and our role in the world remains the same, there has been a destructive change in the our relationship with our Creator and his creation. The image of God in us is still present but it has been marred by sin.

It is no coincidence then that Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David are viewed in the Old Testament as representing all of humanity, or Israel--God is re-creating the world through his covenant people. These programs ultimately fail, but are shadows that point us to the greater reality-Christ, the New Adam. First, we see as we trace the image of God theme through the Scriptures that sin is not merely a matter of disobedience, but it is also something like a disease or short-circuit that actively disrupts the image of God in us. Secondly, we find that the New Testament writers identify the work of Jesus and the gift of his Spirit as the means by which the image of God in us is restored.

In fact, Jesus is not only the image of God in the way other humans are, but he is also the very image of the invisible God. In his hypostatic union (more below), the greatness and holiness of God meet depth and depravity of man. He is not only our federal head, but the one in whom sin and death are put to death. Therefore, the image of God is not only restored in us, but in this life the Holy Spirit is conforming us into the image of the God-man Christ, and in the resurrection the perishable body of the flesh is exchanged. Therefore, the image of God theme points us passed the mere dignity of humanity to the reality that even the best attributes we possess are in desperate need of redemption and healing through the work of Christ and his Spirit.

Covenant with Creation

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:18-19

(Gen 1:1-2:3, 9:1-17; Jeremiah 33:25; Hos 6:7; Rom. 5:18-19)Genesis begins with the creation of all things, and man and woman as the crown

of that creation. For it is only after the addition of humanity that God says “very good,”

(Gen 1:31) only man and woman are created in God’s image,(Gen 1:27) and only humanity receives the creation mandate to be fruitful, increase, subdue the earth, and rule over the living things is given.(Gen 1:28) And yet, though Adam and Eve were the crown and representation of God to all creation, they were tempted and sinned. God immediately displayed his mercy and wrath, clothing the now self-consciously naked Adam and Eve and cursing them with enmity between the sexes, toiling labor (both vocational and partum), and expulsion from the land.

The Fall continues in chapters 4 with Cain’s murder of Abel, Lamech’s exultation in his own violence, and that even as mankind filled the earth-their hearts likewise became full of evil. God eventually views humanity as being so corrupt that he decides destroy humans by means of a flood, sparing only Noah, the only righteous one of that generation, and his family. Included in God’s declaration that he would save Noah is God’s desire to establish a “covenant” with Noah (the first occurrence of the word in the Old Testament); this covenant is further explained after the flood recedes.

God’s covenant with Noah represents a unilateral covenant between God and Noah as the representative of all humanity, and all the living things- those who were hid in the ark with Noah (Gen 9:9-10). It entails the stipulations that Noah and his family: 1) be fruitful and increase, 2) not eat meat with blood, 3) that humans, as created in God’s image, should not be killed, and finally that 4) justice should be applied in the case of a homicide. Accompanying these stipulations is God’s promise to never destroy the earth again by a flood (Gen 9:11). It should be noted, that though there are commands placed on Noah and his posterity, the covenant is not dependent on their obedience. In fact, as we examine the fulfillment of the Noahic covenant, we see that immediately Noah is entangled in sin, and so if it had been dependent on Noah’s obedience, it would have been broken within a few verses of the covenant being established! Thankfully, this is an everlasting covenant (Gen 9:11), still being fulfilled, dependent on God’s mercy and grace, of which we are reminded each time we see God’s covenant sign, the rainbow. Even in the short treatment given here of the Noahic covenant, the reader should perceive continuity between the creation narrative of Genesis 1-2 and the Noahic covenant. For instance, the mandate to both Adam and Noah is “be fruitful and increase in number” (Gen 1:22, 9:1, 9:7), Adam is told to “rule” over the earth (Gen 1:28), Noah that the animals would fear him and are given into his hands (Gen 9:2); and Adam is created in the image of God (Gen 1:27), while the commands to Noah concerning murder likewise revolve around humanity’s baring the image of God (Gen 9:6). Stephen Gentry notes that when God establishes his covenant with Noah, the Hebrew verb is not ת to cut” a covenant, as is normally used when covenant is first“ כרinitiated (as with Abraham [Gen 15:18]), but rather מקים ”to fulfill” a covenant (literally to cause to stand), which refers back to an already existing covenant.

To this we could add the apparent reference to the God’s covenant with day and night, and Adam in Jeremiah 33:20 and Hosea 6:7 respectively. So then, it appears God’s covenant with Noah is not a newly formed covenant, but rather the upholding/reaffirming of God’s covenant with Adam. While the covenant is not precisely the same because sin has been introduced (even after the flood God sees every inclination of the human heart is evil from birth [Gen 8:21]) and Noah (rather than Adam) represents the new humanity, the covenant with Noah is largely continuous with what

appears to be a Creation Covenant.