The Doctrine Of The Image Of God
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, October 15, 2025 (Donate)
Sadly, we are in a culture where people kill people, abort the
young, euthanize the aged or sick. Around the world we see tyranny, hostages, and
harm in atrocious ways. Yet, anyone in their right mind knows that murder and
other terrible things done to fellow man is wrong.
For instance, if someone sees an innocent person murdered
before their own eyes, it should be a haunting experience. But the same person
doesn’t flinch when hundreds of mosquitos get smashed by the front of a car! Ever
wonder why?
The reason is that man has eternal value—men, women,
and children. This includes the fertilized, preborn children, the elderly, as
well as the sick or disabled. They all have a value that far exceed animals,
rocks, plants, and even money!
The uniqueness of man is a Christian concept that comes from
the pages of the Bible. It is predicated on an eternal God—who created man in
His eternal image.
What Is “Being Made In The Image Of God”?
Then God said, “Let Us make man in
Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and
over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
(Genesis 1:26-27, NKJV)
Being made in the image of God means that man (male and
female) was created with spiritual, intellectual, moral, and dominion/ruling
capacities that reflect the nature of an all-knowing, perfectly moral, and all-powerful ruling God. Though man was not made in God’s full divine essence.
This image does not pertain to God’s physical form—since
God is spirit—but rather to man's ability-to-ration soul, dominion over
creation, and original righteousness. Man’s original state included knowledge,
holiness, communion, intelligible communication, and the ability to choose
good, thereby distinguishing humans from animals.
This likeness is seen in man’s reason, conscience, will, power
to rule and judge, and immortality of the soul. Man was made capable of
communion with God being pre-programmed by God with words, grammar, and
understanding so that Adam and Eve could understanding God and His divine
truths. Being made like this allowed man to exercise authority as God's
representatives on earth (Genesis 1:26–28).
Though the Fall marred and messed up this aspect of the image
of God, it was not entirely lost. Instead, the moral and spiritual likeness was
deeply corrupted—leading to physical death and finally an eternal conscious death
(i.e., second death/hell), necessitating redemption.
Through Christ, the believer is renewed in the image of
God—restored in righteousness and growing in holiness (cf. Colossians 3:10,
Ephesians 4:24). Nevertheless, we are still in our sinful flesh while physically
alive and fighting against our sin nature with the help of the Holy Spirit that
grows and sanctifies us (until the consummation of with new bodies and a New
Heaven and a New Earth).
Thus, while all people bear the image in a natural sense (giving
them eternal value), only the saved (i.e., regenerate) bear it in its renewed
moral and spiritual fullness through Christ (heaven-bound eternal value).
And have put on the new man who is
renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. (Colossians
3:10, NKJV)
Animals And Evolution
Being made in the image of God means that humans are
uniquely created with spiritual, eternal, moral, and rational capacities that
reflect God's character—unlike animals, which are not made in His image. Humans
possess a body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Now may the God of peace Himself
sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV)
Whereas the plants have a body but no soul or spirit and
animals have a body and a soul (nephesh chayyah in Hebrew), but man’s
soul is made in the eternal spiritual image of an eternal God.[1]
Man is obviously set apart from animals in that we have the
ability to reason abstractly, create and appreciate art, communicate with
complex language, and make moral judgments. Man unlike rocks, animals, or trees
are accountable to God and capable of having a relationship with Him.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man
his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. (Genesis 9:6,
NKJV)
This is in direct opposition to the evolutionary worldview,
which claims humans are merely advanced animals formed by random chance over
millions of years. The evolutionary religion destroys humanity’s inherent
value, morality, and purpose, reducing man to meaningless biological and chemical
processes.
Can you see why secular-influenced cultures, that holds to evolutionary
views, is steeped in murder, abortion, euthanasia, tyranny, and so on? In that
view, nothing ultimately matters and no one has value any more than mosquitoes smashed
on the front of the car.
Man’s dominion over creation (Genesis 1:26–28) is based on
being God's image-bearer, not an evolved primate. The evolutionary view,
therefore, is an attack on human dignity and destroys the basis for ethics. On
the other hand, the biblical view upholds that all humans—regardless of age,
ability, or ethnicity—have an eternal and intrinsic worth because they made in God's
valuable image.
Being made in God’s image sets man apart as a special
creation, not the product of evolutionary descent from animals which leads to unruly
chaos (unless they borrow from the Bible!).
Angels And Other Spiritual Beings
Angels and other spiritual beings were also created by God
and reflect His glory and power in certain spiritual ways. Even so, God never
informed us that they were made in the image of God as man is. Angels
can display attributes like intelligence, will, enact justice, and moral
awareness, but they lack the full scope of what it means to bear God's image.
They were not given a dominion to rule over, for instance.
Angels are spiritual and very powerful, yet they do not have
bodies like humans, nor are they given dominion over the physical creation. Man,
as image bearers (Genesis 1:26–27), involves a special earthly and spiritual
role: mankind was created to rule over creation, have physical form, reproduce and
have family relationships, and have a soul that reflects God's moral and
relational attributes.
Also, angels were not created in a family-based relationship
to God, whereas humans can become children of God through Christ. Adam was even
called the son of God in Luke 3:38 (not to be confused with Jesus, the only
begotten Son of God, who is God manifest in the flesh). Christ though
stepped into history to become a man, not an angel. Christ became part of the
family of man—which is not a problem for an all-powerful God.
While angels reflect God’s power and holiness to a degree
and they are spirit, as God is spirit, man alone is made in God's image. Image-bearing
man has a distinct role as His representative on earth, capable of redemption,
family, and eternal fellowship with Him.
Conclusion: The Bride Of Christ
Christians collectively become the bride of Christ because
humanity alone is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27), specially created
for relationship with Him. Unlike animals or angels, humans reflect God's
nature in a special way.
Through redemption in Christ, believers are united to Him in
a covenant relationship (Ephesians 5:25–32; Revelation 19:7–9), forming His
bride—the Church. This intimate union is possible only because man, as God’s
image-bearer, is capable of a love, covenant, and spiritual communion,
qualities not shared by animals or angels in the same redemptive way.
□
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website.
He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and
researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head
of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a
personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has
spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
[1] Some
argue that the soul and spirit of man are one and the same (dichotomous or man
having a dual nature with a body + soul/spirit) and other position is that the soul
and spirit are unique (trichotomous or man having a body, soul, and spirit that
is unique). The reason for this is that there are times in Scripture where soul
and spirit are equated and times they are not. It gets confusing because the
soul is spiritual. I’ve always taken a split view on this, that the soul
and spirit are like flip side of the same coin. Therefore, they can be seen as separate
and yet, have aspects of sameness or equating.
