Value & Dignity excerpt from the IVCF Doctrinal Basis We believe in… The value and dignity of all people: created in God’s image to live in love and holiness, but alienated from God and each other because of our sin and guilt, and justly subject to God’s wrath. The actual basis of faith statement pertaining to our session

What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Questions to Ponder Created in God’s image to live in love and holiness, What does it mean to be created in the image of God? The over-arching questions that frame our discussion

Images of God Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

Images of God Genesis 5:1-2 (NRSV) “This is the list of the descendents of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them ‘humankind’ when they were created.”

Image of God in Persons People are NOT like God in: Divine Attributes: infinity, immutability Relative Attributes: omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence People are like God in: Personal Attributes: characteristics including but not limited to reason, intellect, emotions, imagination, will, personality Moral attributes: holiness expressed in love

The Image of God The doctrine of the image of God ~ the imago Dei ~ is the foundation for human value and dignity and for biblical ethics.

Image of God: Implications Our worth is based on being not in our doing. Authentic personal relationships are possible Real Communication Real Love Real Freedom Provides a partial valuation of our worth Because we are made in the image of God, we are good. But, because of sin, the image of God has been marred. IE, we don’t have the image of God just when we are somehow useful to society or the church, but it is innate Genuine relationship not just chemical reactions producing urges to continue the species and protect ourselves We aren’t just determined in a closed system of universal laws governing our behavior until the extinction of our life