1. Psalm 8:4 (NASB)
4  What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?

2. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean? How Imago Dei is Affected by the Fall How Salvation Changes Imago Dei Practical Applications of Imago Dei Conclusions of Imago Dei

3. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean?
The word created (bara) in Genesis 1
Verse 1 – God brings into being “out of nothing” (ex nihilo).
Verse 21 – God brings into being creatures with life and a soul.
Verses – God brings into being creatures (man) with life, soul, and a spirit (God breathed) as a reflection of Himself.

4. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean?
God had a plan and purpose for all of His creation.
God created man differently than all other creatures.
Image (tselem) – to carve or cut off as in concrete similarities
Likeness (Demuth) – refers to abstract

5. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean?
“Let us (plural) make man in our image” – idea of conferring, speaks to relationship
“So God created man in His (singular) own image” – idea of a completed plan
“God … breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” – spirit (rauch), different than all other life
“Rule over” connotes a superior being to animals
“Be fruitful and multiply” – creative as in society, infrastructure, and more

6. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean?
We are spiritual beings – God is spirit!
We are personal beings – a personal God!
We are moral beings – God is Holy.
We are relational beings – Great Commandment and Great Commission – Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:1-12; Galatians 3:26-29.

7. Galatians 3: (NASB)
26  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

8. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean?
We are rational beings created to think, know, and learn – Ephesians 4:20-24; Romans 12:2.

9. Ephesians 4:20-24 (NASB) 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21  if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22  that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23  and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24  and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

10. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
What Does Imago Dei Mean?
We are rational beings created to think, know, and learn – Ephesians 4:20-24; Romans 12:2.
We are emotional beings – God is love.
We are creative beings – both offspring and designers/builders.

11. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
How Imago Dei is Affected by the Fall
Entrance of sin did not eradicate or destroy the Imago Dei – Genesis 9:6; James 3:9.

12. Genesis 9:6 (NASB) James 3:9 (NASB)
6  “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.
James 3:9 (NASB)
9  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;

13. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
How Imago Dei is Affected by the Fall
Entrance of sin did not eradicate or destroy the Imago Dei – Genesis 9:6; James 3:9.
Uncorrupted image of God was replaced by the fallen image of fallen Adam – Genesis 5:1-3.

14. Genesis 5:1-3 (NASB)
1  This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
2  He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.
3  When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

15. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
How Imago Dei is Affected by the Fall
The fall marred and distorted Imago Dei.
Man died spiritually
Relationship with God disrupted/also man
Moral purity lost, replaced by sin nature
Knowledge degraded to false philosophies and vain teachings
Emotions turned to selfish desires
Creativity oriented toward evil purposes and pursuits – Rom. 1:18-32; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:24-32

16. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
How Salvation Changes Imago Dei
Only through Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement and Resurrection can mankind be forgiven, transformed, and conformed to the Image of God (Christ).
Redemption = new creation – Colossians 3:10

17. Colossians 3:10 (NASB)
10  and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him,

18. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
How Salvation Changes Imago Dei
Only through Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement and Resurrection can mankind be forgiven, transformed, and conformed to the Image of God (Christ).
Redemption = new creation – Colossians 3:10
Sanctification = growth in godliness, becoming more conformed to the likeness of God – 2 Corinthians 3:18

19. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)
18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

20. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
How Salvation Changes Imago Dei
Only through Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement and Resurrection can mankind be forgiven, transformed, and conformed to the Image of God (Christ).
Redemption = new creation – Colossians 3:10
Sanctification = growth in godliness, becoming more conformed to the likeness of God – 2 Corinthians 3:18
Putting on new man is a conscious act of our will.

21. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
Practical Applications of Imago Dei
This gives significance to all of mankind!
“The Imago Dei is that in man which constitutes him as he-whom-God-loves.”
John Piper

22. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
Practical Applications of Imago Dei
The priority of Evangelism and Missions
The sanctity of all human life
The dignity and worth of each individual
Sexuality – important for society
Compassion towards others in need
The Church – If Jesus is the Image of God (Colossians 1:15) and we are the bride of Christ, then the Church is the Image of God in Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).

23. Imago Dei Genesis Chapter 1
Conclusions of Imago Dei
A correct view of the Image of God is necessary for a correct and complete Biblical Worldview!