IMAGE
God’s Image
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1
In What Way?
One of the best questions you can ask when studying The Word, or for understanding words in general.
“In what way?”
After all, there are lots of ways to understand the phrase “in the image”.
Most Common Answers
Answer for yourself. Or ask others. The most common responses you get are likely to be qualitative.
Man has the quality of - creativity, thought, consciousness. Man has the ability to pray, commune with God, worship.
While in and of themselves those things may be true statements, but do they capture the essence of the thought.
Representation
Consider this answer to, “In what way?” Image is “representation”. Mankind was created to be God’s representatives in His new creation.
To be someone’s representative is to stand for that persons interests, and not one’s own.
Dominion
The thought is reinforced by what follows both the declaration that God would make man in His own image and the action of doing so. What follows is the calling to “take dominion”. Man was called to represent God in the filling and subduing of this new work of God.
Ambassadors
New covenant believers have a clear calling in this way.
2 Corinthians 5:20 - Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.