28. Imago Dei: The Image of God as Representative


28. Imago Dei: The Image of God as Representative


Shigir Idol
the oldest known wooden sculpture in the world
displayed in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

There is scriptural support for all four of the Image of God views being true (we and God have emotions and intelligence; we were created for fellowship; we were giving dominion over the earth; and we are God's representatives on earth).

But which one is the correct definition to the question, "What does being made in the image of God mean?"

In my opinion, #4.

The Image of God as Representation (we are His representatives/image-bearers.

The Hebrew word, tselem (צֶלֶם), translated "image" in Genesis 1:27 ("God created man in His own image") is the same word in Numbers 33:52 that refers to idols -- Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their  pictures, and destroy all their molten images..."

In ancient times, people held an Animation Ceremony for newly-carved idols in which the mouth was opened so that life could be breathed into them.

Judaeo/Christian Worldview

God = Creator of man
Man = Idol of God
Man = Animated by God's breath to Worship God
Man = Indwelt by God (Christianity)

Secular Worldview

Man = creator of the god's image
Wood = idol/image of a god
Wood = "animated" by man
Wood = indwelt by a god

Idolatry is not only a distortion of truth, but it's demeaning to us as humans. Imagine the ancients and how sacred they treated their idols, how they carried them around with the utmost care in liters during festivals, how they

We've replaced ourselves with wood. Instead of recognizing that we are the sacred thing, that we are the very image of God, we bow to wood, believing wood to be what we really are.

Public Domain

Swordcraft Tip -- In your spiritual warfare color, highlight Gen 1:27, and in the margin write: Image Bearers  (idols in Numbers 33:52, 2 Kings 11:18, 2 Chron 23:17).

So how does it feel to discover you are an idol? Share your answers here!

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