Imago dei is an idea that fascinates us as Christians, as humans. The thought that we are created in God's very image, that in some sense we participate in the divine reality, has thrilled and fascinated Christian thinkers for centuries. Indeed, it has taken on a stature that belies its limited scope in scripture - in fact, most of the narrative doesn't speak to the idea, and the few places where it is referenced assume much and clarify little. What does it actually mean that we are created in God's image? Does this vague yet captivating idea carry any weight for those of us attempting to engage missionally with twenty-first century contexts? I suggest that, perhaps, a bit of contextual reflection offers a wealth of insight for us, both as individuals and as communities.
I have no illusions about resolving the question of what the concept of imago dei means in the biblical text; such a task would be indeed challenging for a brief article, even if I had the expertise to attempt it. Instead, I want to offer one possible avenue for reflection and a few implications, leaving the door open to other interpretations as well. My thoughts are based largely on J. Richard Middleton's book The Liberating Image.1 Middleton’s work focuses on the language of image in Genesis 1, attempting to place that language in the ancient near eastern context in which it was written. Middleton suggests that the language as found in Egyptian and Mesopotamian sources was used in relation to the power of the king. The image of God is royal language - the king was held to be the image of the gods, and as a result the loyalty and service due the gods was also due the king.
When we read Genesis 1, on the other hand, we find a remarkable transformation. Instead of the king as the image of the gods, we find that humanity, both man and woman, universally bears the image of God. What this means in the Genesis text is that humanity is entrusted with the divine task of ordering and filling creation. To be created in the image of God is a vocational calling in which we participate as God's stewards, in community and service together, participating in God's own creative activities.
What does this mean for us, today, as twenty-first century humans in contexts where so often it seems as though that creative vocation has been neglected or abandoned? I suggest that, if the language of the image of God is vocational, then it can and should inform our understanding of our calling as Christians. In particular, it shapes the way that we think about what Christian community is and does. There is a wealth of implication to draw from this concept; I'd like to suggest a few thoughts for consideration:
• Dignity: If all of humanity is created in God's image, then we all carry inherently the stamp of God's own authority. Marred though it may be, the image remains (see Gen. 9:6). The biblical narrative is the story of humanity caught between image and curse, struggling to find its vocation and failing miserably. One word that has been used to describe our condition is shame. Christian community, then, becomes the place where our shame is removed and our dignity restored. To be human is to carry an inherent dignity as God's steward - to be Christian is to call that dignity to fruition in Christ.
• Equality: If all are created in God's image, and if all are called to participate in the creative task, then all are equal in regard to authority. Hierarchy, in the biblical narrative, has no part in the "created order". It comes as a result of sin and curse in Genesis 3. Divisions along gender, national, ethnic, or economic lines are a corruption of the image of God within us. Christian community becomes the place where responsibility for fulfilling the creative task is shared by all, without distinction and hierarchy.
• Service: Although I've focused primarily here on the Genesis narrative, we as Christians understand the biblical narrative as coming to its apex in Christ. In fact, the New Testament often refers to Christ as the one in the image of God; we are the people who are now being formed into the image of Christ. It is illuminating then that Christ's authority is revealed most fully in a paradoxical way - through his taking on the cross. The one who is the perfect imago dei, who is the perfect steward of God's authority, displays it most clearly when he sets aside power in self-giving service to others. The New Testament, over and over, connects Christ’s authority with his humility and service. Christian community is most Christian, most in the image of Christ, when it demonstrates his self-giving love to others.
• Empowerment: If to be human is to be caught between image and curse, and if the work of Christ has defeated the curse, then it follows that Christian community is the place where we are freed again to participate in the divine task. Christian community should be the place where we are empowered to be truly human, in the sense that we are invited to take up our creational responsibilities and enter into God’s creative activity in the world.
Much more could be said – each of these thoughts barely scratches the surface. At the least, it is my hope that these thoughts might serve as an encouragement and an enticement to further reflection on what it means for us to be created in God’s image and for our communities to be oriented towards its reality.
1 Middleton, J. R. (2005). The Liberating Image. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.
 Scott Berkhimer blogs @ theopraxis and lives in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, home of the Liberty Bell, the cheesesteak, and the Eagles. He is the husband of Joy and the father of two fantastic boys, Jason and Christian. By day he analyzes statistics for a large investment firm, by night he is a student in the LEAD MDiv program at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, PA, and occasionally...he sleeps. |
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