The Human Person: The Image of God Created and Restored

Today’s reading continues in Section IV: The Human Person – The Image of God Created and Restored. Read here.

The image of God is restored in Christ.

We affirm that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the image of God. By his incarnation, he became fully human as the second Adam. Unlike the first Adam, he lived a sinless life, and thus qualified to redeem humanity from sin and its alienation from God. As the preeminent and perfect image of God, Jesus Christ is the human ideal to which every believer is being transformed by the Holy Spirit. As we partake in God’s nature, we are being conformed to Christ’s likeness by grace. This Christlikeness is revealed in the renewing of our character, practice, desires, and aspirations, and at his Second Coming, in the transformation of our bodies into the likeness of Christ’s resurrected body. (Col 1:15; Heb 1:1-3; John 1:1, 14; Phil 2:1-11; Eph 1:10; Rom 5:12-14; 1 Cor 15:45-49, 50-54)

The church is God’s new humanity, created by Christ who reconciles believers to God and to each other. This new humanity is being transformed to bear the image of Christ, the one who defines true and full humanity. (Eph 2:14-16; Rom 8:9; Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 3:18)

As bearers of God’s image, redeemed human beings are endowed with gifts and ministries in order to serve the common good of the church and bring glory to God in the world. Every Christian has been granted the privilege of participating in, and being an ambassador for, the kingdom of God through their various gifts and callings. However, all of these manifestations and practices are to be weighed against the apostolic witness to the gospel and Scripture so that no one is deceived by a false gospel or participates in the robbing of God’s glory. (1 Cor 12:4-7; Rom 12:4-8; Eph 4:11-16; 1 Cor 1:4-8; 1 Pet 4:10-11; Matt 7:15-16; Gal 1:6-9 1 John 2:19; Jude 3-4)

We lament any false notions of the new humanity that contradict the Christlike ideal and grieve for Christian leadership that moves away from Christlikeness, as is evident in prosperity and fame-based ministries where some even make claims to possessing divinity. Christ’s leadership example challenges such claims and the manipulation of others as a sign of spiritual authority. Life in the kingdom of God is characterised by humility, repentance, and reliance on God’s grace. (Luke 9:23; Phil 2:8-11; 3:18-19; 1 Cor 15:9-10; 1 John 1:8-10)

We await the resurrection of the body and the consummation of the new creation, when the image and likeness of God in human beings will be fully renewed. Then, God’s people will enjoy fullness of life and communion with God, with each other, and with all creation. (Isa 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1-4)