Image of God

What does it mean to be made in the image of God?

Stanley J. Grenz says that there are four models:

The structural view: The divine image is "a formal structure of the human person…something we possess, and it includes the properties which constitute us as human beings. … above all our rationality and moral nature, to which some proponents add our capacity for holiness." One example of this approach is Irenaeus, who says that the image = rationality + moral freedom + responsibility. In contrast, our "likeness" to God = a "robe of sanctity." According to Irenaeus, we lose the likeness in the fall, not the image; then we receive the likeness back again through the work of Christ.

The relational view: The divine image is "a standing before God." Luther and Calvin both identified the image more closely with the righteousness which is marred by sin. So fall has "effaced the image," but not completely. N.B. Special standing may be understood BOTH representationally, or vocationally (we've been given a job to do for God which sets us apart) AND as special fellowship of "reciprocating love" (we're set apart because of how God loves us and enables us to love Him).

The dynamic view: The divine image is "a goal or destiny God intends for his creation." Daniel Migliore says, "Being created in the image of God is not a state or condition but a movement with a goal: human beings are restless for a fulfillment of life not yet realized."

The community view: "The divine image is a shared corporate reality. It is fully present only in community." This view takes the image to be social because, after all, the being in whose image we're made is a Trinity of three persons joined together in loving community. The human community which now reflects the divine community comes to its most complete earthly expression in the community of the Church.

SOURCE: Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), pp. 177-180.