Seven Theories of the Imago Dei

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

God created man in his own image (Latin Imago Dei). How exactly does man bear God’s image? There are seven main theories:

1. Some believe that this means that man’s physical features are a copy of God’s physical features (cf. Gen 5:3).
2. Some say that this means that man’s upright posture (which distinguishes him from the rest of the animal kingdom) reflect God’s upright posture.
3. Some believe this means that man has dominion over the animals.
4. Some of the early Christians said that the divine image was something God originally gave man, but that the divine image was lost in the Fall (Gen 9:6).
5. Many say that this means that God gave man spiritual qualities like his own (e.g., the ability to think on a very high level, the power to communicate meaningfully, the ability to look beyond oneself to higher goals, and the propensity to examine one’s own motives and actions).
6. Man’s being made in God’s image sets him apart from every other creature; this would speak of the need for humans to treat one another with dignity and respect.
7. The fact that man is made “in the image of God” means that man is not God. Man has a likeness of God; he is like God in many respects; however, he must remember that he himself is not God.