Thomas Boston has written a book called "Human nature in its four-fold state". As the title suggests he describes man in a state of innocence, fallenness, grace and glory. This article is the first of four on these various states. The full titles of all four are as follows: "man as God made him", "Man as sin marred him", "Man as grace transforms him" and "Man as glory perfects him".

Genesis 1:27 informs us that "God made man in his own image", language that is used exclusively to describe the creation of man. However, in addition to the use of this exclusive language, scripture also provides several other hints that man is to be distinguished from everything else that God created. It's interesting to note that man was created last. This meant that when he arrived on the scene everything he needed to survive was already present – plants to eat, cattle to provide milk and oxen for labour etc. In other words the world was made for man, not man for the world. Another point of difference is the special "executive divine counsel" which preceded the creation of man. There is no mention of a discussion between the members of the triune Godhead prior to the activities of the other days, but we read that on the sixth day the Father, Son and Holy Spirit held a counsel meeting – "let us make man in our image". This implies that God had a special interest in the creation of man. Yet another distinction is found in the language that God used to express His satisfaction over everything that He had made. After the creation of the plants and the animals He pronounced everything "good", but after the creation of man He pronounced everything "very good". All these statements imply that man is superior to the rest of creation. One final distinction is found in the very way that God created man. In the case of the plants and the animals He spoke the word and created everything "after their kind", but when creating man He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life". This marks him out as the pinnacle of God's creation, but the fullest description of man's uniqueness is found in these words "God made man in his own image".

1. What Constitutes the Image of God in Man?⤒🔗

There is obviously something godlike about man, hence the use of these two phrases to describe him – "in our image" and "according to our likeness". The former phrase comes from a Hebrew root which means to carve or to cut. Think of the carving of an animal for instance – it's obviously patterned after the original. So man images God in the same way as a carving images an animal. The term "likeness" comes from a word which means "to be like", so taking these two phrases together we can say that man in some senses represents God and in certain respects is like Him. In other words all of us reflect our Maker and this is even true of man in a fallen condition (James 3:9, 1 Corinthians 11:7). Sin may have greatly marred us but we are still in "the image of God" and not even the fall has managed to eradicate every remnant of our original glory. Think of Windsor Castle after it was scarred by fire some years ago. Great damage was done but even amongst the charred remains you could still see some evidence of its original beauty. This is also true of fallen man, hence "Rabbi" Duncan's comment: "man is a ruin, but he is a noble ruin". We can learn what this image of God in man is like from two sources – nature and the bible.

a. Nature←↰⤒🔗

"Does not nature itself teach you..."? (1 Corinthians 11:14). This text implies that we are warranted in making certain deductions from nature about the image of God in man.

1. Man is physically different. Of all the beings in animate creation man alone can stand upright. Even his posture seems to emphasize his superiority over other created beings. Furthermore, he has the ability to vary his facial expressions. A dog may be able to send out a signal that it's angry by snarling or barking, but it can't cry, laugh, smile or frown the way we can. Another feature which distinguishes man from the animals is that man alone can speak. Communication with an animal is very limited. It may learn certain things by rote but it can never think or communicate the way we can. Yet another difference is that man can also blush. Mark Twain was observant enough to note that: "man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to".
    
2. He also has a sense of morality. He instinctively knows that certain things are wrong and other things are right. The bible explains this by speaking of "the work of the Iaw" written in our hearts (Romans 2:15). This produces a sense of "ought" or "ought not" which intrudes into our consciousness through the working of conscience. And this religiosity is present everywhere and at all times. Animals have instinct which determines their behaviour but they have no sense of morality. That's why monkeys don't hold meeting to discuss the behaviour of other monkeys, but human beings do.
    
3. He can exercise the powers of reason. Blaise Paschal once said that "man is only a reed, but he is a thinking reed". We can all think, absorb certain pieces of information, come to conclusions about that information and then impart our opinions to others, although a former teacher once suggested that perhaps I didn't fall into that category. He informed me that "my head was for thinking, not for keeping my ears apart!" Nothing remotely resembling this exists in the animal kingdom. Most children can write a letter to granny thanking her for a birthday present, or they can read a post card received from someone on holiday. Even such basic activities as these have never been observed in animals.
   
   He has a unique creative ability. Birds can build nests, rabbits can dig burrows, but man has designed equipment which has enabled him to fly to the moon. Original ideas belong to man, not the animals. As a little boy I used to get excited every time Ford introduced a new car. My father was a Ford dealer and the introduction of a new model was a big event. No animal has ever experienced anything like that. Animals don't visit the patent office to take out new patents; but men do. John Benton put it like this:
   
   "Beavers may build dams, but men develop quantum mechanics, paint the Mona Lisa and fly to the moon. To say that animals are the same is like saying coal and diamonds are the same".
   
   Closely related to this creative ability is man's "aesthetic sense". He appreciates beauty in a way that animals do not. We all know what it is to take delight in the sight of a setting sun, or the beauty of a mountain range. A piece of music can also reduce us to tears, or even a particular rugby match can remain so etched on our memory that we get excited just thinking about it. All of us know something of these experiences; in comparison animals just grunt and make noises.

b. Scripture←↰⤒🔗

Not surprisingly both nature and scripture agree as to what it means to be made in the image of God. That's because God reveals Himself in both spheres. However, scripture expands considerably on some aspects of God's image that nature only hints at. Here are a few pointers.

1. Man's natural religiosity. "God is a Spirit..." (John 4:24). Only man is an uniquely spiritual being, hence the fact that he is instinctively religious. He has a sense of deity which is part of his mannishness and he can no more deny this than he can deny himself. So when the Westminster Divines defined the image of God in the Shorter Catechism this was their main emphasis. "How did God create man? God created man, male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, with dominion over the creatures". Notice that the image of God in man is described here along the lines of "knowledge, righteousness and holiness". How come? This is how scripture defines what it means to be "restored" in the image of God, so man must have originally possessed these characteristics in the first place. Colossians 3:10 informs us that the new man is "renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him". So if our renewal in the image of God consists of a renewal in knowledge, then knowledge must have been part of the image of God in Adam. He wasn't a primitive being who one day found himself in Eden without a clue as to his identity or whereabouts. On the contrary he knew that he was made by God, answerable to God and in possession of a knowledge of God's law, as well as having a highly developed intelligence with regard to his surroundings. Perhaps the clearest illustration of this is his naming of the animals with names appropriate to their make-up (Genesis 2:19-20). Fallen man also possesses amazing knowledge and his incredible achievements prove that to be the case. He has managed to crack the atom, fly to the moon and analyze DNA. Furthermore, he also knows that God exists (Psalm 19:1). However, the presence of sin means that he doesn't know God in a personal sense. This knowledge of God can only come about through the new birth and belief of the truth (John 17:3).
   
   Man's original righteousness and holiness are referred to in Ephesians 4:24. Once again this helps us to understand what it meant for Adam to be made in the image of God in the first place. If the "new man" is renewed in righteousness and holiness after the image of God, then these characteristics must have been part of Adam's original make-up.
   
   Therefore, when God made Adam he wasn't morally neutral with an equal desire to do good or evil, rather he was positively righteous and holy. In other words as he came from his Creator's hand he had a positive love for the Lord. He was capable of falling of course, but he had no excuse for falling because God made him positively upright (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Tragically the fall has marred us terribly in this area. We no longer possess righteousness and holiness – we can recognize it in others and in our hearts of hearts we know our need of it, but we have no desire for it. Only God can re-create us in His image in this sense and once again this renewal is a product of the new birth.
    
2. His physical appearance. Our text doesn't say that God only made man's soul in His image, it says that he made man in His image.
   
   This implies that there is something even about man's body which reflects God's image. Now the primary part of God's image in man is in his soul, but the fact that man in his totality is said to be in the image of God implies that in some sense or other our bodies reflect our Maker. That immediately creates a problem because "God is a spirit..," so how can a body reflect a spirit? Before you write this concept off as nonsense listen to some of the experts. John Murray: "it is man in his unity and integrity who is made in the image of God". John Calvin: "There was no part of man, not even the body itself, in which some sparks of the image did not glow". John Frame: "There are ways in which a body can picture a spirit. Psalm 94:10 asks 'does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?' God does not have literal ears or eyes, but our ears and eyes image His ability to hear and see". Perhaps this helps us to understand the incarnation a little bit better. Because man as a totality is made in the image of God, there is something about the human body which made it even appropriate for Christ to take one (Colossians 2:9).
    
3. His desire for fellowship. "Let us make man in our own image ... male and female he created them". Notice the close juxtaposition here between the "us" within the godhead and the "male and female" within the human race. This implies that both the man and woman as a plurality mirror God's image in some sense of the word.
   
   We are reminded here of what happens within the Trinity itself. God is a "plurality within unity" and there is a sense in which human relations reflect that. So the image of God in man hints at our need for community and fellowship. Anthony Hoekema comments:
   
   'What is being said in this verse is that the human person is not an isolated being who is complete in himself or herself, but that he or she is a being who needs the fellowship of others, who is not complete apart from others".
    
4. His authority over the animals. Immediately after affirming that God made man in His image, Moses went on to speak of man's dominion over the animals (Genesis 1:28). We call this the "cultural mandate". The animal kingdom and creation itself are to be subservient to man within certain bounds. This is part of man's uniqueness as a being made in the image of God. To deny that man has such a role and to treat all creation alike is to have "a zeal not according to knowledge". In fact such a philosophy constitutes rebellion against God because it denies that man is a unique being who is made in His image.
   
   ​In practice this means that it is the duty of scientists to explore God's universe in order to improve our comfort and welfare. It also means that it is right for man to make use of the animals and his environment so as to enable him to live to the glory of God. Men, animals and inanimate creation are not on the same level (Matthew 10:31, 12v:2). But does this mean that we can pillage the earth and use animals in whatever way we please? Not at all. God cares for them too (Deuteronomy 20:19, Jonah 4:11). So be careful how you respond to animal rights and environmental groups. Accept the scriptural elements of their teachings, but don't have an unscriptural zeal by swallowing everything they say.

2. What does this Mean for Us in Practical Terms?←⤒🔗

1. It means that God can hold us accountable for our deeds. Why will God judge man and not animals? He will do so because man is unique among His created beings. He alone possesses the ability to reason; he alone has the remnants of the law written in his heart; he alone possesses a conscience; he alone intuitively knows God exists. It is for reasons such as these that God can even describe Gentiles as 'without excuse' (Romans 1:20). That's why we all need to flee to the Saviour who has done what we cannot do (Isaiah 53:6).
    
2. It means that we dare not esteem lightly the dignity of other human beings. Murder is a heinous crime demanding the forfeiture of the person's life precisely because men are made in the image of God (Genesis 9:6). Apartheid is also a stench in God's nostrils for the same reason. Because of sin we tend to despise certain folk who have strange personalities, little intelligence or idiosyncrasies which annoy us. God demands we love them for this reason – they are made in his image. Anthony Hoekema once again reminds us of our duty:
   
   "Even a person who is living a disreputable life, who has become an outcast from society, who has not a friend in the world – even such a person still bears God's image, and that image we must honour. Because everyone we meet is an image-bearer of God, we may not curse him or her but we must love that person and do him or her good".
    
3. It means that we have the potential of being renewed in the image of God. The image of God in man has been badly marred but not eradicated. However, praise God it can be renewed. That's because God has sent One in His own image for us men and our salvation (Hebrews 1:3). Through Him we can be renewed. By looking to Him with the eyes of faith you too can be renewed in the image of God in your soul. And while that image of God is not renewed entirely at the point of conversion, nevertheless, it can be further renewed in exactly the same way as it was established in the first place, by looking to Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Then one day your renewal in God's image will be complete when you catch a glimpse of Him at His return (1 John 3:2). All through Christ. Where do you stand in relation to these great truths?