What is the 'Image of God'? Part 1

Mark 12:13-17 reads

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him. (NIV)

At first glance, it may seem that this verse has nothing to do with the image of God, but on deeper reflection, I believe that the image of God is a fundamental point that Jesus is using in this interchange. He says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."

Well, there is obviously a distinction being made between the two, so the first question we need to ask is, "How do we determine what is Caesar's and what is God's?"

Jesus asks a very simple question to help make this distinction. He asks, "Whose portrait is this?" Some translations make it "whose likeness is this?" and others, "whose image is this?"

The coin has Caesar's image stamped on it and so it ultimately belongs to Caesar. Therefore, the Jews of the day paid taxes as a result. While we don't have coins with Caesar's image on it, if you pull out a 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 or $2 coin today you'll find the image of Queen Elizabeth II. In a similar fashion, we also pay taxes.

We're looking for the stamped image to distinguish between what is God's and what is Caesar's. So, if the coin has Caesar's image stamped on it, what has God's image stamped on it? Is Jesus really just talking about money and taxes here, or is he alluding to something else?

We open to the very first book of the Bible and the very first chapter to find the answer.

Genesis 1:26-28 says:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

What is the image of God?

There are many different views on what this could mean. I'll cover just a couple and work through the implications of these as we go.

The first is in relation to what we are and what we look like.

The basis for this first viewpoint is that the 'image' refers to our physical bodies. Head, eyes, ears, arms, legs, etc. It also looks at our rational minds, our ability to reason, think, plan, communicate and so on. It takes into account our volitional nature, having a will, self-determination. Finally, it considers our morality and postulates that as a result there must be a God on the basis of right and wrong. Since we often define God as a 'person' it stands to reason that He bears the same characteristics, therefore the 'image of God' relates specifically to this "structural" perspective.

There are three problems that leap out of this perspective.

First, the viewpoint is based completely on speculation. It is derived from reasoning, thinking... the mind... without taking into account anything from the heart. There is no emotion or love involved in this view, but we know that God is love and that God is a personal God. If there is no love involved, and God is love, does it really reflect the 'image of God'?

Second, it assumes that the image of God regards the nature of our being. This is an assumption that continues with pure speculation.

Third, and possibly the most important point, is that it begins with us. It looks at us in our fallen humanity and neglects to take this into account. As we will see later, we are a distortion of original humanity and so to begin with us begins with something flawed and then tries to project this flawed nature back onto a perfect God. We need to begin with Jesus, the one true human who was the exact representation of God, the true image of God.

Scripture tells us as much in many places, reinforcing the point that we must begin with Jesus.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. - 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. - Hebrews 1:1-4

Another, slightly longer verse from Paul is found in Colossians which also leads well into the second viewpoint.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He [the Son] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:9-18

The last part of this passage from Colossians leads well into the second viewpoint, that discusses what we do and our role in creation. Both the Colossians and Hebrews passages discuss the supremacy and superiority of Christ as the head of the Church and superior to the angels.

We can see some relation to this perspective in the Genesis 1 passage where God says, "Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" and follows up with a command to do so.

At this point we need to discern what the term 'rule' over all the earth really means. To some it looks like power and authority, orders and commands. Ruling with an iron fist, so to speak.

Once again, to gain some insight into what is meant by 'ruling' over all the earth we must start with Jesus. He showed that dominion is not about commanding or dictating rules and orders, but rather it is more about service. If I may be so bold, Ephesian 5:21-30 sheds some light on this subject, suggesting that wives submit to their husbands in the same way that the Church submits to Christ. Paul doesn't stop here, but goes on to explain how Christ leads the Church, He loved the Church so much that He gave His life for it, and continues to feed and care for it.

As has already been mentioned, God is love. He is the provider and nurturer. He is the lover. He rules through love.

God didn't make human beings so that He could rule over us. He didn't make us so He had someone to command or to "be in charge of." He didn't even make us so that He had someone He could love and serve. He didn't need anyone to talk to, He didn't need anything. To suggest He did is to suggest that God didn't love before creation and needed someone to love. Even more, it suggests that God wasn't perfect.

But God was always perfect. He always had someone to love, serve and talk to. He already had a perfectly harmonious relationship within the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He was perfect before creation and remains perfect now. So, even though God rules over all creation and commanded us as human beings to rule over all the earth, the image of God is not about ruling over anything.

So if the image of God isn't about what we look like or the role we play ruling over the earth, then what is it? And is Jesus really talking about money and taxes?

We'll look at that in Part 2.