Made in God’s Image

Have you ever heard the phrase “made in God’s image”?

Readers of the Bible are introduced to this phrase early in the book; it appears first in Genesis 1:26 when God says:

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (NIV)

The Bible uses both the words ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ to say that human beings are like God in some way.

One could fill hours of sermons and shelves of books with what these phrases mean. I’ve heard some of those sermons and read parts of those books, but I’m certainly not qualified to write either a sermon or a book on this. I do feel qualified to pass on insights from others wiser than myself on what this phrase does and does not mean, especially as it relates to the name and topic of the organization Little Images.

What does being made in God’s image have to do with circumcising babies and children?

I will start with one thing that it does NOT mean to be made in the image of God.

Our bodies do not ‘look like’ God’s body, because God does not have a body. God is Spirit (John 4:24). While Christians value the human body as a good creation of God, the rationale for not cutting off good, healthy body parts does not come from any belief that our body’s appearance is what makes us in the image of God. Certainly, people who have lost body parts for any reason, including circumcised males, are still made in God’s image, no less than those who have all the body parts they were born with.

We do know that though humans are now sinful (not the case in Genesis 1:26), we’re still made in God’s image. Genesis 9 and James 3, both written about sinful humans, talk about being made in God’s image. James 3:9 connects the likeness of God in others with how we ought to treat them: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” We treat human beings with special respect and honor because of their status of being made in God’s image. To insult or mistreat a person is an insult to the God that he or she images.

But I still haven’t said what it means to be made in God’s image.

John Piper. Image courtesy of The Gospel Herald.

“Historically people have said things like our morality, our sense of right and wrong or our rationality, our ability to reason or our spirituality, our ability to relate to God or our aesthetic sense. You don’t find too many monkeys creating Mona Lisas… And I think, frankly, all of those are true and aspects of what it means to be in God’s image.”

–John Piper

“After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female; formed the body of the man out of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable and immortal souls; made them after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness.” -Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647)

“The image of God (Latin: imago dei) refers to the immaterial part of humanity. It sets human beings apart from the animal world, fits them for the dominion God intended them to have over the earth (Genesis 1:28), and enables them to commune with their Maker.” -Gotquestions.org

The purpose of human beings, made in God’s image, is often described as reflecting God’s glory: The point of being created in the image of God is that human beings are destined to display God. That’s what images do. -John Piper. (from “Why Do I Exist?,” a phenomenal article that explains this much better than I can.)

Being made in God’s image means our purpose is to represent God in the world and reflect him by our actions and our nature.

Circumcision is painful, not medically necessary, changes sexual function and comes with a risk of death. None of those points are truly debatable. (But we do have great info on the rest of our website if you’re unsure about any of those statements!)

Do your actions reflect God’s glory?

We reflect God’s glory and show him to the world best, not when we treat other image bearers in a way that causes them pain and harm, but when we treat humans with respect, compassion and careful thought. We shine as reminders of God’s own glory, not when we cause pain and flippantly say ‘well, he won’t remember it’, but compassionately say ‘is there any way I could help my fellow human avoid unnecessary pain?’ We image God when we are excited about Him and therefore, delighted (not disgusted) with the creation he made and called very good. And the world is indeed watching what we reflect:

“As a nonbeliever, the thought of a Christian circumcising their child seems to go against what it seems they preach/believe…A child can be expected to learn, understand, and practice the writings in the Bible, yet can’t be expected to learn to rinse their penis with water? A child is begged to be saved (from abortion) only to be born to have their body immediately modified? They can believe in something they can’t see, yet won’t believe the research presented in front of them? A Christian who circumcises in the name of Christianity gives the religion a bad name to outsiders like myself.” -Molly

“Many Christians have no problem shunning what’s common and accepted in society and defending their position using the Bible/their religion (birth control, sex before marriage, same sex relationships, etc.) yet follow the status quo like sheep when it comes to circumcision.” -Ashley

In the end, it’s simple:

Keep your son intact because HE is made in God’s image.

Keep your son intact because YOU are made in God’s image.