Toward a Christian Definition of a Human Being

The image of God consists far more in being loved, known, and cared for by God than it has to do with loving, knowing, or enjoying God. Our humanness is not determined by whether other humans care for us or not, whether we have a high IQ or low IQ, or whether we have certain physical capacities or the lack thereof. The image of God is not something in us, or in addition to our humanity, but something we are. The smallest child to the oldest grandparent, and everyone in between, is a human being made in God’s image. And that image is not lost by the Fall into sin (Genesis 9:6) though it is scarred by sin in Adam (Genesis 5:3). 

Jesus, THE image of God, who is the exact representation of God the Father’s nature (Hebrews 1:3) because He shares the same Being with the Father, is not only the One who Adam was created in the likeness of (Romans 5:14). He is the One in whom believers are recreated — not to become something we are not, but to be like who we were always meant to be like: Jesus (Colossians 1:15, 18), enjoying the same fellowship He has always enjoyed with His Father. For Jesus has always been loved, known, and cared for by the Father; and He has always trusted, loved, known, and enjoyed His Father. He is who gives meaning to what it means to be made in God’s likeness, and He is the One in whose image we are recreated. For, after the image of God was nearly destroyed by the Fall into sin, it can only be recreated in the true image Himself. The first image we have by virtue of our creation; the second, restored image, we have by virtue of our adoption in Christ as sons of His Father.

Your humanity is utterly unique. And what you are now is nothing compared to what you were always meant to be. You are not meant to transcend humanity, but to be restored to true humanity. Even for the Christian, we await our full restoration. For, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭LSB‬‬).