Made in his Image

In the world of digital currency, cash is becoming less prominent. I am not even talking about crypto currency, I am talking about the digital representation of dollars on a computer screen. Transactions these days, in 2025, are just changing the numbers on a computer screen. No cash has changed hands.

In this type of world, I notice that I handle less and less coinage.  Being a dinasor before my time, I see this as a travesty. There is something about putting a coin in a pop machine and seeing the magic work. Coins are more than just a type of money, though; many people, my self included, collect coins and see them as historical artifacts. Coins tell a story. They link the holder of the coin to actions of the past.

You might be surprised to know that U. S. Coins did not start to have the image of a U. S. President until the early 20th century. That’s right, Abraham Lincoln replaced the goddess Leberty on the cent (the U. S. Doesn’t issue pennies, look it up.) In 1909. Coins didn’t always contain pictures of people on coins. The first time, the image of a person was stamped onto a coin was about the year 44 BC. Julius Caesar ordered his portrait to be put on the coins to show his god-like status. The coin belonged to the Roman empire, of which he was the head.

Much like today, Ceasr demanded taxes of anyone who used his money. A sect of the pharasees wanted to trap Jesus and asked  him if people should pay taxes or not. Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn’t really answer the question head-on. Instead Jesus asks the question found in Matthew 22:19-21

Matthew 22: 19-21

Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say unto him, Ceasar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Ceasar the things which are Ceasar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

It doesn’t seem like Jesus was trying to get the Herodians (that sect of Pharrasees talking to him) to become numismatists. Nor was he really answering the question about taxes. What Jesus is concerned with are the things that are God’s. One thing he is saying is that the things that bare the image of God are God’s.

It is true that everything belongs to God. He made it, and it is his. It is especially true about nature. Theologians would say that everything that God created points right back to himself. They call this natural or general revelation. Just as every picture painted by a professional bares their signature, God has signed his creation. Sometimes, artists get creative and try to hide their signature in plane sight, and sometimes the untrained eye can not understand the signature, but it is always there. God has signed his name to nature.

As true as that is, there is only one creation that a Bible records as baring the image of God. And that, after all, is what Jesus must be talking about. There is something so near and dear to the heart of God that he wanted to make sure everyone knew it belonged to him. It was his master piece! It is as if he said, “This type of creation must not only contain my signature, but it must bare my image.” This creation was man kind.

Genesis 1:26-28

And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

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

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

There is a common misconception that leads to a major doctrinal heresy, that when the Bible says that man was mad in God’s image, that it means that mankind shares the diety of God. This is completely opposite of what it means. Ultimately, being made in God’s image means to bear the mark of ownership. It means that God owns us.

Don’t check out on me now. This isn’t about slavery. It is not about God being some over baring monster who wants to use us to serve his pleasure. We are not created just so we can be used as robots to do the bidding of a higher power. God does not need you to serve him. This mark of ownership is so much deeper than just a chain that holds us to our creator. It is the sign of a relationship. We will get to this relationship later on.

To be made in the image of God is not just about ownership. It speaks to how we were created. When God made man, he chose to make man look, in some way, like himself. There are many ways we look like God. One is that he created man to be a triune being, as God is a triune being.

If you have been brought up in a christian home or have been in christian circles for many years, you should be familiar with the doctrine of the trinity. The trinity is a fancy word that describes God’s relationship with himself. It may be confusing at first, but God chooses to represent himself as a single unified being that has three distinct personalities. These personalities all have different jobs, but the same goal. They have unique voices but the same message. From the very beginning of time, and even before that, God existed as a single being that had these three distinct characters, if you will. They are given to us in the New Testament as the Father, the Word (or the Son, Jesus,) and the holy Gohst (or spirit). 

I have heard it expressed, that it is like water. It can exist as water, ice, and steam. Each part is still water. This may help a bit, but the analogy breaks down rather quickly.

As God has three distict parts to him, he created man is this way as well. We are triune beings.

We have a body.

We have a soul.

We have a spirit.

There is little doubt that we have bodies. This is who people see. It grows old, it gets sick, and it will die.

When a body dies, it doesn’t just disappear, yet there is a distinction from when it was alive. This distinction is what the Bible calls the soul and spirit. They leave the body at death. Sometimes, the Bible calls this giving up the ghost. Sounds kinda funny to a modern ear, but it just means that the soul and spirit have departed from the body. 

When man was created, he became a soul as well as a body. This took place when God breathed into man, and man became a living soul. This is the expression of life. It is who you are on the inside. Mind will and emotion. It is your character, how you think, and the things you know. These all make up your soul.

The spirit is harder to understand, but it is a part of our nature.  It is the part of us that can understand God. It is a part of us that seeks justice and knows goodness. The spirit is elusive, but it is a mark of God’s nature that he has given to mankind so that we have a link to himself.

There may be other ways in which man is made in God’s image, but it is enough to know that we were made in his image. It is not a stretch to say that man was and is God’s special creation.

It wasn’t just Adam and Eve that were created in the image of God. All of their children also bear the image of God. Being made in the image of God describes a special relationship we have with him. It means that people are unique from every other creation of God. It means that we have value.

Since you are made in the image of God, you are special to him, you belong to him, and he wants to have a unique relationship with you. You have value.

S. T. 
Acts 20:24
"But, none of these things move me..."