All of Humanity as the Imago Dei

“(1:26) Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. (1:27) So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:26-27).

For those who don’t know the Ancient Near Eastern context within which the Bible was written, there are several shocking features of the account which you might miss.

In the Image of God

First of all, the vast majority of Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks knew only too well who was “in the image of God.”

Of course, they knew, that was royal language. The sovereign king, and only the king, was “in the image of God.” Whether that meant the Assyrian Sennacherib, the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar, or whoever, there was only one existing figure, the sovereign over the whole earth, who was “in the image of God.”

In ancient minds, there was only one male figure to whom that kind of language could appropriately apply.

More than Just Kings

However, right at the opening of the Bible, on the very first page, we are told that this God has a rather different way of running the world.

This God wants every human being to be a specific and focused means through which He brings His own creative order and loving justice to the world.

Moreover, and subversively within its Ancient Near Eastern context, this role includes women as well! That’s the shocking point of the little comment in 1:27: “male and female He created them.”

This God, therefore, intends His own royal governance of the world, His own wise stewarding of it, to operate through every single one of His image-bearing creatures… including you!

Yes, this means you are made in the image of God!