Torch, Spring/Summer 2007

J. Gresham Machen, called by some “the last of the great Princeton theologians,” once said, “False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel.” Increasingly, the gospel falls on deaf ears when what it means to be human is lost. Understanding that man is a sinner in need of God’s grace and that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, was willingly crucified upon a real Roman cross as a ransom for man’s sin is becoming irrelevant as our culture blurs what we are. Since God has placed such radical and eternal value on human beings, we affirm His plan and priorities when we share the good news of the gospel: • The Bible says all of us are sinners (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12; Romans 3:22-24). • The Bible makes it clear that because of our sin we are alienated from God (Eph. 2:12-13) and unable to save ourselves (Eph. 2:1-5, 8-9). • God the Father through Jesus, His Son, saves us by His grace through faith (John 1:12; 3:14-16; Romans 5:8; 10:9-13). This gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ! Eternity is forever. May each of us by faith receive the precious gift of sins forgiven and eternity in heaven with the Lord! value actually begins. The moment of conception, on biological and philosophical grounds, makes the best sense as the starting point, and the biblical witness is certainly compatible with this view. What is it about who we are and what we do that resembles or images God? Everything we are reflects God in some way (though we will always be different from Him). We express our likeness to God both in function and in nature. With regard to our function, we are made in His image to steward creation, in order to maximize its potential to glorify God. This remains true even though creation is fallen and its potential cannot be fully realized until Christ returns to lift the curse (Romans 8:19-25). Here we can find guidance for Christian environmental ethics, as well as Christian engagement with human culture in all its forms. When Scripture speaks explicitly of the correspondence between human nature and God, it most frequently speaks in terms of human moral excellence — human qualities that correspond to God’s qualities, such as righteousness (Ephesians 4:24), ethical perfection (Matthew 5:48), purity (I John 3:2-3, 9), and love (John 13:14, 35; Titus 3:4; I John 3:10). As we reflect on God’s person as revealed in Scripture, we see various other ways human nature corresponds to God. Here we might speak of our reasoning faculties, creativity, and language abilities, as well as the ability to sense moral distinctions and to make moral choices. Furthermore, though God obviously does not have a body, the Scriptures imply that our bodies play a role in imaging God as well. For example, the questions of Psalm 94:9 — “Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?” — seem to imply that our physical ears and eyes image His ability to hear and see. Finally, we might look at our drive to worship, to value that which is most valuable. This seems to image God’s own valuing of that which is most valuable: Himself (Ephesians 1:5-6). Scripture even suggests that our relationships with one another in the body of Christ are a reflection or image of relationships within the Trinity (John 17:20-23). What makes a body somebody? Biblically, it is the image of God. Every person bears this image. Personhood is not something you grow into; nor is it something conferred upon you by some human authority. It is not something that you lose through defect, disease, injury, or location (even if you are still in the womb). The image of God conveys wonderful value upon us as human beings and equips us for the enormous responsibility to be stewards over the world and ourselves, in order to reflect glory back on our loving Creator. Dr. Gregory Couser is a professor of Bible and Greek at Cedarville University, where he has taught since 1994. Couser holds degrees from Liberty University, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and the University of Aberdeen (Scotland). T Spring-Summer 2007 15