The Image and the Fall How far does man still bear the image in his fallen state? This problem has constantly exercised theology, and the paucity of biblical data and the paradoxical nature of fallen man make it difficult to give any very sure or convincing answer. In fact, many different solutions have been proposed, and the differences in the interpretation of the image itself naturally affect these. Where a distinction is seen between image and likeness, it is often argued that the one is weakened and the other effaced. Where emphasis is thrown on the ordinary endowment of man, it is agreed that the formal aspects remain but that an element of distortion arises at the material level. Thus man is still rational, but his rationality no longer imparts true knowledge of God. The same holds true in respect of relationship. Nothing man does can alter the fact that he stands in relation to the fellow man, specifically in the form of woman; but the actual outworking of the relationship is in no sense a reflection of the true relationship within the Godhead.
A similar distinction arises in respect of man’s dominion over the cosmos. Man is still the lord of creation and in this formal sense he represents God, the ultimate Lord. But now man is to a very large degree a selfish tyrant who rules over nature for his own ends, and in this sense he is the very opposite of God. It will be noted that all these answers to the question realize that fallen man is basically paradoxical. He cannot cease to be man. Hence he cannot cease to be made in the image of God. But the actual content of his life is at odds with its underlying reality. God is reflected only in the structure, not in the material content of his being. The imago is not now partial or blurred; it is on the one hand intact from the standpoint of basic structure and on the other unrecognizable from the standpoint of outworking or content.
This continuity and discontinuity seem to lie behind the presentation in the NT. Thus true relationship between man and woman is established on the basis of the imago Dei in 1 Cor. 11:7. Incidentally it is worth noting that in this passage only man is said to be created directly in the divine image (woman indirectly), though Paul does not say that woman is created in the image of man. Perhaps the true point of the introduction of the image here is that the relation between man and woman should reflect the relation between Father and Son within the Godhead. Insofar as this relationship is demanded by the very structure of human life, the image is inescapably present. Insofar as it is perverted in practice, the intertrinitarian relationship is no longer perceived. The true course is to remodel the practice on the divine original, so that this will be reflected not only in structure but in practice, too.
The paradoxical nature of fallen man may also be seen in Jas. 3:9. Here the fact remains that man is made after the likeness of God. Hence it is self-contradictory to bless God (the original) and curse man (the likeness) at the same time. That man is sinful does not remove the element of contradiction, for, even though he is sinful, he is still made in the divine image and it is thus fundamentally natural for him to bless God. On the other hand, that he can be guilty of contradiction is evidence that the content of the imago is lost, for contradiction exists only because (1) men do not in fact reflect the divine nature in their character and conduct, and (2) their thinking and utterance are at odds with their creation in the divine image.
D. The Image and the Christian Yet the NT also advances a further consideration, namely, that in and by God’s saving work in Christ the content of the image is brought back into harmony with the structure. Thus in Col. 3:10 the believer is said to be renewed unto knowledge after the image of Him who created him (cf. Eph. 4:24, “after God”). But this is now equivalent to being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Rom. 8:29). As we now bear the image of Adam (cf. Gen. 5:3), the earthly man, so we shall bear the image of Christ, the heavenly man (1 Cor. 15:49). Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). The NT, then, is not content merely to state the doctrine of the imago in terms of the fall. In keeping with its true character as the message of salvation, the NT adds a soteriological and eschatological element. The message of salvation is the message of salvation in Christ. Hence the soteriological and eschatological dimension is the christological. The imago Dei is redefined in terms of Christ as Himself the true image.
Bromiley, G. W. (1979–1988). Image of God. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 2, p. 804). Wm. B. Eerdmans.