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this connection the question may be raised, whether the body of man also constitutes a part of
the image. And it would seem that this question should be answered in the affirmative. The
Bible says that man — not merely the soul of man — was created in the image of God, and
man, the “living soul,” is not complete without the body. Moreover, the Bible represents
murder as the destruction of the body, Matt. 10:28, and also as the destruction of the image of
God in man, Gen. 9:6. We need not look for the image in the material substance of the body; it
is found rather in the body as the fit instrument for the self-expression of the soul. Even the
body is destined to become in the end a spiritual body, that is, a body which is completely
spirit-controlled, a perfect instrument of the soul.
5. Still another element of the image of God is immortality. The Bible says that God only hath
immortality, I Tim. 6:16, and this would seem to exclude the idea of human immortality. But it
is perfectly evident from Scripture that man is also immortal in some sense of the word. The
meaning is that God alone hath immortality as an essential quality, has it in and of Himself,
while man’s immortality is an endowment, is derived from God. Man was created immortal, not
merely in the sense that his soul was endowed with an endless existence, but also in the sense
that he did not carry within himself the seeds of physical death, and in his original condition
was not subject to the law of death. Death was threatened as a punishment for sin, Gen. 2:17,
and that this included bodily or physical death is evident from Gen. 3:19. Paul tells us that sin
brought death into the world, Rom. 5:12; I Cor. 15:20,21; and that death must be regarded as
the wages of sin, Rom. 6:23.
6. There is considerable difference of opinion as to whether man’s dominion over the lower
creation also formed a part of the image of God. This is not surprising in view of the fact that
Scripture does not express itself explicitly on this point. Some regard the dominion in question
simply as an office conferred on man, and not as a part of the image. But notice that God
mentions man’s creation in the divine image and his dominion over the lower creation in a
single breath, Gen. 1:26. It is indicative of the glory and honour with which man is crowned, Ps.
8:5,6.
C. MAN AS THE IMAGE OF GOD.
According to Scripture the essence of man consists in this, that he is the image of God. As such
he is distinguished from all other creatures and stands supreme as the head and crown of the
entire creation. Scripture asserts that man was created in the image and after the likeness of
God, Gen. 1:26,27; 9:6; Jas. 3:9, and speaks of man as being and as bearing the image of God, I
Cor. 11:7; 15:49. The terms “image” and “likeness” have been distinguished in various ways.
Some were of the opinion that “image” had reference to the body, and “likeness,” to the soul.
Augustine held that the former referred to the intellectual, and the latter, to the moral faculties