Foundational Principles (8): Bearing the Father’s Image
Laning argues that the image of God is not inherent to all humanity, but rather belongs only to God's children in Christ, using Genesis passages to demonstrate that children bear the image of their father. The article distinguishes between regenerate believers who reflect God's image through their relationship with Christ and unregenerate people who bear the image of their spiritual father, developing this theological principle through exegetical and illustrative reasoning.
Previous article in this series: February 15, 2017, p. 230. It is commonly taught that all human beings bear the image of God. Yet that would mean that man by nature is like God, which Scripture says he is not. Man certainly was like God when the Almighty created him. But he became like the devil when he listened to him. The ones who bear God's image are those who are in God's Image. Christ is the Image of God, and only those who are in Him are like Him, and thus like God. Although these...
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