Dr. Brian Toews’ Blog

Last week I participated in a chapel with Dr. Fred Putnam and Mr. Chris Palladino. Each of us presented thoughts on the image of God. Because the image of God is not explicitly defined in Scripture, it allows for good biblical discussion and dialogue, which we had during the chapel session. I considered the relationship between image, rule, and subdue in Genesis 1:26-28. I presented the life of David as way to understand these three interrelated ideas. David was a man who had a heart like God's. He was a king who ruled Israel as the Lord's representative and he subdued the enemies of the Lord. In all this the Lord was with David and helped David. For David the battle is the Lord's. David imaged the Lord in that God's life was lived through David's. The attitude behind a genuine image-bearer is that of humility and obedience. This is perfectly embodied in the life of Christ who took the form of a bond-servant and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). Being made in the image and likeness means that humanity was created as God's servant.