Many Christians seem very happy to plant their feet firmly on the “Not Our Problem” side of the environmental care issue. This stance, however, disregards, or has not considered, much of what Scripture has to say about the role of believers in the world. I’d like to post one a day, for your consideration.
Reason Number Three:
We are created in the image of God. In our dominion over the earth we reflect God’s supreme dominion. As Christians we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to rule as God rules: with true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.
(Anthony A. Hoekema, a conservative Reformed theologian, retired professor at Calvin Theological Seminary, does a marvelous job on this topic in his book The Image of God. All quotations are from that text)
We are created in the image of God.
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)
Theologians have spent centuries of Biblical study trying to pin down the exact definition of the “image of God.” It can be said in summary that “the image of God” has both general and narrow meanings; in the general sense, all men are created with the ability to reason and be held responsible for their actions; in the narrower sense, Christians have the ability to function in “true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness,” through the power of the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ, according to Anthony A Hoekema, author of Created in God’s Image. Though the “image of God” likely means more than these two short descriptions, it certainly does not mean less. In both the general and narrow sense, mankind reflects, like a miror, attributes that are true of God. It is in that way that man is the “image of God.”
The image of God in man was shattered after the Fall, but glimpses of it remain in both senses. Though man is still a rational being, he does not choose to love God. Though the Christian is given a new heart which can love God, he often chooses to forsake righteousness in favor of sin.
Just as we still, in a fractured way, reflect God’s creativity when we paint or sculpt, and God’s tender care when we nourish our children, “man’s dominion over the earth reflects the supreme dominion of God the Creator over all that he has made.” Were the image of God still fully intact in man, every work of art would point to God, every child would be raised in a loving and God-glorifying home, and man’s dominion over creation would be as just, righteous, holy, compassionate, and perfect as God’s own rule. Creation would flourish to the utmost and man’s benefit would be unsurpassable. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians can image God by living in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness in relation to the creation. However, with indwelling sin always at war with our hearts, we fall woefully short.
Hoekema says it well:
Perversion of the image of God can be seen in the relationship between man and nature. “Instead of ruling the earth in obedience to God, man now uses the earth and its resources for his own selfish purposes. Having forgotten that he was given dominion over the earth in order to glorify God and benefit his fellowmen, man now exercises his dominion in sinful ways.” He goes on to list such exploits as stripping forests irresponsibly, causing soil erosion, growing crops without proper crop rotation, and polluting rivers and lakes with waste from materials factories.
As in all his other “cultural achievements – his literature, his art, his science, his technology – man’s goal is to magnify himself instead of praising his God.”
It might not surprise us that atheists treat creation and culture in such a way. But to know that Christians, who should bear the likeness of God their Father, are very little different should cause our hearts to ache for true righteousness and bring us to repentance.
Hoekema, Anthony A., The Image of God. Grand Rapids, Michigan., Wm. B. Eedmans Publishing Company. 1986.
~Lauren, The Christian and Creation
