What is the Imago Dei, and how does it impact evangelism?

Brooklyn Lindsey

I like to think of the imago dei as the term that describes our spiritual DNA. It informs our past and helps us look forward to the future—where we can and will be transformed if we desire to be.

The biblical and theological term imago dei refers to the image of God. It is central to the Christian’s response to the Creator. There is no other being that was or has been created that bears the stamp of God’s image. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. When we were created, we reflected God’s likeness.

We reflected it in dominion; our God-given abilities (caring for the earth and the animals around us) were exercised with God’s moral righteousness. That is, until sin captured our hearts and turned us inward—we were able to live in love as only God could teach us.

We see the image of God reflected in the Son. Colossians 1:15 tells us that the Son is the image of the invisible God… When perfect fellowship with God was broken and sin marred the image, we found ourselves looking to the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. He is our hope of being renewed day by day, sanctified by truth, and restored again to the moral righteousness of God.

Of course, we all feel like we have a long way to go. I believe that God can and will remove our desire to willfully transgress against a known law of God. He can and will rescue our hearts from sin and our wills from selfishness.

How does it impact evangelism? It’s the key to evangelism. The emptying of our selves—the restoration of God’s image in us as we are refilled by the Spirit—makes room for deep love, not only for God but also for people in the world around us.

Knowing whose we are—whose image we bear—instead of thinking that the world defines and shapes our image, changes how we interact with others. It frees us to love. It frees us to forgive. It frees us to be ourselves, creating a gracious space for others to be themselves in the ways they were uniquely created. Gracious space. It’s so good to give.

The further we move inward, toward that still space where Jesus reshapes and reforms us—the potter removing any defects and reshaping us to his standard and artistry—the more likely we are to want that for others.

When our desires match God’s desires, we’ll do whatever it takes to obey the commands of Christ, to love as Jesus did, to look for moments when we can be a city on a hill and the salt of the earth. Humility and love will begin to take over where pride and selfishness once ruled the thrones of our hearts.

All that was lost in the fall of humankind can be restored. God promises us that it will be. It’s in that promise that we find hope. It’s in that hope that we have a reason to keep seeking the heart and motive of Jesus Christ. It’s in those motives that we find evangelism as a way of life. And that way of life returns us to our rightful place as children of God worshiping a loving and holy Creator—emptied so we might celebrate his fullness, together.

Kara Powell

In the last five years, I’ve come to see that the imago dei, or image of God, has profound impact on all we are and all we do. Specifically with sharing the gospel, I want to highlight two of its ramifications.

First, understanding that God has made every person in God’s image motivates us to share the good news. In the past, the imago dei has been understood largely from a substantive perspective, meaning that there was something in our very being as humans that reflected God’s image.

Many theologians and practitioners have shifted their focus to a relational view of the imago dei. God models relationship in the Trinity as Father, Son, and Spirit relate to each other. We as humans need relationship with other humans, as well as with God, to be complete.

When we recognize that this relationality is central to people’s very essence, we are motivated to share the gospel with them, in both word and deed.

During our Deep Justice research, I was consistently struck by how the imago dei motivated the kingdom lifestyle of the exemplars we surveyed. Jim Wallis from Sojourners explained in an interview that the imago dei was “central… Because we’re all made in God’s image, a kid living in a garbage dump in Mexico is just as important as my own kid. I’m going to pick up my two kids from school this afternoon and what has got to motivate me is that other people’s kids are just as important to God and to me as my own kids.”

Similarly, justice icon Dr. John Perkins commented during our research, “Fundamentally, we have to understand that all people are created in God’s image. That gives us all equal dignity before God. I don’t see how you can accept that other humans are created in God’s image with inherited dignity and then exploit them. Once we view others as created in God’s image, we won’t want them to live without him, and we won’t want them to live in unjust social structures.”

Second, an understanding of the imago dei in our evangelistic efforts reminds us that we have much to learn from others. God’s image is alive and well in every person. This allows us to create authentic, reciprocal relationships with folks who don’t know Jesus yet.

To be sure, folks who don’t have Jesus at the center of their lives are missing out on the most important reality of all time: the reality of God’s love for them and the joy that comes from pursuing Jesus. But I find that my best and most fruitful friendships with non-Christians happen when I am able to learn from them as they do their best to love their kids, care for the planet, and practice holistic living.

Chap Clark & Kara E. Powell, Deep Justice in a Broken World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 58. Ibid, 93.

Kara Powell, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary (see www.fulleryouthinstitute.org). As a 20-year youth ministry veteran, she speaks regularly at youth ministry conferences and is the author or co-author of a number of books, including Deep Justice Journeys, Essential leadership, Deep Justice in a Broken World, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, and the Good Sex Youth Ministry Curriculum. She volunteers every week as a small group leader for junior girls at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena.

Mike King

I think this question is one of the most important questions that followers of Jesus Christ must consider and contemplate if we expect to recover a kerygma of gospel that truly becomes “good news” again to those in our culture who don’t profess Christianity.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. -Genesis 1:26, 27 NRSV

I could not even scratch the surface of the issues involved in defining the breadth of theological dialogue concerning what imago dei is and what it truly meant in the Old Testament and New Testament texts and what it currently means for soteriology and for being a “human being.” Most theologians and church leaders believe that something about being created imago dei (in the image of God) was broken or lost in the fall. Reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther were in agreement that some aspect of imago dei remained in sinful human beings.

The bottom line and springboard for me to jump into the issue of how imago dei impacts evangelism is to declare that something unique happened with God’s creation of human beings. The problem with evangelism in North America during the last several decades is the propensity to start the story of God’s relations with humanity in Genesis 3, with the fall, and an emphasis on human sin. It is essential, however, for us to start the story at its proper place in Genesis 1, with creation of human beings in the image of God.

Let’s help the young people in our churches understand that they, along with their friends and all humanity, were created imago dei. I found that you don’t have to convince people they are broken and sinful. Most people know something is amiss. When our primary objective is to communicate a message of how sinful people are, we are perceived as judgmental proselytizers.

I’ve been doing youth ministry for 35 years. Evangelism was the primary focus of my early youth ministry efforts. I taught evangelism. I did evangelism. I was called a “youth evangelist.”

In the late ’70s through the ’80s, I gave little thought to any theological implications concerning the hard-hitting, strong-armed, manipulative, bait-and-switch, hellfire tactics I engaged in to get kids “saved.” Throughout the 1990s, this style of evangelism became increasingly disturbing, not only to me but also to hundreds of youth workers in my social network.

I remember how uncomfortable it was to find a way to make sure people knew they were sinners headed for hell. I chastised myself with the reminder that I was not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. In spite of the self-motivation and self-condemnation for lacking the faith and courage to boldly let people know they were presently doomed, the attempts to remove my discomfort never worked. It just seemed wrong.

So I shifted my focus to discipleship and began a process of de-emphasizing evangelism, especially the kind I had engaged in within my youth ministry praxis.

However, three years ago, my passion to reengage evangelism returned. A combination of factors (Holy Spirit, conversation partners, theology, my church, experiences, Scripture) refueled my passion, imagination, and calling to begin reengaging in evangelism, although from a much broader theological perspective and different methodology.

My change in thinking about evangelism has been driven by deeper theological reflection concerning soteriology and ecclesiology. What does it mean to experience salvation? What role does becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ play in evangelism and salvation? How is evangelism connected to church? How does our society view proselytizing? What role does apologetics play in evangelism? How do we define apologetics in our current culture? These questions are really important, and the answers to these questions shape how evangelism is taught and practiced.

I remember when it dawned on me that I needed to share the whole story. The idea that we have to place a hyper-focus on our sinfulness in order to get people to respond to our evangelistic techniques does not work in our culture.

Evangelism happens naturally when God’s people live astonishing lives as people of crucifixion and resurrection. I have found it not only easier but also more human and natural to engage in unforced conversation, which often unfolds into a delightful opportunity to bear witness to every human being’s connection to the imago dei. I have found it a joy to be a blessing to people and make the connection to the unique ways they are cooperating with God, regardless of whether they know it.

What is the Imago Dei, and how does it impact evangelism?

Brooklyn Lindsey

Kara Powell

Mike King

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