"Image of God" or "Imago Dei", which is the latin translation, has its origins in Genesis 1:27, wherein "God created man in his own image..." This biblical passage does not imply that God is in anyway human, but that humans were created in the image of God in their moral, spiritual, and intellectual essence. Thus, humans reflect God's divine nature in their ability to achieve the unique characteristics with which they have been endowed. These God-given qualities make humans different than all other creatures: free will, rational understanding, creative liberty, the capacity for self-actualization, and the potential for self-transcendence.
Here is a longer definition of “Imago Dei” as provided by pbs.org: The term imago Dei also refers to God's care for humankind. To say that humans are created in the image of God is to recognize the special qualities of human nature which allow God's will to be made manifest in humans. The moral implications of the doctrine of imago Dei are apparent in the fact that if humans are to love God, then humans must love other humans, as each is an expression of God. Humans differ from all other creatures because of their rational structure - their capacity for deliberation and free decision-making. This freedom gives the human-centeredness and completeness which allows the possibility for self-actualization and participation in a sacred reality. However, the freedom which makes the human in God's image is the same freedom which manifests itself in estrangement from God . . . the Fall (Adam and Eve) exemplifies. [ . . . ] humans can, in their freedom, choose to deny or repress their spiritual and moral likeness to God. The ability and desire to love one's self and others, and therefore, God, can become neglected and even opposed. Striving to bring about the imago Dei in one's life can be seen as the quest for wholeness, or one's "essential" self, as pointed to in Christ's life and teachings.
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. (Genesis 1:26-27)
"Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him." Colossians 3:10 NLV)
Yet, the opposite is also true. As we pursue our own desires and our seduced by our enemy, we will find ourselves distanced from the voice of God, till we reach a point where the even the glory of God is shielded from their views.
"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Our reconciliation and relationship with God is only possible through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the Good News shared by Christians for over two thousand years.
"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," (Hebrews 1:3)
