"And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works"
Romans 11:6
Question
Were We Born In The Image of God?
Answer
No. All people were not born in the image of God. Only Jesus was. We were born in the image of Adam, spiritually dead in need of life.
Have you ever started worked on a model car kit? It comes with instructions and numbered parts. If you are like me, you get half way through only to realize you missed a part. Oh no! To fix it, you have to retrace your steps and go back to the beginning.
In order to understand our real problem, we have to go back to the beginning, to the Garden, in the Book of Genesis. Our real problem is found in the Old Testament, God’s solution is found in the New Testament. God created Adam from the dust, and breathed life into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7). The Scriptures say that God created Adam in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 5:1-2). That means the Spirit of God was alive and living in Adam.
Then God put Adam in the garden to work it. In the middle of the Garden was the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave Adam ONE command. “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). Notice how God says to Adam "You are free to eat any tree in the garden". Out of love, God gave Adam a free will to choose. You know the story. Adam, along with Eve, did exactly what God told them NOT to do. Yes, Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent, and made a bad choice. That day the Spirit of God left Adam and Eve and they died.
But how did they die that day physically or spiritually? The answer is they died spiritually. How do we know? Adam went on to live 930 years and then he died (Genesis 5:5). How else do we know this? At age 130, Adam had a son named Seth, in his own image and in his own likeness (Genesis 5:3). That means Seth was born in the image and likeness of his dad Adam. The image and likeness is not referring to what they looked like, but is referring to their spiritual likeness. Both Adam and Seth were spiritually dead, in need of life.
What does all this have to do with you and me?
We were born into this world just like Seth, in the image and likeness of Adam, without the Spirit of God living in us, in need of life. This is contrary to public opinion in both the world and in churches today. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12) For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22) And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. (1 Corinthians 15:49) Man's problem is that we are more than just sinners in need of forgiveness. We are born into this world spiritually dead, in need of life. This is a big problem that many Christians do not know. When is the last time you heard a sermon on this?