Piula Theological College

Christian Anthropology
Imago Dei in the reformation - Martin Luther, John Calvin
Lecturer: Rev Dr Uesele Tupu
Lepapa Tapunu’u

Introduction:

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 This paper will describe the perspectives and significant subject
studies of Martin Luther along with John Calvin in theology, which refer to
their views on Imago Dei as discussed in the scriptures of the Bible. First,
Martin discusses the concept of Imago Dei, along with his thoughts on some
scholars whom describe Imago Dei in their own view, and then he further
clarifies this from the hermeneutic perspective that Martin uses to counter
his views.

This concludes the view of John Calvin regarding this term, along with
his mind set that some of his thoughts and ideas are similar to those of
Luther, however, there are also areas where they differ. This paper will focus
on the perspectives of Martin and John regarding the term Imago Dei, which
pertains to the transformation of the image of God.

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 Martin Luther understand of Imago Dei

Disputatio de homine (Disputation concerning Man)

In 1536, Martin wrote his expression about Human and it how it can
reflect in the image of God in his 32 theses entitled Disputatio de homine. 1 In
Martin's research regarding his knowledge of the human, he found it in
Romans 3:28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from
works prescribed by the law. 2 Martin's concept that man is justified by
faith explains what it means to be human or man.

Man cannot claim to be justified since he is not; nevertheless, as God is

the source of all of his existence, he is justified once he completely confesses
this. Due to human of the fall and sin of man, when he was unable to keep
the commandments that God gave to the first man Adam and Eve, this made
it impossible for man to live a holy life but was dependent on God's care. As
consequence, his Son, Jesus Christ, came to bring salvation and restore the
broken relationship between God and man, as well as to provide a means of
justification for those who accept and believe in him. 3

Martin believed that through his extensive studies in the Disputation

concerning Man, the two aspects of Theology and Philosophy should be
clear and comprehensible because of their significance and also these two
cannot be reconciled and that there is also a difference. Martin feels that the
theologians have difficulty with the human is wider than that with
philosophy, because he also considers the notion that different
anthropological approaches have diverse beginning points for describing the
human being.

1
Beate Bengrad. Chapter 2 Imago Dei: God’s Grace and Distance.
https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml Access 20/03/2025

2
Bible. Roman 3:28.
3
Beate Bengrad. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml

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 Philosophy characterizes humans based on their outward appearance,
and when we look at the facts, humans and animals are not equivalent in
terms of reason and freedom of choice. However, theology considers the
origins (cause) and beginnings of all things, as God created the entire world,
including humans.4 The idea that lies within theology is that man is perfect
and whole, because God created him in his own image without sin and
intended him to be the ruler of all things on earth and death would not come
upon him. But when he fell into sin, the power of death came upon him and
he could not attain eternal life but only through the blood of Jesus Christ if he
believes in Him.

These are the ways in which Luther attempted to present his ideas in
terms of theology verse philosophical anthropology, where he considered
earthy reality verse reality of creation, image of God verse the image of the
devil male sin verse the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Human Reason corrupted by sin:

Luther began with ideas that guided his thinking in his belief in the true
nature of human creation. In his theology, Aristotelian thought, “the soul
consisting of its three parts – memory, reason and will – is the
mirror of the Divine Trinity. The image of God is thus to be found in
the human soul and can be identified with specific human
capacities”5 Luther's view is not substantialist but relational, because in his
view it is unacceptable to describe the image of God in man in terms of parts
or capacities. Man himself has his external relation, as human can
communicate with God, but this cannot remove the fallenness of man that
has corrupted human intelligence.

Luther also expressed his views in some of the early church

anthropologies of Origen and Irenaeus. This statement comes from Gen 1:26,
And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. According to
4
Beate Bengrad. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml
5
Beate Bengrad. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml

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Origen, humans were given the potential for perfection because of the image
(imago) and the likeness (similitude) that strive to attain the full image of
God through human effort. According to Irenaeus, the image and likeness
make it possible for humans to be perfect but this is only achieved when the
spirit of God is sent.

But in Luther's view, imago and similitude are contradictory when it

comes to ethics, because Luther's view of the human soul and reason in the
image of God does not correspond to the message of the Gospel. In Luther's
view, from all of this, it is impossible to remove the sinfulness of man from
the beginning, meaning that man remains under the power of the devil,
regardless of his status, whether rich or poor.

Luther argued that reason is the only way for man to know and
understand his origin in the image of God, but if reason alone were to exist
without God's intervention, then there would be no encompassing and
existential wholeness for men and women. Humans are under the grace of
God, which enables them to overcome the power of sin that caused humans
to fall in the first place, and enables humans to understand and believe in
the meaning of their existence as a result of God's love.

Luther’s own hermeneutical Approach

In Luther's own view, the image and likeness are similar because they
are both connected in relationship to God, but the image of God in which
man was created is, in his own opinion, completely lost, because in reality
God can no longer be reflected in man because of sin. Luther uses
references from the O.T. such as Gen 1:26 along with the thoughts of the
Apostle Paul in Col 1:15, and attempts to investigate whether it is possible to
recover the image of God in humans or whether only Jesus has this image
alone.

Luther concludes his treatise on four different stages of human

existence, first of all nature in its original, creational state, the fall and its

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consequence and lastly, the restoration of the imago dei in death and
salvation through Jesus Christ.

According to Luther, humans have the image of God because it is

possible to explain that God is present in humans and in their environment
as he explained relationally. This does not mean that humans can live as
God, but that humans are unable to share the will of God their creator.
Luther does not use human qualities but emotions, because in human life
one must be trusting and fearless to truly believe in God, his whole hope is to
enable humans to have control over God's creation.

Therefore my understanding of the image of God is this: that Adam

had it in his being and that he not only knew God and believed that
He was good, but that he also lived in a life that was wholly godly;
that is, he was without the fear of death or of any other danger, and
was content with God’s favour. In this form it reveals itself in the
instance of Eve, who speaks with the serpent without any fear, as
we do with a lamb or a dog. For this reason, too, if they should
transgress His command, God announces the punishment: “On
whatever day you eat from this tree, you will die by death,” as
though He said: “Adam and Eve, now you are living without fear;
death you have not experienced, nor have you seen it. This is My
image, by which you are living, just as God lives. But if you sin, you
will lose this image, and you will die.6

Luther said that before the fall there was eternal life in humans or in
the world, meaning that God had already prepared the way for humans to
pass from earthly life to spiritual life without having to suffer physical death.
However, after the fall all these things that God had prepared in the
beginning were blocked, and another image, the image of the devil, was able
to exist in humans and the image of God in humans was completely stolen.

6
Beate Bengrad. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml

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Therefore, the image was completely removed because there was doubt, and
humans were no longer faithful to their God.

Luther's own interpretation of the image of God links the idea of

original sin with justification. Luther acknowledges that the restoration of the
image of God (imago dei) is not merely a matter of perfecting and qualities
in its beginning, but of the image of God itself in its fundamental nature,
which is found in the restoration of the relationship with God.

Jesus Christ is the image of God, Luther's answer to this belief

concludes his understanding of the image. Jesus came in human form to
restore the image of God to humanity. This restoration requires the new man
to be renewed in the image of God so that humanity can receive God. Then
there is Luther's idea, connected to the idea of the Apostle Paul, that man is
justified by the grace of God (sola gratia) and that is new creation.

Luther opens his thoughts in his Disputatio, explaining that the

salvation provided through Jesus allows man to regain a relationship with
God, only when he accepts and believes in the salvation provided by Jesus
Christ, and does not remove the work of the Holy Spirit as a helper to
humanity at all times.

But now the Gospel has brought about the restoration of that
image. Intellect and will have remained, but both very much
impaired. And so, the Gospel brings about that we are formed once
more according to that familiar and indeed better image, because
we are born again into eternal life or rather into the hope of eternal
life by faith, that we may live in God and be one with Him, as Christ
says (John 17:21). And indeed, we are reborn not only for life but
also for righteousness, because faith acquires Christ’s merit and
knows that through Christ’s death, we have been set free. From this
source our righteousness has its origin, namely, that newness of life

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 through which we are zealous to obey God as we are taught by the
Word and aided by the Holy Spirit.7

The restoration of the image of God will be complete on the Day of the
Last Judgment, which is the eschatological process. This final relationship
awaits man to stand before God again and reveal the image of God that man
can maintain and uphold. Therefore, the image of God cannot be completed
now until the day of the Lord comes, so the image of the devil can still exist
in the world along with the image of God.

John Calvin understanding of Imago Dei:

John's understanding of the interpretation of Imago Dei in terms of

image and likeness, is that there is no difference between the two, and that
Calvin and Luther have the same views, but that they have one thing in
common is that they differ in their views on the Catholic doctrine of imago
dei.8 Calvin's high view of the glory of God states that He created man in His
image, and Calvin's concept of imago dei refers to the reflection of God,
described in the term mirroring. It is clear that Adam was the first man to
embody the reflection of God, and he was the one who revealed the glory of
God.

Calvin's thinking is derived from the biblical one, because he describes

another characteristic that can explain the Imago Dei of the whole person. 9
The origin of the idea is that the whole person does not have the hope of
God's reflection on man to be permanent, but to grow and live, which means
that the whole person can be reflected there because there is no
undeveloped in the glory of God in man. The biblical passage that conveys
Calvin's thoughts is from Colossians 3:10 and Ephesians 4:24.
7
Beate Bengrad. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml
8
SEUNG-GOO LEE. Calvin and Later Reformed Theologians on the Image of
God. Article April 2016. Pg 136.
9
SEUNG-GOO LEE. Calvin and Later Reformed Theologians on the Image of
God.136

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 And have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.10
Colossians 3:10

And to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the
likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.11 Ephesians 4:24.

The word restoration is also used by Calvin to support his view, that
"can be nowhere better recognized than from the restoration of his corrupted
nature.12" He says that original righteousness has been corrupted from the
beginning, but has been able to be restored because of Jesus Christ.
However, Calvin's view that this could not be sufficient to complete the
Imago Dei, the reason being that it was not only Adam who placed the imago
dei of God in the beginning, when there was evil and the fall, the glory of
God continued and his imago dei passed on to the genealogy of humanity.

The restoration of the spirit is also explained by Calvin's imago dei

regarding being born again. This rebirth is linked to the sins of humanity, as
discussed in the historical narrative of the Bible. 13

Conclusion:

The concept of imago Dei is one that Luther and John derive solely
from the records in the Bible; therefore, it is not possible to bring any other
evidence apart from what is written in the holy scriptures, such as in the
book of Genesis, as well as records of the New Covenant, including those
from Apostle Paul as in the book of Rome, Colossians and Ephesians. The
beliefs regarding the image of God as discussed in this text clearly indicate
that God has presented His image to humanity with the intention of
10
NRSV. Colossians 3:10
11
NRSV. Ephesians 4:24.
12
SEUNG-GOO LEE. Calvin and Later Reformed Theologians on the Image of
God.137
13
SEUNG-GOO LEE. Calvin and Later Reformed Theologians on the Image of
God.137

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preserving it from corruption. However, humanity can no longer fully uphold
the image of God, as discussed by Martin and John in their arguments about
the fall of humanity according to the records in Genesis. This is the reason
why the image of God in humanity has diminished.

It is true that Martin and John are discussing the image that has been
destroyed and has now been restored through Jesus Christ. However, there
are still aspects that must be maintained by people, or parts that are worked
on by people so that the image of God can be complete. One of the
important aspects emphasized by this image is the relationship that exists
between God and humanity. It is true that it was destroyed by man, but God
was still able to recreate it in another way so that the connection between
God and humanity could be restored, much like the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ.

This is another part that can also be reflected in research by Martin

and John, that the time is indeed the beginning of creation according to the
records of Genesis where sin occurred and made ways to tarnish the image,
but looking at time change when this happen. God knows in His will from the
beginning that humanity cannot bear the image in which they were created;
therefore, He prepared another time through His agent, Jesus, to carry out
salvation, and at another time to establish a way to sustain humanity in the
use of His image.

The transformation that is found in the image of God is the ability to

prepare another part that can receive the image, while also having the
opportunity to fully identify the purpose of the image that God has for man
through Jesus Christ.

Bibliography

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  NRSV. Bible
 Beate Bengrad. Chapter 2 Imago Dei: God’s Grace and Distance.
https://brill.com/display/book/9789004461253/BP000013.xml
 SEUNG-GOO LEE. Calvin and Later Reformed Theologians on the Image
of God. Article April 2016

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