The Communicable Attributes of God

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26–27, NIV)

Communicable Attributes

We are moving from the incommunicable attributes of God to the communicable attributes. Remember that when something is “communicable” it can be shared. COVID-19 is a communicable disease—one that can be shared with other people (something we would rather not share). So, when we talk about the communicable attributes of God, we are discussing the attributes we share with God. 

Yet, as always, there is an important caveat. We share these attributes with God, but we don’t share them in the exact same way as God. God is still God and we are not. Even though we share some attributes with God, there is still a distinction between Creator and creature—the separation between fallen, sinful human beings and our holy, perfect God still exists. These attributes shine in all of their brightness in God—that is where we see them clearly. In us, we can still see these attributes, but they are much dimmer.  

The Image of God

Even though these attributes shine much dimmer in human beings, it’s still pretty amazing that we share ANY attributes with God. Yet, this is how God created us. Right away, in the first chapter of our bibles, we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26–27, NIV).

God created us in his image—in his likeness. Clearly that means we will have some similarities with God. Since we are created “in his likeness,” we will have attributes that are “like God.” 

The Fall and the Image of God

As many know, the story of the Bible has four parts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. So, after God created us in His image, we messed up—we sinned. In our sinfulness, the image of God was messed up—distorted. Yet, the image of God was not destroyed. Six chapters after the Fall, God speaks of human dignity and bases that dignity on the image of God (Genesis 9:6). So, the image was not destroyed in us, but messed up. 

We also see this language in the New Testament. In speaking about the work of Jesus Christ, we read that Christians “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:10, NIV). In Christ, we are being RENEWED in the image of God. In order for something to be renewed, it has to have been messed up. As the image of God is messed up, the likeness of God dims—and we see less of the communicable attributes in humanity. 

Renewed Image of God

Yet, the good news is that Jesus Christ had brough redemption. Jesus IS the image of God. In Colossians it says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15, NIV). Jesus perfectly represents God because He is God. When we see Jesus, we see God and the fullness of all his attributes. 

Then, we also have the beautiful promise that in Jesus Christ—and through his salvation—we are being renewed in the image of God. Our lives are being transformed to look more like Jesus Christ—who is the image of God. In Christ, the attributes we share with God are being pulled out of the dirt and cleaned off so that they can shine for all the world to see. And as the world sees these attributes in us, they will ultimately be pointed beyond us to the one who fully embodies these attributes in all their glory.