More Than a Gender: Understanding Human Identity Through the Image, Likeness, and Transformation of God

You Are More Than a Gender

Gender is a word that not only describes the biological differences between a man and a woman, but in our society in the Western world it has also come to describe how a person understands or identifies themselves in relation to those biological differences. The word has become so broad that it can sometimes seem to have lost its ability to communicate clearly about who we are biologically.

Through the fog of this discussion, we need to reclaim the conversation and ask ourselves a deeper question: Is gender the core of our identity? If gender is the core of our identity, then our human sexuality becomes the most important identifier of who we are and, ultimately, what we become. I believe we need a deeper discussion about who we really are and why it is important to understand ourselves as more than a gender.

Our source of wisdom and truth is important. For most of Western civilization, the Hebrew Old Testament and the Christian New Testament have been among the foundational sources of wisdom and moral reflection. These Scriptures have profoundly shaped ideas about society, family, human dignity, and culture for millennia.

The book of Genesis, and particularly its opening chapters, has been recognized as the biblical creation account and as the beginning of the Scriptural explanation of how God created the world. In that account, humanity is given a particular order of creation that is helpful for this conversation.

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.

Those words are controversial in the supposedly Western, civilized, advanced world in which we live. We are struggling to define what it means to be male and female. In many parts of Western civilization, we are debating what it means to be a man or a woman.

On the face of it, that doesn't seem like a very interesting discussion. It would seem obvious to most people on this planet what it means to be a man or a woman. But the conversation actually goes much deeper than that.

The deeper conversation is this: What does it mean to be a human being?

In this book we're going to discuss what it means to understand life as a human being from a Scriptural worldview.

We need to have a conversation that begins with two simple words: I love you. When I love you, I want what's best for you. I want you to succeed in life. I want to be an example of love to you.

If loving people were easy, more of us would be good at it. So many times in the conversation around gender, we talk past each other. This book is an attempt to bridge the gap between what it means to be a man or a woman and what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.

We're going to discuss the importance of the Scriptural account of creation. We're going to think about what it means to be born male or female. I'm going to try to understand the importance of gender without confusing gender with the essence of humanity. In this discussion, we are going to decide to do a few things very intentionally: we are going to be true to Scripture and to the biblical account; we are going to speak honestly and openly about what it means to love each other; and we are going to try to stay faithful to what Scripture says about who we are and what that means.

More Than a Gender: Why the Order of Creation Matters

The order of creation is central to the argument of this book. Genesis first speaks of humanity in terms of God's image and likeness and then identifies humanity as male and female. That sequence gives us a framework for thinking about identity: before we reduce a person to a category, we recognize the person as a human being made in the image of God.

The book will therefore move through three major questions: What does it mean to bear the image of God? What does it mean to live in the likeness of God? And what does it mean to understand humanity as male and female? From there, we will consider how a person can be defined first by God's image and likeness and then understood in relation to gender, and how personal transformation is connected to the holiness movement's emphasis on Christlikeness.

'Till transformed in Thine own image, in Thy presence, I shall stand.'

Chapter 1

You Are More Than a Gender

You are more than a gender. It seems so obvious when you say it: of course I'm more than a gender. But what I mean by that is that our identity should not come from whether or not we are a man or a woman.

So much of our identity in our culture is wrapped up in our gender. So much of how we view the world comes from the standpoint of whether or not we are a man or a woman. But I want to convince you that you are much more than a gender. I want to show you the beauty of what it means to be truly human, and I want to show you why that is true.

The unlikely source for everything I'm going to show you comes from Genesis, chapter 1, verses 26 and 27.

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.

Let us pay special attention to verse 26 when God says, 'Let us make humanity in our image, and in our likeness.' Then, at the end of verse 27, he creates the male and female. So let's look closely at the order of creation because it matters.

The order of creation is not accidental, and it is critical to our understanding of our identity. There are two different Hebrew words for image and likeness. They describe related but distinct ideas, and we should be careful not to collapse them into one another.

After God created us in his image and in his likeness, then he created us as male and female. The reason why that matters is because gender is not the first statement the text makes about humanity. Before we are men or women, we are image bearers who have been created with the capacity to live in God's likeness.

We accept and live out the gender God gave us as people who first understand ourselves in relation to his image and his likeness.

You will never be able to live out the best of who you were made to be unless you recognize the image of God within you. And you will never be able to live fully into the gender you were created to be unless the most important identity that you maintain is that of being made in the image of God and called to live in his likeness.

Right now some of you are wondering, What in the world is he talking about? You might be saying something like this: Of course, being a man or a woman is the most important thing about me. It identifies how I live in this world. It determines my role in life. It changes my perception of reality. The foundation of culture is based on the fundamental ways in which men and women work together from their separate differences to create families and society.

My response to your concerns is this: Of course the differences between genders are mutually beneficial. Of course being a man or a woman celebrates the beauty of God's creation. Of course your gender matters.

My ultimate point is this: if you are not more than just a man or a woman, then we are no different from the animals. That which sets us apart from the rest of creation is the higher consciousness of God's image within us and the ability to live into the attributes and likeness that flow from that image. The privilege of being called a child of God does not depend on our gender.

Our identity is not determined first by our gender. It begins with the fact that God created us and made humanity in his image.

The Image of God

Now we need to ask the question that will occupy the rest of this chapter: What does the word image mean? The Hebrew word used in Genesis is tselem. It is important to look at where the Old Testament uses this word, because Scripture itself helps us understand what the image means.

Genesis 5: The Image in Seth

Genesis 5 gives us another fascinating use of the word image. The chapter begins by looking back to creation and says that when God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Then the genealogy moves to Adam and his son Seth.

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

Notice the language. Adam had been created in the likeness and image of God. Now Adam has a son in his own likeness and image. The language of Genesis 5 intentionally echoes the language of Genesis 1. God created humanity in his image. Adam fathers Seth in his image.

Seth is not Adam. But Seth comes from Adam. Seth carries a resemblance to Adam. That gives us an important way to think about the image of God. We are not God. But we come from God. We do not possess God's divine nature, but we bear something that points back to our Creator. We are his creatures. We are his image bearers. And we belong to him.

Genesis 5 also helps us be careful about making image and likeness two completely separate ideas. The biblical writers can use the words together and even reverse their order. Both words help describe humanity's relationship to God and the resemblance and representation that God intended humanity to bear.

Genesis 9: The Image After the Flood

Genesis 9 takes the word image into an entirely different setting. By this point humanity has fallen. Sin has entered the world. Violence has become part of human existence. God has judged the world through the Flood, and Noah and his family have come out of the ark.

God establishes a covenant with Noah and then gives humanity a command concerning human life. Genesis 9:6 says:

Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

I want us to slow down here. God could have simply said, Do not murder. But he gives humanity a reason. Why? Because human beings are made in the image of God.

The Hebrew word translated image is again tselem. It is the same word used in Genesis 1:26–27 and Genesis 5:3. The image has survived the Flood. The image has survived human sin. The image has survived human violence. The image is still important enough for God to use it as the foundation for the value of human life.

The Image Is Not Lost

This raises an important theological question. What happened to the image of God when humanity sinned? Did humanity lose the image? Was the image destroyed? Was the image removed? Genesis 9 gives us an important reason to answer carefully.

God is still talking about humanity as being made in his image. The Fall did not make humanity stop being human. Sin did not erase the image. The Flood did not erase the image. Violence did not erase the image.

This does not mean that sin has no effect on humanity. It has an enormous effect. Sin distorts our relationships. Sin distorts our desires. Sin distorts our thinking. Sin distorts our behavior. Sin separates us from God. But sin does not change the fundamental fact that human beings belong to a category of creation unlike every other creature. We are image bearers.

The Image and the Protection of Human Life

Genesis 9:6 therefore connects the image of God directly to the value of human life. The value of a human being does not come from usefulness, intelligence, productivity, economic contribution, social status, age, physical ability, accomplishments, or gender. It comes from God.

We do not earn human dignity by behaving well. We do not become image bearers when we become Christians. We are image bearers because God created us. That is a very different foundation for human dignity.

The Image as Representation

When we move beyond Genesis, the word tselem is often used for a physical image or representation. An image represents something. An image points beyond itself. An image tells us something about the thing it represents.

That helps us return to Genesis 1. Humanity is God's tselem. Human beings are not God, but human beings were created to represent God within creation. Genesis 1 immediately connects humanity's creation in God's image with humanity's responsibility to rule over creation. The image therefore gives humanity both dignity and responsibility.

We have value because we bear the image. And we have purpose because we bear the image. We represent God. We exercise stewardship. We care for creation. We make moral choices. We form communities. We create families. We cultivate culture. We exercise responsibility.

A New Way of Looking at People

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing the church is that we have become very good at categorizing people. We categorize people by gender, age, race, political affiliation, economic status, education, sexuality, theological position, denomination, social class, success, and failure. But Genesis gives us a category that comes before all of these: image bearer.

Before you are anything else, you are someone God created. And so is the person sitting across from you. That does not erase our differences. It puts our differences in the proper context.

You are male or female. You have a particular family, history, experiences, gifts, and weaknesses. But underneath all of those descriptions is something more fundamental. You bear the image of God.

That is why Genesis 9:6 is so important. The image of God is not merely a doctrine about creation. It is a doctrine about human dignity, human responsibility, and human relationships. If I really believe that you bear the image of God, then I cannot treat you as though you have no value. I may disagree with you. I may believe you are wrong. I may challenge your decisions. But I cannot deny your humanity.

Because God has already spoken: you bear his image.

And that is where this chapter needs to begin. Not with gender. Not with politics. Not with culture. Not with disagreement. But with the first thing God says about humanity: Let us make mankind in our image.

And Genesis 9 reminds us that God did not stop saying that when humanity sinned. The image remained. The value remained. The dignity remained. And therefore the responsibility to love our fellow human beings remained.

That is why you are more than a gender. You are an image bearer of God.

So what is the image of God? Let's discuss that in greater detail in the next chapter.

Chapter Two

What Is Inside the Image?

Chapter One established something fundamental: human beings are made in the image of God. Genesis does not begin by defining humanity according to gender, occupation, intelligence, social status, race, accomplishments, or personality. It begins with God: 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.' But that raises the next question. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What is actually inside the human being that makes humanity different from every other creature? The answer cannot simply be that human beings have physical bodies. Animals have bodies. Human beings have brains, but animals possess remarkable cognitive abilities as well. Human beings communicate, but animals communicate. Human beings form relationships, but animals form relationships. So what makes humanity uniquely human? I believe Scripture points us toward three deeply interconnected characteristics: the soul, higher consciousness, and conscience.

These three characteristics should not be understood as three independent parts of a human being. They are better understood as three dimensions of the human person that work together. The soul gives human existence its inward depth. Higher consciousness gives human beings the capacity to reflect upon themselves, their existence, their world, and ultimately their Creator. The conscience gives that consciousness a moral dimension. It allows a person to recognize that some things are right and some things are wrong, that our choices matter, and that we are accountable for what we do.

Together, these characteristics help explain why human beings possess a dignity that cannot be reduced to biology.

The soul gives depth to human existence. Higher consciousness gives humanity the capacity to understand and transcend. Conscience gives that consciousness a moral direction. Together, they form a profound expression of what it means for humanity to bear the image of God.

We should be careful with this formulation. Scripture does not explicitly define the image of God as a three-part formula of soul, higher consciousness, and conscience. Rather, this is a theological framework drawn from the biblical portrait of humanity. The purpose of this framework is to help us understand the profound capacities God has placed within human beings and why those capacities matter for human identity.

The Soul: More Than a Body

The Bible does not present a human being as merely a biological organism. Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of humanity: God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. There is something remarkable about that description. God forms the human being from the dust. The physical body is real. The body matters. But humanity becomes a living being when God breathes life into that body. The biblical picture of humanity is therefore more profound than simply matter organized into a biological system.

There is an inner life. Scripture frequently speaks of this inner life as the soul. The soul is the dimension of the person that experiences, desires, loves, remembers, hopes, grieves, worships, chooses, and relates to God.

This is why Jesus could ask what good it is for someone to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul. Jesus was making a statement about ultimate human value. A person can possess everything the world considers valuable and still lose something more fundamental. The soul cannot be measured by a bank account. It cannot be weighed on a scale. It cannot be adequately described by a résumé. It cannot be reduced to a social category. The soul points us toward the mystery of the human person.

The Soul and the Image of God

When we say that humanity bears God's image, we are not saying that God has a physical body that looks like ours. God is spirit. The image therefore cannot ultimately be reduced to physical appearance. The image must include something about the capacity of the human person to relate to God.

Human beings can worship. Human beings can pray. Human beings can seek God. Human beings can experience spiritual longing. Human beings can ask questions about eternity. Human beings can wonder why they exist. Human beings can experience a sense that life has meaning beyond survival.

The animal searches for food. The human being asks, Why am I here? The animal responds to its environment. The human being can stop and ask, What should I do? The animal experiences its world. The human being can ask, What does this world mean? That difference takes us to the second characteristic.

Higher Consciousness

The phrase higher consciousness needs to be used carefully. It is not a biblical phrase in itself, and it should not be confused with mystical claims that humanity is divine. Human beings are not God. We do not possess God's omniscience. We do not possess God's omnipotence. We do not possess God's holiness by nature. But human beings have been given a remarkable capacity to reflect, reason, contemplate, evaluate, imagine, create, and seek meaning beyond immediate physical existence.

This is what I mean by higher consciousness. It is the capacity to rise above mere instinct. A human being can experience hunger and choose not to eat. A human being can experience anger and choose forgiveness. A human being can experience fear and choose courage. A human being can experience desire and choose restraint. A human being can experience pain and choose compassion.

A human being can look at the stars and ask about eternity. A human being can look at death and ask what comes afterward. A human being can look at creation and ask: Who made this? That capacity is extraordinary.

Humanity Can Think About Its Own Thinking

Perhaps one of the most remarkable characteristics of human consciousness is that we can become aware of ourselves. I can think. But I can also think about what I am thinking. I can examine my motives. I can question my assumptions. I can reconsider my beliefs. I can remember my past. I can imagine my future. I can evaluate my behavior. I can ask whether I am becoming the person I want to become.

This ability to reflect upon ourselves is part of what makes human existence so profound. We are not merely living. We know that we are living. And we can ask what our life means.

Higher Consciousness and God

The human capacity for higher consciousness ultimately points beyond itself. Why? Because human beings are constantly reaching beyond the immediate. We search for truth. We search for beauty. We search for justice. We search for meaning. We search for love. We search for transcendence. We search for God.

Ecclesiastes captures this sense of transcendence when it says that God has set eternity in the human heart. There is something within humanity that refuses to be satisfied with merely existing. We want to know why. We want to know who. We want to know what is true. We want to know what is good. We want to know what is beautiful. We want to know what happens after death.

Those questions are not necessary for mere survival. They are questions of transcendence. And that capacity is deeply consistent with the biblical understanding that humanity was created for relationship with God.

The Conscience

But consciousness alone is not enough. A person can be highly intelligent and still be profoundly immoral. A person can possess extraordinary intellectual ability and use it to harm other people. A person can understand the consequences of an action and still choose evil. Therefore, something else is needed. That something is conscience.

The conscience is the moral dimension of human awareness. It is the capacity to recognize that our choices carry moral significance. The conscience tells us that something is not merely unpleasant. It tells us that something may be wrong.

That distinction is enormous. I may dislike something because it inconveniences me. But conscience tells me that something is wrong even when I personally benefit from doing it. That is moral awareness.

The Conscience in Scripture

The New Testament repeatedly speaks about the conscience. Paul writes about people whose consciences either accuse them or defend them. In Romans 2:15, he describes people who demonstrate that God's moral law has been written on their hearts, while their consciences testify concerning their behavior.

This is significant. Paul is describing something that exists within human beings prior to their becoming Christians. The conscience is part of the moral architecture of humanity. It does not mean that every person's conscience is perfectly informed. It does not mean that every conscience is equally sensitive. It does not mean that conscience is infallible. But it does mean that human beings possess a remarkable capacity for moral awareness.

The Conscience Can Be Formed

This is where we need to be careful. The conscience is not identical to the voice of God. Sometimes people say, 'My conscience told me God said this.' That is not necessarily true. The conscience can be educated. It can be miseducated. It can be strengthened. It can be weakened. It can become sensitive. It can become hardened. Scripture even speaks of a conscience that has been seared.

Therefore, conscience is not the final authority. God is. But conscience is one of the remarkable capacities through which human beings experience moral responsibility. The conscience tells us: You are responsible for what you do.

The Three Work Together

Now we can bring these three characteristics together. The soul gives us inward depth. Higher consciousness gives us the ability to understand, reflect, transcend instinct, pursue truth, and seek meaning. Conscience gives our awareness moral direction.

They are symbiotic. The soul without consciousness would not adequately explain humanity's capacity for reflection. Consciousness without conscience could become merely intellectual power. Conscience without the depth of the soul would become merely a system of rules. But together they form something extraordinary.

The soul experiences. Consciousness understands. Conscience evaluates. And all three can be directed toward God.

The Image of God in Human Life

This gives us a deeper way to understand the image of God. The image is not simply something we have. It is reflected in what we are capable of doing. We can know. We can love. We can choose. We can create. We can worship. We can reason. We can sacrifice. We can forgive. We can repent. We can pursue justice. We can recognize beauty. We can search for truth. We can experience guilt. We can experience grace. We can ask God to transform us.

These capacities do not make us divine. They reveal something about the unique kind of creature God made us to be.

The Image Does Not Mean We Are God

This distinction is essential. To say that humanity is made in God's image does not mean that humanity is a piece of God. It does not mean that every human thought is divine. It does not mean that whatever we desire is automatically good. It does not mean that human beings possess unlimited potential. It does not mean that we can create our own reality.

The image establishes relationship and resemblance, not equality. God is the Creator. We are the creature. God is infinite. We are finite. God is holy. We are capable of sin. God is sovereign. We are dependent.

And yet God has given humanity something extraordinary: the capacity to know Him, respond to Him, love Him, and reflect something of His character into His creation. That is the dignity of the image.

Sin Distorts the Image but Does Not Destroy It

This also helps explain the biblical story of the Fall. Genesis 3 does not tell us that humanity stopped being human. It tells us that humanity became alienated from God. The soul became disordered. Consciousness became darkened. The conscience became burdened with guilt. Human beings hid from God. They blamed one another. They became ashamed. They experienced fear.

The image remained, but its expression became distorted. This is why Genesis 9 is so important. After the Fall. After Cain. After violence. After the Flood. God still says that humanity is made in His image.

The image remains even when the reflection is broken.

The Image and Human Dignity

If this is true, then every human being possesses extraordinary dignity. Not because every human being is intelligent. Not because every human being is successful. Not because every human being is morally good. Not because every human being is productive. Not because every human being is healthy. Not because every human being agrees with us. But because every human being bears the image of God.

The image is the foundation. Everything else comes afterward.

Why This Matters for Identity

This brings us back to the question with which we began. Who am I? The world may answer: You are your gender. You are your sexuality. You are your occupation. You are your political identity. You are your race. You are your economic status. You are your accomplishments. You are your failures. You are your past.

But Genesis gives us a deeper answer. You are an image bearer. You possess a soul. You possess the capacity for higher consciousness. You possess a conscience. You were created for relationship with God. You were created to know truth. You were created to recognize goodness. You were created to love. You were created to exercise responsibility. You were created to reflect your Creator.

And that is why you are more than a gender.

The Foundation of the Image

We can now state the central proposition of this chapter: The image of God in humanity is reflected through the integrated capacities of the soul, higher consciousness, and conscience: the soul gives the human person spiritual depth, higher consciousness enables the person to transcend instinct and seek truth and meaning, and conscience provides moral awareness and responsibility. Together, these capacities form a profound expression of the unique dignity and Godward orientation of human beings.

The image is given by God. The capacity is present in humanity. Sin distorts its expression. Grace restores its direction. And transformation brings the human person increasingly into the likeness of Christ.

This is where the distinction between image and likeness becomes critically important. The image describes the foundational reality of who we are as human beings created by God. The likeness describes what that image becomes when it is expressed in a life increasingly aligned with God.

We are born as image bearers. We are called to become like Christ. And that leads us directly into the next question: What does it mean to live in the likeness of God?

Chapter Three More Than a Reflection: The Likeness of God

The image of God tells us what we are created to reflect.

The likeness of God tells us what we are created to become.

That's an important distinction.

The passage from Genesis 1:26 says:

"Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness."

Image and likeness are related concepts, but they don't necessarily mean the same thing.

Image is the stamp of God on humanity.

Likeness is the conformity of the human person to the character of the God whose image we bear.

Image answers the question:

"Whose image do I bear?"

Answer: God's.

Likeness begins to answer a different question:

"What does that image look like when it's lived out?"

Answer: Also found in God.

Movement:

Image > Likeness > Expression

Eventually, it arrives at something personal:

Gender.

Gender is not the source of identity.

Gender is an expression of identity.

That distinction matters.

Today, conversations about identity often begin with gender and work backwards to figure out what you are. The biblical narrative works in the opposite direction. It begins with God, then moves to creation, then places humanity in the image and likeness of God, and only then identifies humanity as male and female.

The order is theological, then relational, then psychological, then cultural.

Image vs. Likeness: Reflection vs. Resemblance

A mirror doesn't create the person in front of it. It reflects someone who already exists.

Likewise, humanity doesn't get to determine what the image of God means. We receive it.

A mirror, however, isn't merely a thing. A mirror can be good or bad at reflecting. A mirror can be clean or cloudy. A mirror can be placed properly or improperly.

This is a helpful framework for thinking through image and likeness.

Image tells us who we are created to be.

Likeness tells us how we're created to live out who we are.

We're created in the image of God.

We're created according to the likeness of God.

And all throughout Scripture, the aim of human existence is increasingly toward becoming more and more like the God whose image we bear.

Paul writes in Romans 8:29 that believers are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. Second Corinthians 3:18 says that believers are being transformed into the image of Christ. Colossians 3:10 tells us that the new self is being renewed to the image of its Creator.

There is, therefore, a fascinating tension in Christian anthropology:

We already bear the image, but we're still being transformed into the likeness.

The image is given to us.

The likeness is formed in us.

The image is foundational.

The likeness is formative.

The image tells us who we are.

The likeness begins to tell us how we live.

The Juxtaposition of Image and Likeness

Perhaps the clearest way to think about image and likeness is their juxtaposition.

Image but no likeness: Identity but no character.

Likeness but no image: Morality but no identity.

But biblical anthropology doesn't leave us there.

We bear the image of God because we're created by Him.

We pursue the likeness of God because we're formed to reflect Him.

This is why Christianity doesn't simply ask, "Who am I?"

Christianity asks:

"Whose am I?"

Then:

"What am I becoming?"

These three questions are related.

Who am I? I am a human being created in the image of God.

Whose am I? I am created by the Creator of whom I bear the image.

What am I becoming? I am being formed to reflect the character and purposes of my Creator.

This is a radically different answer to identity than the answer that identity is something I form from the inside out.

From Image to Likeness to Gender

There is a fascinating progression in Genesis 1.

First, God creates.

Then, God creates humanity in His image.

Then, humanity is named male and female.

Genesis 1:27: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Notice the order.

Humanity is mentioned first.

Image is mentioned first.

Gender follows humanity and image.

The text doesn't say:

"God created males and females, and some of them also bore the image of God."

It says that humanity bore the image of God and that humanity was male and female.

This is a theological hierarchy:

Creation

God creates humanity.

Image

Humanity reflects God.

Likeness

Humanity is formed to resemble and represent the character of God.

Gender

Humanity expresses this created identity as male and female.

This means that gender is profoundly important but not ultimate.

Gender is part of who we are.

But we are more than gender.

Before I am male, I am human.

Before I am female, I am human.

Before I am any social category, I am a creature created by God.

Underneath all those identities is the ultimate biblical declaration:

I bear the Image of God.

Gender Is an Expression, Not a Foundation

This is where likeness becomes so important.

Image tells us the source of who we are.

Likeness tells us the trajectory of who we are.

And gender tells us one of the expressions of who we are.

This is how we might visualize the relationship:

GOD ↓ CREATION ↓ IMAGE ↓ LIKENESS ↓ MALE / FEMALE ↓ LIVED IDENTITY

This isn't demeaning to gender.

This actually gives gender a deeper foundation.

If gender is separated from creation, it becomes merely a social construct.

If gender is separated from the image of God, it becomes the primary category by which a person understands their entire identity.

But if gender is placed within the biblical framework of creation, image, and likeness, it becomes something more rich and deep:

Gender becomes one dimension of a much broader God-given identity.

The goal isn't to downplay gender.

The goal is to place gender in its proper place.

Freud and the Search for the Self

This conversation about identity isn't new.

Before today's conversations about identity, psychologists and philosophers were asking a fundamental question:

What is going on inside the human person?

One of the most influential efforts to answer that question came from an Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst named Sigmund Freud.

Freud believed that the human personality consisted of three interacting dimensions:

The Id

The Ego

The Superego

Freud's Three: A Theory of Personality

Freud's theory of personality is worth briefly exploring.

The Id: "What Do I Want?"

For Freud, the id is the instinctual portion of the personality.

Its goal is immediate gratification.

It is motivated by impulses, desires, appetites, and basic drives.

The id asks:

"What do I want?"

It doesn't start with morality.

It doesn't start with responsibility.

It doesn't start with long-term consequences.

It starts with desire.

This is fascinating when we compare it to Genesis 3.

The serpent approaches Eve and offers a different identity.

The temptation boils down to:

You get to decide what's good for you.

The fruit becomes desirable.

God's command becomes negotiable.

Humanity begins to determine reality through personal desire rather than divine command.

The biblical narrative, therefore, is a battle between the identity God gives to humanity and the identity humanity tries to give to itself apart from God.

That battle continues today.

The Ego: "What Can I Make of Myself?"

Freud's ego operates according to what he called the reality principle.

The ego tries to find a way between desire and reality.

It asks:

"How can I satisfy what I want while navigating the world as it actually exists?"

This is crucial.

The id asks:

"I want."

The ego asks:

"How can I get it?"

The ego forms plans.

It adapts.

It negotiates.

It develops a sense of self that can operate in the world.

Here is a radical contrast with biblical identity.

The modern self asks:

"Who do I want to be?"

The biblical narrative asks:

"Who did God create me to be?"

These questions sound similar, but they begin in different places.

One begins with the self.

The other begins with the Creator.

The Superego: "What Should I Be?"

Finally, Freud's third component is the superego.

The superego contains our internalized standards, rules, ideals, and expectations.

It asks:

"What should I do?"

This is fascinating.

Freud's three parts ask:

What do I want?

to

What can I do?

to

What should I do?

The biblical three levels ask:

Who am I before God?

and then

How should I live?

This is a massive difference.

Biblical morality isn't ultimately about creating a sufficiently good superego.

Biblical morality is about becoming the kind of person who reflects the character of God.

Christian transformation isn't about learning a set of rules.

Christian transformation is about becoming more like Christ.

That's the difference between behavior modification and transformation.

Freud's Three Parts vs. Biblical Three Levels

There is a conceptually helpful comparison to be made here.

Freud's model: The id

The ego

The superego

Biblical model: Creation

Image

Likeness

The id answers the question:

"What Do I Want?"

Likeness answers the question:

"How Should I Live?"

The superego asks:

"What Should I Do?"

This is a radically different way of understanding identity than the modern notion that identity is something I form from the inside out.

More Than a Reflection: The Likeness of God

If the image of God describes what we are created to reflect, then likeness describes what we are created to become.

That distinction matters.

Genesis 1:26 says:

"Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness."

The words image and likeness are closely related; they need not be understood as identical. Image speaks to the imprint of God upon humanity, likeness speaks to the correspondence between the human person and the character of the God whose image we bear.

The image answers the question:

"Whose image do I bear?"

God's.

Likeness begins answering a different question:

"What should that image look like when lived out?"

The answer is also found in God.

This gives us a movement:

Image → Likeness → Expression

And that movement eventually brings us somewhere remarkably personal:

Gender.

Gender is not the beginning of human identity. It is one of the ways human identity gets expressed.

That distinction matters because modern conversations about identity frequently begin with gender and work backward to determine what a person is. The biblical account does the opposite. Scripture begins with God, moves to creation, establishes humanity in God's image and likeness, and only then identifies humanity as male and female.

The order is theological before it is biological, relational, psychological, or cultural.

Image and Likeness: Reflection and Resemblance

Think about a mirror.

A mirror does not create the person standing before it. It reflects someone who already exists.

In the same way, humanity does not create the meaning of God's image. Humanity receives it.

But a mirror can do more than simply exist. It can reflect clearly or poorly. It can be clean or distorted. It can be positioned correctly or incorrectly.

This provides a helpful way of thinking about the relationship between image and likeness.

The image establishes our created identity.

The likeness describes how that identity gets expressed.

We are created in God's image. We are created according to God's likeness.

And throughout Scripture, the purpose of human life is increasingly described as becoming more like the God whose image we already bear.

Paul writes in Romans 8:29 that believers are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. Second Corinthians 3:18 describes believers as being transformed into Christ's image. Colossians 3:10 speaks of the new self being renewed according to the image of its Creator.

There is a fascinating tension within Christian anthropology:

We already bear the image, but we are still being transformed into likeness.

The image is given. Likeness is cultivated.

The image is foundational. Likeness is transformational.

The image tells us who we are. Likeness begins to tell us how we are meant to live.

The Juxtaposition of Image and Likeness

Perhaps the simplest way to understand this relationship is through juxtaposition.

Image without likeness can become identity without character. Likeness without image can become morality without identity.

But biblical anthropology holds the two together.

We bear God's image because we belong to His creation. We pursue God's likeness because we are designed to reflect His character.

This is why Christianity does not simply ask, "Who am I?"

It also asks:

"Whose am I?"

And then:

"What am I becoming?"

These three questions are connected.

Who am I? I am a human being created in God's image.

Whose am I? I belong to the Creator whose image I bear.

What am I becoming? I am called to increasingly reflect His character and purposes.

That creates a profoundly different understanding of identity from the idea that identity is something we construct entirely from within ourselves.

From Image to Likeness to Gender

Genesis 1 gives us a remarkable progression.

First, God creates.

Then God creates humanity in His image.

Then humanity is described as male and female.

Genesis 1:27 says:

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Notice the order.

Humanity comes first.

Image comes first.

Gender comes within that larger identity.

The text does not say:

“God created males and females, and some of them happened to bear His image.”

It says that humanity bears God's image—and that humanity exists as male and female.

That gives us a theological hierarchy:

Creation

God creates humanity.

Image

Humanity reflects God.

Likeness

Humanity is designed to resemble and represent God's character.

Gender

Humanity expresses that created identity as male and female.

This means gender is profoundly significant without being ultimate.

Gender is part of what we are.

But it is not all that we are.

Before I am male, I am human.

Before I am female, I am human.

Before I identify myself by any social category, I am a creature made by God.

And underneath all of those distinctions is the more fundamental biblical declaration:

I bear the Image of God.

Gender Is an Expression, Not the Foundation

This is where the concept of likeness becomes especially important.

If image describes the source of our identity, likeness describes the direction of our identity, and gender describes one of the created expressions of that identity.

We could visualize the relationship this way:

GOD ↓ CREATION ↓ IMAGE ↓ LIKENESS ↓ MALE / FEMALE ↓ LIVED IDENTITY

This does not diminish gender.

It actually gives gender a deeper foundation.

If gender is detached from creation, it can become merely a social category.

If gender is detached from the image of God, it can become the dominant category through which a person understands the entire self.

But when gender is placed within the biblical structure of creation, image, and likeness, it becomes something richer:

Gender becomes one dimension of a much larger God-given identity.

The goal is not to erase gender.

The goal is to put gender in its proper place.

Freud and the Search for the Self

This question of identity is not new.

Long before contemporary debates about identity, psychologists and philosophers were asking a fundamental question:

What is happening inside the human person?

One of the most influential attempts to answer that question came from Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

Freud proposed a model of personality consisting of three interacting dimensions:

Id

Ego

Superego

Freud's theory provides an interesting contrast to the biblical understanding of human identity.

It is important to acknowledge that Freud's model is a psychological theory, not a biblical description of the human person. The two systems should not simply be equated.

But the comparison is illuminating.

The Id: “What Do I Want?”

For Freud, the id represents the instinctual dimension of the personality.

It seeks immediate satisfaction.

It is driven by impulses, desires, appetites, and basic drives.

The id essentially asks:

“What do I want?”

It does not begin with morality.

It does not begin with responsibility.

It does not begin with long-term consequences.

It begins with desire.

There is something fascinating about this when we compare it with Genesis 3.

The serpent approaches Eve and introduces a competing vision of identity.

The temptation is essentially:

You can determine what is good for yourself.

The fruit becomes desirable.

The command of God becomes negotiable.

The human being begins to define reality through personal desire rather than divine revelation.

The biblical story therefore presents a profound conflict between God's definition of humanity and humanity's attempt to define itself independently of God.

That conflict remains with us.

The Ego: “What Can I Make of Myself?”

Freud's ego operates according to what he called the reality principle.

The ego attempts to negotiate between desire and reality.

It asks:

“How can I satisfy what I want while dealing with the world as it actually exists?”

This is an important development.

The id says:

“I want.”

The ego says:

“How can I get it?”

The ego constructs strategies.

It adapts.

It negotiates.

It develops a sense of self that can function in the world.

And here we encounter a striking contrast with the biblical understanding of identity.

The modern self often asks:

“Who do I want to become?”

The biblical account begins with:

“Who did God create me to be?”

Those questions sound similar, but they begin in opposite places.

One begins with the self.

The other begins with the Creator.

The Superego: “What Should I Be?”

Freud's third component is the superego.

The superego represents internalized standards, rules, ideals, and moral expectations.

It asks:

“What should I do?”

Now the conversation becomes particularly interesting.

Freud's model moves from:

What do I want?

to:

What can I do?

to:

What should I do?

The biblical model begins somewhere else.

It begins with:

Who am I before God?

And from that identity flows:

How should I live?

This is a major distinction.

Biblical morality is not ultimately about creating a good enough superego.

It is about becoming the kind of person who reflects the character of God.

Christian transformation is not simply learning rules.

It is becoming more like Christ.

That is the difference between behavior modification and transformation.

Freud's Three Parts and the Biblical Three Levels

There is an intriguing conceptual comparison here.

Freud's model:

Id → Ego → Superego

can be contrasted with the biblical framework:

Image → Likeness → Gender

But these are not equivalents.

They answer different questions.

Freud is attempting to describe the structure and dynamics of personality.

Genesis is establishing the created identity and purpose of humanity.

Freud asks what happens inside the human psyche.

Genesis asks what humanity is in relation to God.

Freud's model is psychological.

Genesis' framework is theological and anthropological.

Yet the comparison helps expose an important difference.

Freud's model begins inside the individual.

The biblical model begins outside the individual—with God.

That difference changes everything.

Identity: Discovered or Constructed?

At the heart of this conversation is one of the most important questions of our age:

Is identity something I discover, or something I construct?

Modern culture frequently encourages people to look inward:

What do I feel?

What do I desire?

What do I believe about myself?

What identity feels authentic?

What category best describes me?

These questions can be meaningful.

But Christianity begins with a different question:

What has God already declared about me?

That is the significance of the Image of God.

My identity does not begin with my feelings.

It does not begin with my sexuality.

It does not begin with my gender.

It does not begin with my achievements.

It does not begin with my failures.

It begins with creation.

God made me.

And because God made me, I possess a dignity that I did not create and cannot ultimately destroy.

The Three Dimensions of Biblical Identity

We can now begin to see the three levels working together.

1. Image — Identity

I am created by God.

The image establishes dignity, value, and belonging.

2. Likeness — Character

I am created to reflect God.

Likeness establishes direction, character, moral responsibility, and spiritual formation.

3. Gender — Embodiment

I am created as male or female.

Gender establishes an embodied dimension of created human identity.

These three are not competing identities.

They are layers of one created identity.

Image tells me where my identity comes from.

Likeness tells me what my identity is intended to become.

Gender tells me one of the embodied ways that identity is expressed.

What Sin Does to Identity

Genesis 3 introduces the problem.

Sin does not erase the image.

It distorts the reflection.

That distinction is essential.

A cracked mirror is still a mirror.

A distorted reflection does not mean the person standing before it has ceased to exist.

In the same way, humanity after the Fall remains made in God's image.

But our ability to live consistently according to that image has been damaged.

Our desires become confused.

Our self-understanding becomes distorted.

Our relationships become fractured.

Our bodies become subject to death.

Our conscience can become hardened.

Our desires can conflict with God's purposes.

Our understanding of ourselves can become confused.

The problem is therefore deeper than behavior.

It is an identity problem.

We have forgotten who we are.

And when human beings forget who they are before God, they inevitably begin searching for alternative identities.

The Gospel and the Recovery of Likeness

The Christian gospel offers something more profound than the command to “be a better person.”

Jesus Christ comes to restore what sin has distorted.

Paul writes in Romans 8:29 that believers are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ.

That means salvation is not simply about getting forgiven and waiting for heaven.

It is about restoration.

God is restoring His likeness in us.

The Christian life therefore becomes a journey:

Image received.

Likeness restored.

Identity redeemed.

Life transformed.

This is why discipleship matters.

Every act of obedience is an opportunity to become more like Christ.

Every act of love reflects His character.

Every act of forgiveness reflects His grace.

Every act of truth reflects His holiness.

Every act of compassion reflects His mercy.

The goal is not merely to know that we bear God's image.

The goal is to live in such a way that the image becomes increasingly recognizable.

More Than a Gender

This brings us back to the central argument of this book.

We are more than a gender.

Not because gender is unimportant.

But because gender is not the foundation of our existence.

Before gender comes humanity.

Before humanity comes creation.

Before creation comes God.

And therefore our deepest identity is not something we invent.

It is something we receive.

I am God's creation.

I bear God's image.

I am called toward God's likeness.

I live that identity within a created body and as male or female.

That gives us a framework large enough to contain the complexity of human experience without allowing any single dimension to become the whole person.

Freud's question was essentially:

What forces are operating within me?

Modern identity culture often asks:

What do I feel myself to be?

The biblical question is deeper:

Who did God create me to be?

And the biblical answer begins before psychology, before sociology, before culture, and before gender:

You are an image bearer of God.

And because you bear His image, you are invited to grow into His likeness.

That is the beginning of a truly Christian understanding of identity.

Chapter Four

What Does Likeness Produce?

If likeness describes resemblance, then we have to ask what God's likeness looks like in human life. This is where the conversation about sanctification becomes important. The holiness movement has always believed that God is interested in what happens inside the human heart. We do not simply want people to say they believe in Jesus. We want them to become like Jesus. Love should look like something. Grace should look like something. Holiness should look like something. Forgiveness should look like something. Mercy should look like something. The Christian life should look like something. The image of God gives us the capacity. The likeness of God gives us the expression. If we want to know what God looks like in a human life, we look at Jesus. Jesus loved people, served people, forgave people, welcomed outsiders, cared for children, stood for truth, demonstrated compassion, and gave His life. This is what likeness looks like. The goal of Christian transformation is not simply to become a better version of ourselves. It is to become more like Jesus.

Chapter Five

Male and Female

The Gender of Humanity. Genesis gives us another important piece of information. Humanity was created male and female. Genesis 1:27 says, So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Notice the order. Image. Then male and female. Male and female are not outside the image. Male and female are inside the image. Both are created by God. Both bear God's image. Both possess human dignity. Both possess the capacity for likeness. Both are accountable to God. Both are recipients of God's grace. Gender cannot be separated from human identity, but neither can gender become the entire definition of human identity. A man is more than a man. A woman is more than a woman. Both are human beings. Both are image bearers. Both are called to reflect God. Both are capable of love. Both are capable of holiness. Both are capable of serving. Both are called into relationship with God. Gender is important. Gender is meaningful. Gender is part of creation. But gender is not the source of human dignity. God is.

Chapter Six

What Does It Mean to Be Male or Female?

What does it actually mean to be male? What does it mean to be female? The Bible gives us biological, relational, familial, vocational, and social descriptions of men and women. Genesis chapter two expands the creation story. The human being is differentiated. There is male. There is female. There is relationship. There is marriage. There is family. There is fruitfulness. There is responsibility. There is work. There is stewardship. But Genesis chapter two cannot be allowed to erase Genesis chapter one. Genesis chapter one establishes the foundation. Humanity is created in God's image. Humanity is created in God's likeness. Humanity is male and female. When we discuss gender, we must always remember the larger theological category of humanity. We have sometimes allowed secondary questions to become primary questions. We ask what kind of man or woman someone is, what role they have, what position they hold, and what they are supposed to do. Those questions are important. But they are not the first questions. The first question is: Are you human? And the deeper answer is: You are human because God created you in His image.

Chapter Seven

More Than a Gender

There is a reason I have chosen the title of this book. We are more than a gender. We are more than a job, a family, a political position, our economic status, our education, our physical body, our sexuality, our past, our failures, or our successes. We are image bearers of God. That is where our identity begins. The order in Genesis gives us a theological framework for thinking about identity: image, likeness, gender. The image tells us that we come from God. The likeness tells us that we have the capacity to reflect God. Gender tells us something about the way God created us as embodied human beings. But gender does not replace image. Gender does not replace likeness. Gender does not become the whole definition of humanity. This has enormous implications for ministry. When I stand in front of a congregation, I am not looking at a collection of genders. I am looking at image bearers. When I sit across from someone who is hurting, I am looking at an image bearer. When I minister to someone who has made terrible decisions, I am looking first at someone who was created by God. This does not mean behavior does not matter. It does. But identity comes before behavior. We tell people that they are valuable because God created them, and then we invite them to become the people God created them to be. That is grace.

Chapter Eight

Transformed Into His Image

How does personal transformation happen? The holiness movement has always wanted to say that the human heart can be transformed into Christlikeness. We have believed that God does not simply forgive people. God changes people. But perhaps we need to rethink what transformation means. Maybe sanctification is not God throwing away the person we were created to be. Maybe sanctification is God reclaiming the person He created us to be. The image of God is not destroyed by sin. But our ability to live consistently in the likeness of God is deeply damaged by sin. That is where grace comes in. God does not abandon humanity. God pursues humanity. God redeems humanity. God restores humanity. God transforms humanity. And ultimately God conforms humanity to Christ. The Christian life is a transformation of identity into expression. We are created in the image. We are called to live in the likeness. The likeness we are called to pursue is ultimately the likeness of Christ. Some days are better than others. Some days we make good choices and some days we do not. That does not mean grace has failed. It means we are still being formed. We need to rediscover the optimism of grace. Grace does not pretend that we are perfect. Grace believes that God is not finished with us. Grace believes that transformation is possible. Grace believes that the Holy Spirit is still working. Grace believes that tomorrow can be different from yesterday. Grace believes that the person who has fallen can be restored. Grace believes that the image of God is still worth reclaiming.

Chapter Nine

Becoming Who God Created Us to Be

We began with a question: Who am I? Perhaps the Bible gives us a better answer than the world does. You are created. You are loved. You are an image bearer. You are capable of reflecting God. You are male or female. You are morally responsible. You are capable of choosing. You are capable of loving. You are capable of sin. You are capable of redemption. You are capable of transformation. And if you are in Christ, you are being formed into the likeness of Christ. Our identity does not begin with what we have done. It begins with what God has done. God created. God spoke. God formed. God gave life. God gave humanity His image. Humanity chose disobedience. God responded with grace. The story did not end in Genesis chapter three. It continued until, in the fullness of time, God came to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus became the visible expression of the invisible God. In Jesus we see love, holiness, obedience, compassion, courage, sacrifice, grace, and truth. Then Jesus says, Follow me. That invitation is more than an invitation to believe something. It is an invitation to become something. Become like me. Love like me. Serve like me. Forgive like me. Give like me. Live like me. This is why sanctification matters. Holiness is not simply about what we stop doing. Holiness is about what we become. The greatest Christian leaders are people who look like Jesus. They act like Jesus. They speak like Jesus. They love like Jesus. They serve like Jesus. They forgive like Jesus. They give themselves away like Jesus. That is what it means to live in the likeness. We were made in His image. We were created for His likeness. We were given the gift of choice. We were redeemed by His grace. And we are being transformed into His image. Until transformed in Thine own image, in Thy presence, I shall stand.