The Foundational Doctrine Of The Imago Dei

In every vocation, the foundational doctrines of any profession determine the goals and practices. The doctrine of the Imago Dei is a foundational Christian belief where humanity reflects God’s as an analogy to the character and attributes of God. While this doctrine has infinite applications in human interaction, the relational aspect of the Imago Dei is the critical to the practice of sound Biblical counseling. God’s relational nature can be seen throughout Scripture, for example, in the Trinity, the covenants God makes throughout Scripture, and the adoption of Christians into the family of God. Man bears the image of God by relating to God and to others, therefore Biblical counseling relies on the relationship between man God, the relationship of

The way this is done is twofold, the relational nature of man reflects the relationship of the Trinity, and the relationship between Christians displays the nature of Christ. The nature of the Trinity is one of the foundational doctrines of the nature of God. At the center of His being, God is the eternal community between the Father, Son, and Spirit. Spurgeon, in His sermon of the Trinity in sanctification, elaborated on the nature of God: “They are as united in their deeds as in their essence. In their love towards the chosen they are One, and in the actions which flow from that great central source they are still undivided” (1862) Each member of the Trinity is unique and co-equal in glory and honor, exhibiting in selfless love and harmony. Since community is at the heart of God, it is essential for man to be in community to reflect God. This comes out in counseling in the nature of integrating interpersonal relationships into treatment. As a counselor, there are a wide range of individual therapies available for the treatment of specific psychological