Man was created in Gods Image, but when He sinned, it died with him, now only the regenerated man is in Gods image, thats how you know Gods love you, if He regenerates you into His Image Eph 4:24
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Col 310
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Mans fallen nature is in the image of the devil
Here's my reading of the text, I do not believe in election and damnation of those not elect and furthermore, I believe that regeneration and faith happened together, indissolubly, in that one stupendous 2Aorist moment when we were quickened by the Holy Spirit.
So it's not a question what precedes what, speaking from my own experience.
Joh 3:16 God’s Love for the World
For in this way/manner God loved the world, so that he gave his one and only Son, in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world in order that he should judge [Or “he should condemn”] the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him.
Joh 3:18
The one who believes in him is not judged, [Or “condemned”] but the one who does not believe has already been judged, [Or “been condemned”] because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
Joh 3:19
And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For everyone who practices evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed.
Joh 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, in order that his deeds may be revealed, that they are done in God.
NOTHING here re the elect.
2Co_1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Eph_1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 4:30 (KJV) — “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
This verse calls believers to live in such a way that we do not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit, who is both the seal and guarantee of our final redemption in Christ. The command implies that the Spirit is personally affected by our conduct, indicating divine sensitivity to moral and relational failure—especially in the context of unity, speech, and conduct among believers (cf. Eph. 4:25–32).
As for fallen, unregenerate man, the fact that humanity is in a state of sin and spiritual death (Eph. 2:1) does not mean that the image of God (Imago Dei) has been utterly erased or destroyed. It is true that sin has marred, distorted, and defaced that image—but it has not annihilated it. The doctrine of the Imago Dei affirms that every human being, even in their fallen condition, bears a residual reflection of the divine likeness as intended in Genesis 1:26–27.
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Gen. 1:26)
This image is ontological and relational—it refers not only to reason, conscience, and will, but also to the capacity for moral awareness, relationships, and communion with God. Though obscured by sin, this imprint remains foundational to human dignity and accountability.
Moreover, Colossians 1:15 tells us that Christ is the image of the invisible God—and in redemptive history, He is the one who restores the marred image through the gospel. Paul echoes this in Romans 8:29, stating that believers are being conformed to the image of God's Son. Thus, redemption in Christ does not create the image anew from nothing, but rather restores and perfects what has been damaged by the Fall.
Therefore, to say that the unregenerate still carry the Imago Dei—however marred—is not to negate their fallenness, but to affirm that they remain image-bearers who can be held accountable by God, are capable of responding to His call, and retain intrinsic worth rooted in creation, not performance.
J.
