Dear ImagoDei,

John Owen believed that the image involved the physical in some way, that is we humans are a psychosomatic unity. It seems to me that the physical is somehow involved in the image from:

1 Cor. 15:47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

What the imago actually is, is a difficult question to answer because Scripture doesn't explicitly tell us.

At the very least it must include the capacity to rule as the Hebrew makes rule a purpose of being in the image:

Gene 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, in order that they might rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [...]" [My translation]

Blessings bro.

__________________
Marty

From Creation to New Creation via Redemption