Theological Anthropology Part 3: How Then Shall We Live?
The Imago Dei in Motion: Vision Leading from Acts to Destiny. A Christian Praxis of Self-Transformation.
From Image to Imitation
In Genesis, we are told we are made in God’s image. But this “image” is not a mirror—it is a mandate. We are meant to grow into it.
In Part 1, we saw how Imago Dei is best understood not as static essence but as dynamic potential. In Part 2, we argued that our godlikeness is revealed in our capacity to create explanatory knowledge—to understand and shape the world as co-creators with God.
But now the question becomes: How?
If we are meant to become more God-like—not in power alone, but in wisdom, love, and truth—how then shall we live?
The answer lies not in abstraction, but in formation.
The Spiral of Selfhood
Vision → Acts → Habits → Character → Identity → Destiny
This six-stage model echoes both scripture and spiritual tradition. It’s found in various forms in contemporary self-help. It’s the deep pattern of growth in every serious Christian life—and it is especially urgent in the age of accelerating technology and expanded power.
Vision
We start with a future vision, an image of us growing in the Imago Dei, the character and identity we aspire to. “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal … for which God called me heavenwards.” (Phil 3:13-14)Acts
Every day offers choices in pursuit of that vision. Each act is a moral seed, sown into our future.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give…” — 2 Corinthians 9:7Habits
What you repeat, you become. Habits of prayer, sacrifice, discipline, attention to conscience and the Spirit’s voice.
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap.” — Galatians 6:9Character
Habits crystallize into dispositions—virtues or vices. But character is not just effort—it is where the Spirit begins to work most deeply.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…” — Galatians 5:22–23
These virtues are not manufactured. They are the evidence of the Spirit’s indwelling—but the Spirit mostly meets us in the trenches of discipline and obedience.Identity
Over time, character becomes our identity, our story, our embodied reality.
“Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” — Ephesians 4:24Destiny
Our long trajectory bends toward what we have become.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” — Philippians 1:6
This is the process by which the fallen image of God becomes the likeness of Christ.
Becoming by Doing: The Active Life of Faith
Christian faith is not merely belief—it is embodied commitment. As James reminds us, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Belief matures through action, and action feeds back into belief.
In the ancient world, this was called praxis. In modern terms, we might call it deliberate formation. In today’s technological world—where distraction, fragmentation, and indulgence are automated—we must reclaim a vision of moral effort and proactive self-improvement.
Christianity calls us not to rest in being made, but to rise into becoming.
A Christian Transhumanist Imperative:
Self-Formation in the Age of Power
Part 2 described humans as universal knowledge creators—creatures who can transform their world. Christian Transhumanism takes this further: we are not only knowledge creators but future shapers. We will soon have tools—biotech, neural augmentation, AI—that allow us to radically alter our own capacities.
The question will not be what can we do but who are we becoming?
For many, this vision begins with today’s emerging tools: language models assisting our thinking, AI-enhanced productivity, digital companions in our daily lives. But what lies ahead is more radical—brain-computer interfaces, genetic enhancements, and nanotechnology that may multiply human capacity a thousandfold.
To grasp this future takes a special kind of people. As yet un-conceived moral enhancement technologies will emerge. Christians must stand up and direct these towards the reign of Christ’s person and principles. The thought of these tools being wielded by beings lacking the key Christian archetypes is a recipe for a world war.
This is not medieval asceticism. It is the most forward-looking theology possible:
To prepare for power, we must deepen virtue. Such power demands not just capability, but character. And Christians must ask: what kind of people will we need to be to steward such tools in service of love, justice, and peace?
Emergence, Agency, and Grace
We may never solve the mystery of how free agency, or free will, arises. Like consciousness, it may be emergent, layered, and contextual. But scripture takes no interest in that debate. It assumes agency and commands responsibility.
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life.” — Deuteronomy 30:19
Even in a world of constraints on our free will—genetics, trauma, culture, systems—we are invited to participate in our own becoming. As with all helping professions, from teachers to psychologists, sports coaches, life coaches, or anyone in government or corporate leadership: We, God’s people, are invited to choose.
This is grace in motion.
We take inspiration from Christianity’s long scholarly tradition. Aquinas saw our agency as reason-guided within God’s plan, shaping virtuous habits through deliberate acts. Duns Scotus argued the will can choose independently of strict causes, enabling us to transcend biological or cultural pressures—whether resisting hedonism or societal norms.
Modern psychology concurs, finding those who believe in and grasp their agency have the fastest route to healing from trauma and depression. Neuroscience finds our frontal cortex can re-train habits stemming from our lower limbic system. Filling our minds with God’s thoughts will, with time, change who we are.
So: How Then Shall We Live?
Not as passive recipients of existence.
Not as self-made moralists grinding out virtue by force of will.
And not as spiritual tourists waiting for transformation to fall from the sky.
But as image-bearers actively becoming, walking in partnership with the Spirit of God.
Our future vision must lead us from acts to habits, to character, to identity, to destiny—all under the transforming presence of grace.
We begin with acts. But we never walk alone. The Spirit meets us in our efforts, fills the space between who we are and who we’re called to become, and brings to completion what we could never finish in our own strength.
This is not moralism. It’s not mere discipline.
It’s formation through union—with Christ, with His body, and with the Spirit who moves where He will.
So the invitation is clear:
Live intentionally.
Form holy habits.
Cultivate the ground for transformation.
Be open to the Spirit.
Let God’s image take root in you and bloom.
Be the kind of person who can wield the extraordinary tools of the future with God-honouring peace and justice, as humans meld ever closer with technology to create ways of life we dream of.
This is not a call to self-help.
It is a call to co-creation with God.
Because how you live is who you become.
And who you become is the first chapter of your eternal story.