Were Satan, Angels, And Other Heavenly Host Created In The “Image Of God”?

Were Satan, Angels, And Other Heavenly Host Created In The “Image Of God”?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, October 17, 2025 (Donate)

With such an intriguing question, one may quickly dismiss it without much thought by saying that the Bible doesn’t say that they were created with the “image of God”.  However, a quick dismissal may not be wise. After all, the Scriptures do not say they weren’t created with the image of God either.  The Bible though isn’t written about the heavenly beings and so doesn’t give us extensive background about them.  

The Image Of God

Consider for a moment that being made in the image of God is what distinguishes mankind from the animals and other physical entities during Creation Week. In Genesis 1:26-27, it says:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27, NKJV)

Adam was created with the image of God and the Woman (Eve) was created from Adam, hence she was also made in the image of God. All of mankind, therefore, has been made in the image of God as we are all descendants of Adam.  

Photo by Bodie Hodge

What sets mankind apart from animals and plants and so on is that mankind has a spiritual aspect.  Plants have a “body” or at least a physical aspect but no soul.  This is why creationists often point out that plants are not living in the biblical sense. 

Photo by Bodie Hodge

Animals, for example, were created with a body and a soul (Hebrew: nephesh) per Genesis 1:24-25. Unlike animals, man has a spiritual aspect as well. Recall Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians:

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV)

Mankind has a spiritual aspect and this spirit is uniquely made in the image of our spiritual God. Contextually, this stands as a unique difference against animals and plants. We should expect this image to be spiritual since God is spirit (John 4:24). This image was first placed into Adam when God breathed life into him. 

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7, NKJV)

The Hebrew word for “breath” here is nashamah and is often translated as breath or spirit.   Often Christians describe the image of God as superior intellectual ability such as reason and abstract thought, worship of God, language and communication with God, power of contrite choice, emotions such as love, sadness and anger, compose music and write through creative means, immortality, and so on.^[1] 

Photo by Bodie Hodge

This is done to show how separate man is from beasts and other physical entities.  Though true in comparison to these things, when we look at angels, Satan, demons and other heavenly host, many of these same attributes we have in common!

Attributes Of Spiritual Beings

Consider a few claimed attributes of the image of God and see where they appear in Scripture with regards to spiritual beings.  There are many examples found in Scripture but a couple should suffice for each. 

• Superior intellectual ability such as reason and abstract thought

When the serpent, which was influenced by Satan, deceived Eve in Genesis 3, there was considerable intellectual ability even being termed “clever/cunning”. Satan speaking of Job in Job 1:9-11 and Job 2:4-5, used logic and forethought to say that Job would turn if he lost his possessions and became diseased. Many people in such a situation probably would have turned from God but God knew Job would not. But Satan was trying to reason and think through the situation. 

The sons of God, including Job, presenting themselves to God and Satan came among them; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

• Worship of God

Hebrews 1:6 points out that angels worship the Lord. Luke 2:13-14 indicates that the heavenly host worshipped and praised God.

• Language and communication with God

Satan was able to converse with God in Job 1 and 2. Satan was also able understand Christ (get behind me Satan—Mark 8:33). The legion of demons was able to converse with Christ (Mark 5:9). Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that there is a tongue(s) of angels. Angels in rare appeared form often spoke to people, e.g., Mary, the mother of Christ, and John in Revelation. 

• Power of contrite choice

Satan and the demons obviously fell from grace when sinning against God.

• Compose music and write through creative means

The Four Living Creatures (whom are among the heavenly host) in Revelation 5:8-10 played harps and sang a new song. Harps are again used in Heaven in Revelation 15:2 with heavenly being. With the extensive amount of praise and worship to God by the angels and heavenly host, it is expected that much music is created. There is even a hint that Satan may have been involved in music before his sin and subsequent fall from Heaven in Ezekiel 28:13 “the workman of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you”.  

• Immortality

Like humans, eternal life and eternal death will be the outcome of angels who did not fall and angels and Satan who have fallen respectively (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). 

• Emotions such as love, joy, desires, sadness, pride, and anger

Luke 15:10 indicates that angels are joyous when one person repents. The devil had great wrath in Revelation 12:12. Angels and the devil have desires (1 Peter 1:12; John 8:44). 

Conclusion

Since the Bible doesn’t tell say whether or not spiritual beings are made in the image of God, it is really guesswork that could go either way but since man is unique, then it makes sense that angels and Satan are not made in the image of God. But instead, they have some aspects that reflect God’s nature because they are spiritual beings and God is a spirit.

Of many of the things that Christians often cite as distinctions between mankind and animals as evidence that man is made in the image of God, these same attributes are found in heavenly beings.

Even so, there are difference between man and angels and Satan. For instance, man was given a dominion to rule over. Man is made in the image of a ruling God. Satan for instance had no dominion and tried to take the dominion of man and is now dubbed the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).

God also became a man to save man, and God did not become an angel to save angels. Angels and Satan who sinned had direct tastes of the glory of God being in His presence. This kinship was necessary for Christ to be our kinsman redeemer.

Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Dominion and kinship are just some aspects. Is it that we simply do not understand what the image of God fully entails? Perhaps since in a fallen state, we may never fully grasp what encompasses being made “in the image of God”. Recall that God is infinite and simply trying to comprehend God’s attributes can sometimes seem overwhelming.

But on the flip side, should it be a surprise that spiritual beings have attributes of their Creator who is spirit as well?  Scripture reveals that humans are made in the image of God and are distinct from animals by having an eternal spiritual aspect. 

I’m not aware of any major theological problems if one considers spiritual beings as being made in the image of God but since they are not denoted that way and there are distinctions between man and heavenly beings (e.g., dominion, kinship) then we need to be cautious.  

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council. 

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

Originally at Answers in Genesis; Edited; Republished by permission.

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[1] E.g., Grigg, Russell, Made in the image of God, Creation ex-nihilo 16(4):42-45, September 1994; Rendle-Short, John, Creation 4(1):21-29 March 1981

The Great Awakening

The Great Awakening (In The Colonial States)

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, October 16, 2025 (Donate) 

During the 1730s and 1740s, New England witnessed “a surprising work of God”. It was a season of extraordinary religious thought.  

Ministers, as well as the average person in the pew, spoke of a spiritual awakening from blandness to a lively sense of what sin was and the solution via salvation through Christ. The movement arose primarily within the Congregational churches of Massachusetts and Connecticut and then burst throughout the colonies.

That Great Revival

According to printed accounts in the 1730s-1740s, the Awakening was marked by powerful preaching, deep conviction of sin, public crying, and a renewed zeal to be holy and live godly lives. Jonathan Edwards described it in his book, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God (1737) as:

“a great and earnest concern about the things of religion, a remarkable increase of seriousness, and a great alteration in the public behaviour of the people.”

Jonathan Edwards, 1700s

Edwards and others viewed it as a genuine outpouring of the work of the Holy Spirit producing repentance, faith, and moral reform.

Opponents, such as Charles Chauncy, complained that much of it was empty emotion, enthusiasm, and disorder. In pamphlets and sermons collected in Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England (1743), Chauncy warned that bodily agitations, crying out, and supposed visions were “no certain signs of grace” and that religion must be tested by its bonds of charity and obedience.

Charles Chauncy, 1700s

Thus, there arose divisions between the New Lights, who favored the Great Awakening’s revivalism, and the Old Lights, who feared its outward excesses and stayed with traditional Protestant worship. What neither side realized is that both routes were drawing people closer to God and His Word!

Primary Figures

The most renowned names connected to the Awakening in New England were Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfiled. But there were other significant players and many, many smaller players whose names we may never know.

Out of them all, perhaps the leading voice in the Great Awakening was Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758). He was a pastor of Northampton, Massachusetts, whose careful theology and powerfully insightful sermons gave the Awakening its intellectual foundation. His sermons such as Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741) were intended to awaken the unconverted to flee from the wrath to come. Even today, his sermons are still read and studied.

Next there is Joseph Bellamy (1719–1790). He was a student of Jonathan Edwards who later systematized this form of revival theology in Connecticut and whose early sermons circulated widely. His influence is not to go unnoticed.

Probably the next most influential person of the Great Awakening was George Whitefield (1714–1770). Unlike Edwards, he wasn’t from the colonies. He was the English evangelist of the Church of England, who, traveling through the colonies in 1739–1741, preached in the open fields to tens of thousands. His journal entries and printed sermons show his famous “thunderous oratory” and the necessity of the new birth in Christ. Like Edwards, his sermons are still used and studied today.

George Whitfield, 1700s

Finally, we have Gilbert Tennent (1703–1764). He was a Presbyterian minister from New Jersey whose sermon The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry (1740) challenged many clergy of being strangers to the grace they professed.

His words, directed at the leaders in the church, stirred pastors, elders, and deacons, to get right with God themselves and stop going through the motions. Basically, he helped call church leaders back to a proper Christian life—and…it fired them up which fueled the Great Awakening further.

Standing against these was Charles Chauncy (1705–1787). He was actually the second president of Harvard University. He was also a congregationalist pastor of the First Church of Boston and leading opponent of the revivalists. His writings argued that being good Christians would be to restore sober, reasonable religion against over-emotional enthusiasm.

Great Awakening Legacy

Contemporary reports, such as those printed in the Christian History journal (1743–1745), amassed reports from ministers across New England describing hundreds of conversions, renewed family worship, and a “moral reformation” in towns and villages.

Even so, the same reports also note divisions in churches, firings of ministers, and new separations into “New Light” congregations. So, the church was growing, spiritually they were doing better, but local church splits and ministerial havoc still abounded!

By the latter 1740s, the fervor cooled. Nevertheless, Edwards wrote in Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England (1742) that, despite the good and bad, the Awakening was “a glorious work of God’s infinite power and grace.”

Even critics conceded that it had rekindled public attention to the “things of God” on a scale unseen since the first settlements. There were some influential books that came out of that era that still speak hundreds of years later.

Jonathan Edwards, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God (1737) was printed in London and Boston. This work recounted the revival at Northampton and was reprinted throughout the colonies and England. It persuaded many that God was again “visiting” His people with power through His Word.

Gilbert Tennent’s book, The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry (1740) is based on a fiery sermon that denounced formal, spiritually dead pastors and demanded that ministers themselves experience the new birth. It fanned the flames of revival but also deepened the schism with more traditional clergy.

Another book was by Jonathan Edwards called, Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England (1742). It presents a balanced defense and pastoral guide to the revival. Edwards admitted there were excesses but insisted the essential work was of God, providing theological grounding for the movement.

On the flip side was Charles Chauncy’s Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England (1743) who staunchly argued for worship to return to form.

Conclusion

By the testimony of its own century, the Great Awakening in New England was an incredible spiritual time—a mixture of divine grace and human passion—stirring towns and colleges, uniting some believers and dividing others.

Leaders of the Awakening like Edwards, Whitefield, and Tennent, called for heartfelt conversion and holiness; its critics, like Chauncy, argued for reason and order. The era’s sermons and literature show that the controversy itself, conducted through print, pulpit, and open field left an enduring mark on American religion as a precursor to the War of Independence in the USA.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council. 

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

The Doctrine Of The Image Of God

The Doctrine Of The Image Of God

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, October 15, 2025 (Donate)

Sadly, we are in a culture where people kill people, abort the young, euthanize the aged or sick. Around the world we see tyranny, hostages, and harm in atrocious ways. Yet, anyone in their right mind knows that murder and other terrible things done to fellow man is wrong.

For instance, if someone sees an innocent person murdered before their own eyes, it should be a haunting experience. But the same person doesn’t flinch when hundreds of mosquitos get smashed by the front of a car! Ever wonder why?  

After sin in Genesis 3, Mosquitoes often bite us and drive us crazy! Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

The reason is that man has eternal value—men, women, and children. This includes the fertilized, preborn children, the elderly, as well as the sick or disabled. They all have a value that far exceed animals, rocks, plants, and even money!

The uniqueness of man is a Christian concept that comes from the pages of the Bible. It is predicated on an eternal God—who created man in His eternal image.

What Is “Being Made In The Image Of God”?

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27, NKJV)

Being made in the image of God means that man (male and female) was created with spiritual, intellectual, moral, and dominion/ruling capacities that reflect the nature of an all-knowing, perfectly moral, and all-powerful ruling God. Though man was not made in God’s full divine essence.

This image does not pertain to God’s physical form—since God is spirit—but rather to man's ability-to-ration soul, dominion over creation, and original righteousness. Man’s original state included knowledge, holiness, communion, intelligible communication, and the ability to choose good, thereby distinguishing humans from animals.

This likeness is seen in man’s reason, conscience, will, power to rule and judge, and immortality of the soul. Man was made capable of communion with God being pre-programmed by God with words, grammar, and understanding so that Adam and Eve could understanding God and His divine truths. Being made like this allowed man to exercise authority as God's representatives on earth (Genesis 1:26–28).

Though the Fall marred and messed up this aspect of the image of God, it was not entirely lost. Instead, the moral and spiritual likeness was deeply corrupted—leading to physical death and finally an eternal conscious death (i.e., second death/hell), necessitating redemption.

Through Christ, the believer is renewed in the image of God—restored in righteousness and growing in holiness (cf. Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24). Nevertheless, we are still in our sinful flesh while physically alive and fighting against our sin nature with the help of the Holy Spirit that grows and sanctifies us (until the consummation of with new bodies and a New Heaven and a New Earth).

Thus, while all people bear the image in a natural sense (giving them eternal value), only the saved (i.e., regenerate) bear it in its renewed moral and spiritual fullness through Christ (heaven-bound eternal value).

And have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. (Colossians 3:10, NKJV)

Animals And Evolution

Being made in the image of God means that humans are uniquely created with spiritual, eternal, moral, and rational capacities that reflect God's character—unlike animals, which are not made in His image. Humans possess a body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV)

Whereas the plants have a body but no soul or spirit and animals have a body and a soul (nephesh chayyah in Hebrew), but man’s soul is made in the eternal spiritual image of an eternal God.[1]

Man is obviously set apart from animals in that we have the ability to reason abstractly, create and appreciate art, communicate with complex language, and make moral judgments. Man unlike rocks, animals, or trees are accountable to God and capable of having a relationship with Him.

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. (Genesis 9:6, NKJV)

This is in direct opposition to the evolutionary worldview, which claims humans are merely advanced animals formed by random chance over millions of years. The evolutionary religion destroys humanity’s inherent value, morality, and purpose, reducing man to meaningless biological and chemical processes.

Can you see why secular-influenced cultures, that holds to evolutionary views, is steeped in murder, abortion, euthanasia, tyranny, and so on? In that view, nothing ultimately matters and no one has value any more than mosquitoes smashed on the front of the car.

Man’s dominion over creation (Genesis 1:26–28) is based on being God's image-bearer, not an evolved primate. The evolutionary view, therefore, is an attack on human dignity and destroys the basis for ethics. On the other hand, the biblical view upholds that all humans—regardless of age, ability, or ethnicity—have an eternal and intrinsic worth because they made in God's valuable image.

Being made in God’s image sets man apart as a special creation, not the product of evolutionary descent from animals which leads to unruly chaos (unless they borrow from the Bible!).

Angels And Other Spiritual Beings

Angels and other spiritual beings were also created by God and reflect His glory and power in certain spiritual ways. Even so, God never informed us that they were made in the image of God as man is. Angels can display attributes like intelligence, will, enact justice, and moral awareness, but they lack the full scope of what it means to bear God's image. They were not given a dominion to rule over, for instance.

Only the four people here are made in the image of God; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

Angels are spiritual and very powerful, yet they do not have bodies like humans, nor are they given dominion over the physical creation. Man, as image bearers (Genesis 1:26–27), involves a special earthly and spiritual role: mankind was created to rule over creation, have physical form, reproduce and have family relationships, and have a soul that reflects God's moral and relational attributes.

Also, angels were not created in a family-based relationship to God, whereas humans can become children of God through Christ. Adam was even called the son of God in Luke 3:38 (not to be confused with Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, who is God manifest in the flesh). Christ though stepped into history to become a man, not an angel. Christ became part of the family of man—which is not a problem for an all-powerful God.

While angels reflect God’s power and holiness to a degree and they are spirit, as God is spirit, man alone is made in God's image. Image-bearing man has a distinct role as His representative on earth, capable of redemption, family, and eternal fellowship with Him.

Conclusion: The Bride Of Christ

Christians collectively become the bride of Christ because humanity alone is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27), specially created for relationship with Him. Unlike animals or angels, humans reflect God's nature in a special way.

Through redemption in Christ, believers are united to Him in a covenant relationship (Ephesians 5:25–32; Revelation 19:7–9), forming His bride—the Church. This intimate union is possible only because man, as God’s image-bearer, is capable of a love, covenant, and spiritual communion, qualities not shared by animals or angels in the same redemptive way.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council. 

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.

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[1] Some argue that the soul and spirit of man are one and the same (dichotomous or man having a dual nature with a body + soul/spirit) and other position is that the soul and spirit are unique (trichotomous or man having a body, soul, and spirit that is unique). The reason for this is that there are times in Scripture where soul and spirit are equated and times they are not. It gets confusing because the soul is spiritual. I’ve always taken a split view on this, that the soul and spirit are like flip side of the same coin. Therefore, they can be seen as separate and yet, have aspects of sameness or equating.

God and the Northwest Ordinance

God and the Northwest Ordinance

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, October 14, 2025 (Donate)

When the United States was going through its initial set up and founding, there were 4 primary documents of Law. The first is the popular Declaration of Independence—which appeals to God over the King of England for independence.

Organic Laws Of The USA

The next three are for governance in the collection of states and territories that are now a new nation. These 3 documents of law are the:

·       Articles of Confederation (initial government system)—1776-1777

·       Northwest Ordinance (governance for territories)—1784-1787

·       Constitution and the Bill of Rights (governance for states)—1787-1789 (1791 for the Bill of Rights to be Amended to the Constitution)

Together, these 4 make up the Organic Laws of the United States. The Declaration gives power to the Articles of Confederation which in turn gives power to the Northwest Ordinance and the Constitution. Furthermore, the Constitution succeeds the Articles of Confederation as main rule of law for states and the Bill of Rights, which are attached to the Constitution, are the untouchables.

All four of these documents mention God one way or another and is built on Christian law and morality. In this article, I wanted to discuss the religious aspects of the Northwest Ordinance.

The Northwest Ordinance And God

Article III

Northwest Ordinance, 1787; Image requested by Bodie Hodge (ChatGPT)

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (also called the Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio) contains a reference to God and a Christian life. Consider Article III:

"Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be made, for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.”

While this sentence does not mention "God" explicitly by name, it’s to be interpreted within the broader Christian moral framework of the Founders' era. This is the most famous religious reference in the Ordinance. 

The Ordinance clearly elevates religion and morality as essential to a functioning republic. At the time, this was widely understood as referencing a Christian moral foundation, particularly protestant values based on the 66 books of the Bible.

Keep in mind that the concept of “goodness” (e.g., good and bad/good and evil) is a Christian concept directly from the Bible that is often borrowed by other religions. The phrase “religion and morality” was commonly used in 18^th-century American political writings to reference Christian doctrine and ethics.

Founders like George Washington and John Adams used similar language, consistently referring to Christian religion as the moral foundation of the republic. In the 1780s United States, there was no significant Hindu, Buddhist, or Islamic presence in the political or religious discourse. If anything, there was a small influence of Catholicism (which agrees that the Bible is true!). The default religion without question was a Christian conception of God (almost exclusively Protestant).

Public education, referenced in the same sentence quoted above, typically used the Bible as a foundational text—especially in New England and frontier territories. The Bible was the primary textbook to learn religion and other subjects.

Article I

The ordinance also contains an indirect reference to God in the following:

"And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions are erected; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions, and governments which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory: to provide also for the establishment of states, and permanent government therein, and for their admission to a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with the original states, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest: it is hereby ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid, that the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the said territory, and forever remain unalterable, unless by common consent, to wit:

Article I. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said territory.”

While the Northwest Ordinance is not overtly theological—that wasn’t its purpose—it still requires a religious basis for law, morality, and governance. Thus, it reflects the Founders’ widespread belief in a religiously-informed moral order—especially for free and educated citizens. The protections for religious liberty (e.g., denominational variance) is also a precursor to the First Amendment (ratified in 1791).

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 implies a Christian understanding of God, based on the historical, cultural, and political context of its authors and the early American Republic. The Ordinance was drafted and passed by the Continental Congress having power under the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration, composed primarily of men shaped by Christian thought, particularly various denominations of protestant Christianity.

Our Lord

The only direct reference to God is in the closing:

“Done by the United States, in Congress assembled, the 13^th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1787…”

Here, our Lord is mentioned and is in direct reference to Christ. Timekeeping since the King of Kings stepped into history to claim His throne is important and relevant. This isn’t in reference to the Fall of Troy or the birth of Buddha, but refers to time referents regarding Jesus Christ who is openly called “our Lord”.    

The values embedded—religion, morality, and knowledge as essential to good government—mirror the dominant Christian moral philosophy of the time, especially influenced by Reformed (Calvinist) and Enlightenment Christian ideals.

Conclusion

As mentioned before, the liberty of various denominations (free exercise of religion) was largely within the Christian religion as a whole. Article I ensures freedom of worship, meaning other denominational faiths were not persecuted like they were in England, to which the USA just gained their independence.

“No person… shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments…”

However, this does not mean that the drafters had a pluralistic or relativistic view of God. Rather, it meant liberty of conscience within a culture already steeped in Christian theism. The God in reference in the Northwest Ordinance has only the Christian religion in mind.

The God implied and mentioned in the Northwest Ordinance is clearly the God of the Bible (Christ)—understood through a broadly Christian (especially Protestant) lens.

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Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight Council. 

Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.