The Lord Jesus is the express image of God. He was always in the bosom of the Father, and He revealed God perfectly. When we see the love, grace, and kindness of the Lord Jesus, we know that He is showing us the heart of God the Father. What a heart that is! When we see Christ’s holiness, we know we are seeing God’s holiness.
The word “express image” comes from the Greek root “to engrave.” The word can refer to the person, the tool, or the mark made. God the Son, always obedient, was a perfect engraving or impression of His Father.
We also mark our children. We would not want to impress them with our image, for we are not perfect; but do we long for them to reflect the Lord Jesus Christ? If we sculpt them into our own image, deliberately or by example, whom will they be like? The word that is translated “express image” in the King James Version, transliterated letter by letter from the Greek, is “kharactar,” our English word “character.” It is our solemn responsibility to sculpt their character, to engrave it with Christ’s character for life. God has given them to us for a few short years. The engraving lasts a lifetime.