The Two Images

Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ εἴπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὑψηλότερον δὲ· Ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὡς ἐν τῇ Γενέσει γέγραπται, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ γέγονεν. Ὕστερον δὲ διὰ τὴν αὐτου παρακοὴν ἀνέλαβε καὶ εἰκόνα χοῖκήν. Ὥσπωερ δὲ τὸ νόμισμα εἰκόνα ἔχει τοῦ βασιλεύοντος τῶν ἐθνῶν, οὕτως ὁ ποιῶν τὰ ἔργα ποῦ Παντοκράτορος τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ φορεῖ, ἥν παραινεῖ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἀποδιδόναι καὶ ἀποτίθεσθαι, καὶ φορεῖν τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενομένην εἰκόνα. Ἀκολούθως τούτοις καὶ ὁ Παῦλος φησιν· Ὡς ἐφορέσαμεν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοῖκνου, οὕτω φορέσωμεν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. Τοῦτο οὖν δηλοῖ τό· Ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον Source : Migne PG 17.369a-b

And answering He said to them: 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, to God what is God's.'1 In a higher sense, as it is written in Genesis, man was made according to the image of God. And after, because of disobedience, he acquired an image of earth. Therefore as the coin has an image of the ruler of men, so he who performs the works of the Almighty bears His image, whence the Saviour exhorts us to return the earthly image and to be rid of it, and to bear that image which was in the beginning. Following this Paul says: 'As we bore the terrestial image, so let us bear the heavenly image.' 2 Thus is made clear: 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, to God what is God's' Origen, On the Gospel of St Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 20.25 2 1 Cor 15.49