Jesus was the image of God in the exact way the 1st Adam, before the said fall,... was made in the image of God.
LATER and AFTER Jesus was raised via God for 20 plus years Deu 18:18, Jesus BECAME the express image of God. BECAUSE, he express out The Word = the word of God (God, John 1:1....and God was the Word).
If you have seen (heard) me you have seen (Heard) the Father. John 14:10 - Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father ->(The Word) in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (Acts 2:22).
