“is,” which shows that St. Paul is speaking of Christ in His present glorified state. Compare 2 Cor. 4:4, τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ. The exalted Christ is now and continues to be what He was in His own nature as the Word before He became incarnate, John 17:5. εἰκών is primarily an image (so in Rev. often, comp. Matt. 22:20). It differs from ὁμοίωμα, which expresses mere resemblance, whereas εἰκών implies representation of an archetype.