Gen. 1:26-27; 2:15-24, Made in God’s Image

You may have noticed we have been a bit tardy lately in our posts.  It is the Christmas season so I could lay the blame on that.  We have, as we hope you have, spent time with family, making a circle around the western half of Montana in order to visit family.  If the different parts of the clan can’t all get together for the usual clan celebration then it seems to fall on the parents/grandparents to see them all.  So, we put a lot of miles on and thank the Lord for His protection.

But the larger reason for our disorganization is an ongoing medical situation with our daughter.  Her complicated issues go back a long time, but then on Monday night after Christmas an infection caused some very dangerous symptoms.  We are thankful to the Lord that He brought her through this.  And in addition, we thank the Lord that the situation led the medical folks to take some major steps in her care that needed to be done.  They had been hesitant, fearing that the she would not be able to handle the procedure, but she came through well and we are thankful. 

Why get personal now?  After all, this blog is not much about our personal lives (outside of the trips to Israel).  We mention it in order to ask for prayer for her and her family that loves her deeply.  Certainly, pray for her healing.  But more, pray for her submission to God.

I would like to finish 2022 and begin 2023 with a simple gospel presentation.  It is based on the concept of “the image of God.”  It is a simple presentation, but will take some time to consider the realities of the Gospel message.

I.                  All men are made in the image of God, Gen. 1:26-27.

To be created in God’s image means that men/humans are like God in some way.  The first thing we should understand is that the “image of God” is not physical.  The reason is simple: God, by nature, is not physical.  Jesus Himself said this: “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).  What does it mean to be “spirit?”  Again, Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Lk. 24:39).  In other places the Bible is clear, that God is by nature invisible.  “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim. 1:17; cf. also Col. 1:15 and Heb. 11:27).

But what can we say positively about our likeness to God?  There is not some place in the Bible where there is a list of these “likenesses.”  But I believe there is clarity on this subject.  For one thing, we could think about the differences between animals and humans.  Human are the only ones said to be “in the image of God.”  Humans are not simply more well-developed beasts.  They are uniquely created by God.  Having said that, consider these things.

·       The context of God’s announcement that man was made in His image (Gen. 1:26-27) also says that God gave man dominion over the rest of creation.  The Creator gave Man this dominion.  It was God’s, because He is the Creator; and He made Man to be able to rule as He does.  We are like God in this way.

·       An amazing thing (you may have missed it because it is so simple) is that in the Garden of Eden God communicated with Man.  Have you ever wondered what it would be like for creatures from outer space to land on earth.  Would we be able to communicate with them?  The question would not be, do we speak the same language?  It is so much deeper than that.  We would need to know if they understood “truth” as we understand it.  Do the words they use have the same meaning as the words we use?  When they talk about “trees” to they have the same thing in mind that we have?  Is there a planet like ours in this regard?  (By the way, I do not believe this will ever happen; I believe that the Creator has indicated to us that humans on earth are unique in the universe.)  But now think about Adam being able to understand God’s words.  He must have been made to think like God thinks.  Call it “rationality” if you want.  But the point is we are made like God to understand Him and to talk with Him and hear Him.  The Bible calls this “fellowship with God.”  We were made for this.