Human Beings: In the Image of God

[00:00:00] Speaker A: For Christmas this year, I received a very kind gift from my wife, Katie. She gave me these three pictures, and I just wanted to tell you guys about it to illustrate something. A couple of them were paintings. One was a sketch. She didn't make these, but she tracked them down, and they were depicting the three churches I was a member of before I got here, of course. I have actually a painting of a Carol Heights in my office that was painted, like, over 20 years ago that was just in a closet. And so it's to add to my collection of churches that are important to me, these pictures. So I hung them up right next to my desk of one of them, Eagle Heights, where Pastor Ryan used to pastor, as well as a couple of others. And as I look at them, I get to recall that these churches, they influenced me, they helped me grow, and in many respects, they made me who I am today. Now, there are other factors that made me who I am, but they were very, very important in that it is like I have been molded into their image. When you get to know me and you kind of unfold, and I think of my tendencies and what I think is important in the way I think about church, and I unfold those things, I begin to realize I look a lot like those churches because they formed me and were so important to me. I have great affection for them. But not only that, I kind of want to make them proud and continue to be faithful as those wonderful Christians in those churches have been faithful for many years. And so today we're studying, as you can see at the top, humans in the image of God. That's our topic. And so we should similarly think about how God's image stamped onto us should cause us to love him with great affection and seek to honor him. As we look at our lives, if we are living faithful to Christ, we should be able to unfold our lives and see that we, more and more are shaped and look a lot like Christ. That is our goal. And we can kind of see that in our manufacturing, in our how we were created, that a creator made us to bear his image and to look and depict him. Now, the term for this, which you may have heard before it's mentioned a lot, is imago dei. And I'm really just writing this down because it's common enough that you will see it. When you see this, just know that you. Good. Just know that it is. It's not English, and it just means image of God. So that's what imago DEI means. Now, I want to ask you guys, so I want some answers. Why do you think this teaching that humans are made in the image of God is important? There are some reasons that we emphasize it and teach it. It differentiates us from animals. Yeah, it differentiates us from animals. [00:03:21] Speaker B: Gives each human an inherent value. [00:03:24] Speaker A: Yeah, he said it gives each human an inherent value. Really good. Kind of related to animals. Even a dignity greater than other creatures. Anything else? I'm sorry, can you say that again? Yeah. So I feel like everybody has a different sport they want to do. So that's different between everybody else. Are you saying, like, different? It means we have different things we like to do. Yeah. You know, I mean, that is maybe an effect of the image of God as we have desires and things that we enjoy and can be good at. I think that's true. Yeah. I think giving us dignity is one. One that we probably don't think of as often is it also gives us an authority to obey and it gives our lives a purpose. We don't really have a meaningful purpose if we are just animals, the same as a dog, you know, we are distinct and different and have that significance tied to our lives. And this is really what our main idea is saying. So if you look up at the main idea, I have it mostly written out on your pages. It says that God created human beings in his, you probably guess it image. God created human beings in his image, making them of all created things. So everything, animals and not animals, to the stars, down to the dirt, to the worms, to tigers, whatever it is, of all created things, we are most like Him. And he endowed them, I.e. mankind's, with the word I have chosen to use, which I can't remember is dignity with dignity and significance. So this is what he has endowed us with, given us, clothed us with dignity and significance. Something that cannot be taken away, no matter what it is part of our nature completely stuck with us. Now we're covering, as we started last week, God's creation, things that he created. What did we study last week? Does anyone remember? Yes, angels and. Yeah, angels and demons. That's right. And so we started there, but now we've moved on to another thing he created, which is us. And we're focusing specifically on the image of God. We'll spend another week on mankind, focusing on something else. And today we're going to have, as you can see, five points that guide us. And I'll write those down as we go. But let's first flip to Genesis 1. Genesis 1, and we're going to read verses 26, 28. Would anyone like to volunteer to read Genesis 126 28. Thank you. [00:07:02] Speaker B: Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he, male and female, he created them and God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill all the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. [00:07:35] Speaker A: Thank you. So our first point is God created human beings in his image. First major truth that we're going to affirm is he created human beings in his image. And that was the text that teaches us this first Genesis 1:26 28. Now, who in here has a job? Does anyone have a job? So we got some people with jobs. What do your. I mean, there's only a few of you. So I need someone to answer this. What. What do your bosses expect you to do when you're on the clock? It's not a trick question. Are you on the clock at your jobs? Probably, you know, work, work. They expect you to work. Do you. They want you to do your work and not just do it. They want you to do it correctly and they want you to represent the business well, especially if you are more of a front facing person. That may be not always the case if you work in a factory or. I remember when I worked at McDonald's, they put me in the kitchen. They told me, no one's gonna see your face. They did say that. I got hired on. I got hired on with a bunch of. There were a bunch of girls. And like, we're gonna put all the girls in the windows and at the register. You're gonna be in the kitchen on the fryer. And I honestly was thankful because, you know, you don't have to. You make all the mistakes and they take all the heat. So anyway, that's what they want you to do. They want you to represent the business. They want you to work hard, do it especially when you're on the job. And we kind of see this in a way here. We see God give mankind a job. He wants us to do stuff in a certain way. He wants us to namely, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it to have dominion over the fish and the birds and every living thing that moves he also wants man to represent him. We'll get to that in a minute. So we see these things. Now, first, I want us to notice, before I get ahead of myself, there's one detail related to our physical characteristics that he mentions. I just want to draw attention to it. Does anyone notice what it is? You'd see it in verse 27 as my hint. Male and female. It's interesting, right? He distinguishes that, yes, there is male and female. These are distinct, but they both are image bearers of God. So this is an important point. There's no other feature or characteristic of humans that makes you more or less in the image of God. And the rest really look arbitrary. Whether it's race or hair color or whatever it might be, it becomes arbitrary when really the most important distinction is male and female, yet both are image bearers of God. I just wanted to point that out. I think that's important for us to remember. A second thing we reveal, which we just mentioned when we were talking about the jobs, is that being image bearers means we reflect him and we represent Him. So we reflect him. What exactly does that mean? How do we reflect God? Okay, we can show some of his characteristics. Yeah. Were you about to say something? Yeah, exactly. That's a really good example and kind of an example of what Gabe said, too. Yeah. We had a lesson several weeks ago about God's attributes. The attributes that were communicable, communicated to us. Big word just means that he shares them with us. Right. What were some of those? Does anybody remember the examples? Levi? Love. Love, right. Yeah. God loves. And in a lesser, imperfect way, we too love. We're programmed to love other things. I think we talked about intelligence. Even we can know things. We can't know all things as God does, but we can know things. We don't need to list them all. But there are ways that God created us, that we uniquely compared to any other creature, can perform and represent and reflect to the world. And so we reflect him and we represent Him. And that's similar to what Henry just mentioned. We have dominion over the Earth and we multiply and have children. Now, another thing that is revealed in this passage we read is that because this image stamping is tied to the creation, we can't allow theories of evolution to make us doubt the text that we've read about creation. I think it's really important because in God's retelling of creation, he has tied it, tied this in the stamping of God's image into man. Now, let me explain. There are theories out there, that can be confusing. And what they say is that, well, you know, man evolves out of other animals. And at some point, God just took one of these animals that evolved and said, you're an image bearer of God. Now, that's strange, right? It feels like an arbitrary point where he decided, boom, you're not an ape, you are man. It's an odd theory. It's true. It's rather popular among Christians. But I think it distorts this whole picture of God creating man uniquely from the other creatures of the earth, giving them a specific job and duty and dignity. And it makes it more of an arbitrary time. And it makes us doubt what we've read here, that God says, let us make man in our image, not let us take this animal and reform him into something that reflects us. I think that is why we should be careful and weary. Because when we mess with how God created and how he has told us he created, we kind of risk distorting the image of God, the very thing that gives us dignity and purpose and a job, a way to represent Him. So that's our first point. God created human beings in his image. Let's go to the second. Christians hold various views of the image of God. I'm just going to write the one word, not the whole thing. Various views. So, yeah, as I was just. I said one version of a different view. But we're going to talk about four different views that people hold about the image. The first is. I'll just write it here, the substantive view. Substantive. Substantive view. This view says that the image God placed on us is really just. Just a particular characteristic. So when we're trying to think, okay, what is, like, what about us is the image of God? Some people say it's a characteristic. So one would ask, what makes humans distinct from all animals of the earth? What is the characteristic that makes us distinct? Does anyone have, like, what would you say? Intelligence? Intelligence, yeah. You know, some creatures show intelligence, though, right? Like, aren't dolphins smart? Yeah, we're definitely a lot more intelligent. Yeah. Speech. Yeah, that could be. I don't know if other creatures, how much they're communicating with their noise. It's definitely less sophisticated. Some people say rationality, self consciousness. These are some different ways. You, you know, it's kind of hard to narrow in. Right. Trying to think of one thing, and that would be the image is our rationality or our intelligence or whatever it might be. That's the substantive view. The second is the relational view. Relational. So as the name implies, this view says that relationality, how we relate to others is the image of God, which means that humans are meant to relate to one another and to God, which reflects God's character and how he has a relationship with himself in the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And so it's in his nature. He has built it into our nature, and that is how we image God. That's a relational view. Right. Now, both of these seem. It might be hard to say what's not quite right about that. They're definitely touching on something. There's truth to these. Now, let's think about the third briefly. It's the functional view. Functional. The functional view says that the image of God is seen in the duty that God gave to mankind, the job. So the image of God is the command to be fruitful, multiply and exercise dominion over all the earth. That's the image of God. Now, have we talked about what exercising dominion means? Does anyone have an idea of what it might mean to exercise dominion? Yeah. So we're taking the world under our care and provision. Right. And so that can look like a lot of different ways. We care for the earth, but we also rule over the creatures on the earth, in the plants. So you can see that in farming or even just creating cities and communities in the earth and living on it are ways that we have dominion over the earth. So this is what other people say is the image of God. Again, I think we're touching on something. Now, the fourth view, which is what I think is correct, is called the holistic view, and I'm going to circle it because I think this is a helpful way for us to approach the image of God. The holistic view says that the other three views, they're kind of just reductionistic. They're narrowing it down unnecessarily to one specific thing, when really they're just touching on one note of what it means for humans to have the image of God. The image of God, according to Greg Allison, a guy whose book I've been using as I've studied and made these lessons, he says the image of God refers to people themselves in the totality of their being, relationships and activities. So therefore, our characteristics about us, our relationships, and how we function on the earth all come out of the image of God. All of those things reflect the image bestowed on us by God. Our whole selves are the image of God. Right. So our special characteristics that we mentioned earlier, how we relate to other people and the job he's given us to do, all of which point to The God that made us, he shared with us attributes like love and intelligence. He programmed us to desire fellowship with others and with Him. And he gave us the mandate to watch over the earth as his representatives on it. This is the image of God. But of course, there is an even clearer image of God. And that's what we'll talk about in our third point. Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God. So the blank there is perfect. Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God. Now we're going to flip to Colossians 1. So that's in the New Testament, pretty far away. I'm going to go to Colossians 1:15. Can somebody read Colossians 1:15? Thank you. He is the image of the invisible. [00:22:03] Speaker B: God, the firstborn over all creation. [00:22:07] Speaker A: Very good, thank you. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. This clearly says that it's actually Jesus who is the image of God. If we are in his image, then how can we say that Jesus is actually the image of God? Interesting, right? John 14:9, if you want to write that down. John 14:9 says, Jesus said, whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Right? Same idea. He is the image of God. Hebrews 1:3 says, he talking about Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. So again, same idea. The exact imprint, the stamp of the image of God is most clearly seen, perfectly seen in Jesus Christ. Whereas the image of God in us, while not destroyed, we still have those characteristics, relationality, the duties. Right? We still have the dignity in everything. It's not destroyed. It has been marred, it has been made less clear because of the effects of sin. Sin, which we are all born into, in which we each commit each and every day. As we fail to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, it has been marred. Our reflection of God is blurred and our representation of him is therefore flawed. We don't represent him as we ought. We know the image has not completely been disappeared. Right. The Bible still clearly considers our lives valuable of dignity. That is why there are laws given to Israel that say, do not murder, because our lines matter still, but it's not perfectly clear. This brings us to point number four. Christians are being progressively restored to Christ's image. We are being restored into the perfect image of God progressively, which is to say bit by bit. So if we're still in Colossians, if you flip over to chapter three and just look on As I read verses nine and ten, we read, do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. And then in second Corinthians 3, which I'll read real quick, I'll flip there, we also read of Christians that 3, 18, we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. So we're seeing this from one degree to another, change into the perfect image of Christ. That's what's happening. This is what we call sanctification in another way. How would you define this word sanctification? Yeah, that's a great answer. The process of becoming more like Christ after being saved. So after having faith, that's an important thing Gabe added in there. Yeah, that is what's happening. One degree of glory to another. You are. You are becoming like Christ into His perfect image, restoring us to the way that we were created and intended by God to inhabit the earth. It is being restored gradually. And this is God's plan. Romans 8:29 30 says, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Going on, it says, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers, and those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also glorified. And those whom he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified. So those that he has called, those who turn to him to be conformed to his image, will be glorified One day. They will be glorified because we will be made anew the way that we are intended to be. And we will perfectly image God. We won't be God, but we will perfectly live the way he intended, with dignity, representing and reflecting him, and worshiping him as we ought. That is at the end of the age. But for now, if you are in Christ, this progressively is given to you in your life. And that then brings us to our fifth point. Full restoration into the divine image awaits the future return of Christ. So the end of this, as we just saw in Romans, awaits the future return of Christ. The day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:48, 49. I'll read those too. 1 Corinthians 15:48,49. It says, as was the man of dust, so also are Those who are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Not necessarily the most clear passage. What is Paul saying? What do you think? He's trying to. Can someone just explain that? It's 1 Corinthians 15, 48, 49. I'll help us out. What's he talking about when he talks about the man of dust? Who is the man of dust? Adam. That's right. He's talking about Adam. Then therefore, who's the man of heaven? God. Can we be more specific? Yeah. Jesus. Right? Yeah. I think I heard a few people say it over here. Right. Jesus, sometimes called the second Adam. This is what Paul is explaining here. We are all born of the man of dust. Every single one of you, myself, Katie and Annie. We're all born of the man of dust. We have inherited the traits of sin, the blurred image of God in us because of sin. But in Christ, you can reflect the man of heaven. You can be born of the man of heaven and reflect perfectly the image of God once again. Though it is only progressively restored in this life, degree by degree, it will be ultimately restored in the life eternal. That's what he's saying here. Now. Why does this all matter? Because our identity, our dignity and our significance as humans is at stake. That's right. You don't have dignity. You don't have any purpose. You don't have significance. And you can't even truly know who you are if you don't understand the image of God on you. This is because humans, or because humans have God's image. We must then protect innocent life however we can. We must never be prejudiced against any person or people over some arbitrary characteristic. You should be open and willing to have children if you're going to marry. You should try to faithfully have dominion over the earth. And you should look for times to praise God that He will ultimately restore all Christians into His perfect image. That's. Those are the responses we should have when we learn that we have been endowed with such a wonderful image stamped on us. Even though it is given to us progressively while we live faithful to Christ, it will be restored once again. With that, let's close in prayer. Father, we know that we have all been born of the man of dust. But God, I pray that all of us would be granted faith that we may be born again of the man of Heaven. God, give those of us without faith, that faith to turn to you. And Lord, help us to see how having the image of God is not just some detail we learn about in Sunday school, but it's something that affects each and every day of our lives. And indeed, it must change how we live in this world. We pray this all in Christ's name, Amen.