MAN MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
When Christians speak of man being in the image of God, it will be according to their own interpretation. In fact that is a great deal of all misunderstanding of the Word of God, created by assumptions and inferences, all according to individuals’ own ideas concerning this or that matter.
It is a true fact that all men continue to be created ‘in the
IMAGE OF GOD’.
We take note that, being in the ‘IMAGE OF GOD’, is a different factor to being
FORMED OUT OF THE DUST OF THE GROUND as Adam was FORMED. Genesis 2:7
We understand concerning this fact that no human continues to be formed in the
manner that the first man was formed by God,
Genesis 2: 7, nor that of the first woman, Genesis 2: 23.
Due to the fact that man who originally was FORMED out of the dust of the earth and was made a LIVING BEING, he was enabled to reproduce his own kind, was were the animals, who were LIVING CREATURES, also able to reproduce their own kind.
The difference between the animals who were living creatures and mankind who were living beings, is the fact that GOD CREATED INTO MAN, HIS LIKENESS, which is not speaking of man’s form, but that which all mankind as in them, and shall continue to have in them until the judgement day by God the Father of the World.
God has said that ALL MANKIND HAS BEEN MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
This was said after the Flood. Genesis 9:6. The original
plan, (whether they know Him and His Son or not), was to consolidate every
particular aspect of God and Christ’s personality. Remember, it was to be
as God said, “IN OUR IMAGE” Genesis 1: 27,
Ephesians 1: 3-4.
The purpose of God creating us in His Image, was for us to envisage
collectively only the finest detail of the make up of their personality,
intrinsic (that which is inherent, essential) working, in order to bring forth
beauty by us that will satisfy the Beholder of all mankind, as well as the one
who has in him/her the Image of God.
The purpose was to give man the ability to consider spiritual issues
and things unseen. Man is to be able to appreciate the Spiritual and
relate to God their appreciation, of such as creation, which God has said
witnesses to Himself. Romans 1: 18-32.
It has enable men to consider Spiritual matters without God being the DIRECT
source of the thinking. It creates a position of choosing by man to do
right or wrong: Genesis 4: 6-7.
Because of what lies within him.
Being created in the Image of God gave rise to, and enabled, men like Enosh,
Enoch…to consider the Spiritual. God, seeing this, would have reciprocated.
Even today we know so many people who do not give God or His Christ the time
of day, but consider themselves good enough, without what they call
religion. They believe about God, especially that He is Love, and
they bank on that without actually coming to Him by His Way of Salvation.
They are so ‘nice’, and this is the presence in them, the essence of the Image
of God, that deceives them, and will be judged accordingly.
They are deceived because they think that they are GOOD.
By God creating man IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, IN HIS PERSONAL LIKENESS, man becomes
responsible to seek to do right as God does, and if they do so, it is not
because God is the influence, but rather because of being IN THE IMAGE OF
GOD. However stunted the
Image may be today, it is by seeking to do right that the IMAGE OF GOD
will function : being strengthened in its original purpose, and in that man
will come to know God through His Christ. John 1:
27-34 John 14: 6
It is by coming to know the Father, through the full work of Christ, that the IMAGE OF GOD should flourish in its full purpose of revealing God and Christ’s Personality, and that by God’s own Spirit in the Believer. Galatians 5: 22-23.
We are to remember that the strengthening or the quenching of it will
bring forth its particular judgement, whether by Christ, 2 Corinthians 5: 10
or by God the Father. Revelation 20: 11-15.
It certainly did in Adam’s case. Genesis 3: 21-23.
We did note that in Genesis when God said, “Let us make man in OUR IMAGE”,
that He had not yet made man. It was after, that
He formed man out of the dust of the ground (into being a living
being) that man received the Breath of Life which is one of
God’s seven Spirits by which He does His work to man.
Romans 8: 1-2.
Man, the Living Being, receives the Spirit of God, thus creating in man “THAT
WHICH IS OF AND LIKE GOD – HIS LIKENESS” bringing into creation THE IMAGE
OF GOD.
It was by the work of FORMING MAN that God made man to be a living being. The animals were also living – creatures but they did not have the Spirit of God in them nor were they created in the Image of God, in His Likeness. They do not have that wonderful position and therefore not the same responsibility, pending judgement.
By man receiving the Breath of the Spirit of Life – God’s Spirit, this
created in man that which is of and is His Likeness, bringing into creation
“The Image of God” in which man is established.
The fall of Adam and Eve did not affect the Image of God IN THEM, but they did
lose their cover. The fall of man did not affect the continuation of
man being formed IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. In fact, it was as it were, a
lifeline.
Even after God destroyed all men WITH THE BREATH OF GOD IN THEM, (except
Noah and his family) God Confirmed that mankind was continuing to be
created IN HIS IMAGE.
This confirmation was not as in Genesis 9: 6, to establish this Image, but to
state as a matter of fact, that is how it is, and will continue to be so.
It was because of this fact that He created a CRITERIA (see Criteria of
The Blood for more information) for man’s full salvation : so amazing in its
complexity but simple in its function. THAT MAN BY THE SHEDDING OF
BLOOD – AT GOD’S DEMAND, GOD HIMSELF WAS CALLED TO SHED HIS BLOOD BY HIS LAMB –
SO AS NOT ONLY TO FULFILL HIS PROMISES BUT DEAL WITH THAT WHICH BOUND THE
PROMISES, - THE CURSE OF THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.
Genesis 9: 5-6 Galatians 3: 22 Hebrews 9:
15-16 Acts 20: 28 John
1:29 Romans 9: 1-2
But no longer were men to have within them God’s Spirit. However as
they complied with His Criteria, men who were known as Holy men of the Old
Testament, received within them, NOT God’s Spirit, but that of
Christ. 1 Peter 1: 10-12. Because of this God’s Spirit could come upon
them but not remain.
This was before Jesus came as the Son of Man. Psalm
110:1 Job 16: 18-21. Also Moses, Hagar, Samuel,
Gideon, Joshua…..were among those who knew Christ as The Angel of The Lord.
He was Job’s advocate and witness; David knew him as The Anointed One and
Joshua as Commander of the Army of The LORD - HE ALWAYS WENT BEFORE GOD in His
coming to mankind, e.g. Moses. The same applies to those who come to the
cross and Receive Christ BEFORE GOD THE FATHER John 20:
21-23.
For us under the New Covenant, the Spirit of God is within as one is
Baptised with Holy Spirit because of believing and acting upon Christ’s full
work. John 1: 29-34.
It will only be under that full work, that the Image of God can function to
the full intent that God planned for Adam and all mankind after him.
God had planned that Adam be Holy and Blameless, so as to glorify
Him. Jesus as a man fulfilled totally God’s purpose of the Image of
God, because He was the radiance of the glory of God, being God’s exact
representation.
Ephesians 1:3-4 Hebrews 1: 1-3 Col. 1: 15
Heb. 5: 7-10 Isaiah 7:
14 James 1: 18-19.
Adam on the other hand, by his disobedience, added and extended to
the LIKENESS OF GOD, the Image of God, of knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3: 21-24. As a result, Adam’s EYES were open able to
see sin.
ADDITIONAL WARNING: Adam added to the Image of God in him,
a further likeness of God : The Knowledge of Good and Evil. This caused
him to know defeat - not Life and Goodness to the degree that God had planned
him to be. As God said to Cain, “Sin crouches at the door”. Sin
which called man to extend his mastery over that which he was not called
originally to have mastery over. Genesis 4: 4-7
Revelation 3: 18.
Sin did not bring the Image of God to full bloom. Only that which
is right shall accomplish this. We are to know the teaching of
righteousness so that we can DISCERN that which is good and evil, and
choose right, so that the Image of God in us gives glory to God who created it
in us.
Say “Get Lost” to Evil; have Mastery - 2 Peter 1:
3-4 Hebrews 5: 13-14
It cannot be said that Jesus made it clear in John 10:34, when he said THAT
HUMANS ARE gods.
When Jesus was speaking to the PHARISEES, He said “Ye are gods”.
Why, because they were human? No! But because as Jesus said,
“The Word of God has come to them”.
That is why they are “gods” : god’s are Sons of God - (even as we are because
of the work of Jesus), based on the fact that they are HUMAN, because they have
been created in the Image of God, as all humans are so created still.
However Jesus was making them to know that He was God’s Son, they were Sons and
he was revealing what they were NOT doing as sons should.
However, Jesus did make it very clear though to the Pharisees, that they
were “gods” BECAUSE GOD’S WORD HAD COME TO THEM. Psalm 82**
They were gods, i.e. Sons of God, but they were NOT GOD.
All Jesus’ words in John 10: 25-38, must be understood so as to know what he
was saying and continues to say to Sons of God. In regard to his Sonship,
Jesus was bringing judgement to the Pharisees by declaring that HE, as a
SON, was doing what they were supposed to be doing as ‘gods’ i.e. Sons
of God.
They INTERPRETED AND ASSUMED that Jesus was saying, HE IS GOD, because he
said “My Father and I are One”, and that His Father lived in him.
He was quick to correct their assumptions by saying, “I AM GOD’S SON” and
gave the meaning that he was one with His God and Father, because God was in
him doing all they saw Jesus do. God dwells in those with whom He is
pleased, as He was with his Son.
Just as the church, those Baptised with Holy Spirit, have received the
Praise of God,
Romans 2:29, because of being taken from death and its law. Romans
8: 1-2
We are Sons only because GOD’S WORD HAS COME TO US and we have obeyed His Word
in regard to the way of His full salvation as revealed through His Son.
NO ONE IS A SON UNLESS THEY HAVE KNOWN CHRIST’S FULL WORK IN AND TO THEM.
We will be judged as Sons - ‘gods’, as were the Pharisees who were
asking Jesus whether he was the Christ. They had the word of God which
declared what THE CHRIST would be like. They should have recognized him
as the Son, even as we are to do. For it is only those who know him as
Son, and not GOD, that shall overcome the world, because God does not have pleasure
with anyone who has added to what he has appointed His son to be.
1 John 5: 1-12
ADAMS ADDING CAUSED ALL OF MAN’S DEFEATS.
THE IMAGE OF GOD: SUMMARY
GOD’S PLAN:
Order to
fulfil: Man formed, as were the animals, out of the dust of
the
ground. Man became a Living Being, as the
animals
became Living Creatures.
Only
Man: Did God breath
into, in order to create The Image of
God,
in order to establish The Image of God in man.
At The
Fall: Cover’ left Adam.
Eyes
opened to know, Sin and Good.
THIS
ADDED TO GOD’S PLAN FOR ADAM
AND
ALL MANKIND.
God said: “Sin crouches at the door, and you are to master it”. Man’s eye was either to Good or Evil. The consequences of this were God’s judgements.
CREATION AFTER THE FALL: God’s Spirit leaves man. God’s
Image was left in man as that for which man is to be Responsible.
He will be judged because of the Image that leaves man without excuse : there
can be a desire to come to Salvation.
And Creation also is a Witness.
AFTER THE FLOOD: God establishes, A WAY, A TRUTH, A
PROVING, A LIFE to be had by ‘God’s Criteria’. THE BLOOD Genesis
9: 6
Because of being in The
Image of God
1. Man shed blood, by God’s DEMAND : by Sacrifices and by circumcision.
2. By man shedding blood, he is figuratively giving his own life to God.
3. This being done in love - God promises Forgiveness of Sins and an
Eternal City.
This was achieved in fulfilment by the shedding of God’s Blood by HIS
LAMB,JESUS.
Hebrews 9: 15-16 Matthew 27: 51-53
Ephesians 4: 7-10
Thus was established the Precedent for all those who would come 1. to
the cross & 2. to Baptism.
THEREFORE We give our lives to God, as did the Holy Ones. By this
we shed OUR BLOOD.
BECAUSE OF THIS WE ARE TO OVERCOME BY GOD'S SPIRIT.
We are to do God's will by The Spirit of God. The Image of God is being
fulfilled in its purpose to glorify God and Christ, in whose Image we are.
We are Sons of God : 'gods', because God's word has come to us. John 10: 34
We are to act and to be as The Son of God, who is our benchmark.
GOD'S IMAGE:
TO
CONSOLIDATE EVERY PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR
PERSONALITY.
TO ENVISAGE COLLECTIVELY ONLY THE
FINEST DETAIL
OF THE MAKEUP OF OUR PERSONALITY,
INTRINSICALLY
WORKING IN ORDER TO BRING FORTH BEAUTY
THAT WILL
SATISFY THE BEHOLDER AS WELL AS THE ONE IN
WHOM IS THE
IMAGE OF GOD.