"In His Own Image"
Creation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Scripture Reading: Psalm 8
Scripture Reading: Psalm 8
Introduction
Introduction
For the Next 13 Months…
We’re Looking at 13 Themes that Tells the Story of the Scriptures
For the Month of January…
We’re Looking at the Creation Account
Each Lesson will Be Titled After a Phrase Within Our Text…
That Summarizes What We will Be Talking about
Today, We’re Going to Look at the Phrase:
“In His Own Image”
“In His Own Image”
This Phrase can Be Found in Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 1:26–27 (NASB95)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Throughout the First 6 Days, God Brought:
Light into Darkness
Order from Chaos
Life from Death
And the Last Thing God Created…
Was “Man” = ʾā·ḏām = Humanity
And He Chose to Make Humanity in His “Image”
What Does the Word “Image” Mean?
It’s Found Only 15 Times in the OT
11 of Those 15 Times…
It’s Referring to a Statue, Idol, Replica of Something
In Greek, the Word is eikōn
(Where We Get the English Word “Icon”)
A Representation of Something Sacred
When God Made Humanity in His Image…
He Made Little Statues, Idols, Replica’s of Himself
He Made Us to Represent Him
We Bear His Image Here on Earth
Humans are God’s Representatives on Earth
We’re to Live & Behave as He would if He were Embodied
Practically Synonymous with Being Made in His Image…
We were Made “According to His Likeness”
We were Made to Be Like Him
We were Modeled After Him
We were Made to Resemble Him
That Obviously Doesn’t Mean We Look Like an Invisible Spirit
It Means We were Made to Resemble His Character
We were Made to Be Like Him
So, God Created Humanity…
To Be Like Living Idols of Himself…
That Represent Him on Earth
But What in the World Does that Mean?
Let’s Let the Text Explain it for Us
(Read from the LSB)
Genesis 1:26–27 (LSB)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Being Made in the Image & Likeness of God…
Means Being Like Him & Representing Him on Earth…
By Ruling Over the Earth
God Made Humanity to Be in Charge of All of His Creation
Just as Pagans would Worship Idols as Representations of Their Gods…
And Expected Their Gods to Work Through Their Idols…
Humanity are Representatives of God…
And God Wants to Accomplish His Work…
Of Ruling Over the Earth Through Us
Earth & Everything in it were Made for Humanity
And it is Our Duty to Use What God has Provided in Creation…
To Create, Build, and Cause Life to Continue to Flourish/Prosper
Genesis 1:28 (NASB95)
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Apart from Being Fruitful & Multiplying & Filling the Earth…
(More on that Next Week)…
We’re to Subdue the Earth
“Subdue” = To Subjugate, Conquer, Force into Bondage
We’re to Be in Charge of All that the Earth has to Offer…
And Use it for the Benefit of All Life on Earth
To Cause All Life to Flourish/Prosper
Just as God Brought Order from Chaos…
Humanity was Created & Made to Rule Over Creation…
To Keep the Chaos/Disorder at Bay
Genesis 2:15 (NASB95)
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
Even When All was Still “Good” in the World…
There was Still Work to Be Done
God Put Adam in the Garden to:
“Cultivate it” = To Serve, Work, (Many Times) Worship
“Keep it” = To Watch Over
God Put Adam in the Garden to:
Work it & Watch Over it
This is One Example of What it Means to Rule Over the Earth
To Work in it & Watch Over it
To Keep Order & Cause it to Flourish
So, God Made Humanity in His Own Image & After His Likeness
That Means Humanity are His Representatives on Earth
We’re to Resemble Him in His Character…
And to Do His Work Here on Earth
He Made Us the Rulers of Earth on His Behalf
We Work, Watch Over, & Take Care of the Earth He Created
The Hebrews Author Quotes from Psalm 8…
Which Mentions Humanity’s Purpose of Ruling Over the World:
Hebrews 2:5–8 (NASB95)
5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? 7 “You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And have appointed him over the works of Your hands; 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him.
God Didn’t Give Rulership of this World or the One to Come…
To Angels, But to Humans
He Made All Things to Be in Subjection to Us
But the Hebrews Author Adds 1 More Detail:
But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
After the Fall of Humanity Due to Adam & Eve’s Sin…
We’ve Not Seen a Good Creation Subjected to Humanity
We See a Corrupted Creation the Rebels Against Us
Things aren’t How They’re Supposed to Be
We’re Unable to Perfectly Perform Our God-Given Purpose
We Don’t See Humanity Ruling the World Yet…
Hebrews 2:9 (NIV)
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Humanity as a Whole isn’t Yet Ruling Over the World…
But Jesus, the Perfect Human, is
He’s the Only Human to Ever Live as Humanity Should
Because of His Death on Behalf of Sinful Humanity…
He was Crowned with Glory & Honor…
And Given Rulership Over All Things
He is the Perfect Image-Bearer of God
The Perfect Representative of God
Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Colossians 1:15 (NASB95)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Jesus is the Perfect Image-Bearer of God
The Perfect Representative of God
While on Earth, He Proved this Through:
His Bringing Light into the Darkness…
By Casting Out Demons & Forgiving Sins
His Control Over Nature
His Healing of Ailments & Diseases
And in His Death, Resurrection, & Ascension…
He Took His Throne in Heaven as Ruler of the World
The redemption of man from the fall and sin includes re-creation (2 Cor. 5:17), his being “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness,” in the image of Christ (Eph. 4:24).
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Colossians 3:10 (NASB95)
10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—
Application
Application
Jesus is the Ruler of All Creation
He is the Perfect Image of God
If You’ve Seen Jesus, Then You’ve Seen God
We’re to Be Conformed to the Image of Jesus
When He Returns We will Be Perfectly Conformed to His Glorious Image
Which Means We’ll Be the Perfect Image Bearers God Created Us to Be
And We will Rule Over Creation with God Forever