Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
The very image of God; if we are Christians, that is what we are; THE IMAGE OF GOD!!! Lets pause and let that sink in. Ok...unpause. The very implications of this should blow our mind. That we were made in the image of the all seeing, all knowing, all powerful, creator of the universe. Their are so many aspects to go off about this, but we will focus on just one today.
Do we let the fact that God made us like him blow our minds. Or do we just read over it since we have heard it a lot? (if we grew up in church) When we begin to think about this, this should radically change our lives.
We are image bearers, we are image carriers. To this dead and dying world we are the very "likeness of Christ". Wow...breathtaking. Not only should this be something that makes us feel so honored, but it is also something that we should feel the responsibility of. When the Holy Spirit allows us to understand this, to let it move from our brain to our heart, everything should change.
Do we reflect Christ. Do we reflect his love, do we reflect his mercy, his grace, his forgiveness, his justice, etc. Or do we blend in with the rest of the World.
The catch in this is this. In order for us to walk out the concept of being made in his image...we first have to KNOW his image. Like I say almost in every post. We have to journey into the heart of God to know what his image is, who God is, what he is like, etc. The journey begins with praying, with sitting silently before God, with searching the scriptures to KNOW WHO HE IS. This is how the transformation begins.
Do we let the fact that God made us like him blow our minds. Or do we just read over it since we have heard it a lot? (if we grew up in church) When we begin to think about this, this should radically change our lives.
We are image bearers, we are image carriers. To this dead and dying world we are the very "likeness of Christ". Wow...breathtaking. Not only should this be something that makes us feel so honored, but it is also something that we should feel the responsibility of. When the Holy Spirit allows us to understand this, to let it move from our brain to our heart, everything should change.
Do we reflect Christ. Do we reflect his love, do we reflect his mercy, his grace, his forgiveness, his justice, etc. Or do we blend in with the rest of the World.
The catch in this is this. In order for us to walk out the concept of being made in his image...we first have to KNOW his image. Like I say almost in every post. We have to journey into the heart of God to know what his image is, who God is, what he is like, etc. The journey begins with praying, with sitting silently before God, with searching the scriptures to KNOW WHO HE IS. This is how the transformation begins.
Colossians 3
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.b]">[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
This is the second step in understanding how to step into the fullness of the image of God. When Christ died, our old self, our sinful self also died with him. When HE was raised, so were our spirits ( Eph 2 : 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus). Again that fact that we are already seated in the heavenly realm means so much that we will dig into later.
Summing it up. Our old man (who we were before we started seeking Christ) is dead. Our sinful nature was put to death, and we must believe this. That we are not slaves to sin. Thus bringing to life the new man. This is the man made in the image of God. The man who has learned to put to death earthly desires and is living in his new identity in Christ. I am not saying we will never sin again, we will. The difference is, by grace, we repent and keep living in the new man, in the IMAGO DEI.
We must stand out from the crowd. We must look different. We must not blend in. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. It is now our responsibility to show the world Christ. This is not always using words. Most of the time it is actions.
So are we doing it, are we looking like Christ. Do people see something different about us. Beloved if you are a believer this is not an option. We must die to our old self, our sinful self, and go on to shine with the image of Christ. This does not mean we will not fall, we will. But we get back up and continue to shine.
The image of the invisible God. This is who we are, this is our identity, this is our design. To get there, you must know the One who made you like him. Know his heart for you beloved, know his cry for you, know why He decided to make YOU like HIM. What an honor.
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