Doctine of Imago Dei
Genesis of Doctrine • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Definition
Definition
Imago dei means image of God
What distinguishes us from the rest of creation
Main Passage
Main Passage
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and 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 created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill 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.”
This marks us as his representative in this world to tend it and enjoy it
Remember also the imago dei we reflect the Trinity
we find joy and completeness in community
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Application Thoughts:
Accountability
An ambassador who represents a president is held accountable to that leader and is responsible for carrying their desires out
Now within that mandate their is room for their personality to come out and to carry that mandate out a unique way to them
Bearing the image of the King means we have to answer to him for the power he gives us
What is our mandate?
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill 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.”
We have been given authority over the creation
that means we have been given authority to manage the land and animals
that means we have been given authority to take and create
We have authority to explore and admire creation
All this is to say their is worship in the day to day.
Yard work is an act of worship as we carry out the doctrine of imago dei
Farming is an act of worship
Responsible hunting and fishing is an act of worship (Game warden is a worship referee or accountability partner)
Hiking is an act or worship
Jobs are an act of worship
Landscaping- molding creation
Lumber Company- subduing lumber and molding it to be used in creating
Nurse- is understanding the nature of the body to maintain it
We are called to live in community and unity
None of us are called to do it all
We are called to serve
How do you uniquely carry out dominion over creation and how do you use that in community?
awareness of God
Animals do not realize God exist, they live based on instinct
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
This causes us to number our days and to make the most of them and to seek purpose
Morality finds it origins in the imago dei
and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.
Our sense or righteousness and holiness comes from God
We are moral creatures because we were made in the image of the law giver
Being in the image of God gives us the ability to comprehend good and evil
This is what makes a difference in watching news of war and a documentary on animals killing one another
Evangelism
Every single human being and everyone who has ever lived has this image of God in them
This includes people such as Hitler, Islamic terrorist, Hamas leaders…those that we consider the most despicable of people
Our prayers for Israeli salvation should also be accompanied with prayers for salvation of the Hamas leaders
Karl (Karl and Krew) said his dad prayed that either he would come to salvation or be taken out of this world
Our acts of kindness should be to all despite the amount of mire in their life
If I was imprisoned for my faith and was in a jail with Hamas terrorist leaders responsible for the killing of thousands of innocents, who should you be bringing food and water to? both, and if only one could be fed, the Hamas leader should get the food, so that the act of grace will give him one more time to repent and seek salvation
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Don’t take this to mean consequences can be escaped, just because repentance happens does not erase earthly consequences (look at story of David and Bathsheba)
The way we treat others is based on the image of who they are made in. Consequences and grace are shown in hopes of the mire being removed
Just because someone is abusing the image they are made in does not give us permission to abuse that image
Why Do We Mismanage Authority?
Why Do We Mismanage Authority?
The image has been mired/distorted
Sin entered the world
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The glory of God in us is His image and the way we live falls short of properly displaying the image we reflect in this world
Our management of creation becomes better and more meaningful as the mire is removed
A Discussion on Mismanagement
A Discussion on Mismanagement
The Problem of Evil (mismanagement of authority)
Great evils exist because of great mismanagement
Several stories of people leaving the faith revolve around how can a good God exist when so many kids starve around the world
9 million people die from starvation yearly, 3 million of those are children
Do people starve because God is not good?
Their are 8 billion people in the world
Studies show current farm land when ,managed right can feed the world population
Some studies estimate the world currently produces enough food to feed at least 10 billion people
Some people turn the back on faith because of so much war
Again it is a mismanagement problem of people abusing power and forsaking principles given by God
What is done with the problem of evil is blame-shifting
We don’t want to accept responsibility so we find it easier to project it
Relationships become mismanaged because we start to look more inward than outward, relationships become tainted because of our selfish desires
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
A certain curse word that uses the Lords name in vain is equally bad as me calling someone an idiot
When we call the likeness of God idiot, moron, tear down with our words it is just as filthy as using GD
The image of God in us should make us consider the weight of our words.
Discussion
Discussion
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.
After salvation occurs what are some ways are we renewed to better reflect God’s glory?
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
How is the imago dei seen here?
Do you live in a way worthy of bearing God’s name on you?
