The Gospel Assumes Creation

Passages

Genesis 1:26-28

Psalm 8:3-6

Big Idea

We are not cosmic accidents needing repair–we are God’s image-bearers whose glory has been corrupted by sin. The Gospel is not God fixing junk; it is God redeeming a masterpiece. The Gospel makes sense if humanity was created by God with purpose, dignity, and vocation.

Introduction – The Crisis of Identity

Last week, we established something foundational: The Gospel starts with God – not with us. It does not start with our feelings, our brokenness, or our potential. It starts with the eternal, self-sufficient, holy God who created all things and owns all things.

We used the image of the sun. God is like the sun – burning with holiness, sustaining all life, terrifying in His purity. From a distance, the sun is beautiful. Up close, it consumes. And that is the problem: we are sinners standing before a holy God. We are like Isaiah in the temple – when we see God as He truly is, we cry out, “Woe is me! For I am lost!”

But we must take one more step before we get to sin, fall, or even the cross. We need to talk about creation. The Gospel is not God fixing junk – the Gospel is God redeeming what He made.

This week we’re asking: What does it mean that humanity was created in the image of God? And why does that matter for the Gospel?

You cannot preach the Gospel without preaching creation. Remove the doctrine of Imago Dei – the image of God – and the Gospel loses a piece of its foundation. Sin becomes merely dysfunction. Salvation becomes therapy, and Jesus becomes optional. But when you start with a proper Gospel – with God – then sin becomes rebellion. Salvation becomes restoration and Jesus becomes absolutely necessary. So let us begin with creation this morning.

In The Beginning, God Made Mirrors

Genesis 1:26-28

Again, at the beginning of it all we are slapped with a theological declaration! “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Our dear Lord in Heaven, what a statement! We are witnessing what is called the imago dei, the image of God.

While throughout history, theologians have debated this phrase or idea. They have made the attempts to digest what it means to be an image-bearer. In Hebrew this word, image, is selem which is an image, a replica, a material representation is also an illustration of the meaning. Historically, ancient kings set up images or statues of themselves throughout their kingdom to declare their rule.

In Genesis 1, God created all things in six days, and on the sixth day God created man. He set up a representative figure of who God is to work the land and have dominion over the earth. Man is not a god, but a reflection of who God is. We are dependent on the very thing we represent, reflect, and rejoice in.

Last week, we talked about the sun and nuclear reactors, but this week I want to talk about mirrors and mandates.

The Mirror Has No Lights of Its Own

Think of a mirror and its purpose: to reflect. It reflects the light that hits its surface. When there is light, there is an image. But a mirror in the dark? It has no purpose, because there is no light.

That is our life without the Gospel. St. Augustine saw it clearly:

St. Augustine

In their perverted way all humanity imitates you. Yet they put themselves at a distance from you and exalt themselves against you. But even by thus imitating you they acknowledge that you are the creator of all nature and so concede that there is no place where one can entirely escape from you.

Augustine saw it clearly; even in our sin, even in our rebellion, we’re still trying to imitate God – just in a twisted, perverted way. We want to be like Him, but apart from Him. We want glory without submission, power without dependence, love without cost. But the truth is that we are still yearning for something more.

Insert the Gospel. It gives sight, it gives hope, it reflects God. We are not the Creator, but we can reflect the Creator. What a privilege – that when we look at one another, we see God. Others see color, disability, ethnicity; we see more. We see God.

Colossians 3:10-11

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

We are not autonomous, self-made, or self-sufficient. We are image-bearers, created to reflect the glory of God – to show the world what He is like.

The reformers described creation as a “theater of God’s glory.” The entire universe – stars, mountains, oceans – exists to display the majesty of the Creator. But humanity is not an audience member; we are partakers in the play. The mountains declare God’s power. The stars, His creativity. The oceans, His control. But we were made to consciously, intentionally, intelligibly reflect God’s character. We can know God, love God, obey God, and image God. That is not arrogance – that is vocation.

Consider what this means. We have rationality – we can think (theology), reason (philosophy), create (art), and ask “why?” because we reflect a creative God. We have morality – we know right from wrong, justice, fairness, compassion because we reflect a just God. We have relationality – the “us” in our passage hints at the Trinity, Father, Son,

and Spirit in eternal communion, and God made us male and female for relationship; we are designed to be relational. Designed to be a family because we have a God who loves. And we have dominion – a stewardship over creation, to rule with wisdom and care as God the King rules.

Being an image of God is so much more than we often imagine. The key is where it all comes from: it is derived from God, not by our right but by His design. The mirror only reflects when it is facing God. Turned away, it reflects nothing.

The gospel points us to Christ, and realigns us with the reflection of truth, reflection of hope, justice, love and peace. The Gospel does not just assume God; it reflects God onto us so we can reflect God onto those around us. Paul writes in Ephesians about what it looks to be created in the likeness of God.

Ephesians 4: 17-24

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

The Paradox of Humanity

Psalm 8:3-6

The paradox of humanity is that we are small, but yet primarily visible in the eyes of God. When you look to the heavens, what is it that you notice? The stars, the moon and the vast amount of space that exist! We become so overwhelmed that we are just, “what is man?!” but that of a tiny substance in the greatness that is God the Creator. We are fragile, we are dust. When compared to the cosmos, we are quite insignificant.

But look to where the Psalmist points to in our Psalm 8 passage. He begins with pointing to his place within the eyes of God. That he, the psalmist, is little lower than the heavenly beings but is crowned with glory and honor.

The psalmist is also alluding to his place in the dominion that is under God. In our rightful place, we have dominion over the works of God’s hand. We are small but we are mighty. We are finite, but we are glorious. We are creatures, but we are crowned because of who Christ is, and what Christ has done. We bear the image of the infinite God.

Psalm 33:13-15

The Lord looks down from heaven; He sees all the children of man; from where He sits enthroned, He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deed.

God sees us. God sees you. When you pray, God hears you. When you are hurting, God is with you. He sees you, you are not alone in this world. He is with you, just look up.

Think of the stars, they are huge! They are beautiful and they testify to God’s power. But what do the stars lack? They don’t know God, they don’t love God, they don’t consciously worship God. But you can, and you do.

Isaiah 25:1

O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Psalm 71:8

My mouth is filled with your paise, and with your glory all the day.

A trillion galaxies can proclaim God’s glory passively. But one human being-one person made in God’s image- can actively glorify God through conscious worship, obedience and love. That is the paradox. While we may be dust, we are dignified. While we are finite, we are part of the royal priesthood. Though small in size, we are infinite in significance because we reflect the God who is infinite in every way.

This is what it means to be made in God’s image. The stars are spectacular – but they are not sons and daughters. The oceans are vast – but they cannot pray. The mountains are majestic – but they cannot worship. Only you, made in the image of God, can consciously, intentionally, joyfully glorify the Creator. That is our dignity. That is our calling. And that is why the Gospel matters so much – because when sin defaces the image, God doesn’t abandon His image-bearers. He redeems them.

Which brings us to the central question…

Why Does the Image of God Matter for the Gospel?

The Imago dei defines the problem

Sin is not just brokenness or making mistakes. Sin is refusing to reflect God – it is turning the mirror away from the light. Remember Adam and Eve? When they ate the fruit, they were not just breaking a rule. They were rejecting their calling. God made them to image Him – to reflect His wisdom, His goodness, His authority. But they said, “We don’t want to reflect you. We want to be like You.” That is rebellion. That is treason. That is why sin is so serious.

James 4:17

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Isaiah 59:2

but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Sin is not that we are just damaged goods – it is that we have defaced the image of God in ourselves. We are mirrors covered in grime, reflecting a distorted, broken image instead of the glory of God.

The Imago Dei defines the Solution

The gospel is not God creating something new out of nothing. The gospel is God restoring what He already made. God does not look at humanity and say, “Well, that was a failed experiment.” No – God says, “I made them good! They are My image bearers. I will redeem them!”

Romans 3:23-24

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is what Athanasius, one of the early church fathers, called the “Portrait Analogy.” He said that when a portrait painted on wood gets stained or damaged, the only way to restore it is for the original subject to sit for the painting again. That is what Christ did!

Hebrews 4:14-16

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus is the perfect image of God, and He came to sit for the portrait again. He came to show us what it looks like to perfectly reflect the Father. And through His death, resurrection, and ascension, He cleanses us, renews us, and restores the image of God in us.

The Imago Dei defines our Future

The Gospel doesn’t promise an escape from this world – it promises renewal of this world. If we read Genesis 1, a common theme is “It is good,” and man was said to be “very good.” Salvation is not about abandoning our bodies to float in the sky. Salvation is about resurrection – restoration of our humanity, body and soul – so that we can finally, fully, and eternally reflect the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And 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.

The Gospel is the unveiling of ourselves and turning us towards a cleaned mirror that reflects the greatness of God. It is a story of restoration, redemption and God’s glory, and His alone.

What This Means for You

How does this apply to us practically? Let’s give three takeaways.

Your dignity is Not Earned – It is Given.

Our culture is obsessed with finding worth in the world. We are told to look inside our hearts, to find our true selves. But Scripture tells us our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Our dignity is not something we create or obtain. Christ says, “You are valued. You are worthy. Not because of what you have done, but because of what I have done in you.” You do not have to prove yourself. You were crowned with glory and honor the moment God made you.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Sin is serious because you are Glorious.

Because of the Imago Dei, sin is cosmic treason – because of whose image we bear. We are not instincts gone wrong but choices gone astray. When we sin, we are not just breaking a rule; we are defacing the image of God. But here’s the flip side: if sin is that serious, then grace is even more staggering. God didn’t just tolerate our rebellion – He sent His Son to die for it. He sent the most perfect image to restore the broken images.

Salvation is not about becoming someone else – it is about becoming who you were meant to be.

Christianity is not self-denial or self-hatred. It is about being restored to who God created you to be. As God told Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jeremiah 1:5). The Gospel is about the mirror being turned back towards God, allowing Him to clean you, polish you, and make you new.

Jeremiah 1:5 & 7

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations…But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.”

Christianity is not about discovering yourself – it’s about discovering who God is and who He made you to be. True freedom isn’t found in rejecting God’s design; it’s found in embracing it. Male and female – created in God’s image. Each with dignity, purpose, and a distinct role in the kingdom of God. Not because culture says so, but because the Creator says so. That’s not oppression – that’s the path to flourishing.

CONCLUSION

Last week, we said God is the Sun. This week, we said humanity is the mirror. And here’s the connection:

The Sun is dangerous. God’s holiness consumes. But the mirror was designed to face the Sun. The mirror was made to reflect the light without being destroyed by it. That was our original design. That was Eden. Humanity, in perfect communion with God, reflecting His glory perfectly. No sin. No shame. No fear. Just light reflecting light.

But then the mirror turned away. And when it did, everything went dark.

That’s where we pick up next week – the Fall. The corruption of the image. The rebellion that broke everything.

But for now, rest in this truth: You were made to reflect the glory of God. And even though sin has tarnished that image, the Gospel promises this: God is in the business of restoration.

Jesus came to clean the mirror. Jesus came to turn us back toward the light. And one day – one glorious day – we will reflect Him perfectly again. That’s not self-help. That’s not moral improvement. That’s redemption. That’s the Gospel–

Let’s pray.