The Image Bearers

John Paul Sartre said, “Men are meaningless passions.”

Nazi Germany said, “Lebensunwertes Leben” - “Lives unworthy of living.”

Does your life matter? What makes us any different from the animals? Can anyone guess?

It’s because we are, as the Latin terms says, “Imago Dei”.

But what does it mean to be Image Bearers of God? If you take note of Genesis 1 we continually see God creating animals after their own kind up until 1:26 where the terminology changes from after their own kind, to man being created in the likeness of God. See God has created the Earth and everything in it and as His crowning achievement He made mankind. But why? Well, for His glory of course. But a little deeper.

When Kings used to rule they would build great statues and monuments reminding their subjects of who it was that ruled them and in the Bible we read of the pagans worshipping idols made of wood, hay and stubble. But God says that we are to make no image of Himself. For one, He is Spirit and not as feeble man that we should downgrade Him by doing that.

But also because He has created mankind to be the reflection of Himself onto the world (Think of a mirror.)

He has also placed men here to be His people who exercise power delegated by a sovereign ruler. (Think of Joseph here.)

So why does your life matter? Is it because you were born a certain color, or that you had special abilities or that you were born to a wealthy family? No, our lives are sacred because we are in the image of God Almighty.

Now, you may be thinking, “Well, couldn’t it have been Adam and Eve made in the image of God and now we’ve lost it because of the fall?” And the answer to that is no. God has made us in His image like a slanted mirror reflecting to the world telling of His glory, and through our sin the mirror has been shattered but not destroyed. It is not perfect, it is horribly broken, but pieces of His image stamped upon us shine through and we can’t get away from it.

We see evidence of the Image still being with us after the fall in Genesis 9:6 as God says to Noah, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.”

Today, I want us to dive into this a little more and I want us to take note of two main things: First, is the Innate Aspect- We bear God’s attributes and that is inescapable.

Second, the Depictive Aspect- We express the image of God in what we do.

The Innate Aspect - We Bear God’s Communicative Attributes (26-27)

Illustration: When I was growing up people would stop be in stores and at school all the time and say, “Oh, you must be Josh Strength’s son! You look just like him!” and I would walk away crying. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve escaped that and I’ve began to look more and more like my Mom.

Well, the Image of God is stamped upon you, me, your parents, and even the Atheist and there is no way we can escape it. (Expound)

I want to go ahead and give you three quick examples from the Bible of God’s image on us.

A. God is Rational, so is Man.

Colossians 3:9-10 “9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,”

Genesis 1:26 “26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

As you and I went over Genesis 1 together last week, we noticed God naming the things He existed for two reasons. The first was a display of His authority, but the second is a display of His wisdom. In Genesis 2:19-20 we see Adam preforming the same task of naming things modeling the Image of God’s wisdom and authority.

B. God is Creative, so is Man.

We are not creative in the sense that we can, like God, speak something into existence or create something out of nothing. But we are creative in the sense that we, as image bearers, long to create new things whether it’s beautiful art, instruments, meals, and songs. We are a creative people because we are made by a creative God.

C. God is Moral, so is Man.

You hear people say quite often, “Well, we all sin. It’s just a human thing to do.” And yes, we do all sin. But it’s not a human thing to do, as God intends, it’s the fallen thing to do.

And so, as we look out and see people, even unbelievers, feeding the homeless, helping little old ladies, building shelters for the needy, etc. They are reflecting the Image of God! If that is the case, how much more should we be reflecting our love for Him and our neighbors as He actively moves in our lives as Christians?

The Depictive Aspect - We Express The Image of God in Our Actions

Note: In Genesis 1:28, the first words of God to man is not words of burden, but of blessing. As we go through this life, and as we get older it becomes more and more real to us how broken this world is and so, it is needful and helpful for us to look back in Genesis 1-2 to see both how is should be and one day, how it will be and as we look at Genesis 1-2 today we will see a few things in the creation mandate that are ways in which we actively reflects God’s image in us.

A. Dominion (1:26, 28; 2:5)

Ian Hart puts it, "Exercising royal dominion over the earth as God's representative is the basic purpose for which God created man. Man is appointed king over creation, responsible to God the ultimate king, and as such expected to manage and develop and care for creation, this task to include actual physical work."

Another writer says, “Our work in God’s image begins with faithfully representing God. As we exercise dominion over the created world, we do it knowing that we mirror God. We are not the originals but the images, and our duty is to use the original—God—as our pattern, not ourselves. Our work is meant to serve God’s purposes more than our own”

In Genesis 2:5, God hadn’t prepared the Earth to be worked because He hadn’t yet created Adam to till the ground.

Think about that. God has created everything in the universe and He could’ve easily created the Earth already full of restaurants, airplanes, boats, museums, art galleries, beautiful architecture, etc. But He didn’t. He Has given man the privilege of working with the world with the potential to create great things for the glory of God!

Think of how this effects you as you head to school tomorrow and take that test, or take those notes, or answer those questions. Or maybe after school when you’re training for sports or maybe if you’re heading to work instead. God has placed you on Earth to care for it as He does and to harness it’s potential for His praise!

This reality should influence us to see daily opportunities before us as a way to glorify God, but also calls us to see the world before us as a gift to be stewarded for God’s glory.

B. Rest (2:1-3)

Dru Johnson said, “Sabbath is not work. Sabbath—adapted from the Hebrew word shabbat, which literally means, “to rest or cease”—is blessed as holy, set apart for a specific purpose. It is worth noticing here that Sabbath is foundational to God’s work and not an addendum to counteract the cancerous toil of work later incurred in Genesis 3. In the New Testament, Sabbath is not abandoned, but rather Jesus reorients the Jewish attitude about the role of the Sabbath day for the sake of humanity (Mark 2:23–28)

Walter Brueggemann put it this way, "Sabbath provides a visible testimony that God is at the center of life—that human production and consumption take place in a world ordered, blessed, and restrained by the God of all creation."

In short, God, our maker, sets an example for us in His seventh day rest that we as His people need rest from work to focus on worship and recovery. When we reject that, we are rebelling against His order as our Creator.

C. Worship

The last thing I want us to remember is the fact that we are created for worship. If you remember our series on the ten commandments, you might remember that we discussed God’s command that you shouldn’t make any graven images. One reason is the fact that there is nothing remotely capable of displaying His glory, but another reason is that we are His image bearers. Old pagan temples would have statues in them depicting the gods, but the true God has created the world as His own and has placed us throughout it to reflect His glory and praise His name.

Conclusion

So does life matter and does what we do matter? Or is it all pointless?

No, you possess value because you were fearfully and wonderfully made in the Image of God.

Here are a few points of application:

First, as you begin to feel a lack of self-worth, as we know there is a mental health crisis, remind yourself that your value doesn’t come from social media, but comes from the God of creation.

Second, as you and I hear and see the needs of those around us, we are to speak out for those suffering, ministering to them, defending them, loving them.

And lastly, as you wake up tomorrow and you find yourself already exhausted because you know that you’ve got a full day of math, science, and English lessons ahead of you followed by hours of practice for sports or work, remind yourself that there is a God who has placed you here to work for His glory and that whether you eat or drink, do it all for His glory.

Now, we know that as humans we don’t reflect these things perfectly which is why next week we will be discussing sin.