March 13 | Genesis 1:26-31 | Imago Dei
We're yours, Lord.
Because you made us.
And we're yours.
Because you bought us back. At the costly price of your blood. Were yours? Cuz you called us out of darkness and into Marvelous Light. And all we can do is live for you. Because anything else would leave us deeply unsatisfied, unfulfilled and wanting for purpose, which can only be found in living for your purposes. Or would you teach us through your holy word now, would you help us to understand great things. About who you are. Goodbye, I will call to live for your purpose as your image bears in Jesus name. I pray, amen. Amen. Please take your seats and one invite you to open up your Bibles to the Book of Genesis. Very first book of the Bible is very beginning and we have started the series in Genesis, which I trust and pray will be wonderful and enlivening to your spirits in your souls. As we begin to, dispel. The myth that the Old Testament is a relic that we do not need. There is as much foundational content. Life-giving information very literally life-giving in the Book of Genesis as as almost any other book in the Bible there. Many doctrines in the course of Genesis that are fulfilled or completed or that the rest of the Bible shed light upon. And so it is a an unshakable foundation for us. We need to know this book. We need to know. The purpose is that God has for our life, would begin, right here in the Book of Genesis. So I love c.s. Lewis and love reading CS Lewis and he see if Luis had such an ingenious mind. I mean, I pray or ass or beg whatever you might think for the Ingenuity and the creativity of this man's mind, right? See if Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and that the classics of Narnia. And one of the things that was made about Lewis is at, is that he wrote these stories about Narnia, where the children would be living their life in their own world if you will, but then you open up, right? You open up the doorway to a life of imagination that only leads through the Wardrobe. And as you open the doors and step into the Wardrobe on the other side. Is a life full of color in an entirely imaginative world. That or through which Lewis teaches wonderfully, deep truth about the Lord. And that's what it's like in a way to look at creation through the fresh lens of the word of God. In the very beginning of the Bible Genesis. Asking the Holy Spirit to give us ears to hear and eyes to see through faith, right? Which is having confidence to live according to what? We don't always see physically, although while we're talking about creation. He speaking very much about things that we do see and Paul speaks about how creation is really just there to help us. See God help us see the Divine Eternal attributes of God. And so to Creation we see this and were able to to see it and sort of follow its magnificence to the designer of everything that we see and and know about and as he designed creation, he designed each and every one of us, so I'm 139 tells us that we were in it together. In our mothers wombs. Took out the garbage or Moses. The Lord through Moses has been building up to this great climax of creation. We see that When God says it's so because God is the almighty one, God is the uncreated creator who rightly rules over, all creation God speaks. And it comes into being and then God looks at his creation and says, all this is good. This is good. But this is good. That's what it means to be God. When you say something. It happens. You don't check with anyone else.
You don't have to work hard for it to happen. You don't have to use other people. Other resources. You speak it happens because your God. And that is unlike obviously anyone else in all of creation because there's one Creator and everyone else, everything else is that would just create it, right? God, created everything from nothing. We see in the beginning and he saw that light was good and God saw that the dry land when she called Earth and the waters that he gathered together. Seas were good in 1:10. He saw that his cumulative creation, everything that he had made, which was building up together to create the heavens, and the Earth is good right after bringing forth, plants yielding, seed, according to their own times, and, and trees bearing seeds, according to their own. Kind. God says that it is good. God building up to something here. The uncreated Creator says that it's good. When he he creates to like, give her seat already created light and Airy sticks too late, givers in the sky and says that it is good as he separates light from Darkness. He creates the sea creatures. And, and every leaving live. Creature that moves in the water and on the ground and is flying in the air. In verse 21. He created lives docking creeping things mind you that includes boxelder bugs.
We'd like to try to find their home in here in the changing seasons. So we want to sweep them up and put them back in their rightful home, but they're God's creatures. And God said it was good when they were made to remind yourself of that when we see them, okay? Let's transport them to their new or their proper home right around on the ground and beasts of the earth. Everything according to its own kind and then we come to Genesis 1, 26 through 31 will read that together. Then God said let us make man in our own 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 bless 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 or the birds of the heavens, over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold. I've given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the Earth and every tree with seed and its fruit and you still have them for food and every beast of the earth and every bird of the heavens and to every everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life. I have given every green green pepper plant for food, and it was so And God saw that he has got. Everything that he had made and behold, it was. Very good.
And there was evening and there was morning the sixth day.
Friends, God created mankind. For his own Glory. To reflect his image to rule over his creation and to reproduce, Godly Offspring. God created mankind for his own Glory. From before the foundations of the Earth. The Lord had had planned this moment. The moment when he would, he would produce his his greatest creation, his, his Masterpiece is his masterful work. Only being made. I'm sorry. The only being made in God's image. Just pause. And let that sink in for a minute.
God created from nothing, the heavens and the Earth. And then he begins to form and fill the Earth. And as he does it goes along the way. He's creating things everything he creates. He says, all this is good, all this is good and then he gets to the Pinnacle of creation and two things happen. Number one, rather than possibly saying, let there, be let there, be let there be a dialogue. Let us create man in our image, in our likeness. So he goes from this passive, let there be let there be two. Let us make, man. There's that there's a shift in intentionality. There's a shift in in, in function, and purpose. There's a shift in the magnitude of what God is doing as he makes man kind, the only being ever made in the image and carrying the likeness of God himself.
Don't draw too strong of a disconnect between the word image and likeness suffice it to say that there are two words that build upon each other and commentators. And theologians is Fenton still much ink trying to understand the two. And there may be some distinctions that can be made but they speak to really tell us that we're creating a God and God's image in God's like his were created after go to image. Show me to reflect his glory. We are created for God's glory. Part of the reason that we struggle is people is because we would try to figure out life without starting at the right point where I could. Could you imagine having a map in your mind of a race that you're running. But the way that you've memorized the map is from the starting point and you get sort of floating in or helicopter. Didn't you get dropped in? Dropped in about a third of the way through the route, but, you know, the beginning of the race, you Where to go from the beginning, your first turn, your second turn, you eat. You may have to eventually catch up the understanding where you're at in the race, but you won't from the get-go, understand exactly where you're to go because you didn't start from the beginning, rather be like a medical student. Beginning to look at cadavers before actually understanding how a perfectly functioning human body art the function, how the male body ought to function had a female body ought to function and in their varying stages of Life. How they are to function perfectly if you get dropped in without understanding that biological reality and and your to begin, trying to understand what we're at. What rate want. What went wrong?
Why does person passed away? You're going to have a hard time because you don't know the master plan of How It's to work. And so is we begin in the beginning? We just need to acknowledge that part of our struggle is because we're trying to figure out life.
And parents, you know this. Grandparents, you know, this from the youngest of the ages children, try to begin piecing things together. There are masterful.
Maybe participant's if you will in trying to piece together the puzzle of life. I said, they're masterful, participants, but they have not begun to rightly put together. The puzzle of life. The from the earliest of Ages, We Begin trying to ask questions to understand things and when in our humanist, we begin to ask questions that we don't have answers for what do we do? We fill in the pieces with what we know. Although, what we know after the fall now has been tainted by sin. So we're not able to piece it together. That means we go through many struggles in life trying to piece together. What we don't necessarily have all the answers to when we try to do so of our own accord, but when we begin the beginning in Genesis and with God's fantastic purposes in mind, we learn As we see the one who created us in His image.
As we begin to understand the spiritual Anatomy for how God made us his spiritual Anatomy for the soul. Because when God made us in His image, he wasn't stamping a physical. Corporal image on us. We all look quite differently. But what he gave us was the breath of life and an eternal soul. Which lives forever? Where's will come to see dies forever.
And so, as we begin to understand how God made us how he wired us and what our purposes are. We begin to recognize. This isn't how it's supposed to be.
And we begin to see how God. From a for the creation of the universe.
Purposefully planned. To bring a redeemer who would redeem all things and help us to. Understand why we were created and how we're able to live for him. When when when God is comforting Israel. He's calling them back to remember that. He's there only savior. He says in Isaiah 43 and really, if you have time to read the whole chapter be beneficial for you. I'm just going to read to versus Harry says, but now that says the Lord, he who created, you owe, Jacob, he who formed you do is real. Do you say have a lord in his word is using the reality of creation, the reality of being formed by God for his purposes to give confidence and to call them back to their original purpose as he says, fear not From the one who made you for. I have redeemed, you, I have called you by my name, you are mine and fix versus later. He says everyone who is called by my name whom I created for my glory. God made you God made man. He made woman for his glory.
He made us for his glory to reflect his image. Not our own he made us for his glory to reflect reflect his image. And these principles are so foundational to how we understand everything else in the rest of the Bible. Right? When we speak of the image of God, we're speaking solely of human beings. That's an important distinction, because how many people in our world and in our nation worship animals. Worship creation. It might not seem like a big deal to you. You, you, you might be puzzled by their arguments, your confidence, in the word of God. In the person of God in the purposes of God, might be even kind of sit back on your heels, unless you remember. Mankind is made in the image of God for God's glory.
Animals are not. Animals are a wonderful creation. Creation itself is a wonderful creation, but it is underneath the priority of God's purposes for mankind in his world. Other creatures are created according to their kinds, they have seed bearing fruit in them. According to their kinds, Mantine is created in the image in the likeness of God. Right? When Indiana near Eastern text only, the king is in the image of God, but in the Hebrew perspective, right? This is a sort of handed out to all those of humanity to text is talking about this Royal Dominion that were to have over the Earth as God's vice-regent as God's Royal representatives. In the man is appointed King over creation. One commentator says responsible to God, the ultimate King and as such expected to manage and develop and care for this creation and this includes physical Words, which will see in the coming weeks.
So he speaks of the image of, man. Mankind, he speaking of mankind being made male and female. An eternally enduring truth, that does not change.
Do passes do with God's creation of this new man and help us to understand what it means. Psalm 94 9. It's almost tells us that God people are Made In His Image, so that God can communicate himself to all people. Listen to what the song that says. He who planted the ear does not. He here. He who formed the eye, does he not see, is a rhetorical answer is, of course, he gave people ears to show that, he hears, the Cry Of The Afflicted and eyes to show that he sees the plight of the pillow for back. When you begin to read on a little bit further in Exodus, God hears, his people in slavery in Egypt and he responds. It was you that many many times in the Old Testament impact in Ephesians 4:24 a book. We spent some time on last year. Paul says that the believer has to put on the new man. It literally the new man, the new cells created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and Holiness cross, the street, any states that we've got to put on again. The new man who is being renewed in true knowledge and after or according to the image of his creator. So we see righteousness, Holiness truth and the knowledge of God that are woven into what it means to be created in the image of God. These new testament passages, by the way, referring to those who are have been or are being redeemed to the work of Jesus Christ.
So we don't rightly relate to our creator. Our life has no lasting purpose.
Hear that again. If we're not really related to the Creator, our life has no lasting purpose. I should say from our perspective.
Because those who are under God's judgement, those are under God's Wrath. Do still have purpose in God being glorified in everything that happens in the end times. That's a whole nother Topic in itself. But God is glorified by everyone that he has made, whether it is for judgment or whether it is in submission to him as our Lord. So from our perspective, we're going to we're going to be like feeling around in the dark trying to understand why we exist on this Earth, not understanding our purpose or why we exist or or how that should guide our decision-making and our relationships. It means that we have a personality knowledge feelings and a will, it sets us apart as I said from animals and, and from plants. That we have morality. Just think about it when you get angry. When you get angry when I get angry, we're making a moral judgment.
We we we are understanding what's happening at our life or what someone has done to us or to someone else. And we're making a moral judgment that what was done was wrong. And therefore, we have a motion that flows from that.
The problem is our moral picture of life is not perfect and righteous like God's it is possible to be righteously angry. It's possible to be angry and not sin. But only through the work. Of the spirit of God.
And everybody created male and female is created in God's image. Is it also means that human life is valuable.
Human life, which begins at conception is valuable. And everyone needs to be treated deserves to be treated. With the honor that comes from being made in God's image. This means that that the unborn baby isn't to be killed because cuz it's not convenient to have a child or because parents prefer to have a boy instead of a girl or a child that doesn't have disabilities or is it formed? It's a human life that God created in God's purpose. Even if it doesn't, according to the way we look at life match, our standard of quality of life.
I do hear that appeal to emotion. Well, their quality of life is not going to be great. Well, we're stepping into God shoes. When we try to piece together and world and understand. That God is eternally wise.
And creates all kinds of people. For his glory, those who are elderly. Those who can no longer think clearly are to be treated with dignity and care. The Lord decides when I come into this world in the Lord is the one who decides.
When we leave or what are souls passed from our body. Both, end-of-life decisions.
Negatively speaking euthanasia and abortion cheapen, the value of human life that God created In His Image in his likeness. You and I are God stamp creatures that are intended to, to reflect back to God and to the world. Who he is, but we just acknowledge that we do this in perfectly, but it get more of that coming in a couple weeks. God created mankind to rule over his creation. Right, you hear about many of the world who who who are prioritizing creation or prioritizing animals are prioritizing any number of things, over and above human life, brothers and sisters. This must never be the case. I remember hearing a story and I just thought of it even just now. So I don't have the contacts were, but I remember hearing a story about fires out in the west and this is quite some time ago out on the West Coast. And there was a lake nearby decent-sized lake nearby where those who are fighting these forest fires. Wanted to come in with a bucket. I mean it like a big bucket and and dip into that Lake.
And carry it to use it to put out the fires.
Pepita got on board and said, no, because there is a a, a a a What's the word I'm looking for? There's an endangered turtle in that Lake. So, so we can't use this Lake water to put out this fire because we might unintentionally scoop up this Turtle. So we'd rather that Holmes Parish, maybe people perished as a result of prioritizing, an endangered turtle.
Over human life. Now.
We honor, we take care of him and we use God's creation. Why is it? But God makes it clear that he has given us creation to subdue. The Earth to have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the My print, the Seas turtles in the Lakes.
Over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the Earth. God says, I given you every plant yielding seed, that's on the face of the Earth and every tree with seed and it screwed. You still have them for food. And every beast of the earth and every bird of the heavens and everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has Breath of Life in it. I have given every green plant for food, not answered before the fall and death. In that occurred that we don't see me eating people here. Because it's pre-fall and so animals weren't being killed yet. At this point.
We need to be scented. We need to Beware of the design of God's creation.
We need to honor the way that God purpose, cuz he made creation. Do we need to take care of animals? Absolutely, absolutely. Because God made them, but there is a difference between an animal that's made. Or tree. That's planted. When we compare it to the eternally valuable soul. A man and a woman.
God created mankind for his glory to reflect his image to rule over his creation and to reproduce Godly offspring.
Brothers and sisters. We live in a day and age. Where I need to excuse me, where people will talk talk freely about the desire to choose between a career. And having a family. I'm feeling the Earth. My share of the Earth. With children.
The feminist movement has has mocked and ridiculed those who desire to have a large family. And by the way, I will just tell you, right? Right here. I'm not making a case for how many kids your family should have. Not the point. The point is God spoke to creation and said be fruitful and multiply. you know, that means babies. And fill the Earth with them.
We don't need to start. Measuring and accounting for how many people are on the globe?
Juanita.
Creates and we need to live in Godly families intent upon training up Godly offspring. Listen to what Malachi says. We looked at this text I think last year or the year before because they're just going through the motions bummed out that is not going their way. They're frustrated with it. And so the Lord says, okay. Let me just call you to task on. This is one of those things he does is he challenges them for why he created marriage? Don't you think about this? We live in a world where marriage is completely romanticized, right? Young young girls grow up just with this dream of a young man being her knight in shining armor and sweeping her off of her feet and satisfying reverie Hearts. Desire being wonderfully. Perfect. Kind and gentle and always prioritizing her needs and even desires.
Well, my wife is the only one. I got that guy and then the rest. Now I'm getting
That's what we're told. That's what we think all the time growing up.
Men have their own pursuit of conquering. And then, Changing pastures from doing everything that we can do to love and to sweep her off her feet. And then when we get married, sometimes our our perspective changes.
We think marriage is for me. I think marriage is for me Cheryl and thinks marriage is for her.
Except God says, it's for him.
Malachi 2:15 did not God. Make them male and female with a portion of the spirit and their Union.
I just got back and think about this, the spirit of God working in the hearts of his children. And God says didn't God. Make them with a portion of the spirit in their Union. They come together. And what was the one God speaking? Blissful happiness.
Godly offspring. God created, man and woman bring them together and he says, I bless you be fruitful and multiply take care of the earth work. It keep it as we'll see in coming weeks. Why? Have babies and raise them to worship me. Raise them to look at me. Psalm 127 counters. This cultural move against
I guess the blessing of children behold, children are a Heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Does that mean if somebody's not able to have children that I'm able to have the blessing of children? Oh, no difference. There are so many ways we can love. Love those who
are orphans.
We could love those that are in the foster care system.
Eighteen, nineteen years ago, one of my sister's begin to pray. Lord. She had one child. Biologically, and then was not able to have any more, she would have taken a dozen, if they'll order to give them to her. But she began to see I'm not living for my purposes or my pleasure. Lord. Would you give me a child? That would have been aborted if he or she didn't have someone to adopt?
And within a year. The Lord answered that prayer. From New Jersey to Tennessee.
There are many ways to be a part of training up children in the fear and instruction of the Lord. To bring Godly Offspring into the world, to 22 x, people who live for the fame of God's name.
It's interesting. How come Moses we've creation into into all of this? In the in the coming, in the coming books in the pentateuch and and and even how the writer of Hebrews does. Right? So God created mankind for his own Glory restating are our main point for the day. God created man, time for his own glory and other words. We're to live entirely for him. Not for our own Comfort here. So we were created for his glory to reflect his image to rule over his creation and reproduce Godly Offspring. You see the gods that are focus of each of these points.
Well, in the next book of the Bible, in Exodus 20, when the Lord delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses, he begins by saying, you shall have no other gods before me. And then each of the first four Commandments focus on God being glorified in everything, right? He he says there that there expressly intended to focus our minds and our hearts on the glory of God, right? No other gods before. The Lord, don't make a carved image or an idol to represent God, lowercase G to worship. And you don't need a visible representation of me Israelites. You don't need to create something to worship when you can't see me or see my representative, because I've created a world of Representatives. Doctor worship but to love and serve together the Creator. God.
Don't take the lord's name in vain. Don't don't use the name of the name of the Lord without purpose without Worship in mind. And remember the Sabbath day to keep it. Holy. And the Lord closes this command on the Sabbath by saying this. For in six days days, in Six 24-hour days, the Lord made the Heaven and the Earth, the sea and all that is in them. And he rested on the seventh day, therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and he made it. Holy. In the writer of eat of Hebrews uses creation to refer to Faith. He says. Now, Faith is the Assurance of things, hoped for the conviction of Things, Not Seen for buy it for by faith. The people of old received their Commendation by faith. Remember, it's the conviction of things not seen, you might say the conviction of things, not necessarily scientifically proven cuz we have no way to prove many of the claims that come at us cuz we weren't there. God was there. And he says by faith. We understand that the Universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen? Was made out of things. I'm sorry, was not made out of things that are visible. How do we make of all of this?
Friends. You and I are to have an increasing sense of awe. And increasing sense of humility. And we think about God and His purposes in creation for God's glory in everything that you and I say and do listen to this almost in 8336. He said, when I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place. What is, man that you are mindful of him in the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the Heavenly beings. And crowned him with Glory and Honor, you have given him dominion over. The works of your hands and you have put all things. Under his feet.
Describing humility in a small book. In a sermon Tim Keller says the book at booklet is it's called a freedom of self-forgetfulness. Until Tim Keller's has humility is not thinking less of yourself. You're not trying to talk yourself down. It's just simply thinking of yourself, less. When we begin to see God for who he is and we stand in all of who he is and we recognize his purposes in creation.
We don't have to think less of ourselves. We just think of ourselves last. Cuz we're more consumed. By setting our minds and our hearts on the glory of God. What's live to that and Friends? Let's walk in faith by what we see in. Genesis. God is revealing it to us. Let's trust him wholly. Let's think less of ourselves more about God and other.
Male and female that he made other people that that God made. Only father, I thank you Lord, for this great word that you've given us and I pray father that you would help us in in knowing you more and understanding your purposes for our lives. We're speaking about of here today, quite broadly.