We are told that we are made in God’s image. But Genesis says that Seth was made in Adam’s image. This daily devotional looks at, since we are all descendants of Adam’s, whose image in which we were made.
Nuggets
- We were originally made holy and perfect as God is — thus, we were made in His image.
- After Adam and Eve bit, they became unclean.
- The good news about being made in Adam’s image is we can reclaim being made in God’s image.
In one of the recent devotions, I came across this verse, and it really hit me. So instead of chasing a rabbit then, I put it in the drafts folder.
I am sure I have read this before, but I never read it this way. “… [Adam] fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image …” (Gen. 5: 3 ESV).
Does that mean we are made in Adam’s image, not God’s?
I think I know the answer I am going to have at the end. But I want to see what how I get there.
I think this is really important for two reasons. First, I think it is important to our study on godliness. We have to show how all are ungodly.
Second, I think it is really important to our witnessing. The answer to this will inform the answer we should give when asked whether we all are children of God because we are made in His image.
Glossary
So, let’s step through some both sides. We are going to review what we’ve talked about before, look through sermons I have been throwing in the rewrite file, and then look at the verse that threw me.
Let's Put It into Context
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness …” (Gen. 1: 26 ESV)
- We were made in God’s image. It was only later that the evil entered into us (Does God Tempt Us?).
- Yes, we were made in God’s image (Gen. 1: 26). But then it changed. Man disobeyed Him. That changed us (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Holiness?).
- In order to get back to where we were, we have to do the opposite of what Adam and Eve did. We have to obey (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Holiness?).
- We are to reflect God’s divine nature (What Does Made in His Image Mean?).
- Mankind are creatures who feel, especially love. However, the worldview definition of love is not as pure as God’s definition of love (How Else Are We Made in His Image?).
- Yes, we are to love our neighbors (Mk. 12: 31) and our enemies (Mt. 5: 44). But even though we are all made in God’s image, we are not all children of God (Kindness and Love as Virtues).
Glossary
Are We Made in God’s Image?
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1: 27 ESV)
Wesley gave us a good summary of the doctrine.
- We were originally made holy and perfect as God is — thus, we were made in His image.
- Wesley wrote, “To man, thus upright, God gave a perfect law, to which He required a perfect obedience, which man was capable of rendering.”
- This included the don’t-eat-the-fruit commandment.
- Unfortunately, Adam and Eve did bite.
- That brought on consequences: “His soul died, being separated from God, his body became mortal, and he hastened on to death everlasting.”
- While we were still in our sinful condition, God sent His Son to be the sacrifice we needed to restore us to our previous relationship with God.
Resource
Boardman reminded us that it is our character that changed after the original sin, not our nature. What he meant by that is we still have a soul, even if it is tarnished by sin. If our soul was eliminated, our nature would have changed.
Resource
I know. I am struggling with that one.
I keep calling it our sinful nature. If our nature is unchanged, I should be saying our sinful character.
Okay, let me go Dictionary Chick a second so I can process this. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, nature is
- the inherent character or basic constitution
- a creative and controlling force in the universe
- an inner force (such as instinct, appetite, desire) or the sum of such forces in an individual
Resource
Character is:
- one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual
- the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation
- main or essential nature especially as strongly marked and serving to distinguish
Resource
I thought it was interesting that character was used to define nature. But then, nature was used to define character.
I like the third definition of nature. Sin is an inner force, an inner instinct.
I am sticking with nature.
Oh, wait. It is clear to see God’s power in us??? Right. Uh huh.
Most of us are probably thinking, “Not in my life right now.”
But God’s power is in us if we have Holy Spirit in our hearts. He is working in us.
Are We Made in Adam’s Image?
“When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth” (Gen. 5: 3 ESV).
After Adam and Eve bit, they became unclean. Cleanness has to do with the Israelites remaining holy. That means uncleanness is not remaining holy.
Glossary
Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure. Holiness is more than a character trait; it is purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart. The perfected state indicates the combination of the graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness. Purity means we are without the stain of sin.
Glossary
Boston felt Job was talking about Adam and Eve in Job 14: 4. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one” (Job 14: 4 ESV).
Resource
That supports Genesis 5: 3. Since Adam and Eve became unclean when they sinned, that nature was passed along to their children upon their birth.
Since we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, we are unclean, also. Sin is in us, too, regardless of our actions.
Oh, yeah. That has brought us down in the world. God made us “… a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor” (Ps. 8: 5 NIV).
Raffles called it human depravity. He wrote, “By the phrase, human depravity, we mean that corruption of our nature, whereby we are inclined to sin rather than to holiness.”
Resource
Raffles said this depravity is inherent in our nature. He said it is permanent.
How Do We Get Back to Being Made in God's Image?
“And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3: 10 ESV)
Well, not necessarily. Yes, this depravity will be a component of our nature even after we ABCD.
The good news about being made in Adam’s image is we can reclaim being made in God’s image.
Raleigh gave us some comforting words. He wrote, “We are made in the image of God. The image is marred but not erased. We belong to a fallen but also to a rising race. And this is our nobleness that we are still God’s sons, and that we are awakening to this consciousness.”
Resource
Reclaiming our status of being made in God’s image is easy. We have to ABCD.
A major component of the D part is navigating the Sanctification Road. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul that begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
We can only be sanctified when we have been justified. Justification is the act through the merits of Christ that makes us free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws. Jesus justifies us when we put our lives in His hand.
The justification only happens because of the propitiation. Propitiation means that a substitute is offered to avoid God’s wrath. That propitiation was Jesus.
Resource
Glossary
And you know the best part? God is going to help us in our quest to getting back to our perfected state. As Raleigh said, God alone knows everything about us. He knows our needs and our desires.
That means God knows our level of commitment in getting back to being in His image. He knows if we are genuine in our efforts — or if our motivations are skewed.
Once we are called home and given our new “bodies,” this depravity will be gone. We will be perfected.
Making the Connections
Raleigh made another excellent observation. Navigating the Sanctification Road is an internal process. We travel the road by increasing the “… love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind …” part of the greatest commandment (Mk. 12: 30 ESV).
Those are internal processes. They are between us individually and God.
Worldview people think they get to judge disciples. They don’t.
If it is an internal process, others can’t see the progress we are making. They don’t have the superpower of x-ray vision to see inside of us.
Also, if worldview people are judging us, they are probably not judging us by the standards God will use — our profession of faith in Him and His laws and commandments. Raleigh put it this way: “It is not only that the wrong things are seen, and the weaknesses are noted, but often the right is called the wrong, and treated so.”
Resource
How Do We Apply This?
We need to ABCD.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
The major component of the D part is navigating the Sanctification Road. We do that by seeking God.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
That is going to be a life-time process. But God will be right there, showing us the path to go.
So, technically, we are made in both God and Adam’s images. We need to choose to go back to only being made in God’s image.
Father God. Thank You for making us perfect like You. Thank You for being willing to forgive us when we mucked that up. Lord, we admit we are separated from You because our sinful nature not only has separated us from You but causes us to disobey You. We believe that Jesus came to be the Sacrifice to shed His blood to pay the penalty for our sins. We confess You as Sovereign God and submit to Your Will. We will demonstrate this submission by seeking You by becoming sanctified. We will work to change our characters to be like Yours. Amen.
What do you think?
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Adam was made in God’s image and his son came from him, that’s why the Word says such
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2 Cor 3:18 – as we behold Him, we are changed from glory to glory into His image…
Hello,
I agree with the idea that Adam was created in God’s image and did not initially have a sin nature.
A former pastor explained it this way in which always made a big impact on my.
When Adam chose to sin, he died immediately in the spirit, gradually in the nephesh (Hebrew for soul), and eventually in body.
In Yeshua (Jesus), this curse is reversed. When we are born again, we are born – again – immediately in the spirt (Justification), as we read, study, and apply God’s commandments, we are renewed in the soul (the sanctification process, and in the eternal age we receive an eternal body.
After the fall, all of mankind is in the likeness or image of Adam, having a sin nature that God does not have; although, we do have some likeness of the creator as His fingerprint is on His creation, our nature is to pursue the gratification of self and not to bring glory to God. When we are born again, we begin a process of being made into the likeness of Yeshua, Who had no sin nature – the second Adam, but we will not be completely in His image until the eternal age.
Thanks for your kind words, Gary. That is a great way to explain it!