In the last devotion, we started talking about different ways we are made in God’s image. This devotion finishes the list and discusses what it is important that we are more than just made in His image.
Nuggets
- God gave mankind authority over animals but not over the earth – God handed over control to Jesus.
- God created us spiritually alive, but that changed to spiritually dead when Adam and Eve sinned.
- We are creative as He is.
- God is love (I Jn. 4: 8), and He has made us to be love, too.
How Else Are We Made in His Image?
Yes, this study has been an eye opener for me. I had separately considered the things that show we were made in God’s image, but I had never put it together.
Let’s take a look at the summary of the last devotion before we finish up the list.
- All mankind have a spirit that we get when we are given breath. Disciples also have the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
- We all have an intelligence – we are curious and have abilities to reason. Our godliness accelerates those abilities.
- We all have the free will to make choices for ourselves.
- We all have moral character, but disciples will one day be perfected.
- We all have consciences, but disciples have the Holy Spirit to guide us and remind us what is holy and righteous.
We Have Authority
“God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.’ God also said, ‘Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so” (Gen. 1: 28-30 CSB)
Just as God has authority, He has given mankind authority. God gave mankind authority over animals.
Exell termed mankind “… king of this world.” But that isn’t exactly right, is it?
God did not give mankind authority over earth itself. We are stewards of it, but God kept control of it for Himself.
We know the Great Commission in Matthew 28: 19-20, but we sometimes forget what He said right before that. “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28: 18 CSB).
Mankind does not have control over earth. Jesus does.
Well, we know Jesus had an integral part in creating the universe. “God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him” (Jn. 1: 3 NLT).
God handed over control to Jesus. “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands” (Jn. 3: 35 NIV).
So, it is Jesus who is keeping all the plates spinning. “He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together” (Col. 1: 17 NLT).
Yes, mankind is a steward of the earth and have authority over the animals. No, we are not going to be responsible for the earth’s demise. “Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them” (Rev. 20: 11 CSB). God is actually the one who is going to pull the plug.
We Have Immortality
“Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11: 26 CSB)
How many times have we said of someone Adam’s age, “Oh, they are young. They think they will live forever.”
Well, that was how we were created. God created us spiritually alive — to live for eternity. But when Adam and Eve sinned, that changed us to spiritually dead.
Worldview people may think that they will live forever — and they will. It just won’t be in this body on this planet as they may want to believe.
Since worldview people are spiritually dead, their spirits will be residents of hell, not heaven. Becoming spiritually alive is a part of regeneration. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
We Have Creativity
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Col. 3: 23 NLT)
Have you ever thought that our creativity is accredited to our being made in God’s image? We are creative as He is.
Oh, no. We didn’t create a universe.
We are still creative — even if we try to limit it.
Not everyone can write a song or a novel. Even if we can’t write something out, we can talk.
We may not be able to deck the meal out like it came from a five-star restaurant. We still were creative enough to put it together.
We may not be able to create some crafty project. We can knit together nuggets and come up with a creative solution to a problem.
We may be the dreamer, but we are still creating. We may be the factory line worker, but we are still creating.
We Have Feelings
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (II Tim. 1: 7 ESV)
God is love (I Jn. 4: 8), and He has made us to be love, too. He feels compassion (Mt. 20: 34) and anger (Ezek. 5: 13).
We just have to be careful that we love as God loves and not as the world loves. God’s definition of love is different than the world’s definition.
- The world’s love is predicated on tolerance, but Jesus’ love goes straight to the heart.
- World love says, “I’ll love you as long as …” but Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross for us.
- While the worldview wants to give the illusion that it is inclusive, it isn’t; Jesus truly is inclusive.
- It seems that many world relationships do not last very long, but Jesus wants to spend eternity with us.
- People may not love as they say, but Jesus loves us with a pure love.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
Making the Connections
“So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female” (Gen. 1: 27 CSB)
Let’s go back to the verse that started all of this. “So God created man in his own image …” (Gen. 1: 27 CSB). That reads like a straightforward statement (Exell).
It might be easy to read that as another day at the office for God. It is only when we add “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed …” (Gen. 1: 31 CSB) do we see His pride in His creation. (And no, it isn’t just His man creation of whom He is proud).
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We have been considering what we would say if a non-believer questioned what we believe. Here is the worksheet again. What would you tell someone is they thought being made in God’s image was enough?
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Col. 3: 10 NLT)
We need to add to our summary.
- All mankind have a spirit that we get when we are given breath. Disciples also have the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
- We all have an intelligence – we are curious and have abilities to reason. Our godliness accelerates those abilities.
- We all have the free will to make choices for ourselves.
- We all have moral character, but disciples will one day be perfected.
- We all have consciences, but disciples have the Holy Spirit to guide us and remind us what is holy and righteous.
- God has given us authority over animals but not over the earth.
- All of mankind is going to live for eternity. However, worldview people who are spiritually dead will live in hell; disciples who are spiritually alive will live in heaven.
- Mankind is creative, even though some may discount or diminish their talent.
- Mankind are creatures who feel, especially love. However, the worldview definition of love is not as pure as God’s definition of love.
Oh, yes. Mankind is a pretty good model on its own, isn’t it? Smart. Creative. Loving. Yada yada yada.
But that pales to being a disciple. What popped into my mind was the line that Thor tells Loki in Thor: Ragnarok. Thor tells him something like, “You will always be the God of Mischief, but you could be so much more.”
Yes, it may be okay just being a worldview person. But being a disciple is so much more.
But let’s tell it like it really is. It may be okay for now to just be a worldview person. It won’t be once this earth has passed away and eternity is commencing.
Let’s look at the verse again. “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Col. 3: 10 NLT).
We get our new nature when we ABC. We are renewed as we D.
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
We don’t want to settle for being made in God’s image. We don’t want to just be His creation.
We want to be the loved children of God.
Father God. We don’t want to be just made in Your image. We want to have Your character. We want to have Your Spirit guiding our lives. Most importantly, we want You preparing us to be holy and righteous so that we can spend eternity with You. Amen.
What do you think?
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