One thing many people know about the Bible is it says that we are made in God’s image, but what does that really mean? This devotion begins looking at what being made in God’s image means and how that is different from being a child of God.
Nuggets
- God, when breathing life into us, placed spirit within us.
- Our spirit within us that comes from God makes us intelligent.
- God gave us the free will to choose to obey Him or to disobey Him.
- God made us to have the same perfect moral character that He does — holy and righteous.
- Our conscience has a tie with our moral character and a will.
What Does Made in His Image Mean?
I started writing this devotion thinking it was going to go elsewhere. I wanted to use Genesis 1: 27 to put things into context.
Well, God slowed me way down and said we needed to roost here a while. So, we are roosting – for two devotions. I’ll leave making the connections for the next devotion.
The Scriptures clearly say that we are made in the image of God. But what does that mean? And how does that differ from being a child of God?
Martin wrote that, “In the possession of the Divine image human nature had within itself a mirror of God.” To me, this means we are to reflect God’s divine nature.
Hannah said the connection was even closer. He likened us to a coin. A coin (and even paper money) bear a picture or the image of someone.
But I always thought that was what children of God did, not creations of God. (Yep, I was kind of glad God said roost on this.)
So, let’s dig into what it really means to be made in the image of God. Before we look at similarities, let’s look at a couple of differences.
Let's Put It into Context
“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)
Even though we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139: 14), we have several facts – at least what I’ve always thought – that clearly show we are totally different from God. Here are two biggies.
We are told that God is a spirit. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4: 24 CSB).
Hmmmm. We definitely have physical bodies and are not spirit.
Our moral character is definitely not like God’s. There is no way we can do all the do’s and not do all the don’ts.
But is that really the case? What does it really mean that we are made in God’s image?
We Do Have Spirit
“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils” (Job 27: 3 KJV)
Oh, this is an interesting verse. Let’s process.
God created man. “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Gen. 2: 7 NLT).
God, when breathing life into us, placed spirit within us. This is different than the Holy Spirit but is spirit, nonetheless.
We know that man is material. But does just having breath make us spiritual?
Yes, “But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent” (Job 32: 8 NLT). Our spirit is His breath within us.
Mason described this spirit as “… the element of self-consciousness and freedom.” Clarkson expanded on the list. He wrote, “Our spiritual nature is endowed with the faculties of perception, of memory, of imagination, of reason.”
Okay. That kind of makes sense. God formed us, and then He breathed life into us. He didn’t breathe life into animals — and they don’t have anything on the list. That breath is our spirit.
We Have Intelligence
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1: 7 ESV)
First, did you catch that last verse? “But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent” (Job 32: 8 NLT). Our spirit within us that comes from God makes us intelligent.
Fearing God increases our intelligence. We’ve talked about fear of the Lord several times. The fear of the Lord means reverence and love, not terror. In the New Testament, it was called godliness.
God gives us the abilities to reason, by which knowledge is gained. Monday Club Sermons wrote that fear of the Lord accelerates and enhances the intellect. When disciples submit to God, He will increase their knowledge and intelligence because our minds are made more like His.
We Have a Will
“But if it doesn’t please you to worship the LORD, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship — the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD” (Josh. 24: 15 CSB)
God gave us the free will to choose to obey Him or to disobey Him. I found a great definition for that. Sheldon defined free will as “… the faculty of determining our actions, and so forming our character.”
God doesn’t force us — just as He did not force Adam and Eve — to do all the do’s and not do the don’ts. Oh, yeah. This must have been a big decision.
Look what They did. The Trinity has a confab. “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness …” (Gen. 1: 26 CSB).
We’ve been talking a lot lately how God designed the plan of salvation before he created the universe. He knew we were going to disobey Him been before He created us.
Think about it. Was the board of directors/Trinity meeting to make the final decision that, yes, They were going to go ahead with the decision to give mankind free will, fully knowing mankind was going to rebel?
They met. They decided to go ahead as planned. They created. Adam and Eve did chose just as they knew they would.
Now, each of us has a choice. We must choose for or against Him.
Crowned or Crucified
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Keyboard: Chris Vieth
We choose for Him by ABCDing.
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 Have Moral Character
“Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Eph. 4: 24 NLT)
God made us to have the same perfect moral character that He does — holy and righteous. Ecclesiastes 7: 29 says, “But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path” (NLT).
Unfortunately, after Adam and Eve sinned, we were no longer perfect, but we still can be moral. We’ve talked about this before. Worldview people accuse disciples of being less moral than they are.
Worldview people can still be moral people because they are still creations of God. Robertson and Bonnet explained it this way. “And so to talk of God as good and just and pure implies that there is goodness, justice, purity, within the mind of man.”
Being moral, however, does not make us children of God. We are not children of God unless we ABCD.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
We Have a Conscience
I see the fact that we have a conscience as a tie with our moral character and a will.
Our moral character tells us what is right and what is wrong.
Our free will gives us the opportunity to make the choice.
Our conscience prompts us to make the right choice.
We’ve talked before that it is sometimes believed that the Holy Spirit is our conscience. He is not because worldview people also have consciences.
However, the Holy Spirit does give us guidance when we have to make a choice. He is there to remind us what is holy and righteous. We are on our own to make the decision.
Let’s wrap this up by doing a 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.
Sovereign God. Lord, we thank You that – even before You created us – You designed a plan so that we could restore our relationships with You. Unfortunately, not all will accept Your gift of grace. Still, being made in Your image is fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139: 14). Help us to not be content with just that. Help us to seek you in all that we do. Amen.
What do you think?
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