Monday, June 29, 2015
Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let us make man in our 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.
IN HIS IMAGE
When the Triune God created human beings the Father took the lead -- yet all Three (let us make man) were actively involved. They made us in the very likeness of themselves.
Not only were the people God made designed to be like Him in creativity and rulership -- they were (best of all!) like God within. Kind, good, just, righteous, loving, merciful, faithful, holy and more.
When our first parents in sin rebelled against God, sin wrecked us humans from the inside out. Some of the outward ways humans are like God (creative, rulers over the creation) remain in a diminished way. Inwardly, even things like goodness and kindness, love and faithfulness are possible between people -- but in a limited fashion because of the sinner's disconnect with God.
Righteousness and holiness are, however, no longer part of our natural make-up. After all, a person can't be holy or righteous in a limited, diminished way.
We can ponder the horrific change that sin made in our human make-up and activity. God our Creator chose instead to act -- to personally step in on our behalf in order to restore the relationship with Himself that sin had ruined. That's what the Triune God did when the Son became one of us. When we are brought to trust this truth about Jesus, the change within is truly remarkable. God caused the Apostle Paul to put it this way: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
So, when the Spirit through the Apostle urges Christ-believers to "put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness," he describes the way God through faith in Jesus daily works a change in humans-- from the inside out.
And this is just the beginning!
At the Resurrection our restoration will be complete.
As believers we are not what we once were, but we also are not what we will be.
Exult, O dust and ashes! The Lord shall be your part;
His only, His forever, You shall be, and you are.
