Sermon
Created In His Image
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Well, would you please take your Bibles and open them up again to the book of Genesis?
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We're still in chapter 1.
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Somebody asked me, I won't tell you who, this morning, if it was really going to take 10
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years for us to get through Genesis.
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Lord willing, will not.
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But the first three chapters here, as we've said, are so foundational for us that we are
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going to spend a good bit of time walking slowly through these first three chapters.
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And today we're looking at the sixth day of creation, that's Genesis chapter 1, verses
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24 through 31.
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And so when you found that in your Bibles, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's
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word this morning from Genesis chapter 1, verses 24 through 31, sixth day of creation.
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And God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds, livestock
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and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.
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And it was so.
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And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to
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their kinds and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind.
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And God saw that it was good.
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Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion
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over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over
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all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
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So God created man in his own image.
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In the image of God, he created him male and female.
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He created them and God blessed them.
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God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion
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over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing
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that moves on the earth.
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And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all
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the earth and every tree with seed and its fruit.
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You shall have them for food.
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And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the heavens and everything that creeps
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on the earth and everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant
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for food.
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And it was so.
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And God saw everything that he had made.
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And behold, it was very good.
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And there was evening and there was morning.
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The sixth day.
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Would you pray with me once more?
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Lord, what an honor it is to be made in your image and to be remade into your image through
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your son, Jesus.
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And so we pray now as we look to this text, God, would you shape us further into your image
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through the word by the power of your spirit this morning, we ask in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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You may be seated.
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You may remember seeing the headline about a year ago last week, actually, is January 28,
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2024.
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And the headline read, Outrage as iconic Mona Lisa painting defaced by protesters.
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This is possibly the most famous image in the world painted by probably one of the most famous
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artists ever to live, Leonardo da Vinci.
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And apparently a group of protesters wanted to raise awareness about food insecurity in
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France.
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And the best way they could think to do that was to cover the Mona Lisa with a bunch of
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pumpkin soup.
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I threw it all over the famous picture.
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This isn't the first time that somebody has attacked the Mona Lisa.
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I read this week that apparently over the years she has been stabbed by a razor blade.
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And she's had acid poured on her.
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She was kidnapped once for two years.
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Nobody knew where the Mona Lisa was.
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For two years, an employee of the Louvre kidnapped her and kept her hidden.
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She's had rocks thrown at her.
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She's had mugs thrown at her.
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She's even had pastries smeared all over her.
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But amazingly, through it all, some 500 years later, the image still remains.
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Last week, we began to look at this first week of creation and we saw God create the skies
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and the earth and the sea and the sun and the moon and the stars.
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He worked like an architect.
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He was forming this unformed universe.
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And then he worked like an artist.
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You remember, he was filling this universe with life and beauty over the first five days.
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But now we come to this sixth day on day six and we see God is doing something different here on day six
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than the rest of his five days of creation.
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God, the artist of all creation, here on day six, makes mankind in his glorious image.
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This is the most impressive image in all the earth and is made by the most impressive, most glorious, most famous artist in all the universe.
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But as we know, over the years, this image has been attacked, has been marred, has been defaced,
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it has been drugged through the mud.
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But even still today, through it all, the image of God remains on every boy, every girl, every man, every woman.
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It is so important that we understand this high honor that you and I are made in God's image.
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And so what I want to do this morning is I want to look to this text and ask the question,
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well, what does it mean that you and I and everybody else, we are made in the image of God?
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What does that mean?
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What does that mean for our worth and our dignity and our roles and our responsibility?
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What does it mean for us to be humans made in the image of God?
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And we'll see three answers to that question here this morning.
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Three answers.
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Being in God's image means that you were made to resemble him,
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that you represent him,
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and that you receive from him your identity and your dignity.
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And we'll walk through all three of these together.
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First, we see being made in God's image means that you and I, in a very real way, we resemble God.
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Look there with me to verse 24.
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And just like on the third day of creation, there are two acts here on the sixth day.
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These are parallels here.
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First, we see God calls for the earth to bring forth living creatures according to their kinds.
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And he says three categories of these land animals are mentioned as livestock.
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These are the large domesticated animals.
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And then there's the creeping things.
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Those are all the animals you don't want in your house.
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And then there's the wild beasts of the earth.
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Those are the wild animals.
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And just as with the rest of creation, everything here is put in its order, isn't it?
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Each with its kind.
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Each in its place.
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And again, just as with the first five days of creation,
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God sees what he's made and he declares over it that what he's made is good.
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But then we see here that we're showing something happens that's different than what's happened here on the first five days.
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Something totally unique and distinct happens here in verse 26.
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Then God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness.
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So, verse 27 says, so God created man in his own image.
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In the image of God, he created him.
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Male and female, he created them.
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This repetition here is intentional.
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It's meant to draw our attention here that something special, something unique,
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something important is happening here in the making of man.
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This is the grand finale of the week of creation.
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This is the end of the fireworks show.
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That all of this has been building up to this moment, which is incredible.
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Because when you think about it, you compare us to the rest of creation.
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And I'm sure you've seen the same images that I've seen of Hubble telescope images of the galaxy.
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These pictures of the Milky Way.
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You've seen images of the stars and of the sun and of the planets.
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You look up at the sun and how bright and powerful it is.
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I'm sure each of you has been to some part of God's creation.
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It just makes your jaw drop and hit the floor in awe at what God has done.
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But here we see that all of this is just the opening act.
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His crowning work.
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The grand finale of all his creation is us.
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Why?
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Because unlike any other part of creation, man and woman distinctly bear the image of God.
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We are made to resemble him.
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I do want you to notice here also, by the way, clearly mankind is not a part of the animal kingdom.
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I know that's different from what you learn in elementary school science.
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But clearly here, mankind is set apart in a class of his own.
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He's distinct.
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He doesn't belong in any of these three categories of the land animals.
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He's set aside in a category of his own.
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And there's not a hint here that he might just be an elevated, evolved form of any of these creatures.
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Or just one of the creatures that just happened to develop a little bit further, a little bit faster and turn into man.
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From the very beginning, we see mankind is set apart with this distinction.
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That he and he alone, out of all creation, is made in the image of God.
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In fact, verse 26, we see mankind is given authority and dominion over all the rest of the animals.
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Over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth.
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Over all the creeping things that you don't want in your house.
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Mankind is given dominion.
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There's an undeniable distinction here.
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In the value, in the worth, in the role of humanity over all the rest of creation.
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He is not one of them.
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He's certainly not less than them.
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He's not equal with them.
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He is in a class of his own.
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Why?
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Because we, in a very unique way, are made to resemble God.
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I remember growing up.
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More than once, somebody would tell me that I looked like my father.
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I was David's son.
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There's no denying it.
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And then I started to lose my hair.
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And even more, I heard I was David's son.
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There's no denying it.
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And then we had Cobb.
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And here's the same thing.
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He, in a very real way, resembles me.
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You look just like your father.
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You must belong to him.
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And in a way, he bears my image.
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But, you know, of course, God has no physical being like we do.
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And so we don't share our father's nose or his ears or his eye or his hairline.
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Right?
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So how do we resemble God?
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Well, we share some of his distinct qualities.
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Like God, you and I are relational.
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We can speak and communicate.
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We can speak and communicate with God himself.
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This is a very big part of what it means to be human,
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is that we can have a relationship with God, speak with him, relate to him.
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And like God, we're rational creatures, sometimes at least.
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Right?
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And we can think and we can reason.
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We can understand.
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We can gain knowledge and gain understanding.
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We can gain wisdom.
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We have personality.
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We have capacity for moral understanding and decision making.
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We have capacity to understand and obey the law of God.
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In a reflective sort of way, we can, as his creatures made in his image,
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we can share and experience and reflect his love, his goodness, his kindness.
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We have capacity for holiness and for justice and for graciousness
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and for faithfulness, for patience, for wisdom.
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These are all what we call the communicable attributes of God.
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Now, that's a big word, isn't it?
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And all that simply means is those descriptions of God that he shares with those who are made in his image.
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These are ways that we can be like God.
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So when we see these qualities in people around us, even in non-believers,
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we ought to see them as mirror-like reflections of the glory of God.
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We ought to celebrate these glimpses of God's character in ourselves and in one another.
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And when Christians put these qualities on,
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and when we pursue these God-like characteristics and put them on,
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we are showing forth to the watching world what God is like.
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This is an incredible distinction, an incredible honor that God has given us.
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Mankind is made to resemble God, which comes, second, with a big responsibility.
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Second, being made in God's image means that we represent him.
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We represent him.
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Look there with me to verse 28.
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Mankind is given a task here.
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It says God blessed them and he said to them, which that's new, by the way.
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God hasn't spoken directly to any part of his creation up until now,
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but now he speaks directly to mankind, blesses mankind, and now he gives us a job.
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Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.
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Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens
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and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
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So now we see that at least part of our imaging forth of God to the world
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is in our God-given responsibilities.
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We're not just meant to look like him.
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We're meant to act like him.
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We're meant to function like him.
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We're meant to work like him, even to work as an extension of him here on the earth.
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You know, ancient kings in this time, they used to set up statues
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on the borders of their territory.
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They would put up images of themselves on the borderlines of their territory
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to show, well, this land here is mine.
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These images here, they represent me.
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They represent my rule and my authority.
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And so now here, in a similar way, God is setting forth his images in his domain.
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And he says, go fill the earth with my image.
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They're commanded to go fill the domain of God.
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Now, I want you to think about these commands here.
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Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it.
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In light of what we've seen God do already in the first five days of creation.
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Because this is a command to continue the work of God
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as his representatives here on earth.
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Think about it with me.
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All of this, all of this is reproducing God's own creative activity.
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You remember last week, right?
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How God was busy giving shape and form to the formless.
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And then he was filling up the emptiness.
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And he was ruling over his creation by the power of his word.
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And now, what does he say?
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He says, you get to go be a part of this.
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You get to go represent me by continuing my work in the world.
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So go give form to the formless.
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Go maintain the structure and the order of the earth.
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Go rule over creation.
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Go subdue creation.
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Go have dominion.
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And order all things by my word.
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You get to work as God's representatives here on earth.
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You know, I think this really,
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it gives shape to the way that we think about work
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and vocation and labor, doesn't it?
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Work in and of itself and labor in and of itself
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isn't inherently bad.
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You think about this tomorrow morning when you go clock in to work, okay?
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Before sin enters the world and makes work difficult
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and bears thorns and thistles,
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it's hard for us to do labor.
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Before any of this happens,
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work in and of itself is a gift of God.
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It's a blessing for the glory of God.
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And so Christians are called to whatever they do,
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they're called to work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.
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And whatever work we involve ourselves in,
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it's meant to be an extension of the work of God.
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As we form the formless,
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order all things by His word.
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And then we see here this command to be fruitful and multiply,
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fill the earth, subdue it.
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That's a command to work as God's own representatives
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and see that the ends of the earth are filled with His glory.
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We're called, like God, to fill the earth with image bearers.
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Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth.
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When a husband and a wife come together and they say,
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let us make a child in our own image,
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who does that sound like to you?
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They're representing and extending the work of God.
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And in a beautiful act of creation,
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an eternal soul is now formed and brought into the world.
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An image bearer is formed.
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And God's image is multiplied on the earth
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through this blessing of childbearing.
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There's another spiritual dimension to these commands here
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that I want us to see, isn't there?
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Because some of y'all are tuning me out.
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Some of y'all who think that you're past the age of childbearing
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have already stopped listening.
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I want you to come back to me, okay?
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And some of you who have retired from your day jobs
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have already tuned me out and stopped listening.
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So you come back here with me too
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because there's work for you to do still.
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Listen to this.
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Remember again how it is that God brings beauty and order out of chaos.
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How was it?
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It's through the power of His Word, right?
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How is it that He forms the formless
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and He fills the earth with beauty and with life?
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It's through the power of His Word.
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How is it that He rules over all things in His domain?
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It's through the power of His Word.
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So how is it that you think that we as His representatives
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are to continue this work of God
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and to rule over all things and to bring order out of chaos
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and to fill the earth with His glory?
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Well, it's through the power of His Word.
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Spiritually speaking, on this side of the fall into sin,
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on this side of the chaos of sin in the world,
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one of the main ways that we rule over and subdue the world
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is by making certain that the world doesn't rule over and subdue us.
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And how do we do that?
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We guard ourselves by the power of His Word.
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It's by living according to His Word in our own lives,
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not letting the chaos of sin rule in your life,
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but instead you rule over it by the Word.
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Not letting the weeds grow in your mind and in your heart,
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but fighting for the purity of Eden in your own heart and in your life.
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Not letting the chaos rule over your family and rule over your marriage,
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but instead making the Word of God central in your marriage.
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This is how we bring form to the chaos here on this side of the fall.
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Letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly,
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and then out of that, letting the Word shape and form your life at home
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and at work and wherever you may go.
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Also, on this side of the fall,
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one of the main ways that Christians, all Christians, young and old,
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can be fruitful and multiply is not just by having lots of babies,
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although that's good,
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it's by going and making disciples.
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Bearing spiritual children.
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Investing in the next generation of believers.
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Sharing the Gospel with those who don't know the Lord.
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And when they come to faith in Christ,
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guess what happens in them?
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They are reborn as children of God.
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The best way for you to fill the earth
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with the domain and the rule and the reign of God,
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to fill the earth with His image,
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is to share the Gospel and make disciples.
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And pray that through your faithful evangelism,
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the Lord would bring many spiritual children into the world
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by faith in Christ.
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This is God's means, ultimately,
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of filling the earth with His image,
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with His glory.
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Church, each one of us has been given this responsibility
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to rule and to reproduce.
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To order all things by His word
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and to fill the earth with His image.
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This is a high honor, is it not?
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Finally, third,
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being made in God's image means that we receive from Him
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our identity and our dignity.
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I wanted to shift gears here for a minute
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away from what we're called to do
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and instead focus here on this last point
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with who we are.
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With our identity in Christ.
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The fact that you are made in God's image.
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This is the building block for our identity.
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You realize this?
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And this is the foundational building block
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for who you are.
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Mark chapter 12.
Mark 12 chapter mention
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You don't have to turn there with me,
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but maybe just mark this down for later.
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The Pharisees and the Herodians,
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they come to Jesus.
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You may know this story.
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And they ask Him a question.
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It's a trick question.
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They're trying to trip Him up.
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They're trying to catch Him.
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And they say,
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Teacher, we know that you are true
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and do not care about anyone's opinion.
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For you are not swayed by appearances,
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but truly teach the way of God.
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So here's the question.
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Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
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Should we pay them or should we not?
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But knowing their hypocrisy,
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He said to them,
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Why put me to the test?
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Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.
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And they brought Him one.
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And He said to them,
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Whose likeness and inscription is this?
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Whose picture is on this coin?
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And they said to Him,
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Caesar's.
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And Jesus said to them,
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Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
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and to God the things that are God's.
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What's the point?
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Well, the coin bore Caesar's image.
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And so in a way,
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the coin belonged to Him.
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Jesus had no problem telling people
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they should pay their taxes.
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I know we don't like to hear that
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this time of year, right?
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He said that belongs to Him.
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It bears His image.
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But there's a bigger point here
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that Jesus is making.
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Render to God the things that are God's.
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Well, what's that?
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What bears God's image?
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You do.
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And so what does that mean for you?
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It means that you and I belong to Him.
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He gets to determine who you are.
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He gets to determine your identity.
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He gets to give you,
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and He gets to determine your value and your worth.
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You belong to God.
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This is the fundamental identity shaper
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that we all need to understand.
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We bear His image,
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so we belong to Him.
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Everything else around us,
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you realize this, don't you?
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Everything else around you
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is competing with God
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for that place of being able to shape
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and form your identity.
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Everything around you
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is wanting to boot God out of the way
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and have the main voice
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in determining who you are.
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Everything around you
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wants to help shape your worth
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and your sense of identity
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and belonging and being.
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One of my professors used to say,
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the most important part about you
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is not who you are,
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but it's whose you are.
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It's to whom do you belong?
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Church, I think we need to cling to this
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as the foundational roots
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for our identity,
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and especially so
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because in our time,
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and especially amongst younger generations,
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there is one primary identity shaper
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that's taken over
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just about everything else,
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and it's sexual orientation
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and gender identity.
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I believe that this is
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one of the main cultural issues
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that we face,
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and we really need to understand
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what God's word says about this
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because it's not silent about this,
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is it?
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Look with me to verse 27 again.
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God created man in his own image.
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In the image of God,
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he created him,
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male and female.
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He created them.
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We learn here that from the beginning,
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God created us,
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male and female.
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We are embodied,
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gendered beings.
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Sexuality is a good part of God's design.
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We bear God's image
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as embodied,
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gendered beings,
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as male or as female,
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and it's good,
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it's very good,
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he says,
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that we're made in his image,
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male and female.
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Humanity here is created binary,
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which means,
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if anybody is confused
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about their gender identity,
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our response as Christians,
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we shouldn't encourage them
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to be who they feel like they are.
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Instead,
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we ought to graciously,
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lovingly,
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patiently,
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and clearly
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point them back to God's good design,
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how they were created.
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We receive our identity
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from our creator.
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You belong to him.
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But not only this,
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look here with me,
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I want you to see this.
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All of us
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also receive our dignity
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from our creator.
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Our sense of worth
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and our value,
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our dignity
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comes from the fact
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that we are made
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in the image of God.
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You remember Israel
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read this text
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as they're coming out of Egypt
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and heading to the promised land
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and they knew
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that in Egypt,
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Pharaoh was considered
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to be the image of God.
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Pharaoh was the embodiment
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of God.
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He was very God in the flesh
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according to the Egyptians.
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But here in Genesis,
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Genesis corrects this
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on two levels.
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For one,
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nobody is God in the flesh here.
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And none of us
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are the full embodiment
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of God.
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It brings everybody
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down to the same level.
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But at the same time,
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it raises all of us up
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with this incredible dignity
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that all of us
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are made in the image
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of God.
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So you Hebrew slaves,
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guess what?
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You share the same level
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of dignity and worth
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as Pharaoh himself.
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You women here
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who had little to no status
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in the ancient Near East,
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you are just as valuable
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and dignified as men.
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He made us in his image,
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male and female.
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He created them.
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This message is completely radical
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in this context.
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All mankind bears the image
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of God.
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Which means that all people
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are owed our utmost honor
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and respect
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as men and women
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born in his image.
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This means all people.
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All people born
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and unborn
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are made in the image
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of God.
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Those inside the womb
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or outside the womb,
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your location doesn't change
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your worth.
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They're still image bearers
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from the moment
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of conception.
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People with
-
and people without
-
all sorts of disabilities,
-
equally made
-
in the image of God,
-
equally valuable
-
and worthy
-
of honor and respect.
-
People of every race
-
and every color of skin
-
that doesn't change
-
your dignity and worth.
-
Every ism
-
that you can think of
-
is shattered right here,
-
isn't it?
-
Because the image of God
-
is upon every person.
-
Ageism,
-
sexism,
-
racism,
-
any type of attitude
-
that might put you
-
above somebody else,
-
it gets shattered here.
-
Because our dignity
-
as a human race
-
at a basic level
-
is not determined
-
or defined
-
by our usefulness
-
to society.
-
It is not determined
-
by our ability
-
or by anything
-
in us at all.
-
It's determined
-
by the image
-
of God
-
upon us.
-
I love how
-
Derek Kidner
-
puts it.
-
He says that
-
this requires
-
us
-
to take
-
all human beings
-
infinitely seriously.
-
It requires us
-
to show honor
-
to all people
-
as God's own
-
royal representatives.
-
I wonder
-
if we see
-
people this way.
-
I wonder
-
if we
-
speak
-
to people
-
this way.
-
Not just one another.
-
We love each other
-
here in this room.
-
I get that.
-
People that we don't know.
-
Is this how we
-
treat and honor
-
and speak about
-
people that we don't know?
-
How about
-
how you treat
-
and honor
-
and speak to
-
people online?
-
It's real easy
-
to be mean online.
-
How about
-
how we speak
-
and honor
-
and treat people
-
that we don't
-
really like
-
too much?
-
That we disagree
-
with?
-
That we didn't
-
vote for?
-
There's a basic
-
level of honor
-
here that's owed
-
to all
-
people.
-
Because all
-
people bear
-
the image
-
of God.
-
God
-
this
-
is the most
-
glorious
-
image
-
in all
-
the earth
-
imprinted
-
on us
-
by the most
-
glorious
-
creator
-
and artist
-
in all
-
the universe.
-
Look what he says
-
about it here
-
in verse 31.
-
Over
-
and over
-
and over
-
and over
-
again
-
throughout this week
-
as he creates
-
he says
-
it was good
-
it was good
-
it was good
-
and now
-
for the seventh
-
time
-
God says
-
it was good
-
but not just
-
good
-
what does he say?
-
It was very
-
good
-
but not
-
for long.
-
As we'll see
-
in just a few
-
weeks
-
something
-
has happened
-
that has
-
defaced
-
this very
-
good image.
-
Sin
-
has
-
entered
-
into the
-
world
-
and corrupted
-
this very
-
good image.
-
Sin didn't
-
destroy the
-
image of God
-
it's still
-
there
-
but it
-
has
-
smeared
-
it
-
and dragged
-
it through
-
the mud
-
and thrown
-
rocks
-
at it
-
and tried
-
everything
-
that it
-
can
-
to make
-
it almost
-
unrecognizable
-
at times
-
so that
-
now
-
it's
-
defaced
-
the image.
-
Something
-
is off
-
we can
-
agree about
-
this
-
can't we?
-
If something
-
is terribly
-
off
-
the image
-
is distorted
-
so none
-
of us
-
fully
-
resemble
-
God
-
like we
-
should
-
there's
-
parts in
-
all of
-
us
-
that
-
you got
-
all this
-
other stuff
-
mingled
-
in
-
there's
-
anger
-
that
-
shouldn't
-
be
-
there
-
there's
-
greed
-
that
-
shouldn't
-
be
-
there
-
there's
-
attitudes
-
of the
-
heart
-
that
-
just
-
are
-
nasty
-
and prideful
-
there's
-
lust
-
that
-
shouldn't
-
be
-
there
-
and
-
none
-
of us
-
represent
-
him
-
fully
-
as we
-
should
-
we
-
don't
-
rule
-
over
-
the
-
world
-
we
-
become
-
slaves
-
to
-
sin
-
we
-
let
-
the
-
world
-
rule
-
over
-
us
-
the
-
question
-
that
-
we
-
come
-
back
-
to
-
time
-
and
-
time
-
and
-
time
-
again
-
is
-
how
-
can
-
this
-
tarnished
-
image
-
be
-
restored
-
back
-
to
-
his
-
original
-
glory
-
is
-
it
-
possible
-
and
-
the
-
good
-
news
-
of
-
the
-
gospel
-
yes
-
it
-
can
-
Christ
-
Jesus
-
has
-
come
-
to
-
restore
-
us
-
fully
-
into
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
God
-
this
-
is
-
the
-
good
-
news
-
of
-
the
-
gospel
-
is
-
that
-
Jesus
-
Christ
-
has
-
come
-
to
-
restore
-
what
-
was
-
lost
-
and
-
broken
-
and
-
tarnished
-
by
-
sin
-
and
-
it
-
is
-
in
-
him
-
and
-
him
-
alone
-
that
-
there's
-
hope
-
that
-
this
-
image
-
of
-
God
-
that's
-
so
-
hard
-
to
-
even
-
recognize
-
at
-
times
-
can
-
be
-
brought
-
back
-
to
-
its
-
former
-
glory
-
and
-
preserved
-
for
-
the
-
rest
-
of
-
eternity
-
Christ
-
alone
-
can
-
do
-
this
-
because
-
Colossians 1
-
tells us
-
he is
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
the
-
invisible
-
God
-
no one
-
has
-
looked
-
more
-
like
-
God
-
than
-
him
-
all
-
of
-
the
-
glorious
-
attributes
-
of
-
God
-
his
-
kindness
-
his
-
faithfulness
-
his
-
gentleness
-
his
-
mercy
-
his
-
grace
-
are
-
on
-
full
-
display
-
in
-
Jesus
-
Christ
-
he
-
perfectly
-
resembled
-
God
-
because
-
he
-
is
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
the
-
invisible
-
God
-
and
-
he
-
and
-
he
-
alone
-
has
-
totally
-
perfectly
-
ruled
-
over
-
the
-
chaos
-
of
-
this
-
present
-
evil
-
age
-
he's
-
ruled
-
over
-
and
-
conquered
-
sin
-
and
-
darkness
-
and even
-
the
-
grave
-
so to
-
him
-
is given
-
dominion
-
over
-
all
-
things
-
in
-
heaven
-
and
-
on
-
earth
-
all
-
authority
-
in
-
heaven
-
and
-
on
-
earth
-
has
-
been
-
given
-
to
-
him
-
and
-
now
-
what's
-
he
-
doing
-
he's
-
filling
-
the
-
earth
-
with
-
children
-
of
-
God
-
who
-
are
-
remade
-
in
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
God
-
by
-
faith
-
in
-
Christ
-
this
-
is
-
why
-
Christ
-
came
-
this
-
is
-
the
-
eternal
-
plan
-
of
-
God
-
for
-
those
-
whom
-
he
-
foreknew
-
he
-
also
-
predestined
-
to
-
be
-
conformed
-
to
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
his
-
son
-
in
-
order
-
that
-
he
-
might
-
be
-
the
-
first
-
born
-
among
-
many
-
brothers
-
and
-
those
-
whom
-
he
-
predestined
-
he
-
also
-
called
-
and
-
those
-
whom
-
he
-
called
-
he
-
also
-
justified
-
and
-
those
-
whom
-
he
-
justified
-
he
-
also
-
glorified
-
and
-
our
-
future
-
hope
-
our
-
confidence
-
through the
-
resurrection
-
of Christ
-
is that
-
just as we
-
have borne the
-
image of the
-
man of
-
dust
-
so we
-
also
-
shall bear
-
the image
-
of the
-
man
-
of heaven
-
Jesus
-
came
-
so that
-
any
-
ruined
-
broken
-
dirty
-
sinner
-
like me
-
who
-
trusts
-
in
-
Christ
-
would
-
be
-
remade
-
into
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
Christ
-
who
-
is
-
the
-
image
-
of
-
God
-
friend
-
if you're
-
not a
-
believer
-
I have
-
good news
-
for you
-
there is a
-
way
-
for you
-
to be
-
restored
-
back to
-
your
-
original
-
design
-
to be
-
forgiven
-
totally
-
of all
-
the many
-
ways
-
you don't
-
look like
-
God
-
and to
-
begin to
-
see
-
his
-
glorious
-
image
-
restored
-
in
-
you
-
and it's
-
this
-
would you
-
come to
-
Christ
-
and repent
-
of your
-
sin
-
and trust
-
fully
-
in him
-
and believer
-
you are
-
called
-
to be
-
conformed
-
to the
-
image
-
of his
-
son
-
you are
-
called
-
to
-
exercise
-
dominion
-
you are
-
called
-
to put
-
sin
-
to death
-
and you
-
are called
-
to fill
-
the earth
-
with the
-
image
-
of God
-
by multiplying
-
and making
-
disciples
-
of all
-
nations
-
and so
-
we have
-
to ask
-
ourselves
-
don't
-
we
-
how are
-
we doing
-
here
-
are we
-
putting
-
on
-
what looks
-
like our
-
father
-
are we
-
representing
-
him
-
in our
-
families
-
and in the
-
world
-
are we
-
allowing
-
anything
-
else
-
to define
-
us
-
and give
-
us our
-
worth
-
and shape
-
our identity
-
other than
-
the glorious
-
good news
-
that we
-
belong to
-
him
-
through faith
-
in Christ
-
to be
-
made in
-
his image
-
is an
-
incredible
-
gift
-
what an
-
honor
-
and when
-
we think
-
about this
-
take the
-
time to
-
meditate
-
on this
-
our response
-
ought to be
-
like the
-
psalmist
-
in psalm
Psalms 8 chapter mention
-
chapter 8
-
I want to
-
close by
-
reading this
-
to you
-
oh lord
-
our lord
-
how majestic
-
is your name
-
in all the
-
earth
-
you have set
-
your glory
-
above the
-
heavens
-
out of the
-
mouth of
-
babies and
-
infants you
-
have established
-
strength because
-
of your foes
-
to still the
-
enemy and the
-
avenger
-
when I look
-
at your
-
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 and
-
the son of
-
man that
-
you care
-
for him
-
yet you
-
have 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
-
you have
-
put all
-
things under
-
his feet
-
all sheep
-
and oxen
-
and also the
-
beasts of
-
the field
-
the birds
-
of the heavens
-
the fish
-
of the sea
-
whatever
-
passes along
-
the paths
-
of the seas
-
oh lord
-
our lord
-
how majestic
-
is your name
-
in all the
-
earth
-
let's pray
-
father god
-
what a
-
incredible
-
privilege
-
that we
-
would bear
-
your image
-
what an
-
incredible
-
responsibility
-
that we
-
have to
-
represent you
-
here on
-
earth as
-
your royal
-
representatives
-
in all
-
creation
-
and what an
-
incredible gift
-
it is
-
that the
-
image of
-
god
-
himself
-
came to
-
remake
-
what's been
-
broken and
-
lost in the
-
fall
-
we love
-
you lord
-
we pray
-
that we
-
would honor
-
you as
-
your image
-
bearers
-
we ask
-
this in
-
jesus name
-
amen
-
전