People bear God's image

My name's Dave, I'm one of the pastors here.

A warm welcome to you if you're new this morning.

If you're not new, a warm welcome to you too.

You're quite welcome as well.

Alright, why don't we pray as we come to God's Word.

Father, I pray that you would more clearly show each one of us

how beautiful you are in the face of Jesus

through your Word this morning.

And I pray that you would fill us who know you

with a deeper sense of privilege and calling

to bring honour and to show who Jesus is

in all of our life.

And I pray that your Word and your Spirit

might be working powerfully to open any eyes

that haven't seen the beauty of Jesus yet.

And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Could I just ask Sam, would you mind turning this fan off?

I'm a bit worried.

Although it's lovely, my pages are going to go everywhere.

Okay.

Well, we all know glory when we see it.

Let me just get organised here.

One second.

Okay.

Alright.

Let's start again.

We all know glory when we see it.

We use that word even still.

Like even non-Christians will use that word.

Like what a glorious sunrise it was this morning.

Did you see the game last night?

That final play?

That was glorious.

Wow.

She's stunning.

People at a music concert,

just feeling like they're being lifted up,

that transcendence.

And it's just like feeling like they're sensing glory in that concert.

I think we all know glory when we see it.

And if you're struggling with that word glory,

just think beauty.

Awe-inspiring beauty.

We all know it when we see it.

Sometimes I think when we are enjoying a display of one type of glory,

like two great tennis players just battling it out,

sometimes a greater glory invades the moment and just surpasses it.

Like when one of the players sacrifices the point by being honest

that the opponent's ball actually landed in.

That's what makes the headlines the next day.

You think you're watching these great tennis players

and all of a sudden such a selfless act,

you just hit with a greater glory.

Or someone running in a race that they've been training for forever

give up the race to help an injured competitor.

You're just like, we all know glory when we see it

and sometimes we think we're watching glory

and a greater glory just invades the moment.

So where can people see the glory,

the awe-inspiring beauty of God?

Where can you see it?

Surely it's in the starry heavens, isn't it?

The heavens declare the glory of God.

Now, I've got a little video, if it works,

and I'm hoping I don't get in trouble for copyright

either from God or my dad.

You can see the aurora down the bottom.

Come on, surely that's where you see

the awe-inspiring beauty of God.

But then Genesis 1 tells us,

while the stars do declare God's glory,

it is most clearly designed to be seen in you.

In me.

Genesis 1, God made mankind as the pinnacle of creation,

the bridge between heaven and earth.

In 126, we get an insight into the eternal Godhead

making their plans.

Let us make man in our image after our likeness.

And just so we don't miss how special people are,

the word for create, that only God does this sort of creating,

not when you do an artwork or something.

The word for create in 1 verse 1 of Genesis,

when he makes everything out of nothing,

that special word is used again when animals are made.

So animals are obviously special as well.

But then three times when we're made, that word is used.

That's Hebrew way of going bold, italics, underline.

This is special.

And then in Genesis 2,

the Lord breathes breath of life into our nostrils

or into Adam's nostrils.

Somehow we're sharing in the spirit of the Lord.

We see Adam ruling over the animals,

which is what someone in authority does.

Only the parents get to name a child.

We're ruling over the animals.

But then the image is incomplete until Eve comes

and man and woman together

bearing the same image nature of God.

We see the covenant Lord walking with his people

and communicating directly with people, not to animals.

So contrary to what our society is saying at the moment,

we are not just advanced animals.

We are uniquely made to be like God,

to know God and to bring glory to God.

It is an incredible privilege to be a human being.

So what does it actually mean to be in the image

and likeness of God?

How are we different from animals?

And at this point,

you might have assumptions that you already know the answer,

but just take a moment to check those assumptions

because there's three traditional explanations

in Christian writing and thought.

What is clear from Scripture is that to be human

is to be in the image of God.

It's universal.

It's not to say that someone is greater in the image

or less in the image.

It's universal.

To be human is to be in the image of God.

To be in the image of God is to be human.

So that's got to be our reference point.

So the first explanation is we're in the image of God

because of some capacity within us as human beings.

So some point to our mind.

Yes, animals can think and be trained

like rats can be trained to find explosives in the ground.

That's pretty cool.

But you don't see rats composing music.

I haven't.

You don't see dogs playing poker.

I'm not advocating for poker, but anyway.

You don't see monkeys debating philosophical questions.

So some point to the mind.

Because the mind enables us to know God in a way that animals don't,

to speak and sing to God and hear him and understand him.

So some point to our mind.

Others point to our morality.

We've got a moral nature.

We are moral agents as we enter our world.

We might try and suppress our conscience, but try as we might,

we can't but relate to people and things and everything

in a sense of right and wrong.

Everyone has a deep desire for justice.

And this capacity helps us know God's moral purity.

He is holy.

And it helps us to have real choice, eternally significant choices,

where we can choose to obey God or disobey God.

So some look at our moral and spiritual capacity.

But to narrow the definition of image of God to our mind or our morality,

something within us, there's problems with that.

What becomes of a person's worth and purpose as a human being if they can show no capacity

as an unborn baby in the womb or because they're mentally disabled?

Whereas scripture says to be human is to be in the image of God.

So there's problems with that view.

Then you've got the second and the third definitions,

and they're trying to move away from an internal capacity that we have.

The second view is that we are relational beings.

As we relate to God and as we relate to one another,

that's how you see God.

Relationships in action.

And this has some backing from scripture, doesn't it?

Like the two greatest commandments,

love the Lord your God with all that you are

and love your neighbours as yourself.

You see God when you're relating.

But then this one has a few problems as well.

How can it be said of us before we knew the Lord,

of unbelievers who don't want anything to do with the Lord

or who worship a God of their own imagining and not the real Lord,

how do they have a relationship with God?

Wouldn't that mean they're not in the image of God

if they're not relating to him?

The other problem with this view is

they try not to describe anything within human nature

that says why can man have this relationship and not animals?

So it just seems incomplete at least.

The third view, if you're still with me,

is that we image God as we rule over creation.

Again, this has support from Genesis 1.

The very next verse of being made in the image of God

is God saying let them have dominion over the earth.

But then what becomes of our image bearing in our old age

when we can barely rule our own bodies,

let alone contribute?

And we need to be served.

What happens then?

Or I think another one I've heard is that

Christians identify ruling the world,

especially when we're being creative like the creator,

when we're doing an artwork or we're solving some problem.

But the problem with that is,

does that mean you start being an image of God

when you're doing something creative?

What about the rest of the time?

Have you stopped being the image of God?

So let's just recap.

There's three main views.

One is some internal capacity,

especially our mind and morality.

The second view is relationships with God and one another.

Third view is as we rule over the world in a meaningful way.

I think the problem with all three of these,

not that they're wrong in and of themselves,

but they're just too narrow a definition.

They're too incomplete.

I think we're helped in Genesis 5, verses 1 to 3,

Genesis 5:1–3

where again Adam and Eve are said to be in the image

and likeness of God.

And then straight after that,

we hear that Adam fathered a son in his own likeness

after his image and named him Seth.

In what way was Seth like his father Adam?

Well, in every way that he was like his father

and yet a distinct person.

How do you define that?

In what way are we like God?

Well, in every way that we are like God,

all his attributes that he has shared with us,

we are like God.

So how are we in the image of God?

In every way that we are like God.

And some of you are like, oh, thanks for that.

That's such a broad definition.

Is that really helpful?

I think it is helpful because it's liberating,

because it means you will continually be learning

what it means to be in the image of God

as you get to know God.

It will take all of scripture and all of eternity

to be learning what that means.

I think it's liberating.

And I think this father-child picture with Adam and Seth

also helps us distinguish us from animals and angels.

Yes, animals display something of the glory of God,

but it's probably as different as a father loving a son

compared to loving his pet dog.

And there is a great difference.

There is a world of difference.

Or angels.

Angels, Hebrews teaches us, are servants.

They're very happy being servants.

That's what they are.

They're servants, whereas people are meant to be sons and daughters.

So I think it helps in that regard too.

So let's beware of identifying the value and purpose of human life

to one narrow primary aspect.

It is our moral and mental capacity.

It is our relating.

It is our ruling over the world.

And it's in every other way that we are like the creator.

To be in God's image is in every way we are like God.

But before we get ahead of ourselves,

we need to understand the purpose of an image.

So yes, we are like God, but what's the purpose of an image?

And this is where Gareth's kids talk has already probably said it better than I can.

In ancient Israelite times, kings were spoken of as the image of the gods.

They represented the authority and rule of the gods.

They were the gods on the earth,

which just tells us how radical this teaching was even in Moses' day.

Not just kings, but the poor, uneducated, powerless nobody

represents the king of kings.

This is radical stuff.

Or think of a statue of ancient idols, of gods.

The physical statue represents the gods.

Whereas scripture is saying God is represented at the moment in this earth

with over 8 billion living, breathing statues walking around.

The point of an image, you're probably not going to like this either,

is the image.

The point of an image is to reflect.

Like a mirror reflecting the light of the sun into the world.

People are to represent, to display, to reflect God to others and into the world.

Not display his physical appearance because God is spirit,

but display his character, display his purposes for life.

His character should be our character.

His purpose for life should be my purpose for life,

our purpose in life.

As we encounter another human being,

we should see in them a beauty, a light,

that isn't their own.

It is God-like.

And if people are representing the Lord,

then how you treat people is an extension of how you treat the Lord.

You can't separate the two.

If you consider the parable of the sheep and the goats that Jesus told,

how are we going to be judged at the end of time?

Whether you close those who are deprived,

whether you visit those who are sick and in prison,

what you did or did not do to people,

that's what you did to me, says the Lord,

or didn't do for me.

Because we all represent God,

you can't separate relationship with God with how you treat people.

The point of an image is to image, to reflect, to represent.

So we are like God in every way that we are like him

in order to display God to others

so that people see God through us

and rejoice in him and glorify him.

And I think this is true as an individual,

but I think Scripture talks about it's even more true.

I don't know if more true.

It's equally true as community.

Israel was meant to be a light to the nations.

The church is meant to be stars in this dark generation

as we love one another, Philippians 2 says.

So to be in the image of God is to be like God

in every way that we are,

like a child to a father,

so that we reflect God and represent God to one another

and into the world,

so that others might see God through us

and rejoice and give glory to God.

So where do you see the glory of God?

Well, because of sin,

it's no longer in people.

Has sin totally destroyed the image?

Surprisingly, the answer is no.

In Genesis 9,

after the flood,

sin is in the world.

Sin is in the world still to the point

where murder can occur

and God institutes a punishment for murder.

And the basis of the punishment

is that people are in the image of God.

Murder is going on

and yet

that kind of sinful person

still bears the image of God.

And then in James 3,

we see

you should not curse people,

you should not tear down people

with your words,

with your lips.

Why?

Because they're in the image of God.

So sin hasn't eradicated the image.

All people,

Christian,

non-Christian,

are in the image of God still.

Like a mirror that's been dropped,

it's been shattered,

it is fragmented at best.

I picture something like

an abstract artwork

of a portrait of a face

where you're looking at it

and you're just like,

I think it's human.

I'm not quite sure

what the person looked like originally.

This sinful condition

is spoken of in Romans 1.

The cause of our distortion of the image

is because we've done a swap.

We've done an exchange.

Instead of the glory of the immortal God,

we're going to worship

and serve created things.

We've done a swap.

And the result is

that all of our humanity

is tainted,

is disfigured.

Our thinking is corrupted

by falsehood.

Our speech now projects

gossip and slander

and full of pride.

And our relationships

are marked by selfish ambition

rather than self-sacrificial love.

Our ruling of the world

exploits rather than cultivates.

I picture just what we might call

an ordinary fight

between two people,

a verbal fight.

Think of those arrows

that we shoot at each other.

Just an ordinary fight

that we all do.

Even in an everyday spat,

you see something of the image

because we can formulate ideas

in our minds

and project words to one another.

There's something of an image there

but then it's not light.

It's characterised by darkness.

It's not life-giving.

It's trying to take life away.

So something of the image

is still there

even as we try

and tear each other down.

And yet it's so disfigured.

I think this sinful condition

we've inherited from Adam and Eve

is that we desire glory

for ourselves,

for our own sake,

rather than loving the fact

that we're reflecting God's glory.

I think it's like as a statue,

as a monument

to the greatness of self

rather than as a mirror

that reflects the greatness

of another.

I think we try to be a statue

to our own greatness.

We want to be the picture

of physical beauty.

My value, my purpose

is because I'm beautiful.

Isn't he intelligent?

We want people to think.

She is a great mother.

I'm so above my classmates.

It's not funny.

Isn't he powerful?

People respect that.

And it can take religious forms.

Isn't he a wonderful preacher?

Doesn't she pray well?

Isn't he so compassionate

and sacrificial?

I think we share

in Adam and Eve's desire

to be a statue

of our own greatness

rather than reflecting

the greatness of another.

We exchange the glory

of the immortal God

for created things.

We try and reach

to the heavens ourselves,

but all it does

is make us more animal-like.

So,

with sin,

the image hasn't been

totally lost,

but it is

unrecognisable.

It is so distorted.

We reflect darkness

more than light.

So if we don't see

God's glory

in people anymore,

where do we find it?

Well,

let's go to 2 Corinthians

and we're going to stay there

for the rest of the sermon.

Here,

Paul compares

the glory

that Moses

saw.

Now,

Moses got to speak

to God

directly

up on the mountain.

and the glory

that Moses

saw

as God

revealed himself

partially

in the law,

comparing that

to the glory

that the apostles

saw

and that we can see

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

It's

hardly

worth comparing.

So Exodus 34

tells us

of when Moses

was out on

Mount Sinai

and he asked God,

show me your glory

and if you remember

the story,

God hides him

in the rock

and he passes by

while declaring

his name

and Moses

only sees

the back

of God,

only sees

his back

and he is

awe-inspiring

and Moses

didn't realise,

he comes down

from the mountain,

he didn't realise

that the reflected

glory in his face

was like blinding

and people

were afraid

of him.

He didn't even realise

his face

was shining

he was glowing

and so because

people were afraid

of him

he put a cover

he put a veil

over his face.

So the reflected

glory that

Moses had

is nothing

compared to

what you and I

can have today

is Paul's point,

nothing.

It houses

so much

greater.

It is a

greater light

it is more

permanent.

So without

going into all

the detail

Paul is saying

that having

the spirit

of God

dwelling in us

to show us

Jesus

is so much

better

than having

the law

because the law

can only tell

me how far

short

I've fallen

from the glory

of God.

In the message

about who

Christ is

and what

he's done

we don't see

God's back

we see his face.

verse 4

verse 6

For God

who said

that light

shine out

of darkness

has shone

in our hearts

to give

the light

of the

knowledge

of the

glory of

God

in the

face

of Jesus

Christ.

If you want

to see the

beauty of

the Lord

you must

look at

his son

Jesus

Christ.

He is

what it

means

to be

like God

to be

in the

image of

God.

But can

he really

be that

beautiful

if so

many people

in our

world

don't see

Jesus as

glorious?

Can he

really be

that good?

Perhaps

you've heard

the story

of Jesus

many times

yourself

and you

still

maybe you're

listening now

and you're

like

yeah

I can't

wait till

church is

over

I want

to get

on with

life

maybe you

still haven't

seen how

appealing he

is yet

well verse

four

explains that

and it's a

warning to

you

the God

of this

world

talking about

Satan

has blinded

the minds

of the

unbelievers

to keep

them from

seeing the

light

light

of the

gospel

of the

glory

of Christ

who is

the image

of God

I like

how John

Calvin

puts it

the sun

is no

less bright

because blind

men do not

perceive its

light

it's no

less bright

the God

who made

the sun

to shine

has to

also give

physical eyes

to see it

so too

spiritually

the sun

of God

is shining

bright

but if

you're not

seeing it

that's not

his problem

that's my

problem

that's your

problem

you need

spiritual

eyes

you think

money

and looks

and intelligence

and power

is more

beautiful than

him

you are

blind

and the

religious

types of

Jesus day

they saw

him forgiving

sinners

the glory

of God's

grace

and they

hated it

and they

wanted the

statue of

their self

righteousness

to remain

the thing

that people

worshipped

and they

were blind

to their

own need

of forgiveness

we all

start in

this condition

of being

blind

to who

Jesus

is

that he

would lay

down his

life for

us

and if

you can

if you

are a

believer

here this

morning

if you

can see

something

of the

glory

of Jesus

there's

only one

reason

for that

the God

at creation

who out of

darkness

said let

there be

light

and there

was light

in your

heart

let there

be light

and the

gospel

broke

through

gave you

eyes to

see

that's the

only reason

you're a

Christian

all praise

to him

that's how

we were

saved

whether it

was in a

moment or

over years

took as

creative an

act at the

beginning as

in our

salvation

let there

be light

and gave us

eyes to

finally see

well where

do you see

the glory

of God

you see in

the face

of the

crucified

and risen

son of

God

and now

by seeing

Christ

we who

have had

our eyes

opened

we are

being

increasingly

transformed

into his

image

verse

318

and we

all with

unveiled

face

the

blindness

has been

removed

beholding the

glory of

glory of

the Lord

are being

transformed

into the

same image

for one

degree of

glory to

another

for this

comes from

the Lord

who is

the Spirit

the Spirit's

role

we're told

in John

16

is to

guide us

into all

truth

he wants

the spotlight

to be on

Jesus

he wants

the scriptures

that the

Spirit wrote

about

Jesus

for us

to understand

them

so that we

see him

in the

scriptures

and our

hope is

that while

yes we

are by

degree

growing in

our knowledge

of Jesus

through the

scriptures

1 Corinthians

talks about

that's still

just a dim

reflection of

Jesus

as good as

the word of

God is

we're looking

forward to

when we see

him face to

face

directly

it says

now I know

in part

then I

shall know

fully

even as I

have been

fully known

when we see

him we will

be totally

like him

but until

then

we should

trust

that we

are being

changed

degree by

degree

into the

likeness of

Jesus

as we

behold him

as we

look to

him

there's no

shortcut

spiritual

maturity

you can't

shortcut it

you can't

just get

the

supernatural

gifts of

the spirit

and suddenly

you're a

mature

Christian

no

spiritual

maturity

comes from

growing in

your knowledge

of who

Jesus is

it's bit

by bit

what's the

point of

the image

to image

for others

to see the

glory of

God through

us

what a

privilege

what a

purpose

young or

old

we are to

display

in every

conversation

whatever

hardship

we're facing

at all

times

we have

the privilege

of displaying

the beauty

of God

so that

others

see him

that's an

amazing

purpose

even in

our

weak

attempts

at trying

to tell

other people

isn't

Jesus

great

the

sovereign

lord

can use

those

weak

words

to go

let there

be light

he can

use

us

as we

try and

make

clear

truths

about

Jesus

to

others

before

verse 7

we have

this

treasure

in jars

of clay

to show

that the

surpassing

power belongs

to God

and not

to us

I don't

know about

you but

I think we

can fall

into the

trap of

thinking

if I'm

really

advancing

in Christ's

glory as

an individual

or as a

church

then it's

going to

feel like

strength

it's going

to feel

like success

and victory

that I'm

going to

have persuasive

words that

come easily

and just

win my

family member

over to

know Christ

then and

there

that I'm

going to

totally get

rid of

the sin

the private

sins I'm

struggling

with totally

so that I'm

strong to do

great things

for God

that if

I remain

faithful to

Jesus people

will respect

that

but

that's not

the path

that Christ

walked

it's not

the path

the apostles

walked

it's not

the path

to glory

that we

walk

the path

is weakness

it is

rejection

it is

suffering

it is

struggling

why

well when

the world

what the

world counts

as glorious

is stripped

away

and yet

we have

a peace

and a hope

and a joy

and a love

for others

that still

remains

even though

other things

are gone

death is at

work in us

so that

the light

of Jesus

is more

clear

what a

wonderful

what a

wonderful

purpose

there's

not one

drop

of suffering

is wasted

the Lord

can use

that

for others

to see

the life

of Jesus

in us

for those

he plans

to open

eyes

so how

how will

people in

your family

in

your social

circles

how will

they see

the glory

of God

through you

as we

point to

Jesus

hear me

hear me

right

it's not

us we

proclaim

we proclaim

him as

Lord

how will

people in

this church

family see

the glory

of Christ

through you

as we

learn who

Jesus is

through the

scriptures

and through

how you

model him

but we'll

only do

this if we

keep our

eyes on

him

and learn

to love

him more

and more

and I

think it

will depend

on whose

glory we

want people

to see

whether we

want to be

a statue

to our

own glory

or whether

we want

people to

see through

us

to the

glory of

Jesus

let me

pray

so

sovereign

Lord

I want

to praise

you for

your mercy

to each

one of

us

that

you

have

given

us

eyes

to see

your

son

while we

were

chasing

after

our

own

glory

and

created

things

you

broke

in

and

showed

us

who

you

are

and

I

thank

you

for

that

and

I

thank

you

for

such

a

privileged

calling

that

you

want

us

to

individually

and

together

display

to the

world

the

death

of

your

son

and

the

life

that

is

found

in

the

death

of

your

son

we

thank

you

Lord

that

you

are

risen

that

you

have

all

authority

that

you

can

turn

the

most

hardened

sinner

to

yourself

and

we

thank

you

that

you

will

return

and

that

we

will

see

you

face

to

face

and

finally

we

will

be

in

awe

of

you

totally

and

permanently

as

you

deserve

and

for

our

joy

in

Jesus

name

Amen