Imago Dei - Beginning, Middle, End

All right, good morning. My name is Gregg Hampton.

I'm one of the pastors here. If we have never

met, I would love to meet you. You can put your

name and information on the connection card at

the end. I would love to get together, maybe

have a coffee or a soda or something like that

with you, hear your story. And if you'd like

to talk about Jesus, I like to talk about Jesus.

And so I would just love to give you the chance

to ask any questions that you have. about the

house and get to know someone that is connected

here if this is your first time thank you very

much for joining us you picked a great Sunday

here on Easter for joining us we are a church

that has said from the beginning that we exist

to invite people in to call prodigals home to

adopt the spiritually homeless we are a church

that believes that no one should be left out

Because everyone is invited to rest, live, and

work in a great house. We really believe that

God loves you. That is part of what Easter is

telling us. God so loved the world that he sent

his only begotten son. His name is Jesus. And

today, the global church is celebrating the resurrection.

of Jesus from the grave. Around the world, people

are saying, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.

But the death and resurrection of Jesus didn't

happen in a vacuum. It's not a standalone moment.

It's more like the linchpin in a longer story

that every single one of us is a part of. It's

a story that goes, all the way back to the very

first pages of the Bible. And it follows and

carries through all the way to the very end.

So let's open our Bibles. I'm going to be in

three different places. Genesis 1, John 1, or

Revelation 7. There are Bibles on the tables

that you're at. If you don't have one, you can

also download one from any of the digital app

stores. It's going to be Genesis 1, John 1, Revelation

7. You can open to any one of those if you'd

like. If you don't have a Bible, there's also

Bibles out in the lobby on the bookshelf. Feel

free to take one of those and take it home. It's

not stealing, we promise. It is free. You can

have it, all right? And we have a tradition of

giving the Scriptures our full attention when

read in the context of the sermon. We can do

that any number of ways. You can do that while

you are sitting, or you are welcome to stand

with me as I read the Scriptures. This is Genesis

1, the beginning of verse 26. Then God said,

Let us make human beings in our image to be like

us. John 1, beginning in verse 1. In the beginning

was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made. Without Him

nothing was made that has been made. In Him was

life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Jump to verse 14. The Word became flesh. and

made his dwelling among us, we have seen his

glory, the glory of the one and only Son from

the Father, full of grace and truth. And then

the end of the Bible, Revelation 7, starting

in verse 9. After this, I looked and saw a multitude,

too large to count, from every nation and tribe.

and people and tongues standing before the throne

and before the Lamb who was Jesus. They were

wearing white robes and holding palm branches

in their hands, and they cried out in a loud

voice, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb. Let us pray. God of every tribe,

every tongue, every color, every nation, we thank

you for the scriptures. We thank you that they

have persisted throughout the millennia, that

we still have them. to read, to consider. We

pray that whatever you have to teach us today,

that it would stick, that it would become part

of the framework of our faith, that our faith

would become stronger as we become more like

your son, Jesus. Amen. Thanks, y 'all. You can

have a seat. In the beginning, God... Let us

make them in our image. The theological term

we use for this is a Latin phrase, imago dei.

Imago meaning image, dei meaning God. The image

of God, even though it's just the image of God,

theologically speaking, it is presumed to mean

the full phrase created in the image of God.

We are from the beginning. Different from every

other bit of creation because there is something

about us that is the same as God. Somehow, we

look like God. Anyone ever tell you you look

like someone? Somehow, we look like God. We are

not God, but we have God features. Maybe it's

your cheekbones. Who knows? Maybe it's Maybelline.

Now, what that means has been debated for millennia,

for centuries, since the first century of Christ.

In the first century, Philo of Alexandria argued

that the image of God resided in the human mind

or reason. He thought that we could boil it down

to just reflecting a divine rationality. In the

second century, Irenaeus separated image and

likeness. He believed that we always bear the

image of God, but God's likeness, things like

righteousness and holiness, they get covered

by sin. And so then he believed that Jesus taking

our sin on the cross is thought to uncover what

is already there to bring likeness and image

back in line with each other. Others think the

imago Dei just means we share characteristics

with God. Think about the fruit of the spirit,

things like love, joy, peace, patience, goodness,

kindness. Or maybe the Imago Dei is where morality

comes from. Sometimes philosophers wonder, why

does it seem like around the entire world everyone

agrees on certain things, that this is wrong,

this is right. Maybe it is the Imago Dei. Still

others think it's more utilitarian. It's a task.

God rules and reigns over the universe, over

the earth. Adam and Eve in Genesis were given

a task to rule and reign, to subdue the earth,

rule over all of the creatures. And so maybe

the image of God is about authority. Maybe the

substance of the Imago Dei is found in our capacity

for relationships. God said, let us make humans

in our image because God is Father, is Son, is

Holy Spirit, is three in one. Maybe the image

we bear is projected or realized in our desire

to connect with each other. In modern theology,

the Imago Dei is the foundation for human rights.

If we are all created, In the image of God, are

we not all worthy of dignity? Wherever we land

on exactly what Mago Dei means theologically,

we know that it matters practically. Because

if there is one thing that humans have excelled

at throughout the history of humankind, it's

deciding who belongs and who doesn't. Humanity

has decided over and over and over again that

we can negate or deny the image of God in the

other. When that happens, we can justify just

about anything. Women can be made second class

citizens. The LGBTQ plus community can be othered

and excluded. Persons with disabilities can literally

be left outside because why would we add a ramp?

Discrimination against entire cultures and ethnic

groups can be rationalized. Open a history book.

You'll see it. And unfortunately, that problem

isn't just in the world at large. Churches have

done it as well. I believe the Imago Dei should

mean that no matter who someone is, whether they

live where we live, look like we look, believe

we believe, that they bear the image of God,

and they are worthy of dignity. In other words,

no one should be left out. Imago Dei isn't something

that we bear because of our beliefs. Imago Dei

is not something we bear because of our religion.

Imago Dei is not something we bear because of

the color of our skin. Or our location. We bear

the image of God by simply being. We don't have

to earn it. We already have it. And we've been

given an example of how to live the image of

God to the fullest. John 1 tells us, Jesus was

with God and was God from the beginning. Through

him all things were made. Without him nothing

was made that has been made. When God said, let

us make humans in our image, we're meant to understand

that part of the image we bear already looks

like Jesus. Has already held the shape of Jesus

from the beginning. We could ask, well, if that's

true. Why would we need Jesus at all? Well, the

answer is because history proves we have no idea

how to live like people made in the image of

God. We have no idea how to treat everyone else

on this planet like they really are made in the

image of God. We needed to see it. We needed

proof that it could be done. And so when Jesus

was born to Mary in Bethlehem and lived and taught

and healed and preached and turned the other

cheek and loved his enemies and died and was

resurrected, in all of that, he lived his life

in our flesh, in our likeness, so that we could

see, finally, how to bear his likeness. What

did he say in John 10 .10? It's a part of our

prayer. Every month we pray the prayer to live.

He said, I have come to give you life, life to

the full. Jesus is the perfect living example

of the fullness of the Imago Dei. And that is

why we follow him. That is why we need him. The

Apostle Paul says it like this in Colossians

2. For in him the whole... fullness of deity

dwells bodily. And you have come to fullness

in him who is the head of every ruler and authority.

I especially like the way that the message says

this. Eugene Peterson translated it this way.

Everything of God gets expressed in Jesus. So

you... can see and hear him clearly. You don't

need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope

to realize the fullness of Christ and the emptiness

of the universe without him. When you come to

Jesus, that fullness comes together for you.

We all bear the image of God at our base. It

is the default model. that you already bear the

likeness of God. We are all invited to live that

image fully. His fullness shows us how to love

our neighbors, how to do unto others as we would

have them do to us. It shows us how to stop dividing

each other by color and gender and identity.

The fullness of Jesus shows us that no matter

what someone looks like, no matter who they are,

where they're from, no matter what they believe,

that to other someone is to other Christ. To

other someone is to other Christ, and to embrace

them is to embrace Jesus. In the beginning, we

were made in the image of God. In the middle,

Jesus lived in our flesh to show us how to live

in his likeness. And at the end, we see the beauty

of what that leads to. Let me read it again.

Revelation 7, verse 9. After this, I looked and

Revelation 7:9

saw a multitude too large to count from every

nation and tribe. And people. And tongue. Standing

before the throne and before the Lamb. They were

wearing white robes and holding palm branches

in their hands. And they cried out in a loud

voice, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb. There was a multitude too large

to count. From every nation, every tribe, every

people, every tongue. something about Jesus will

both honor and unite us in our differences and

make space for all of us at the foot of his throne.

The Imago Dei is a divine rationality and the

convergence of likeness and image through Jesus.

It is God's love and goodness and kindness. It

is sharing authority in the earth we have been

given. It is about basic human rights. And yes,

it is also about relationship. And when we put

all of that together, Imago Dei is about the

inclusive nature of the divine and internally

diverse God. Three in one. Father, Son, Holy

Spirit. distinct in persons, one in essence and

being. There is something about this story that

says from the beginning to the end that there's

room for you. Maybe I'm wrong. That's always

possible. Ask my wife. But from the beginning,

I believe that God saw the end. And he's letting

us see that in the end, nothing should separate

us from the love that is in Jesus. And we should

all gather at the throne together. That is the

final expression of the fullness of God's image.

All of us together in one place. United by the

fullness of God in Jesus. bound by the invisible

fabric of the Imago Dei. Today, Easter is inviting

us not just to believe in one moment of resurrection,

but to live into what that moment reveals. That

Jesus came to show us what the fullness of the

image of God was meant to be from the beginning.

Here at the house. We really are trying to be

truthful and honest when we say that no one should

be left out. That we are all image bearers, that

we are all created imago dei. That doesn't mean

we get it right all the time. That doesn't mean

that we all agree about everything. But we are

trying. That's why for years, Our church website

has said we welcome all persons and have no leadership

limits based on race, gender, identity, sexual

orientation, or physical ability for those who

confess Jesus Christ is Lord because we know

that throughout the centuries, plenty of people

have been told that they don't really belong

in the church. We want to do our part to let

them know they too are created in the image of

God. They belong. We want to do our part, not

just waiting to be united then, but to be united

now. So that we are ready to be fully united

then. So for the next four Sundays, we're going

to continue this conversation about the Imago

Dei. Each week for the next four Sundays, we're

going to have a panel discussion with members

of our congregation about why no one should be

left out. We're going to have a panel on women

in the church, a panel on disability in the church,

a panel on LGBTQ inclusion in the church, a panel

on race and ethnicity in the church. These are

not debates. We have already decided everyone

has an equal place here. But they are conversations

because not all of us understand everything we

need to learn about the Imago Dei in others.

They are conversations about how we can understand

each other and live the fullness of the image

of God more fully, together, united, now. We

hope that you'll join us. If you're curious about

why that is, come and see. And we'll do our best

to live the fullness of Jesus Christ within this

body that's already created Imago Dei together.

Amen? Let's pray. Father, I thank you that you

are so good to us, that you sent your son to

not only die, and be resurrected but to live,

to show us how we might have a fullness. We thank

you that in your wisdom that he did bear all

of our sins. We grieve that this world wants

to cut down and kill people like Jesus. But we

thank you that he gave his life for us. And we

praise you and celebrate with you that he was

resurrected to new life. Pray your spirit would

do the work that only the spirit can do in each

and every one of us in this place. For Christ

is risen. He is risen indeed.