GODS FORM AND SHAPE Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. The actual creation of Adam and Eve and the placing of them in the Garden of Eden was not an end in itself but only a necessary step at the beginning of a process that continues right down to today. God is creating a community. From the very beginning, God implies the expansion of His own community. He says, Let Us, indicating a community already exists. Man was made, physically, in Gods image, and he begins with characteristics of shape and form in common with his Maker. The rest of the Bible fills in the details of how mankind is being brought from having not only form and shape in common with his Maker, but also character, so that he fits perfectly into the community that the Maker is expanding. When the Son of God came, He came with a message from His Father. Jesus gave as the title to the message that He brought, the good news of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). This is the Boss Himself, and this is the title He Himself gave. It was the good news of the Kingdom of God. Is there any doubt in our minds that God is forming a community? Is there any doubt that Jesus Christ will rule this community, first, and that afterward, He will turn everything over to the Father? (I Corinthians 15:28)? There is nothing ambiguous here. Is God forming a community? The important thing for us is what ramifications the good news of the Kingdom of God has on the way we live our lives. In the course of the unfolding of Christs ministry, and the apostles afterward, we find some interesting things that have a direct impact on the way we live our lives. First, Christ was the Son of God. Does not a son indicate a family relationship? “Son” is used in the Bible in at least two different ways. One means a direct descendant of. The other is used in the sense of characteristics of, but not necessarily direct descendant of. The Bible says plainly that Jesus was the Son of God, a direct relationship. Since He was of the same Family, there is a family relationship. He was not only a literal Son born of Mary of the Holy Spirit, but He also showed the characteristics of God. He was God. Is Christ indicating a family relationship with us in Mark 3:34-35? We have already seen that the community that He is creating is a kingdom. This kingdom is also a Family. Everybody is related, all being sons of the Creator. Everybody has the same characteristics. Do not the descendants of parents look like their parents? Sure they do. Everything fits together beautifully, and logically. God is reproducing Himself. Consider Romans 8:14-15. Is that a family? Thus, if we have the Spirit of God, we are part of a family. We are Jesus brothers. We are Jesus sisters. We are Jesus mothers (see Matthew 12:50). We have the same Father as He did. Genesis 1:26-28 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. As God created, it is extremely significant that of all He created, only one creation is in His image, mankind. This is important to the purpose God is working out. Also, it is significant that of all the creatures God created, only mankind is given dominion over anything else, animate or inanimate. Verses 26 and 28 show the first inkling of mans awesome potential. We are in Gods likeness and His image, and have been given dominion in order to fulfill that potential. If one looked up the word image in a Hebrew dictionary, it would not be very satisfying, being a typical textbook definition. It merely means a shadowing forth, a phantom, a sketch, an outline. It gives the impression of a mere shape, a stickman. However, it has another, more interesting definition that means whatever makes a man remarkable or procures respect. The word likeness is commonly thought by linguists to mean nothing more than an intensification of the word image. Even though it is a different word, its meaning is very similar. Putting those two words together, the Hebrew clearly shows that we are remarkable, especially in comparison to all other life. We are in the image of God. Though we are remarkable, we are merely an outline, a mere copy or representation. We are illusory compared to God, because He is the reality. The word “image” deserves further examination. The word image could evoke different mental images depending upon ones perspective. Over the past several decades in South Africa, image has acquired a deceptive application that obscures its true meaning. This application skews ones understanding, interfering with the meaning God intends. For example, today, a politician hires a publication firm to create an image for him that the people will find acceptable, and, thus, vote him into office. If someone is trying to find employment, they dress a certain way to project a particular image for employers to perceive. Corporations also try very hard to find the right image before the public. To one an “image” has subtly come to mean the illusion of what something is presented to be rather than the essence of what it really is. In Hebrew, the word translated image is not a deceptive illusion. Rather, image means the likeness of one subject expressed in another. This difference is important. It means, the likeness of one subject, God, expressed in the other, man. The verse indirectly says that man is very much like God. The Hebrew meaning is frequently used in English in reference to family resemblance or characteristics. We say that a child is the spitting image of his father or his mother, possibly referring to physical or social traits. The image is no illusion; it is the reality. It is the family trait. It is the essence of reality.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 04:20:29 +0000
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