WEEK TWO:
CHAPTER TWO: “CREATED IN HIS IMAGE”
CHAPTER TWO: “CREATED IN HIS IMAGE”
I
know there's so much more that I could write about each subject below, but
in view of trying to keep it short I just wrote what I felt were the main focuses.
If anyone would like to add anything, feel free to do so by clicking in
‘COMMENTS’ and I’ll be happy to discuss further.
Sequence ONE…
“THE BEAUTY & FALL of
Ms. EVIE”
PART ONE Continued… The
Beginning of Beginning “Creation”
Genesis
1… The
Account of the Beginning of All Life.
CHAPTER TWO: “CREATED IN HIS IMAGE”
“Image”
– Greek 1504 – eikon, (i-kone) – a
likeness
OUR
FOCUS TEXT….Gen. 1:26 (NIV) On the Sixth day… ‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the
ground.”
The above 10 underlined words are one of the greatest and most powerful
statements made by God! Have you ever thought about that??
Of course we cannot be as God in a
physical way or as perfect as He in our behaviors because we are of a sinful
nature. The apostle Paul speaks of our ‘sinful nature’ many times throughout
Romans, chapters 7-13. I encourage you to read those chapters this week.
However, given to the fact that we know the
phenomena of God’s character before us, we are designed to follow in His likeness
in our character, our morals, our mental thoughts, our actions and reactions. (Reactions to certain things have
always been my greatest shortcoming! I warn you, I will be transparent with
most things as I share with you my life in these studies! LOL)
Man is not deity (a divine being) but we
are to live and reflect the divine nature of our Heavenly Father within our walk
here on this earth.
Referring to what I said last week… The animals were also made of flesh and bone but three of the greatest differences between Man and animals are… God gave Man a soul, a voice for speech, and means to communicate with Him.
Referring to what I said last week… The animals were also made of flesh and bone but three of the greatest differences between Man and animals are… God gave Man a soul, a voice for speech, and means to communicate with Him.
This Week’s POINTS to
MAKE…
HOW ARE WE CREATED IN HIS LIKENESS???
POINT ONE… CREATED
WITH A SOUL…
Mark 8:36-37
There are many, many verses in
the Bible that the wording is… ‘in heart and soul.’ Meaning…
‘the seat of ones emotions’ the ‘center of human personality.’ (Nelson’s Bible Dictionary)
In
Greek the word soul is translated as
‘life.’ Therefore, the usage of the
word ‘soul’ refers to ‘life’ in the physical body.
Soul can function as a
synonym for spirit, mind, consciousness
or self (Wikipedia
Dictionary)
What
is the function of a soul? Our soul basically reflects the total person! Our
soul is that which controls our conscience (the inner sense of what is right
from wrong- Bing
Dictionary),
our thoughts, our actions, and our convictions... all that makes up our
character!
What is Character?? Abraham
Lincoln once said… “Reputation is the
shadow. Character is the tree!” Our
character is not just what we display before others; it is the real person we
are when no one is watching. Good
character is doing the right thing because it is in God’s image to do the right
thing!! It’s the multifaceted of mental and ethical traits marking who a person
truly is.
POINT TWO…
1
Thessalonians 4:6-7 & 2 Corinthians 3:18
A… Within Our Soul We
Are… CREATED
WITH RESPONSIBILITY… Galatians 5:22-23
We should live out in our character as
that of the “Fruits of the Spirit!” Galatians 5:22-23… the spirit of LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE,
KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF CONTROL.
Oooops, I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve fallen short of all of these areas many times, especially in the PATIENCE and SELF CONTROL (my mouth) department!!! Just ask my husband, David!! LOL
Oooops, I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve fallen short of all of these areas many times, especially in the PATIENCE and SELF CONTROL (my mouth) department!!! Just ask my husband, David!! LOL
To walk in the
‘likeness’ of the ways of God means what? ‘Image/likeness’ includes such
characteristics as ‘righteousness’ and ‘holiness.’ Every person has the
responsibility to be honorable, giving of love, be forgiving, be merciful and
respectful. There is no place in God’s image for dishonesty, hurtfulness, malicious,
murderers, nor thieves, or hatemongers, etc.
Can you think of more
examples of RESPONSIBILITIES in order to WALK IN HIS LIKENESS?
B…Within Our Soul
We Are…CREATED TO BE ACCOUNTABLE…
Upon
being created with a soul, we have responsibilities to uphold, this also
distinguishes us from the animals. Even
though we were created on the same day as the animals and share God’s creation
of nature with all breathing creatures, we are reminded that all human beings
are the only creation that ultimately answers to God.
In what ways, you ask? One example: An animal can go out and
kill another animal and the animal kingdom does not accuse or hold the killing
animal accountable for that killing. Whereas, if Man kills another human-being
he will be held responsible, not only to the courts of the land but before God
on judgment day.
We, as the human race, are all held
accountable to God for ALL our actions. An animal may steal another animal’s
kill and never be held accountable for the act, whereas, if we as humans steal
from another we have consequences to pay sooner
or later. Read Romans 3:19-20
It may be as simple as choosing to help a
person in trouble or choosing to ignore. Read Ecc. 4:10 & Exodus 23:5.
We are held accountable for all areas of our lives
from... cruel words spoken to others, up to how we take care of our finances. We
all are accountable of how we live out our lives on this earth, all of which we
will fall short of being as Jesus would be, but isn’t it great we know we can
go to God for forgiveness?
Can you add more examples
on both sides?
POINT THREE…
VOICE TO SPEAK… Mark 16:20
Again, unlike the animals, God gave us a
voice to which to spread His Word. To communicate with one another and with
Him, which takes us to….
POINT FOUR…
CREATED TO COMMUNICATE… Hebrews
12:28
We are created with the potential to
relate to God in a personal relationship, to have communication with Him
one-on-one. God desires His creation of Man to give voice to Him…in prayer, in
worship of song and praise, and in reading of His Word. God can communicate
with us in so many different ways if we are willing to listen, and through
these studies we’ll become aware of the different ways God speaks to us!
POINT FIVE… RULE OVER… Genesis 1: 26… “let them rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the
earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Since humans were created in the
image of the divine King, delegated sovereign (kingship) was bestowed on him.
(NIV Bible commentary
on vs. 26)
In your words, explain the above translation.
Another responsibility we as humans have
is…to take care of the earth, its habitation, and its vegetation. No I’m not a ‘no
hunting of wild animals’ or a ‘tree hugger’ type of person, but I feel it is our responsibility
to see over God’s creation and not unmercifully destroy it. Our responsibility means for us to make the
world a better place, starting in our own lives and the lives of our families.
What are your thoughts?
Animals live by instinct to survive of which
God created each species to have, but they are still limited, but man is made
for better things. Animals cannot change their environment, but Man has the
ability to change almost anything for
better (or for worse unfortunately).
How have humans changed
the environment? To the GOOD and the BAD??
Only humans were given the
dominion over all other living creatures and living land (that which grows upon
the land). Noting… Mankind is a special creature different from the rest of all
creation.
AND
THE MESSAGE IS???
The
Message Is…
- Being created in His image is the rarest of all privileges us humans could ever be given.
- Our focus should be to align ourselves with God’s intimate ways.
- We should always hold our image, our character, to the highest honor because we are of God’s image bearers to others.
- Love what God loves.
- Imitate His heart in our ways.
- Communicate with Him.
- Join with Him in His work
- And, The Message Is… A simple list of attributes barely scratches the surface of all it means to bear our Creator and Holy Father’s image!! We as mortals cannot live above sin because we are NOT perfect as God, but here again, isn’t it reassuring that we can be forgiven for our transgressions by God’s amazing Grace? ***We are only asked to do our BEST, but, the question we should ask ourselves is… ‘What’s the highest LEVEL of what I want my BEST to be?
1st MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, … is one of the greatest and most
powerful statements made in the Word of God!
2nd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… “Reputation is the shadow.
Character is the tree!” Our character is
not just what we display before others; it is the real person we are when no
one is watching. Good
character is doing the right thing because it is in God’s image to do the right
thing!! It’s the complex of mental and ethical traits marking who a person
truly is.
3rd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK…
The
question I need to ask myself is… ‘What LEVEL do I
want my BEST to be?’
Our CHALLENGE for this week is to take notice of …
- What ‘created us in His image’ means in regards to my own personal life?
- What does my character say to others?
- Do I practice the old question?… What Would Jesus Do??
- What areas of my life do I need to focus on in order to bring up the level in living closer to the characteristic image(s) of God?
Until we meet again next week, I encourage
you to ask those you know the question… “What does it mean to you to be created
in God’s image?” and just see what
others believe it means. I’m positive you’ll be amazed at the different answers!
I would love to read what you hear! By clicking on “COMMENTS” below, share with
us what you think it means and what others have to say on the topic!
COMING
UP… In a couple of weeks
when we meet up with Ms Evie, and we’ll be discovering as Women of God WHERE we
fit into the sphere of existence, WHY we were created. And HOW
we seek and pursue His will for each of our individual lives.
See you next week here at the “GOOD NEWS”
Café when our topic will be…. 'WE ARE the LIFE of HIS BREATH!'
Yo, Dusty Man, You Created from Dust???”
Yo, Dusty Man, You Created from Dust???”
READING ASSESSMENT...
- Our ‘Soul’... Ps. 63:1 & 86:4; Lam. 3:20-27; Luke 1:46; 3 John 2.
- ‘Sinful nature’…Romans, Chapters 7-13
- ‘Communicating
with God’…2 Chronicles 7:14 & Ps 139:13-18
Have a ‘in His
image’ week!!
cj
