CREATED IN HIS IMAGE

WEEK TWO: 

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.
 

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

   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?

1^st 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!

2^nd 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.  

3^rd 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 …

1. What ‘created us in His image’ means in regards to my own personal life? 
2. What does my character say to others? 
3. Do I practice the old question?… What Would Jesus Do??
4. 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???”

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OPENING STATEMENT & THE BEGINNINGS of BEGINNINGS

OPENING STATEMENT:

   I’d like to welcome each of you to “Good News” Biweekly On-Line Bible Study!! On the FIRST and THIRD WEDNESDAY we will return back to these blog pages as we journey with the Women in God’s Word. 

   I will try my best each week to keep the reading within a 10-15 minute time frame, but know that some postings may be slightly over at times. I will also try my best to have each week’s posting on the Blog by noon on the FIRST and THIRD Wednesday, but that may vary some weeks. Many of us are friends on FaceBook, so I will post notification on FB moments after the posting onto the Blog is made.

   If you miss a week, not to worry, each posting will go into archives under LABELS, and you can pull it up by week date and continue where you left off.  I’m not happy with how this blog lines up the dates, but just notice even though it’s not lined up in numerical order it’s easy to find your next week’s study.

   A LITTLE ABOUT ME… I write with much in-depth research and prayer before putting words onto paper. I also write with the confidence that God is guiding my thoughts and beliefs. You'll notice I give into humor at times because, well, that's just how God designed me...having humorous thoughts!  I love looking on the humorous side of some things, but all my writings I give much thought to seriousness!  I totally rely on God to reveal His message to me each time, even though I do use helpful materials as commentaries and Bible footnotes at times.   Where-as-much as I rely on God to give me the message for each lesson, sometimes misspelling of words and incorrect grammer and the wrong punctution may fall onto my paper, that of which I will aplolize for right now!And my proofreading is not always as sharp a I would like it to be.

   Will Admit to Something… I have my shortcomings t=in these areas, and, in hitting the right kays too!   I say all that with laughter, as you have already noticed I left some words in the above and this paragraf spelled incorrectly, and some of you I know as expects in spelling, grammer and punctuation will find much needed improvement in all my writings! HAHAHA!  Just overlook it and know, 'that’s just CJ'. But please note… there will be a mighty message from God mixed in the misspelled words, incorrect grammar, and wrong punctuation!!!  

   ENCOURAGING YOU… to have your Bibles open and read from it the noted verses that are displayed on the postings. Keep a notebook ready for your own personal notes and write out your answers to the questions you'll see at the end.  You can leave your comments on the blog, I'd love reading them.

   Feel free to invite your friends to this blogsite, all will be welcome.  However, please honor the statement written at top of Blog Page on re-publishing any of the writings without permission. I Thank You in advance for that!

   Pray for God to open our eyes to His Word, and pray He will reveal His private message to each individual that drops by to read His Word!!

   OK, here we go… our first study together!!!  May God be forever in our thoughts and actions.

 

Welcome to...

The Confidence Walk & Posture ‘In Christ’

 

 A Walk Through the Bible with the ‘Women of Promise, Perseverance and Purpose'

 

 

Sequence ONE…


“THE BEAUTY & FALL of Ms. EVIE”

PART ONE

The Beginning of Beginning -“Creation”

 

THE OVERTURE:

READ Genesis 1… The Account of the Beginning of All Life.

The order in which God created…

1)     Heavens and Earth, and Night and Day

2)     Waters and Sky

3)     Land and Sea and Vegetation

4)     Stars

5)     Living creatures in the waters, and the birds in the sky

6)     Animals of the Land, Creation of Man

7)      God Rested

*****

Definition…. (Strong’s Hebrew & Greek Dictionary)  “Beginning” – Greek 509 - anothen  (an-o-then) – from above; from the first; anew; from the beginning     “Create” – Hebrew 1254 – bara, (baw-raw)  -  to make, create out of nothing                                                                        

   What were the first few words written in Genesis? _____
In the Beginning…before anything was in existence
In the Beginning God… One Divine Power before any other powerless gods ever existed        
In the Beginning God Created the heavens and the earth and every living thing that roams on the face of the earth, above the earth and within the waters of the earth!

 

POINTS to MAKE...

 

POINT ONE… FROM THE BEGINNING

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2

   There was no pre-existent matter floating around in empty space out of which the world was produced on its own. The earth and waters were created from words out of the mouth of God and His creative hands.

   You ask; “How can that be, that He started with nothing?”  I cannot answer that, other than the fact that God created all into being because… 
1. We are walking here upon the earth…
2. God had a plan for all...the earth and the people!!!  Not much of an insightful answer is it?  That's one of those 'Will Know Once In Heaven' questions!

   Evolutionist has never had a logical answer to that question either...of how something came from nothing! The Big Bang Theory does not hold true in God’s creation.

   A quote from John Wesley’s Commentary… Observe: When this work was produced; In the beginning of time. Before the beginning of time there was none but that Infinite Being (God) that inhabits eternity. Should we ask how God made the heavens and the earth or why God did not make the world sooner? If we should have words of explanations, keep in mind that our words would be without knowledge of the ‘how’ He made the heavens and the earth. And the why sooner? For how could there be sooner or later in eternity?

   No human today could ever fathom or begin to understand what God did or how He did what He did in those six days! I don’t think that is where God wanted our focus to dwell for long periods of time, for He has so much more to show and reveal to us in our lifetime! However, He truly showed His Majesty and Supreme Power and Love within those six days, didn’t He?


   In Deuteronomy 3:24 Moses said… “O Sovereign Lord, You have begun to show to Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand. For what god is there on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works You do?”   And together we would all say… “NONE!”

1^st MEMORY 'STATEMENT' FOR THE WEEK…  God started with nothing and then created everything! Then He declares that all was “very good!” 

End of OVERTURE

****

CHAPTER ONE… “LET US MAKE MAN!”
 

POINTS to MAKE…

POINT ONE... IN THE BEGINNING
In the Beginning God Created Man... Created Man just as we know Man today!!! (not as of an image of apes that over time would form into a human Man!

JUST A THOUGHT...why is it so easy for some people to believe we began as a form of an ape then became human as we are today? Picture it if you can...an ape one day then years down the road a man! Can you just hear some of the conversations through the years in the beginning? "My great great grandmother was an ape but look how I turned out to be...Human!!" Can't see it, can you?  These people choose to believe this idiotic belief but yet cannot see how it could be possible that an ALL MIGHTY GOD could form an walking upright Man with His own breath and hands.

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.”

  Man was made last of all the creatures. I believe this was both an honor and a favor to God, for He wanted companionship with Man.  His creation of Man was to bring forth an image of less-perfect of Himself, from He which was perfect, to be His beloved!  Man was a creature different from all that had been created up till then. The animals were made of flesh and bone but three of the greatest differences between Man and animal are… God gave Man a soul, a voice for speech, and means to communicate with Him (and the ability to walk only ‘upright’ and not with hands and feet!). That of Man's creation was a mere signal act of divine wisdom! There were no errors or mistakes in God’s knowledge upon creating Man.

   I want us to get into this next statement with excitement!...
    God’s delight was with Man! (Prov. 8:31) It seems as if this was the work of which he longed to do; as if he had said, "Having at last put all the preliminaries into place, let us now apply ourselves to the bigger business… Let us make man.’’

   “Let us make man…” Notice it did not say.… “Let man be made. Waw-la!” as He swings His arms over the land.  Instead, I feel like very proudly He said, “Let us make man.”  This says that ‘making man’ was the crowning work of creation that God did within those six Days of Creation, and it’s the highest of development!

   Max Lucado once wrote talking about the creation of Man… “His (God) greatest work hadn’t been completed. One final masterpiece was needed before He could stop!”

   What was the masterpiece?? God’s masterpiece was giving form to Man and then breathing life into him!

   Do you think God was weary by the Seventh Day? Probably, because look at all He had accomplished! But I feel He was well-pleased with all His creations coming from His own goodness and the manifestations of His own glory. After all, after each creation what did He say??  “And God saw that it was GOOD!”
 

POINT TWO… ACCORDING TO ITS KIND

   With the creation of all other living breathing things it is described as… “according to its kind.” Grouped together by like species, by natures, manners, and the way they would be hunting for food; this was all given to the fact of the Creator’s manifold wisdom!  Whereas, with the creation of Man (Male & Female) God specifies that we are simply not only that of a human-being but we share an image of likeness to the Creator. He did not create that likeness within the animals! (We will explore more on that topic next week)

POINT THREE … SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

    If you’ll noticed too, that as God created all animals He didn’t specify that they were male or female, therefore noting… that His best work of creation was that of Man and Woman… taking on a more important role in the creation of all life! After all, He put Man in charge of all other living things. (That topic will be covered next week as well)

POINT FOUR… THEN GOD MADE IT MORE PERSONAL

  In Verse 26 God made it more personal (first person)… “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image…”

  The narrative up till now was introduced with somberness… “Let there be….” but now it seems like the word of command is turned into words of consultation… “Let us make man…” a manifest distinction from the rest of what He had spoken into creation up till now.

   On the second half of the sixth day of creation, we are taken into an unexpected scene, into the secret council of God, where we overhear a conversation among the Father and ???... Some have asked me where did the ‘us’ come from. Who were the others that God was conversing with?

    Well, I've done a lot of research on this and what I found differs in some ways. Some proved to be so farfetched that it’s not worth mentioning their explanations. When yet, the other two perceptives were closer to belief. Some commentary’s think it could have been God speaking in a council of angelic beings (the NIV Bible states it as God’s heavenly courts), while others interpreted it as the Holy Trinity - God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit; because Man was made to be dedicated and devoted to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Into that these great names we are baptized, for to these we owe our entire being.

   We’ll only know the answer when we see God face to face! Meanwhile, the point we’ll focus on is… that of which the creation of Man marks a closer relationship between God and Man over-and-above the rest of His creations! We belong to the family of God!

   Go back and read verse 26 again and see if you’ll agree… Whomever or whatever was in the presence of God the Father during His time of forming Man, we can actually sense the moment of excitement and the exhilaration of pridefullness!  I know, I know the three words, pride-full-ness, are not words to be connected together and be correct spelling (Spellcheck just pointed that out to me) and a word normal people would use, so I’ll write it as, pride-fullness. LOL. My point is…it gives us an overall picture of that moment, does it not??  Definition of fullness… satisfied, pleased, rewarding and achieved. Therefore, God was filled with pride over His latest creation!!

   As it is stated in Chapter 1, God didn’t go into great detail about the five days of Creation, only when He created Man did He give explicate details! Have you ever thought about that?? It was as if He said to all generations to understand, “I wanted you to pay more attention to your own creation rather than to be speculating or second guessing about why or how I created the universe.”                                                                                 

2^nd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… God’s masterpiece was giving form to Man and then breathing life into him!

3^rd MEMORY STATEMENT FOR THE WEEK… From the reading of this week’s study and after you have meditating on it, what would be your ‘Memory Statement for the Week??
 

AND THE MESSAGE IS???

• “And God said, …” (Genesis Chapter One) All it took was God’s Word and it happened!    READ… Ps 33:3-11
• “Let there be…” God was and still is in control!   READ… John 1:1-4

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS...

#1. What are your opinions why God made it more personal when He created Man? (Vs. 26)

#2. Can you fathom or begin to understand what God did or how He did what He did in those first six days?

#3. Give us your thoughts on who or what was the “us” in verse 26!

#4. Other than the three differences I stated of how we are different than animals, what can you add to the list?

#5. What can you add to the ‘POINTS to MAKE’ to give your thoughts to each topic??
 

   See you next WEDNESDAY! Our topic next week will be…‘Created In His Image’!  And WOW, what a message God has given me on that topic, you will not want to miss it!!!

   Have a blessed week in the LORD!

cj fortson 

(other references used this week… ‘Thru the Bible’ J.Vernon McGee Commentary; Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary; NIV Bible)