Restoring the Image (Part 1) - The Glory of His Image

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
(Genesis 1:26-27)

I want to take a small detour from our study of the gospels and look at the purpose and design of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. In essence this will be a thorough definition of discipleship.

In order to understand God’s desire for us now, we need to take a look at God’s original intent for us. In Genesis, God said, "Let Us make man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26-27). God forms man out of dust and breathes life into him (Gen 2.7). We know this image is not the physical form God made from the dust. God is Spirit and cannot be seen. So, it was man’s godlike character God created in His image. He made us in His image with many of His characteristics. The image was perfect and unflawed. He made us with the ability to reason, to create, to love, etc. We did not inherit all of God’s attributes (for example: omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, or the knowledge of good and evil) but we were created more like Him than any other created thing. And in this original image, man was able to do exactly what God had designed him do, to glorify Him (I Cor 10:31, Rom 11.36). As the Westminster Confession states: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” When God creates man and surveys all His handiwork He says it is “very good” (Gen 1.31). Then He rests on the seventh day. It is as if to say, “Now My creation is complete and man is My crowning achievement.” We are set apart from all of creation. We are the only part of creation that was made in the image of God. Not even angels have this distinct privilege (Heb2.6-7). Next to God Himself, we are the hottest thing going in the universe. This was God’s original intent but something went terribly wrong.

It’s like a mint condition 1957 Chevy given to you by your grandfather. To be continued…
(Part 1) - The Glory of His Image
(Part 2) – Too Much of a Good Thing
(Part 3) – We Need a Savior
(Part 4) – The Restoration Process: The Father
(Part 5) – The Restoration Process: The Son
(Part 6) – The Restoration Process: Discipleship
(Part 7) – The Restoration Process: Discipleship Continued
(Part 8) – The Restoration Process: One-on-One Discipleship
(Part 9) – The Restoration Process: Tools and Techniques
(Part 10) – The Restoration Process: Dangers

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