************ Sermon on Belgic Confession Article 14b ************
Doctrine: Recreated in the Image of God
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on Nov 29, 1998
B.C. 14(b)
Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10
"Recreated in the Image of God"
Introduction
Topic: Man
Subtopic: Created in God's Image
Index: 2239
Date: 8/1998.1
Title: Humor: "Dirty" Looks
In Sunday School five-year-old Robby learned that God created Adam from the dust. One evening during his bedtime prayers, Robby said, "Thank you, God, for making my Dad look so cool. He doesn't look like he was made from dirt."
One of the problems today is that man is no longer seen as being in the image of God. The Psalmist can say God made us a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5). Yet, man is no longer viewed as a little lower than the angels. Most modern people tend to think of themselves as being no higher than the animals.
The central teaching of the Scripture about the dignity of man is that we have a nature that is higher than the animals. In fact, God has made us in His image. We are not only higher than the animals but we are also higher than the angels.
However, when man fell into sin he lost something of this image of God.
But I cannot leave it there. What man lost in the fall into sin he can gain back in Jesus Christ by grace and through faith.
I Eternal
A God is eternal. He is without beginning or end. God is self-existent. He wasn't made, He wasn't created; He has always existed and will always exist. To Moses, God said, "I AM WHO I AM." God is the great I AM. This means God is the root, the great mover, the source, the well-spring of all that there is; because there is a God there is a creation and there is life. "In him," says Paul, "we live and move and have our being."
B Being made in the image of God, man was able to live forever. Yes, he had beginning of days. But, he had no end of life.
Then came the day man ate from the forbidden fruit. God had said, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die" (Gen 3:3). Or, as the Bible says, "the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23). Because of the fall into sin, man now knew death. No longer was he like God; no longer was he able to live forever.
After the fall into sin, do you remember how God pronounced judgment upon man? God said,
(Gen 3:19) "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
Do you remember, too, how man had to be removed from the Garden so he wouldn't try to set aside this punishment and eat from the tree of life (Gen 3:22-24)?
C This part of the image of God that man lost in the fall into sin he can gain back in Christ if only he accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Earlier I quoted Romans 6:23 but I did not quote the entire verse. Listen to what Paul says:
(Rom 6:23) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You all should know the words of Jesus in John 3:
(Jn 3:16) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Do you see what happens in Christ? Those who believe in Christ regain that part of the image of God that they lost in the fall into sin. Those who believe regain eternal life. Those who believe become more like God.
II Completely Wise
A God is completely wise. He is omniscient. He knows all things. This means He is the source of all truth, all wisdom, all knowledge. This means that when God speaks, He knows what He is speaking about and we can absolutely trust His Word.
B Being made in the image of God, man was filled with wisdom from above. But what happened when he fell into sin? Man lost that wisdom. He became a fool and said in his heart, "There is no God" (Ps 53:1). Because of sin, even God's own people became fools. Through the prophet Jeremiah God made this complaint about Israel:
(Jer 4:22) "My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good."
In Paul's first letter to Corinth we read God's response:
(1 Cor 1:19-20) For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (20) Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Because of sin, every man and woman and child is a fool. Because of sin man no longer is wise like God.
C This part of the image of God that man lost in the fall into sin he can gain back in Christ if only he accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Those who believe in Jesus gain wisdom from the Spirit (1 Cor 2:6-16). It is a wisdom that is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor 1:18). To those who believe God has revealed what "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived" (1 Cor 2:9). God has made them wise in Christ (1 Cor 4:10).
Do you see what happens in Christ? Those who believe in Christ regain that part of the image of God that they lost in the fall into sin. Those who believe regain wisdom. Those who believe become more like God.
III Almighty
A God is almighty. He is omnipotent. He rules His creation; His creation does not rule Him. We see God's might in different areas. First, we see God's might in Creation: He spoke and creation came into being, He created everything out of nothing, He created such a vast creation, and He cares for His creation. Second, we see God's might in miracles: the resurrection of Lazarus, the provision of Israel while in the wilderness, the feeding of the 5000. Third, we see God's might in redemption: the Exodus, the child of the promise to an aged Abraham and Sarah, the virgin birth, and the resurrection from the grave. And fourth, we see God's might in the new heaven and new earth. God is almighty. He can do anything, anything He wants to do.
B Being made in the image of God, man was filled with the power and strength of Almighty God. Think of the might of Samson when he was filled with the Lord's Spirit. He killed a lion with his bare hands. He caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs and fastened a burning torch to every pair of tails and burned down the Philistine's grain. Another time he took the jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand men. And still another time he took hold of the doors of a city gate and tore them loose and carried them to the top of a hill (Judges 14-16).
Now consider what happens because of sin. When Samson allowed himself to fall into the clutches of wicked Delilah and she cut off his hair, we are told that his strength left him (Judges 16:19). When David fell into sin with Bathsheba and ended up committing adultery and murder he tells us that his
(Ps 32:3-4) ... bones wasted away ... my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Sin makes man weak and powerless. Because of sin man no longer is almighty like God.
C This part of the image of God that man lost in the fall into sin he can gain back in Christ if only he accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Listen to the words of Jesus just before He ascended into heaven. He said, "... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Acts 1:8). I think too of the words of the Apostle Paul: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Phil 4:13). And, when the Christian puts on the armor of God, he becomes strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Eph 6:10). One of my favorite passages from the Old Testament is found in Isaiah:
(Isa 40:29-31) He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (30) Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; (31) but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
This is what happens to us in Christ.
Do you see what happens in Christ? Those who believe in Christ regain that part of the image of God that they lost in the fall into sin. Those who believe regain power and strength and might. Those who believe become more like God.
IV Unchangeable
A God is unchangeable. He is immutable. God does not change. God does not grow. God does not improve with age. God is the Lord everlasting. He is eternally the same. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There is a consistency and a constancy to the nature of God.
B I think we all realize that man undergoes constant change. Our weight goes up and down. Our personality changes. We lose hair. We need glasses. Parts of our body are removed or altered in surgery. The only two things that are constant about us are death and taxes.
C Now, consider what happens to us in Christ. Those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord become like God – they become immutable. I am thinking here of a new and better life in a new and better body on a new and better earth. At that time we will be "perfect forever" (Heb 10:14); no more changes will be made; no more changes will need to be made.
Do you see what happens in Christ? Those who believe become more like God.
V Just
A God is just. This means He judges rightly and fairly; He never makes mistakes in His judgment; people always get exactly what they deserve. This means He is holy; He is different from all else in Creation and has no moral blemish or stain of sin. This means He is righteous; He always acts rightly. God is the standard for perfection, the norm for ethics, the measure for goodness.
B As created by God, man too was just. He was holy and righteous and always acted rightly. But what happened when man fell into sin? Listen to this quote of Paul from Psalm 14:
(Rom 3:10-12) As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; (11) there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. (12) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
Because of sin, man was no longer like God at all. In fact, he was anything but like God.
C This part of the image of God that man lost in the fall into sin he can gain back in Christ if only he accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Those who believe in Jesus are called "saints" (Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1), a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9), and a sacred temple (1 Cor 3:17).
Do you see what happens in Christ? Those who believe in Christ regain that part of the image of God that they lost in the fall into sin. Those who believe become just. Those who believe become more like God.
VI Good
A God is good and the overflowing source of all good. This means He provides us all our needs: He gives us life, He gives us food, He gives us Himself. Because God is unchangeable, because He is immutable, He is always good towards us. And, because God is almighty, He is always able to satisfy our needs.
B We can say that God has made us and all of creation to be like Himself. When we read through the first chapter of Genesis we come across that word "good" seven times. Not only is God good; "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen 1:31).
But what happened when man fell into sin? With the fall, man lost his goodness. With the fall into sin man became selfish and self-centered: he no longer thought of others, he no longer wanted to share, and he put himself first. Think of Cain's reaction when God accepted Abel's offering and rejected his offering. He did not rejoice with Abel. Rather, he responded in anger and hate and murdered his own brother. Because of sin man no longer is good like God.
C This part of the image of God that man lost in the fall into sin he can gain back in Christ if only he accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Those who believe in Jesus do good to all people (Mt 5:16; Gal 6:10), they bear good fruit (Mt 7:17), they overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21), and they are equipped with everything good for doing God's will (Heb 13:21).
Do you see what happens in Christ? Those who believe in Christ regain that part of the image of God that they lost in the fall into sin. Those who believe become good. Those who believe become more like God.
VII Infinite
God is infinite. He is immense. He is omnipresent. We cannot put God in a box, we can not confine Him, we can not make Him smaller than He really is. And, we can not try to hide from God. God is fully present, and He is fully present everywhere. This means God is always with us and never leaves us or forsakes us.
I want you to consider what happens to fallen man in Christ. Those who believe are granted all the fullness of Christ (Col 2:10). Those who believe become more like God.
VIII Incomprehensible
God is incomprehensible. There is much about God that is mysterious. As we trace His footsteps in this world, we see only the fringes of His ways and touch but the hem of His garment. We can try to describe Him; yet, in the final analysis, He is indescribable. We can try to speak of Him; yet, in the final analysis, He is unspeakable. We can try to understand Him; yet, in the final analysis, He is beyond our human understanding. God is so much more than we can know.
Again, I want you to consider what happens to us in Christ. We who believe have been given a glimpse into all mysteries and all knowledge (1 Cor 13:2). God has revealed to us what even angels long to look into (1 Pet 1:12). And, ours is the privilege to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph 3:8-9). Those who believe become more like God.
Conclusion
There is so much more we can say about what happens when we believe. God is Spirit; but God's Spirit also lives in anyone who believes (1 Cor 3:16). God is love; but those who believe in Jesus are also able to love (1 Jn 4:7ff).
By making us in His image, God has exalted us. But by recreating us in Christ, God exalts us even more.