The problem:
Many are mistaken by thinking more highly of mankind when they believe it's merely our mind and hearts that identifies man an image of God. When in fact, I will get into this later, a mind and heart are only the machinery or platform from which man has the opportunity to image God. Thus, this is not the image itself. Our minds with its knowledge or our hearts with its pleasure does not make us made in God's image, merely. Our rational minds and our hearts full of enjoyment (or our soul) have a part to play but these things are not the base issue for what makes man in the image of God. Because people do suppose it is merely our minds and hearts, which makes man in God's image, have without knowing it united darkness and light, the glorious God and the wicked Devil together. In practical terms it means sinners are looked upon as better than what they really are. It appears some sinners after hearing this wrong rhetoric, feeling so good about themselves, therefore, do not sense the need to be saved.
Scriptural answer:
God is holy and tells us to be holy. 1 Peter 1:16, "It is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." This gives us a first broad glimpse for what it means to be an image of God. Likewise we are told God is love and so we are to love. 1 John 4:7, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." This is important for as a child is born into this world being an image of their parents so if we are born of God we bear His image. We are told part of this image is love, which is first given from us to God and to our Christian brothers and sisters, who are apart of Christ Himself.
God is also Spirit and has life in Himself. John 4:24, "God is Spirit." & John 5:26, "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself." Yet, God does not tell us to be an image of this, but why? First, the only way you can have "life in yourself" is to be infinite or in other words to be God. This plainly means we cannot be this in ourselves as an image of God. Secondly, although a great part of redeemed man being in the image of God, is being morally holy like God, yet there is something designed into man which beautifully express the image of God better. The fact man cannot even image certain aspects of God's holiness[1] leads us to conclude there is something deeper in how God intended man to image the infinitely glorious most happy God. Furthermore, being holy and righteous in Christ gives man the platform to do this final function causing man to shine forth in the brightest brightness of God's glory. The greatest part of our image is beholding Him holiness and true knowledge and then publicly treasuring how wonderful He is really. No man is able to have Life in himself, but man is able to know this reality about God and delight in Him for it.
Below we will do a review in Genesis simply because this is where we read about God created mankind. This review will be broken up into 4 main sections learned from this passage, which are: Dominion, Holiness, Knowledge and love. Following this will be the sections centered on some New Testament explanations of this topic which are titled, Corrupted man is NO longer in God's image, Glory, Holiness, and knowledge in Christ, Image of His Person, and finally ending with application.
1. A Review in Genesis:
A. Dominion
B. Shinning in moral beauty as God does
C. To know God in true understanding
D. To love God as God loves and enjoys Himself
2. Corrupted man is NO longer in God's image:
3. Glory:
4. Holiness, and knowledge in Christ:
5. Image of His person:
6. Application:
1.) A review in Genesis:
Dominion:
In Genesis God commanded the birds and fish to be fruitful and multiply. Therefore, when God also commanded man to be fruitful, multiply and to have dominion over every other living thing, it would imply dominion is to be one thing, which applies to man being in the image of God. God has dominion and practically acts in this with prefect justice and goodness and man was made to be an image of this. Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth." What makes man in the image of God are such as, knowledge of God, moral beauty of God and love of God. God's will is for man to practically work out this divine image through his dominion our the parts of creation God gave to him.
Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." This verse exhibits to us that both male and female, although created differently in some respects, were equally made in God's image. Both have the same potential to image God's glory when they operate best within their creation.[2] In particular as man and woman are united as one flesh in marriage, for they were one flesh to begin with, that together in this context imaging God in full potential becomes more attainable.
Now to the next part of our image from Genesis:
Shinning in moral beauty as God does:
Genesis 4:25-5:3, "Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God... And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth."
In this passage we learn man was made "in the likeness", or resemblance or image of God. What is wonderful about this passage is that we are told Adam had a son "after his image" right after we are told Adam was made in God's image. The manner in which this follows the prior verse it would lead us to conclude this: as Adam was in God's image so to Seth was in Adam's image. Therefore, if we able find out in what ways it means for Seth to be in the image of his father Adam it would point to how Adam was made in God's image as well.
The manner in which the verse says "in his own likeness after his image" in context with the verse before it as it says, "God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD," implies this image has more to do with godliness than physical appearance. Although, this verse obviously implies that Adam had a human son as he was human, yet it is directed to the godliness of Adam and Able. Adam was not perfect, yet the bible does not label him with men who did not call upon the LORD or sinned against God as Cain did. Cain should been the "son" who was to inherited Adam's inheritance and posses title of head son, because he was still alive holding the first born right. But his sin and ungodliness against Able and God caused him to be disowned and cursed by God. Our passage even goes so far to say that even though Cain was alive "God appointed" another son for Adam, Seth. Then the scriptures say Seth's Son was particularly godly even leading other people to all upon the LORD. The manner in which this passage is worded it makes Adam, Seth and Enoch to be people who acknowledge and followed God but with a particular emphases on Enoch's strong godliness. Able[3] was a godly man who practically loved and served God. Moreover, Able was killed by Cain and then we are told God will not use Cain, but has appointed another son, Seth. This would lead us to make the conclusion God appointed Seth to carry out the life Able would have lived before he was killed and that was a life lived in godliness. And this is exactly what happened for if you follow Cain's descendents they became prideful boasters filled with violence[4] while through Seth, and Enoch people began to call on the LORD.
Therefore, when it says Seth was in the image of Adam's likeness it largely refers to his godliness. This means for Adam to be created in God's resemblance or image is to be godly in the sense of moral holiness directed to God; for God's perfect moral holiness is directed to Himself in the sense of exalting Himself and as love to Himself in the Persons of the Trinity. Mankind, therefore, was made to be morally perfect in holiness being directed to exalt God and likewise given as love to Him in all enjoyment and pleasure.
This makes sense, for God Himself is not physical but is an invisible Spirit living in approachable light of infinite energetic life. It would seem only natural to reason that one of the best ways for a physical being to image the invisible holy God is to image His Holy character of His personhood. For do we not, although physical beings, when quickly summing up another person, do not mention their physical traits but instead sum them up by merely stating their character such as: good, evil, kind, funny (etc). Our nature or character is one of the if not the main part of being human. Is this not because we are to vividly image God's personal character of holy beauty as Genesis makes so clear.
What's more, it was only to man God gave a command to make a moral choice to obey Him and not to any of the animals. God did not command the animals to obey God with loving intention as He did with mankind. This again illustrates the point that man being in the image of God is largely to do with holiness or moral beauty shined forth. God said no one taught Him justice and what is morally beauty, for He has from within His own infinite existence has always known what these are.[5] Therefore, God gives Adam the platform to show this holy beauty of Himself by telling Him not to eat of this Tree of knowledge. Adam by choosing with intention to obey would show wisdom and moral loveliness in that it is just and good to obey the infinitely good God and horrible to dishonor infinite beauty and power. No other animal imaged this because they were not created in the image of God.
The last point I wish to make about moral holiness being one of, if not, the chief way in which mankind images their Creator is this: Adam was not merely created innocent and pure but positively holy. Ecclesiastes 7:29 says, "God made men upright." It does not say God is now making man in uprightness. The point to notice is that God made Adam upright or morally good in a positive fashion. To say Adam was made in innocence is a negative, but the bible says God made him good with moral rightness already in him. The scripture is clear where all goodness and holiness comes from, "the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth."[6]
When God told Adam if he would rebel against his Maker that death would come God meant this both in spiritual and physical way, or in other words a total death and separation from God.
The bible does not tell us to what degree the Spirit of God was in man, but we do know that God's Spirit was with Adam to some degree because the Scriptures tell us on this side of the fall that we are "spiritual" dead[7]. This spiritual death is comes in two parts. First is the removal of the personal and Spirit of God's presence. Second is the soul or spirit of man being defamed by sin itself.
We must take notice that death means to be separate from God who is the source of life, for this was the very purpose for the curse of death. In Ezekiel chapters 36-37, in view of man's salvation, we are told God will "put [His] Spirit within [us]"[8] and then we are given the story in chapter 37 of the dry bones. Within this context in verse 14 it reads "I will put my Spirit in you and you shall live." God is teaching us that all of mankind is dead and He will one day restore life back to true Israel or the children of promise. I thought we were already live you might ask?
The Scriptures tell us all humans will physically die, but also on the flip side when we are physically born we are already spiritual dead. God is Spirit therefore; being spiritual dead means we are dead and separated from knowing God, separate from the intimate presence of God's Spirit within us. This is why the world has such a hard time knowing God, because being spiritual dead they lack the spiritual power and decrement to understand the Supreme God who is the Spirit Himself.
What this means is that Adam had in some measure God's Spirit in Him. The fact Adam showed sings of spiritually understanding God is another indication he had some degree of spiritual life. This is why God's promise of salvation to man involves putting His Spirit back in to man, because when Adam sinned God removed His Spirit and thus man died spiritually.
In Samuel 16:14, it reads, that, "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul." This is what happened to Adam when he sinned, the (1) spirit of God departed from mankind as a whole. Furthermore, the (2) invisible soul of man became corroded and grossly deformed by the power of sin. The soul or spiritual being of man is different from the infilling of the Holy Spirit's presence. Man's soul or the spiritual being of man although grossly deformed and mutilated by sin did not cease to exist. Yet, because it was so deformed by sin it lost the ability to know, discern and love God, and in this the soul or spiritual being of man is said to have died. Man has lost the power and ability to connect and know the Source of Life; therefore, man has died and is doomed. In order for man to know and love God again man must have his soul or spirit cleaned of all sin and remade back into the right shape. This is called having spiritual life given back. This was one of the main goals of Jesus Christ in become a propitiation (wrath bearing sacrifice) for the church. Jesus took God's wrath and also purchased the right for these sinners to be given their spiritual life back so that they might know God again and be connect to Source of life, the Fountain of living waters.
What is amazing and so wonderful about the Glory of Jesus Christ's accomplishments through His death is that God puts within man not this same measure of His Spirit in Adam, but a measure much more! Whatever the measure was before the fall, Adam still sinned. This does not excuse[9] man's sin but only goes to show how worthless man is in and of himself to be holy and godly.[10] It appears unless God's through His Son Jesus Christ is "all in all"[11] and overflowing[12] man's soul with His Spirit man cannot be holy[13] although he was made holy.[14]
Even the great John Owen has speaken concerning how nothing can be done morally upright or holy unless the Holy Spirit is the direct influence of it. Adam being made "upright" was by the direct power of the Holy Spirit. In Genesis chapter 2 God brought the animals before Adam so that he could name them and Adam was obedient and named them. This is to show that Adam and Eve walked in moral uprightness and obedience to God before the fall. Yet, every choice and action of moral goodness and obedience of man, from Adam before the fall to the last man born before Christ comes a second time, is done by the direct power, operation, and influence of the Holy Spirit upon the soul. Here is Owen:
"We must consider man with respect to his moral condition also; and this is expressed, "And God said, Let Us make man is our own image, after our likeness....So God created man in His own image"(Genesis 1:26-27): a universal moral beauty of nature, and ability to discern the mind and will of God, with a ready compliance in his affections. Now all these were effects of the immediate operations of the Holy Spirit; for in the restoration of these abilities to our souls by regeneration, it is plainly asserted that He is the author of them (Ephesians 4:2). Thereby He restores His own work; and thus Adam may be said to have had the Spirit of God. ...
There is nothing excellent among men, but it is ascribed to the Holy Spirit, as the efficient cause of it; whether extraordinary, or improvement of those abilities. ...
Nor is there any good in us toward God, any faith, love, duty, or obedience, but what is effectually made in us by the Holy Spirit, and by Him alone. ...
When some are said to "resist the Holy Spirit" it is not to be understood that they can do so absolutely, but only as to some way, kind or degree of His operations. Men may resist what He employs, as to some particular end; by they cannot resist Him as to the end He designs: for He is God, and "who has resisted His will?" (Romans 9:16)...
Let men imagine what absurd consequences they please, yet that the Spirit of God is the author of all that is spiritually good in us, is a truth that we must not forego. To grant that there is any spiritual good in us, or any degree of it, that is not made in us by the Spirit of God, is to overthrow the grace of the gospel, and to deny God to be the first, supreme, and chief good, and the immediate cause of all this good; which is, in fact to deny His being."[15]
Here now is John Calvin addressing a few issues about this subject. If the Spirit of God was in Adam and yet he still sinned is Adam still guilty, for "who has resisted His will?" Also, this means God planned for Adam to sin since He knew before hand that without the fullest measure of His Spirit in Adam's heart that he would sin. A sinful person might even dare ask, why? Calvin has this to say:
"If anyone complains that [Adam's heart and choice] was vulnerable because its power was weak, I have to answer that the honor conferred was enough to take away all excuses. [God] had absolute right to decide how much or how little He would give. Man had received the power, if he had the will (desire), but he did not have the will, which would have given the power. This would have resulted in perseverance [i.e. Adam would not have sinned]. However after [man] had received so much, there is no excuse for willfully bringing death upon himself. [Such a superior nature which would have caused man not to sin could have been given], but to argue with God, as though He were compelled to give this nurture to man, is the height of injustice."[16]
Now in 1 Corinthians 15:45 it reads, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." See, Adam had physical being and spiritual being, he was made in moral holiness without being inclined to sin yet he still sinned. Again this is meant to show us how pathetic man is even when innocent and made holy: he still is a failure. This then is to point mankind to grasp for their God, who is the "Fountain" of infinite holiness, to fill them "all in all" with the Spirit of Jesus Christ so that they may never sin. Therefore, God does receive all the Glory. This is why Jesus Christ is called the "life-giving spirit" by Paul in his letter the Corinthians. Jesus Christ in His dieing for the sins of man also purchased the right for man to be "filled" with His Spirit. The point is that Jesus is not merely giving to man what was originally given to him at creation regarding spiritual life but "much more."
Romans 5:17, "By [Adam's] offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." See, at creation man was giving a "living soul" but through Jesus Christ "much more" is given so that many will abundantly "reign in life." This life is in two parts. First, our souls will be cleansed and re-created afresh apart from the effect of sin's corrosion. (Hebrews 9:14 & Ephesians 4:24) Yet, they are re-created even closer to the image of God, for they are re-created in the "heavenly Man," because now the church is actual apart of Christ body. Secondly, God will not only put some of His Spiritual presence into man, like before, but will overflow redeemed man's soul with His Spirit's joyful and influencing presence so that man will never sin but ever be elevated in the height of enjoying God's beauty, in Christ. (John 7:38-39)
This is why God gets all the glory in all things and in particular man's holiness. For even the moral holiness of the believer is credited to God though His Spirit, for Galatians[17] calls the believer's holiness, "fruit of the Spirit" and not fruit of man. Redeemed man's holiness is "all in all" or 100% produced by God with no thanks to man. Just as the sun is credited for why the moon is a nightly sight, so to God is credited for why man thinks, feels or acts in any portion in holy light.
To know God in true understanding:
Genesis 2:7, "The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."[18]
I believe the KJV translates the phrase "living being" best as "living soul." When referring to man this Hebrew word (nephesh) takes on the meaning of man's inner being, his soul, which is the combination of his invisible heart and mind. Here God creates man's physical body from the dust of the earth and then breaths his soul into being making man complete. The "breath of life" is not merely the physical life. Having been made from the dust of the earth and God's life giving spirit blown into him man, he is now a complete living soul or human being.[19]
John Owen has this to say about the man's created completion as he writes:
"As to the matter of which man was formed, it was dust; and this is mentioned to display the Excellency, power and wisdom of the great Craftsman, who out of such contemptible materials, could form the admirable fabric of the human body; and to humble man by the remembrance of his low origin.
Into this formed dust, "God breathed the breath of life"; a vital immortal spirit; something of Himself; somewhat immediately of His own; not of any pre-related matter. Thus man became a middle creature, between the angels, above, and the sensitive animals below. His body was formed as the beasts from matter; his soul was an immediate production of divine power, as the angels were. Thus man became "a living soul."[20]
Armed both with a physical body and a soul man is now fortified with the tools, structure, potential, and therefore, the machinery to image God, though not the image itself. At this point man is like the moon who if he places himself in the right place will shine or image the full glory of God as he was designed to do, yet if he places himself in the wrong place he would only shine a small crescent of God's glory or worse nothing at all; man would be nothing more than a worthless dusty rock floating in the darkness.
Corinthians 15:39, "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals." The physical body of man is best suited in combination with the soul of man to image God's moral beauty. Mankind's body is better at expressing love and holiness whether its through tone of voice, facial expressions, hands to help pick up the burden, hands to be raised in worship to God, feet to run to find help, or fingers used to play stringed instruments to God's praise (etc.). Man's soul (his mind and heart) is best suited to know who God is in all His deep wonders and to feel the pleasure of knowing such an infinitely lovely Person. Man's mind understands God's knowledge and so he then uses his physical mouth to proclaim its splendor. Man's heart feels the joy of God's beauty and uses his physical voice to sing of it. But for now we will linger over the knowledge and understanding of God.
First, I will go over a little philosophy to clarify a few things about how we gain knowledge in the first place. At this point some might incorrectly believe we actually gain knowledge by our physical senses and observations, but this simply is not the case. Much of my modern foolish free thinkers have been duped in believing the lie that our epistemology is observation and senses. Although I could devote many pages to this I will briefly post a few quotes from an article I wrote about this subject.
"The question is this: what is the first principle on which a human being knows or perceives knowledge (knowledge that you can know infallibly or truth)? This is what epistemology means. What is the first principle that paves the road for infallible knowledge or truth to be known? Is it by observation, using our 5 senses? Or is it something else?
In the biblical worldview, since the scriptures are necessarily, if only one time the bible shows man being deceived by his observations or use of sense, then we know that these cannot be trusted! In other words observations are not our epistemology. See, if they cannot be perfectly trusted then "truth" cannot be infallibly known through them. If you cannot know something perfectly then all you have is skepticism. Yet, skepticism, and therefore, the idea of observation as an epistemology is false for it denies the law of noncontradiction, which Jesus affirms in Mark 12:35-37.
John 12:29, "Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Many verses could be used to show this over and over but this one verse is all that is needed. The bible therefore, teaches man cannot use his senses and observation to find truth, because it is not absolutely reliable. Man is deceived by his observations more than what he would like to fact up to!
In summary what this means is that any worldview that is based on observation, being circular, as their epistemology (All major worldviews are), then they cannot prove anything as fact, or prove truth, or prove anything as absolute. The only way observation can begin to grasp truth, is if a persons has observed all things, in all eternity (past and future), in perfect precision, knowing what is already real and knowing what is deception. Since this is not the case, therefore, no worldview, other than the Biblical one is able to satisfy the necessary requirements of a true epistemology. The others simply do not have the ability to know and therefore, prove anything!
A worldview that cannot prove truth or fact exposes itself as false and not real. See, a worldview that cannot prove anything will inevitable fall into skepticism. But all true skepticism breaks the law of non-contradiction, and therefore is false.
In the biblical worldview our epistemology is Divine Revelation or that a person only knows absolute truth by God revealing any particular fact or truth to that person or persons. The first principle that makes something absolutely knowable to a human, as fact, is God revealing Himself. Now, God Divinely revealing Himself to people comes in many forms and fashions. The bible is how God has revealed Himself untainted. ...
Can a blank and or physical mind, through empirical methods, obtain knowledge about God from the universe or any other knowledge? No!
Now I would like to briefly discuss what biblical Occasionalism means. Observing creation using your senses is just the occasion God happens to use or allow in much of our experience of gaining knowledge. This is what I mean by occasionalism. Observations and the senses simply are not needed. God could cause a blind man to infallibly know all the beautiful colors in creation, in a dream accomplished the Holy Spirit. This physical body is not needed for knowledge, but it is on the other hand a very kind and wonderful gift that God does in fact, most of the time, upon the occasion uses our physical bodies and senses in the process of revealing and affirming more knowledge about Himself to us.
This is what I call occasionalism, which even Jonathan Edwards adhered to a from of this in his books and gospel preaching.
Occasionalism would be like me using a straw to drink a beverage with. The straw is not needed in order for me to drink a glass of tea, but since I like straws I gladly use the straw. The straw is not "causing" or is the fundamental reason for why I am able to drink. Just as the physical eye, brain and observation do not cause knowledge nor have the energy to cause knowledge to be known by the soul of man. I just use the occasion to use the straw, because I like to. Likewise whether it is the senses or observation used in gathering knowledge, they are not needed but God chooses to constantly and regularly use them, while He is the direct power and cause for how we have knowledge in everything. Whether it is the muscles or bones to walk they are not needed, for God has willed to constantly use them to cause us to go from place to place as He is the direct cause and ability for this. He is the direct and actual cause for without His invisible power to make the muscle move, it would not first (1) function correctly, (2) move or (3) exist. Because in "in Him we (1) live and (2) move and have our (1) being."
This verse is a huge metaphysical statement covering all men whether godly or sinful. In this we learn whether it is knowledge, thinking, working, eating, that a man only does this "in" Divine causation.
God did not have to create a physical world, but He did. The physical world was created because it pleased God in His wisdom that it was the best and most loving way for Himself to reveal the true beautiful colors of His glory to man. God created mankind as a great public audience to showcase how famous and glorious He and His Son, Jesus Christ, really is in the gospel crucified for the forgiveness of sinners.
Yet, God in His wisdom concluded that, although no creature is able know truth or fact about Him physically, He would create a physical world, wrapping a physical body around the spiritual soul of man, and use this medium as a vehicle to heighten the wonderful experience of God revealing His gory to man. This is why Jesus Christ came in human form. It was the ultimate way God was going to reveal that He is a loving, merciful, wise, power and compassionate God. He was going to take His own physical hand and touch the weak and heal them with His tender touch. He even used His soft hand giving it freely up to be pierced for us by nails and so saving us! He even, face to face, cried physical tears showing His love for us.
Again our physical observation of this does not make us know these truths, but it is Divine revelation and the Holy Spirit that ultimate makes us know this. Yet, how wonderful and kind that God in great mercy, has chosen to use the vehicle of a physical would, which gives Him the most intimate loving way to reveal His majestic truths to us! May we all see better the great love of our Lord Jesus Christ and His merciful wisdom to reveal the Fame of Himself, to us, like He did! To Him be the Glory forever, Amen! ...
Corinthians 4:6, "God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." This verse gives one of the greatest examples concerning how Divine and tangibly God works in us to make us know truth! Notice that our verse says the "knowledge" of the glory of God, which quite frankly encompasses much specific knowledge. Therefore, we are dealing with epistemology.
If we consider carefully the words of this verse you will recognize that it refers to the creation account of Genesis 1:1-3 where it says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light." The writer of Hebrews puts is similarly in this langue, Hebrews 11:3: "The universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." God states that out of nothing He put physical matter and all its effects into existence. Then in 2 Corinthians 4:6 God states that He does the same thing with knowledge, in particularly here, knowledge about the His glory and gospel of His Son into our hearts.
This is amazing especially when considered that God says He creates this knowledge of Himself in our hearts and minds. This is done, in like manner, concerning how God made light to shine out of nothing. In other words, no senses or observations were responsible for this or needed. God, Himself, creates knowledge in human hearts. When you create something out of nothing, no such things as senses or observations are responsible, although God kindly regular uses the occasion to have these as part of the process, but it is not the power or energy that causes it. This means the Christian's epistemology is the Scriptures not induction empirical nonsense, for these do not have the ability to know knowledge. ...
The argument of the existence of God, being our first principle, might make since, as an epistemology, if sin was not here suppressing our innate knowledge, but since sin is here Divine verbal Revelation is our first principle. Because of our sin and its effects the bible is the only self-justifying untainted[21] communication of God in the world, for even our innate knowledge is corroded with sin.
Scripture is necessarily true in itself, like how the law of noncontradiction is necessarily true. Yet the bible shows itself to be so by its content and not by a logical law.
The fact that the bible is necessarily true is the main reason why the bible is not a circular first principle, separating itself from almost all other worldviews. Then when you add to this truth that the bible has enough universal propositions for all of life, and therefore, true rationalism or deduction is used without induction then the bible becomes different from all other worldviews.
See, unlike the law of noncontradiction the Scriptures show that it is necessarily true by its contents. In other words you must assume the universal truths within scripture to even deny it. I have already discussed this in the section about science concerning the scientific law that the laws of nature are constant. See if scientists admit the laws of nature are not constant, then they vividly show they cannot prove anything; since science is built on the fact you must observe and then test over and over too find something reliable. But if the laws of nature are not reliable then none of their experiments are reliable ether (which is what they really are anyway). But, by their own worldview, unless they can observe all things and test the laws of nature for all times, then they cannot "prove" they are constant by their own worldview. But the bible does in fact say the laws of nature are constant. Therefore, if scientist rely on the constancy and reliability of nature's laws to produce tests that say the bible is not true, then they self defeat themselves for they are affirming the bible to deny it!
In fact in almost everything they say and do in life are propositions from the biblical worldview. Even such things as langue only are provable and only make since from the bible and therefore, when an unbeliever even speaks a langue he is using a biblical proposition. The unbeliever is acting in nonsense by saying he does not believe in God yet believes absolute truths from His spoken revelation that only the bible can prove. In essence the sinners is saying, I do not believe in God but I believe what He says, which is madness.
Therefore, in summarily the bible is (1) necessarily true and, therefore, our (2) epistemology is Divine Revelation, and our method is (3) rationalism or deduction. The biblical worldview is the only worldview that satisfies these demands for a true(1) first principle that is both (a) self-justifying and (b)encompasses universal truths for all of life and (2) uses a true method that is not inductive and nonsense but rational and therefore true logic. ..."
I quote the above to give a framework for how we are today to think about knowledge and our epistemology. For today much Christians are duped into believing science and observations are our means for finding truth and knowledge, when in fact God did not design science with such ability. [22]
See, before the fall God talked with Adam face to face. What we learn is that man's epistemology has always been Divine verbal communication. While man stood in holiness God dealt with man face to face. But since the fall of mankind our Creator has chosen that the only untainted Divine verbal communication of God, where all His universal truths are continued, is the bible. This was great kindness of God to sinful mankind.
Therefore, right knowledge and understanding of God is part of what it means to be in the image of God. Jesus Christ who is the perfect image of God's radiance is appropriately called the "word" and "truth"[23] of God. Therefore, it is no surprise we see in the Genesis history of man's creation that knowledge about God was only given to him and not to the animals, which were of a different type of creation, flesh and purpose.
This purpose of man's image becomes obviously glaring in John 12:27, as Jesus Christ says, " My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour." Furthermore, God the Father says in Leviticus 26:11, "I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you." In both of these scriptures God the Father and His Son, who is in His perfect image are said to have a soul.
God has an infinite Divine Soul. His soul is referring, first, to His perfect knowledge (mind of God) of His infinite Holiness and Glory and secondly, to His infinite delight (heart of God) in His Holy morality and its glory shining forth. Therefore, if we are to image God we must posses the knowledge of God in all true understanding and then also delight in this knowledgeable view of His infinite glory and beauty.
See, God did not put in charge of the Garden the angels or an animal,[24] but man. Why? Because God design was to personally teach man about Himself so that man could be a true image of God.[25] In Genesis we learn God came down in bodily form in the cool of the day to speak with Adam face to face, as though this was a common practice before the fall. God was personally teaching man face to face. Man was to know God through creation that He was good. Furthermore, by giving man dominion over the animals and the garden man was seeing and learning about the glory of God displayed in creation and the glory of God in dominion.
What we gather from this Genesis passage is that man's overreaching goal concerning the use of his mind and brain was to know God in true knowledge and understanding. This means there are serious deductions concerning its use that can be made. Such as if man's mind, thoughts and knowledge are not encompassing and centered on God Himself and His revealed Glory then man has failed to be an image of God, for this is God is doing.
To love God as God loves and enjoys Himself:
The third characteristic how man images God is loving God as God loves Himself. Already we have seen moral holiness and knowledge of God are two things which is man operates in them full will truly be an image of God. Now will look into what it means love God.
Ezekiel 36:22, "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not [save you] for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went." Here we see God was going have mercy and save mankind not because He loved them, but because He loved Himself. Israel defamed His Name in disobedience. Accordingly, God was going to save Israel so that His Name, which he loved so much, would be properly loved. See, Israel was not loving God's Name, so God was going to see to that His Name was going to be loved, above all things. Israel was not imaging God, but imaging the devil, which is why Jesus even in His day said to Israel they were not the sons of God by sons of the Devil, because they were imaging him and not God.
Jonathan Edwards says this concerning God's love and valuing of Himself:
"If God is indeed so great and so excellent that all other beings are as nothing to Him, and all other beauty is as nothing and less than nothing and vanity in comparison with His, and if God is omniscient and infallible, and perfectly knows that He is infinitely the most valuable being, then it is right His heart should be delighted in this[26]: that He should value and love Himself infinitely more than any creature."[27]
God created man in the mist of paradise, secondly giving him the gift of a woman, and lasting the Supreme Being Himself was his personal friend teaching him about His glory face to face. God was causing man to walk in a manner that was leading him down the path of falling in love with his glorious God who was so good to him. Man was particularly to love God for how good He was in all He did and what He did personally to man. Good was how God summed up what creation testified about Himself. Accordingly, this is what man was to discover.
It is no surprise then that the scriptures in Ephesians 2:7 simply sums up God's dealings with mankind in Christ as "grace." God could have summed up creation as great or marvelous, but He did not. God's glory was in His goodness toward man and in Christ this goodness kisses us in a continual stream of free grace. It is from this man is to learn to love and delight in God and in doing so he will rightly image the good and gracious God, who loves Himself for the same reasons.
Genesis 2:7, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." It might be hard from the Genesis passage to full understand what this "life" meant which God gave to man. Yet what might be unclear here Jesus makes obvious in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ." The deepest meaning of life is knowing God! The word for "know" in the scriptures carries with it a dual meaning of knowledge and intimate love when referring to people. Life in is deepest significance is to understand God and passionately enjoy Him above all things, because this is what God does every moment of very second. The climax of imaging God is to love and take the deepest pleasure in God Himself. Once you (1) understand who God is in all wisdom and (2) shine forth the same beauty of holy morality as God does then this leads to finally the soul of man loving, treasuring, and delighting in the Supreme Being.
A summary for what is signifies for man to be in the image of God from creation's account in Genesis: God made man with a physical body and with an invisible soul. This soul is comprised up of a rational mind and feeling heart. Man being outfitted with these is now ready to actually and tangibly image God.
We learned man's soul is not the image in itself, but being the image of God centers more on how your soul in actual practice does the same things God's soul does, and these consist of three main things. These three things are knowledge of God, moral holiness and delight of God, Himself. So that man is no more the image of God than he shines out these things.
(1) See, just as God has perfect knowledge of Himself we are to image this by having this glorious knowledge of Him. We are to have this in actual practice of continual thoughts analyzing its depths, wonders and beauty. (2) God is endlessly beautiful in moral Holiness. However, endless would still come up short in describing the magnitude of God's Holiness when the scripture for the only time in its pages repeats a description of God three times does so only with God's Holiness[28]. Man is to image this moral holiness in actual practice as he exercises within his heart and mind thoughts of purity, justice and love and then expresses this through his physical body to God and to his fellow mankind. (3) Just as God knows He is infinitely beauty and so shares in communion with His Son in endless energy of love and delight to Himself so man is to image this reality. Man does this when everything he does, every goal he has, very direction he takes leads him to feel the beauty of God in streams of delight, pleasure and endearing love. Furthermore, man accomplishes this as he loves God not in passing moments but continually, for God never stops loving and delighting in Himself in deepest passion and zeal. Observe, God designed it this way so that by lavishing His fountain of goodness and grace on man, in a most intimate personal manner, man too would image God by loving Him for being so glorious.
Lastly,we discussed mankind was to image God in dominion. Just as God rules over all things God therefore, gave man limited dominion over a small place called earth to rule over all its animals and creatures. Man was to rule in dominion over all creatures on earth in the knowledge of God, holiness of God and delight in God, just as God does. God rules over all things in perfect knowledge of Himself, He rules over all things in perfect moral holiness and rules over all things out of an infinite delight in Himself.
2.)Corrupted man is NO longer in God's image:
Romans 1:24-23 "Fools changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."
In this remarkable passage the Scriptures tell us that fallen men, on this side of Adam's sin are no longer in the image of God. This might come as a shocker to some who have been sentimentally deceived that mankind is special because he is still the image of God when he is not. The Scripture say corruptible or fallen man has "changed" the glory of God into something different. This glory of God is another way of saying God's image just as 2 Corinthians 4:4 relates the glory Christ and image bearing together. Therefore, in more plain English, fallen man has "changed" the image of God into something different. In particular the Scriptures tells us fallen man has changed the image of God into something similar to what "corruptible" man is like. The point to understand here is that God's glory is stated as one thing and then fallen man as something opposite different to that.
Before I answer exactly what that something different is please take note how this passage mocks mankind in what he was become and done with his life. Mankind was created to image the glory of God's beauty, goodness and happiness, and now after sinning the scripture mocks us. We are told fallen man's ability to image the beauty of God is no better than what mindless "birds" or "creeping things" are capable of![29]
To answer what man has been changed into it would be helpful to review 1 John 1:5, as it reads: "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." Likewise, consider how the Scriptures refer to fallen man in Ephesians 5:8, when it says, "you were once darkness." I will not defend this point, but only state that Holiness or moral purity is implied when God refers to Himself as light.
What we have here is a complete opposite and not a mere distinction made between fallen man and God. God is light and man is darkness, for in Ephesians 5:8 fallen man is not referred to be like darkness but is darkness itself. That is a major distinction if God is unmixed brilliant light and purity and fallen man is darkness itself. Still, God is so full of light that it is not even an option for God to live with darkness for He "lives in unapproachable light."[30] What this means is that fallen man is no longer the image of God!
Question: If mankind who were originally the image God is no longer His glorious image then whose image is he now? Answer: Fallen man is the image of the Devil. John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do." Jesus Christ tells the people whom He is reaching out to save they are no longer God's image, but the Devil. For this is the very reason why Jesus came to save mankind, because we had so ruined ourselves that now the devil was our father and we were his image!
Moreover, from Jesus Christ we learn how mankind is now the image of the devil in the words, "the desires of your father you want to do." See, the heart and mind is not the image of God in itself, its what they do that image bearing happens. Jesus tells us that fallen man wants to do the same things the devil wants to do and by this they image the devil. This is why Jesus calls them the devils children, to indicate whom they image. Therefore, the reverse would make man image God, which is to desire to do the same God wants to do. God above all things loves Himself and longs to exalt Himself, yet fallen man does the opposite and loves himself and exalts himself, which Jesus says is the same as loving the devil.
Jesus Christ, who is the perfect image of God, loved His Father and exalted His Father by going to the cross in obedience to Him not considering Himself equal to His Father although He was!
Romans 8:1,5, "There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Man is not to image his flesh but to image God. The person who turns to Christ Jesus and lives in the Spirit will image God and not the flesh. God created the physical flesh of man to be used in combination with his soul to image God. After rebelling against God man turned into darkness within his soul. Furthermore, his flesh became infected with sin and the influence of the devil.[31] Beforehand man's heart inclined to use his sexuality to image God and took delight in doing so. Now being filled with sin and the devil, having his godly influence removed from within in soul, man is helpless to obeys his flesh. His flesh being infected with moral corrosion cries out for sexual gratification, and because he has become darkness he therefore does dark things with this impulse instead of things of the light.
See, mankind has no real power to be holy in himself, this can only be accomplished by the Spirit of God. This applies to man before or after the fall as I have already pointed out. The soul and body of man is like an electric motor, and the Holy Spirit is like the electricity. Man has no power from within himself. This is why after man sinned he has no ability at all to image God, because he died spiritually[32], and thus divorced from the power, which causes man to image God.[33] Even after being saved there is still is no power of man, which causes him to be godly, but the Spirit. For in Galatians 5 we are told all such things, as peace, love and being patient are not products of man's power, but "fruit of the Spirit." Credit is given to the Spirit of God for He is the one responsible for this power that causes the Christian to image God in holiness, with no thanks or credit given to man.
Question: If man is no longer in God's image then why does the scriptures say James 3:9, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness?" Answer: the verse uses the past tense verb, "have been made" and thus it is not saying man is still in God's likeness.[34]
What this boils down to is that fallen man has the honor of being previously made in the image of God, although he is something different now. Take for example when you cremate a person and put their urn on display in your house. It is well known to all these ashes are no longer the person who once walked this earth. Yet, out of respect for what these ashes used to be, for your loved one, honor is still given to the urn and ashes. This is similar to mankind, who was originally crowned with the honor of being loved by God and made in His image. Furthermore, although mankind has turned into darkness he still needs to be honored for who he originally was.
Although fallen man is darkness and not God's image, there is no surprise he is still able to show physical acts of kindness and goodness, although inwardly it springs from the darkness of selflessness and hypocrisy. Fallen man has been filled with darkness, but the structure or the machinery of his original design was perfected for imagining God. Therefore, observe how the biblical worldview gives full answers to all of mankind's behavior as we see it today, when all others fail.
It is important to make this distinction. To say fallen mankind is still in God's image would be trying to united light and darkness, God and the devil together. Yet, to over state it and not give man the honor for originally being made in God's image would be to evil, because it would dismiss God's intention, creatorship and authority as a small thing.
3.) Glory
You might have already noticed that I have used the word "glory" interchangeably with "image" of God. And there is a scriptural reason for this. 1 Corinthians 11:7, "A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man."
Only a quick glance and it is apparent Scripture looks at man being the image of God and glory of God as quite similar. This then raises the question, why? I will not spend long here other than to make a few statements about God's glory. God's glory scripturally refers to the outshining of His internal Holiness. God's Holiness is the total of all His perfections summed up in one word. For example His power, immutability, love, justice, grace, eternality and wrath are all perfections that are summed up in the word Holy. God is an invisible Being. Therefore, when the bible refers to His glory it is referring to the visible expression of His holy Nature. Some people like Jonathan Edwards even call God's Holiness as His internal glory and His visible glory as eternal glory.
One way to look at this is to take the sun for example. God's holiness is like the internal burning of the sun and the light, which shines forth from the sun, is God's glory. Isaiah 6:3 I find makes this clear as it reads, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" God is Holiness and His glory is the expression or out shinning of this therefore, the earth is full of God's holiness expressed in glory. You would think if God is Holy then the whole earth would be full of God's Holiness, but instead is says His glory.
Our verse tells us that man is the glory and image of God and therefore, should not cover his head. Man cannot be the expression of God's glory if he is covered. Men is to be intimate with God for they are the sons of God, by creation. Therefore, man was made to be a visible expression of God's holiness as the image and glory of God. Man was created to be the glory of God expressed out in creation. In particular man is God's glory because he was made to image God so intimately and closely to who He really is: in the knowledge of God, holiness of God and happiness of God. When fallen man is united in Christ Jesus (by His death and resurrection), who is the exact glory and image of God, men become the Light.[35] God is the burning sun in Holiness and in Christ, men truly become the expressed light of God, they become pure shined forth light of the infinite Being.
Colossians 1:15, "[Christ] is the image of the invisible God." Christ is the image and glory of God. Man finds his purpose of being an image of God fully and only in Christ. This was the purpose of the original design. This first intention of God was for man to fully and only be the image of God in Christ Jesus His Son. This was God's design before the world began, indeed even before the fall of man. Ephesians 1:10, "In the [completion] of the times [God's purpose was to] gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth -- in Him."
I will not linger over the order of God's decrees since I have written a book about it. [36] But will state that God's original design for the purpose of man was not Adam, but man being summed up and united in Jesus Christ. For indeed, this is where man best images God's glory to His praise.[37] Creation, Adam, the fall and the choosing of Israel were all steps to lead up to the original goal for man to be summed up and united in Christ the through His death and resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:49, "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven." See, Adam was not the original goal of man, but mankind in Christ shining God's glory was. As the verse shows although Adam was made in the image of God he also was the image of "dust" simply, because he was physically made from dust. Dust does a poor job of imaging God, but the "heavenly man" does a perfect job of imaging God's glory. The church was in a mystical Divine sense, although made physically from the dust in Adam, was yet spiritually made in part from Christ Jesus. The goal is to have the Church made entirely[38] from this "heavenly man" so that mankind in the fullest respect possible is able to image the glory of God. And this is exactly what God did.
Ephesians 5:31-32, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." I wrote about this verse in an article called, The Church was made from Jesus Christ, which I will quote below:
"As much as we were divinely created out of love from Christ (before the fall), yet in His death and resurrection for us, He united the Church much more gloriously into Himself than in our initial creation of Him in Adam! One of the obvious ways this is seen is that Jesus went way of out His way, humbling Himself, and united Himself to our human nature. Our human nature was from the dust, but Christ by uniting Himself to our physical humanity makes a physical body heavenly and not earthly and dusty. Although we were righteous in Christ before our fall and sin (being made from Him), Yet Jesus Christ gives us His perfect righteousness lived under the law as a heavenly human. He did this as a human and did this with infinite love given to the Father. Christ gives His Church this perfection and so unites us into Himself even more. In essence we become much more transformed into Jesus Christ than ever before. We are more transformed not only more into the Nature[39] of Christ but also the Divine flesh of the heavenly man.
2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit." Because Jesus, who is the infinite image of God the Father, displayed the fullness of God's glory in human form, did display more radiance and colors of God's glory than if it were merely spiritual. In beholding this it more translates and transforms the Church into Jesus on many glorious ways and degrees than ever before or ever could be conceived by man or angel.
Jesus loves His own body: "husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he ... nourishes and cherishes it." One reason Jesus loves the church so much is that we are part of His body. This is even true in a mystical Divine sense even before the fall. Then on the cross when Jesus died for our sins and as the Father raised the church up with His Son, the church became even more deeply made apart of Christ's Divine body in every respect. Our Lord Jesus loves His body. The same Divine blood that nourishes the HEAD (Jesus), with love, enjoyment and everything, also flows to the rest of the body (church) and supplies it with the Divine joy and satisfaction.
This is why our uniting to Christ is even more than a restoring of our basic relationship and friendship to Him. See, our entire soul and body, being from the Divine Christ, was always meant to be fully immersed into the waters of life itself, where it belongs. But also this is why rejecting our Lord Jesus Christ is double the insult and blaspheme! Who knows the horrors that await such? Yet, who knows the pleasure that await those who believe in His Name and will one day be united so closely to Him as a rib being placed back into the flesh from where it came; into Him who is infinite happiness and life itself? Even the mighty langue and eloquent word, yes, even they, lose all their power standing and trembling before such Glory to summon a proper description!"
4.) Holiness, and knowledge in Christ
Now I will proceed to explain how man is re-created not only in the image of God but re-created in a better image of God through Christ Jesus in the gospel. In particular we will focus on how Jesus Christ does this with regard to holiness and knowledge.
Earlier we learned mankind has been ruined by their willful sinning against God. For in their defying of God's right to rule over them they have lost the ability to image their glorious Master and Creator. The darkness of sin and the devil has entered into their souls and thereby corrected man with lust, violence, selflessness and the like. God on the other hand is full of all goodness, holiness, love and righteousness. Not only has mankind ruined themselves, but now his Creator is dreadfully angry with man for what they have done for their sin was personally against Him. God has therefore, cursed mankind with "death." This death will separate man from God physically and spiritually which will finally end with sinful worthless man bottled up in a fiery hell being tormented and totally removed God and all His goodness. This means mankind needs saving! Therefore, all mankind reverberates the words found in Isaiah 64:5-6 as it is written: "We need to be saved....our righteousness is like filthy rages!"
"When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to [rescue] those who were under the law." God out of passion of His own glory and also sincere love sent His Son to save and rescue mankind. So now the question remaining is how? How is it that God's Son is able to save mankind? See, mankind does not need saving from a big scary monster, this would be infinitely easy for God without any cost to Himself. What mankind needs saving from is their own willing sinning against God and God's justice against every one of these sins. Furthermore, man needs to be created anew and restored so they can image God rightly again. This is a huge problem to solve, yet, our Lord Jesus Christ plunged Himself straight through the darkest depths and abyss of our problems, which we heaped upon ourselves and rose victorious through it! He is the King of Glory, Strong and Mighty.
In the third chapter of Romans verse 21-26 it gives the best summary of how Christ Jesus saved man that I believe the bible offers. There it is recorded, "God set forth [His Son Jesus] as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness. ... that He might be just and the justifier." To understand this passages you must understand what "propitiation" means.
One of the best Old Testament examples of propitiation revolves around the first goat concerning the Day of Atonement found in the 16th chapter of Leviticus. On this day the high priest slits the goat's throat and murders it. This is symbolically done showing how the goat was killed and not the people. Why kill the goat in bloodshed? "Because of their transgressions, for all their sin."[40] This means sinful people should have died in bloodshed, but the goat took it instead as a foreshadowing for what Jesus was going to do. Jesus Christ as an at of appeasing God's anger for the sin man would commit died in their place. God's anger demanded death for sinning, and only then would God's anger reside in satisfaction.
Jesus did not merely defect God's anger but absorbed it. He took it on the cross and therefore, satisfied God's anger by giving it what it demanded: death! Likewise, God's wrath is on the goat and not on the people who actually did the sinning. Jesus is this for all believers. God's Son, Jesus Christ, took the blow of death for us in our place. Therefore, all who trust in Him God's wrath then passes-over them and they are safe. What this means for any member of mankind who believes in Jesus Christ God forgives them and will never look upon them as guilty but instead as clean and pure in Jesus Christ.
Yet, how is part of mankind restored in such a way they will be a perfect image of God again? Also what guarantee do these believers have that they will not goof up like Adam and Eve did once they are restored in Christ Jesus? To answer these questions we will first look more deeply into who is Jesus Christ and then secondly how Christ Jesus in His death recreates man into Himself.
Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God.
Colossians 1:15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." See, mankind was "made in the image of God," while Jesus Christ on the other hand "is the image of the invisible God." God shines His holiness on and in us and by this we shine to the glory of God.
God shines His holy image on us, like the sun shines its light on the moon, and so we then shine God's glory as a reflection or image. But Christ Jesus is the light of the sun itself. He is the pure direct outshining of God itself. He is the visible holiness of the Father gloriously shone forth in infinite brilliance.
The moon is like the physical creation of man with his body, mind and heart, minus from any influence of the Holy Spirit of God in us. The moon does indeed have the shape of the sun, but without the sun's light the moon lies in complete darkness and is worthless in its ability to image the sun. Man with his physical and natural attributes is the same. He has the structure to image God but without the Spirit of Christ flooding upon him and in him man lies in darkness and is less than worthless. Man's goal, as designed by God was to be a shining light and image of Him not a well-structured piece of dust. The light of the moon is not the moon but the sun. The shinning holiness of man is not man but Christ shinning Himself through man unto the glory of the most high and supreme God.
This is why the Scriptures tell us to, "Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator,"[41] and "Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness,"[42] and that God "predestined [us] to be conformed to the image of His Son."[43]
This "new self" and "new man" is given to believers because they are in a Divine and mystical way "united" to Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is the outshining of God's Holiness itself, then if mankind can be intimately united to Him then mankind would become a true glorious image of their God just like the one they are united to. Because Jesus Christ is not a mere image of God by reflection but is by being the radiance of God Himself, then if man is united to Him they will become a much better image of God than what Adam originally had.
One of the best ways to see this is in the command of Jesus for all believers to be baptized in His Name. There are only two practices that Jesus Christ commanded believers to do. One is the Lord's Supper and the other is baptism. In baptism we learn that in Jesus Christ dying for His church, He divinely united them into Himself. Romans 6:4, "We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
See, Jesus Christ our God, clothed Himself with human flesh and lived out 33 years in perfect conformity as a human. Not only this but as a human He never sinned. Jesus Christ as the God-man lived a perfect expression as a human being, which Adam and the rest of mankind should have done. Yet, being Divine Himself with greater love[44] for God, therefore, imaged God in greater knowledge, holiness and loving affection greater than what any other human could have done. Jesus Christ united Himself to mankind and His promise to all believers is that they will accordingly be united into both His humanity and Divinity. Believers will not become divine, but will share in the benefits for being so closely united to Divinity. This is why our verse says "baptism into death." Baptism means in a literal sense to immerse, dive into or sink into something. When God says in Romans 6:4 that believers are baptized with Christ into both His death and resurrection it means believers are immersed or have dived into the same death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Therefore, whatever Christ died to believer likewise, and whatever Christ resurrected into believer likewise.
What this means is that at a defiant place and at a defiant time in the past, when Jesus Christ died in our place, we died with Him and rose together with Him as children of God, over 2,000 years ago. When we believe in faith this unites us tangibly (by the experience of the Holy Spirit) to this already finished accomplishment.
Jesus Christ physically died, and thus died to sin. Therefore, by being baptized or immersed into the person of Jesus Christ "our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with.... For he who has died has been freed from sin."[45] Christians alive today tangibly live in the reality that they have already physically died (therefore freed from sin) and then raised from the death with Christ with a renewed soul so that sin is no longer their slave-master.
Yet, in the death and in particularly the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord accomplished many other benefits. Some benefits solely given to Him as a personal reward from His Father, such as an infinite reward of happiness and blessing. Yet, believers who are united to Jesus Christ receive all these benefits because they have been united to Jesus Christ. This is why in Romans in the 5th chapter when it compares the level and degree of "life" and" righteousness" that believers have in Jesus compared to what Adam had it calls this "much more."
Jesus Christ has perfect knowledge of God our Father. Being united to Jesus we will have a perfect knowledge God to the degree a finite creature is able. Jesus Christ is God and as the God-man lived in perfect righteousness and holiness. Redeemed mankind will likewise, being united to Jesus Christ, stand in and operate in perfect righteousness and holiness. Jesus has an infinite love for the Father, and therefore, the redeemed will likewise have the same love of the Father, which flows throw Christ's veins to flow through theirs. By this they will love the Father with a full and perfect love.
The Lord Jesus Christ united us into Himself by being our propitiation as a human subjecting Himself under the law to fulfill it as a human. This uniting goes so deep that the church is called the "body of Christ," which is one of the most graphic pictures of how closely connected the church is to Jesus Christ. God's Spirit might have been in man before the fall but now in Christ, God's Spirit overflows our soul so that it is bursting: for "out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."[46] Being united in Christ, having His life giving Spirit busting in full through very vain of our soul's will give the church an immutable footing not to sin. Christians will have in full measure this same Spirit of Christ overflow their souls with His Divinity. This does not mean in any sense man is God. Man is an image of God and an image at the end of the day is still just and image. But it does mean redeemed man will never sin.
Furthermore, it means the church through Christ will be able to image the God, whom they love so much, in degrees of the brightest radiant light beyond their wildest dreams. This itself will give ocean depths of pleasure to redeemed man. Man will have the true knowledge and holiness of God in him. Moreover, through Christ Jesus, he will greatly long to be what his great God created him to be. The church will long to be an image of God, in Christ, whereby giving God great glory. As redeemed man sees one day in Heaven how they are now truly fulfilling their design to glorify God by imaging Him it will bring much happiness to their souls. Proverbs 13:19, "A desire accomplished is sweet [or pleasing] to the soul." Redeemed man will know in perfect understanding, how great, beautiful and valuable God really is. He will accordingly have a great desire to accomplish this goal to perfectly image the beauty of God for His honor. Out of burning love of their God the church longs to bring Him glory. The church knows this glory rightly belongs to God. How great then will be the pleasure and sweetness of those in Heaven who, by the power of Christ, will have this greatest of desires accomplished! How intense will their love be to the One who made this happen as such great cost to Himself?
I say all of this to lead you, my reader, to ponder the how deep the hell from which our Lord saved us from and the height of glory to which He saved us into. The degrees of holiness and knowledge of God the believer will possess in Heaven being one with Jesus Christ, married to Him, having become His children, having Him live in us, having Him who is an infinite fountain poured into us, and united into His body is inexpressible. Ponder afresh what the scriptures mean for you, if indeed you have been saved, to have "much more" of God's life, righteousness, holiness, knowledge, and happiness in us and shining through us. May it touch our hearts and strengthen our faith knowing these accomplishments came by the bloodshed of our lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, may the church be to the praise of Him who created all things, our great God and Father, forever amen.
Therefore, I would like to end this section with a worshipful exposition of the many and various sundry ways the scriptures poetically informs us how the church is intimately baptized into Jesus Christ her Lord.
(1) In Revelation 21:22-23 the apostle John says, "I saw no temple in [heaven], for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light." In other words the church is brought so close to God there is no need of a temple, for God is our temple. The temple was the place to meet and be close to God. The church has been so closely made into Christ that there is no need of a temple because God is already as close to man as an Infinite Being can be to finite creatures. The saints do not need the temple and its artifacts to remind us of God and His glory because God is standing in plain view[47] right before His saints personally shinning His glory on them.
Furthermore, John saw a, "pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb." This "river of life" proceeds from both the "throne of God and the Lamb." The Holy Spirit is this "river of life" acting as a Divine communication of the pleasure and love from the Father and Son for the saints to drink to their hearts content.[48] This is not pantheism. This is the Infinite Being giving the greatest of all gifts to finite created beings. And that is the ability and access, through Jesus His Son, to drink in the intensity of God's pleasure itself in its most concentrated and purest form. The saints are not transformed into the rived but because they have been grated into the body of Christ and married to Him they both have the free access and divine power to actually drink in such pure and concentrated forms of God's infinite energetic love and pleasure shared exclusively between the Persons of the Trinity. The Father loves His Son Jesus Christ, and therefore, the saints being divinely connected to the Son will feel this intense pleasure of the Father express to the Son, and therefore, as they feel this pleasure will accordingly experience in their own hearts an immeasurable love to Jesus Christ. By this the saints will be performing in acts of such conformity to the Divine Nature and Divine energy that the scriptures tell us they will shine like stars in the Kingdom of their Father. Matthew 13:43, "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
(2) Furthermore, Peter says that, "we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."[49] In Psalm 11:7 it says that, "the LORD is righteous" and therefore, "He loves righteousness." God is righteous therefore when the scriptures say there is a place "righteousness dwells" it means God is there in a great personal way. But this righteousness will dwell on the "new earth." God will live with mankind. Before God was in the highest heavens and man on the earth. Even upright Adam and Eve did not live with God in heaven. But now God will live with redeemed mankind, because Jesus Christ has made them so righteous by His bloodshed for them that they shine like a sun.
(3) In the passage contained in Hebrews 9:9-12, 24 it says among other things that "the Holy Spirit indicated that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made [known]", yet "Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come...[&] with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption," for "Christ has entered into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for us." It must be understood that the "Most Holy Place" is the place of Supreme Being's most concentrated good and pleasurable presences is found. God's good and pleasurable presence lives in the hearts of the saints on earth, but in the most high place God's presence lives is an infinite fountain of energy. That is why the bible says God lives in "unapproachable light."[50] God's light is shone through men on earth[51] but where God lives it is infinitely overflowing. Through the finished work of Jesus Christ sacrifice redeemed man will be able, as apart of Him, to approach infinitely closer to God than ever before. The saints will have free access to the Most Holy Place and have the ability to understand and enjoy God's beauty being displayed there, being tailored for them to behold.
(4) Hebrews 8 10-11 says, "this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." Because of our Lord's deing in the place of the church the saints will no longer need pastors, angles or a physical bible to be taught about God and His exhibited glory. For indeed they "shall all be taught by God."[52] The saints of God are now grown up children, being matured by Christ and His gospel, so that now the saint's Father no longer uses a tutor to teach them,[53] but He Himself personally teaches them. Consider how much more of a purer image the saints will be having God personally teaching them!
(5) Moreover in Hebrews chapter 4 verses 9-10 it informs us, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." This verse informs us that
God although He is infinite energy is in a state of happy rest. Therefore, redeemed man will be a more pure image of their great God when they likewise enter a forever state of happy rest just "as God did." In Jesus Christ the curse of death and futility is completely lifted and removed on every spiritual and physical level. Therefore, there is nothing working against man in any way and in particular nothing against his pursuit to know and love God. Therefore, the saints having no resistance will cease from work and hard striving, because knowing and enjoy God is given to all with out any hindrance, for the "river of life" and "tree of life"[54] is only a hand pick away in heaven.
(6) God is a Person and so there is no greater way to image God than to be His child with His same divine nature in us, much like an earthly parent passes their nature to their child. Galatians 4:6, "When the time had come, God sent forth His Son, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"" All mankind, because of their sinning, were children of the devil. Now by the great and wonderful accomplishments of Jesus Christ in the gospel redeemed mankind "are sons" of God. This is no ordinary nice jester to call the saints, the sons of God. For in 1 John 3:9 it says regarding this issue, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him." The word for "seed" in our passage refers to the nature of God being in the saints. This was a purchased blood bought gift of Jesus Christ to have the persons whom He died for filled with the divine Nature of God, by the power and immediate work of the Holy Spirit. By this the saints shine gloriously in the image of God Almighty, for what angel cries out "Abba Father" because God's "seed" is in them in such a divine way?
(7) God the Father and the Son have an immutable, eternal and infinitely close friendship. Therefore, if the saints are to be a true image of God they also need an immutable and intensely close friendship with God too. Jesus Christ Himself tells us in John 15:15 that, " I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." Adam and Eve were friends of God but their friendship was not immutable, because as mere humans without the Divine Nature intimately connected to them Adam had the possibility to sin; and this is exactly what happened. But the friendship between the Father and the Son is immutable. Therefore, in order to image the friendship the Trinity mankind needed to be saved in such a way that they would never sin again and so have an immutable friendship with God. Because of Christ Jesus' loving sacrifice for the church and uniting them into Himself they have an immutable friendship with God. Jesus Christ is infinite goodness and holiness and therefore, not only is it impossible for Him not to sin but it is impossible for Him to even be tempted to sin. Therefore, in Heaven when the saints will have the full measure of Christ's Spirit flooding their souls, they too will not be able to sin, thus giving them an immutable friendship with God. Likewise, being physically, divinely and mystically united in Christ the saints will be infinitely closer to God than original Adam ever had.
(8) Jesus Christ prays these indiscernible words in John 17:21, "that [believers] may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us." Concerning this Divine and mystical union of the Saints being made one in Christ Jesus Jonathan Edwards has this to say:
"The more happiness the greater union: when the happiness is perfect, the union is perfect. And as the happiness will be increasing to eternity, the union will become more perfect, nearer and more like that between God the Father and the Son: who are so united, that Their interest is perfectly one. If the happiness of the creature be considered in the whole of the creature's eternal duration, with all the infinity of its progress, and infinite increase of nearness and union to God; in this view, the creature must be looked upon as united to God in an infinite strictness.
Let the most perfect union with God be represented by something at an infinite height above us; and the eternally increasing union of the saints with God, by something that is ascending constantly towards that infinite height, moving upwards with a given velocity; and is to continue to move to for all eternity."[55]
(9) We know in heaven the saints will truly be that glorious image of the glorious God because they will obtain, gain or share in the actually glory of Jesus Christ their God. 2 Thessalonians 2:14, "He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Those who have obtained the glory of God have become His true image bearers. This is with no thanks to the saints for it was God who called and worked this salvation and redeem them by His own bloodshed. The credit and therefore the glory are His, but the joy belongs to the saints whom He freely and mercifully saved!
(10) There is a supreme reason why God brought and established marriage into the human race and it was not merely for the purpose of humans writing love letters. Undoubtedly marriage, like most things, are antitypes of Divine things. This is no less the case regarding marriage as Ephesians 5:31-32 makes so evident when it says, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. [Marriage] is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
See, God had first come up with the idea of the church being united to Christ first in the order of His decrees before He decreed the institution of marriage. God then design human marriage to showcase this glorious reality of the saints being united to Christ in an intimate manner. The close bond of pleasure, happiness, friendship, and commitment between husband and wife was to show vaguely the reality of the saints and Christ Jesus. Particularly Ephesians talks how woman was created from man's rib, and therefore they must be reunited. Therefore, the saints by being baptized with Jesus Christ are so created in such a wonderful way in Him that it is as if they were made from His Divine rib. Therefore, the church must be fully united into Christ in heaven much like the human institution of marriage. The church being Christ's rib will be put back into Christ in a mystical and divine way. This is why God says man and woman in marriage is called "one flesh." This is the greatest of all gifts God can give created creatures like mankind. God is the fountain of infinite pleasure and happiness. A finite creature like us can only have a finite measure of happiness, unless, he is united into a fountain of infinite pleasure and made to have the ability to receive its eternal flow. Only then can creature experience infinite amounts of pleasure than what they normally are able to. Therefore, Jesus Christ our wonderful God and Savior out of great indiscernible free love and mercy united the saints into Himself giving them free access to the infinite fountain of happiness. What words or langue or tongues of me can describe such manner of endless love and kindness?
(11) 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The Power of Jesus Christ upon the cross is seen in two basic forms. One is what He saved us from. The second is what He saved or brought us into. Jesus being a propitiation for the world took on His body the wrath they would have received from God for each of their particular sins done in their own body. By doing this Christ Jesus brought peace and total forgiveness to all whom He died for.
Most of the11 points above are centered on what our Lord Jesus Christ saved or brought the church into. Although, being forgiven and cleansed by Jesus Christ it does not mean the saints automatically have free access into the infinite rivers of God's Spirit and Spirit. Earlier we talked about baptism as a God command ordinance to be a practical teaching tool showing the theological meaning of Christ's death. Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21is, in my understanding, the best theological explanation for what Jesus accomplished on the cross or what is the exact theological meaning of baptism.
The reason I have focuses on this particular side of the power of the cross, concerning what Jesus Christ saved us to is due to its relevance for our topic. Christ Jesus made us "much more" an image of God through His death than what man was able to do even by himself in his own purity. The bible talks much about this because God desire is to showcase the fame of His Son. God is showing off the power of the cross, which is ultimately a showing off the power of Jesus Christ, which is a showing off of God the Father! This is the single and end meaning for all creation. Indeed, all creation revolves around this purpose as all the spokes of a wheel turn and revolve with a single mind and soul in the same direction.
With inconceivable langue the scriptures tells us Jesus became "sin for us." When Jesus Christ died is our place, as a substitute, it was not a mere symbol or nice jester. Symbols do not have the power to save.
The bible looks at our sin like a money debt.[56] Symbols cannot pay for a debt. Likewise, if I tried to pay for my debt at the bank with a symbol of payment the bank would reject it for they only take actual payment.
Take note that God looks at blood as "life" payment. See, actual blood payment is able to pay for sinful debt! This is what Jesus did. Although naked to the physical eye the sin of the church was transferred to Jesus Christ as if He actually did all those sins. For a moment Jesus Christ became the most vile, sinful and horrible person in the entire world. This is why the Scriptures record how the Father during the crucifixion of His Son had to turn away from looking at Him. This makes logical sense when we recognize that the scriptures also say God is "too pure to look on evil."[57] The point when God the Father turned from looking upon His Son was when Jesus Christ cried out upon the cross, ""Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"[58] The scriptures do not tell us the most stringent particulars how Jesus was made sin, but it was no mere symbol. He became sin so much the Father had to turn from looking on Him. His actual physical bleeding so much as a sinner that it was a real payment for our sins.
I say this so that I can like set up the amazing point when our verse tells us that in Christ the saints become "the righteousness of God." The point is that if Jesus Christ becoming sin was not a symbol but actuality then on the flip side it is also true. When the scriptures tell us the saints become the righteousness of God in Christ it is not a symbol, it is reality!
The saints being grafted into Christ in His death and resurrection, in a true sense, become as righteous as the human Jesus Christ is. It is not their earned righteousness, but it is Jesus Christ's earned righteousness as a divine human lived and given to God His father in perfect obedience. Jesus Christ gives his 33 years of perfect lived our righteousness, particularly the righteousness of the obeying the Father by going lovingly to the cross, to the saints as if they were the ones who lived it! Because of this the saints are not only forgiven but are positively shinning like star, being clothed freely with the righteousness of Christ. Christ gave His righteousness to them to have and own it as theirs! Herein does the love of Christ shine bright and radiant to the praise of His mercy and power! By this the saints have the free access to dive into the rivers of life and the full measure of the God's Spirit for eternity. See, the Infinite Being would not allow us human free access to the infinity of His pleasure and full measure of His Spirit unless we were deserving of it. If Christ's righteousness was only symbol or token given to us then the saints are not actuality made righteousness enough to partake of God the Father in an infinite way. But, the reality is that righteousness of Christ is given and transferred to the saints is in such a Divine way with power, that the saints own Christ's righteous as if it was their own.
In this the saints will image the Glory of God's holiness and knowledge in a truly divine way and not merely a human way.
5.) Image of His person
Hebrews 1:3, "[Jesus Christ] is the brightness of [the Father's] glory and the express image of His person, and [Jesus upholds] all things by the word of His power, [so that] when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."
The point to notice in this passage is in the phrase "image of His Person." Jesus Christ is not merely imaging attributes or particularly beauties of God His Father but God's actually "Person" or personhood. Jesus is not merely shining out justice or mercy, but is displaying God His Father who is a Person who is an infinite fountain of justice and mercy. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is displaying a Person who has infinite happiness in two main ways. The first is being infinitely happy with pure self-love of Himself. God, possessing perfect knowledge of His infinite perfections of all possible goodness does infinitely loves this about Himself. It is a worthy and righteous thing to love that, which is truly lovely and beautiful. God is infinite with value, beauty and so loves Himself infinitely so. Secondly, God enjoys this loving and enjoyment of Himself within an interpersonal fellowship with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Here now is Jonathan Edwards in His unpublished essay on the Trinity.
"And this I suppose to be that blessed Trinity that we read of in the Holy Scriptures. The Father is the Deity subsisting in the prime, un-originated and most absolute manner, or the Deity in its direct existence. The Son is the Deity generated [shinned] by God's understanding, or having an [infinite delightful] idea of Himself and subsisting in that idea. The Holy Ghost is the Deity subsisting in act, or the Divine essence flowing out and breathed forth in God's Infinite love to and delight in Himself. And I believe the whole Divine essence does truly and distinctly subsist both in the (1) Divine idea [shined forth out of infinite perfection] and (2) Divine love [breathed out of joy], and that each of them are properly distinct Persons...
The honor of the Father is that He is the fountain of the Deity as He from Whom proceed both the Divine wisdom and also excellency and happiness. The honor of the Son is equal for He is Himself the Divine wisdom and is He from Whom proceeds the Divine excellency and happiness, and the honor of the Holy Ghost is equal for He is the beauty and happiness of both the other Persons."
And then Jonathan Edwards says this about the Trinity regarding in particular the Holy Spirit.
"The Godhead being thus begotten by God's loving an idea of Himself and showing forth in a distinct subsistence or person in that idea, there proceeds a most pure act, and an infinitely holy and sacred energy arises between the Father and Son in mutually loving and delighting in each other, for their love and joy is mutual, (Proverb 8:30) "I was daily His delight rejoicing always before Him." This is the eternal and most perfect and essential act of the Divine nature, wherein the Godhead acts to an infinite degree and in the most perfect manner possible. The Deity becomes all act, the Divine essence itself flows out and is as it were breathed forth in love and joy. So that the Godhead therein stands forth in yet another manner of subsistence, and there proceeds the third Person in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, namely, the Deity in act, for there is no other act but the act of the will."
In our last section we went over the doctrine about the Holy Spirit being that "river of life" proceeding from the throne of the Father and the Lamb, therefore, I will not linger over it long here (see footnote from that section). The Holy Spirit is the natural consequence of the infinite enjoyment, which the Father has in the Son and the Son in the Father. This pleasure is so intense and so full of infinite energy, that the Holy Spirit stands alone as His own rightful person. It is hard then to imagine what joy and pleasure the saints in heaven will have. Jesus Christ being the perfect infinite radiance of the Father is therefore, infinitely beautiful, holy and glorious. The Father sees His Son radiating (from Himself) and communicates His personal love and pleasure to Him in a perfect way with infinite energy. Jesus Christ does the same back to the Father. Furthermore, because both the Father and Jesus Christ are infinite in their existence, goodness, knowledge and energy they are able to communicated their love to one another in perfect manner suitable to infinity. Suitable in that God has the ability, being infinite, to use infinite energy of love and communicate this in an intimate manner to His Son and vise versa. This infinite energy of love being personally expressed from the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father is the Holy Spirit Himself. This is why Edwards says that the Holy Spirit is the "Deity in act[ion]." Not that God the Father is not in constant action.[59] For God's Name, Yahweh, means Infinite Existence or Infinite energy in constant motion. But the Holy Spirit is the Deity in action in regard to action of love and pleasure given personally between the Father and Son. God is an infinite being of energy in constant motion, but the essence of this infinite energy in motion is motioned out as love and pleasure given between the Father and Son. This is why Edwards says, "The Deity becomes all act, the Divine essence itself flows out and is as it were breathed forth in love and joy."
Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." God as a Person has intimate infinite happiness in the communion of the Trinity. This is why in Genesis God said let "Us" make man in "Our" image. This is referring to the Trinity. What this means is that mankind being made in the image of God also means being made in the image of the Trinity, or as Genesis puts it "Us" and the one implication in particular for being made in the image of the Trinity is infinite happiness of fellowship expressed in pleasurable love. All the members of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all have the same Nature and therefore, the same being, but together they share in the dynamic of an infinite pleasurable fellowship. Therefore, part of what it means to be created in the Trinity's image, "Us", is the happiness consisting in the fellowship of the Trinity. Man was designed to image this by first sharing within happy fellowship personally given to God Himself. Secondly, man images this with holy and happy fellowship given to his fellow mankind.
"God had regard to His displayed Glory because He had a supreme regard to Himself, and value for His own infinite, internal glory. It was this value for Himself that caused Him to value and seek for His internal glory to flow forth from Himself. It was from His value for His glorious perfections of wisdom, righteousness, (etc) that God valued the proper exercise and effect of these perfections, in wise and righteous acts and effects. It was from His infinite value for His internal glory and fullness, that God valued the thing itself (Himself) communicated, which is something of the same, existing in the creature. Since God infinitely values His own glory, consisting in the knowledge of Himself, love to Himself, and satisfaction and joy in Himself, God therefore, valued the image, communication, or participation of these in the creature. It is because He values Himself, that God delights in the knowledge, and love, and joy of the creature, as being Himself the object of this knowledge, love, and satisfaction. For it is the necessary consequence of true esteem and love, that we value others' esteem of the same object, and dislike the contrary. For this same reason, God approves of others' esteem and love of Himself...
In the creature's knowing, esteeming, loving, rejoicing, and praising God, the glory of God is both displayed and acknowledged. In this God's fullness is received and both returned. Here is both displaying and re-displaying, or communication and re-communication. God's radiance shines upon and into the creature [like the moon], and is reflected back to the radiant Sun. The beams of glory come from God, are something of God, and are reflected back again to their original. Therefore, the whole is of God, and in God, and to God. He is the beginning, and the middle, and the end. Amen...
"What else may the spirit of the true friendship to God be expressed by other than in desires of the same end which God Himself chiefly and ultimately desires in making them and all other things?"[60]
Notice, the saints are important precisely because they more capable, than any part of creation, to return, reflect and re-communicate to God as being: the Final Source, Infinite Fountain and original Morning Star. The act of enjoying and esteeming God is the act of reflecting the Glory of God shone upon you back to God. This is similar to how the moon reflects the glory of the sun back to the sun. Therefore, as Edwards says, "So that the whole is of God, and in God, and to God; and he is the beginning, and the middle, and the end."
We are the height of God's creation in that the Glory of God, which is communicated, is shown back to God and us. But why us? To us because as we see Him, appraise Him and enjoy Him in worship we are in the very same act reflecting His Glory back to Him. This is a special mystery, which has now been revealed by the gospel of Christ. For in this act the Saints are truly imaging the holy love and joy of the Trinity. In Genesis 1 we are told God said, "Let Us" create man in our image. A large part in how redeemed man images his Creator is to love God as God loves Himself. By this act of the saints there becomes a great public display or imaging of the glorious beauty of that most sacred and essential act of the Trinity; that infinite pleasure and love, given in personal fellowship within the Godhead. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ this is displayed in the saints public love and holy affections and worship of the Almighty God.
The churches rejoicing and worshiping God, with their lives, in all things and in all times images the grandeur and boundlessness of Jesus Christ's Supremacy in all things. Few realize the importance and wonderful privilege this is! Enjoying God and parsing Him for the enjoyment we have from knowing Him, in the gospel, is the all important communication from God for how the saints re-communicate His glory back to Himself as the Supreme Fountain of all Glory and Value.
It must be understood when I say the Church reflects the glory of God back to God like the moon does with light of the sun that for the saints a large part if not the largest part of this reflection consists in holy: love, affections and worship given to God. For in Revelation at the end of the book the Saints drink in the waters of life, eat the fruit of the tree of life, and soak in the light, which all proceed from Father and the Lamb. These are all direct aspects form pleasure, which the saints take in and return back to God in holy love and worship. Understand, the Trinity fellowships in endless infinite energy of love given to one another. Still, as the saints participates in this, as their hearts are filled with knowledge and beauty of God they return the overflow of theirs hearts with strongly expressed love given to God.
Yet, as a third party created creature this love is not mere love but is worship. Worship, scriptural speaking, is about bowing down in reverence, fear, and heart felt adoration of a person. The members of the Trinity do not do this to each Other, for the pure infinite action of the Godhead is holy love and delight expressed to one another. Therefore, just as the moon publicly expresses its reverence and love for the sun in its public reflection of light back to it, so the saints as an image of God reflects in a large part the glory of God in public forms of holy, hearts bursting forth, worship; as the glory and love of God which is poured into their hearts from God is thus given back to God in highest emotional adorations of worshipful love.
Although I did not mention holiness in the believer as the image, in the above paragraph as I mentioned love and knowledge, I wish to make this quick comment. To truly end with loving worship of God, which is mankind's end you must have these two things: knowledge and holiness. You cannot feel real love for something in which you have no knowledge about. Likewise you cannot enjoy and love God's holiness unless you yourself are holy. Darkness and light are apposed to one another. Being holy and having a right knowledge of God's Glory the saints are in the correct position, like the moon when it is full, to reflect God's Glory back to Him with holy affection, love, and praises.
Submerged in deepest knowledge of God, shining in deepest purity, and then flowing from this in loving affections to God is the deepest and most profound essence of being an image of God. For this is the closest resemblance, of not just God, but God as the Trinity in infinite Energy, in infinite knowledge of Himself, in infinite holiness and finally in infinite pleasure communed with Himself. Below is how Owens would sum up God's essence in light of the Trinity.
"God act[s] in the perfect knowledge and perfect love of His own perfections, unto an infinite acquiescency therein, which is the divine blessedness. This gives us the true notion of the divine nature antecedent unto the manifestation of it made by any outward effects: infinite being and goodness, eternally blessed in the knowledge and enjoyment of itself by inconceivable, indescribable, internal acting's, answering the manner of its subsistence, which is in three distinct Persons."[61]
Therefore, saints of God, may I exhort you to follow the commandment of your great God and Savior Jesus Christ, the Captain of you faith, and your bright Morning Star: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment." In case people are confused with the word "love" in our verse I will tell what it means. The Greek and Hebrew meaning of this love given to God conveys your strongest affection and fondness of your hearts expressed out, which in our case is God.
Is God really your strongest love and the greatest affection of your heart that is honestly expressed out? Are you only a crescent moon of reflected love given personally to God, while you are reflecting more darkness because in reality you are more in love with sin than God? God is not mocked, for only full moons, or true images of God, or those who truly own a full pure love for God will be allowed to have a permanent place behind the pearly gates.
Application:
Dear reader, it is nice to contemplate the glories of what it means to married to the Son of God and image our Creator by partaking of His infinite pleasure but the question is: is this a true reality of you? Are you really an image of Jesus Christ or yourself? Time and tomorrow are promised neither to you or I. Therefore, today is the day to think over these thoughts and deal with them. Facing up to the vileness of our evil hearts and seeking repentance and saving from our great God is tough, but it is far better to deal with this now than latter on judgment day. Indeed, for all who seek God by sincere faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, displayed in His sacrifice for us, will absolutely find a Father who will hold us in His hands of mercy. Yet, I fear for those who do wait to deal with these questions until later, will not find on Judgment Day an expecting Heavenly Father, but an infinitely fierce Judge.
For this cause we will go over a few verses showing us how to consider ourselves as we seek to walk as a true image of the Most High God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:4, "We, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.
... Our gospel is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
... For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
This passage is, as far as I can tell is the one of the, if not the best, for describing the power of both the Christian conversion and sanctification in view of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
First thing to note is that the glory of Christ or the reality of Him being the exact image of God His Father is such a strong revelation of God that if He only shines upon the soul, through the knowledge of the gospel, then infallibly the soul will be saved and transformed in God's image! Never has this been true of another revelation given by God. When Moses' face shined with the glory of God, yet this glory of God's image did cause people to infallibly be saved. Jesus Christ is truly the infinite and perfect image of God. God's Name, Yahweh, means Infinite Existence or life in constant motion and energy. Therefore, Jesus is a true infinite and is likewise called Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth, and the great "I AM." Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God because He is God, being God's Son. Not just a stream of God, but the infinite fountain of the Divine Nature and being itself.
John Owen has this to say when commenting on 1Corinthains 3:18:
"The image of God in Christ is represented unto us in the Gospel. Being lost from our nature, it was utterly impossible we should have any just comprehension of it. There could be no steady notion of the image of God, until it was renewed and exemplified in the human nature of Christ. Being perfectly exemplified in Christ, it is now plainly represented unto us in the gospel. Therein with open face we behold the glory of the Lord, and are changed into the same image, 2 Corinthians 3:18. With the veil being taken away from divine revelations by the doctrine of the gospel and from our hearts "by the Lord the Spirit," we behold the image of God in Christ with open face. This is the primary means of our being transformed into it.
The gospel is the declaration of Christ unto us, and the glory of God in Him; as it is with many other ends, yet especially so that we might in Christ behold and contemplate the image of God for which we are gradually being renewed into. We are to herein learn the truth as it is in Jesus, which is to be "renewed in the spirit of our mind," and to "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," Ephesians 4:20, 23, 24, - that is, "renewed after the image of him who created him," Colossians 3:10.
It is, therefore, evident the life of God in us consists in conformity unto Christ. Even the Holy Spirit is given to us, as the principal and efficient cause of this conformity, to unite us unto Jesus Christ, and make us like Him. Accordingly, the original gospel duty, which animates and harmonizes all others, is a design for the conformity into Christ in all the gracious principles of His holy soul; for this is where the image of God in Christ does consist. Since Jesus is the prototype and pattern in the eye of God for the communication of all grace toward us, therefore, He ought to be the great example in the eye of our faith in all our obedience unto God, in our obedience with all that he requires of us.
There was a notion, even among the philosophers, that the main endeavor of a wise man was to be like unto God. But in the pursuit of it, the best of them fell into foolish and proud imaginations. Although, this notion itself was the best relic of human natural perfections, yet they are every way like the devil. People who use the light of human reason to contemplate what is the essential properties of the Divine Nature have utterly failed. Human reason has failed both in the notion itself of conformity unto God, and especially in the practical improvement of it. Whatever men may fancy to the contrary, it is the design of the Apostle, to prove that they did so, especially Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 1.
Therefore, it was an infinite condescension of Divine wisdom and grace to gloriously implant the image of Him in our striving for our transformation in the human nature of Jesus Christ. How wonderful then that God would so fully to represent and give this to us in the revelation of the Gospel.
The infinite perfections of God, considered absolutely in themselves, are such incomprehensible glory it is hard to conceive how they can be the object of our imitation. But the expression that is made of them in Christ, as the image of the invisible God, is perfectly suited for renewed souls. Christ makes God's infinite perfection so friendly to the Christian or the gracious principle of spiritual life in us, that the mind can live in the contemplation of them, and by this be transformed into the same image!
Herein lies much of the life and power of Christian religion, as it resides in the souls of men. This is the prevailing design of the minds of them that truly believe the Gospel; they would in all things be like unto Jesus Christ. "[62]
John 1:5 "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [overcome]." One clear manner in which the scripture presents this doctrine is contrasting the Almighty God as light and everything else as darkness. The verse before us teaches that light overcomes the darkness, or that God Almighty overcomes all evil and sinfulness. And in particular this light referred to here is Jesus Christ as the God-man on earth as He is the light and revelation of heaven overcoming all the darkness and hatred of sinful man. Therefore, if we saints desire to be the true images of our awesome God then we need to place our selves under the light of Jesus Christ so that His shining light will burn away all our sinfulness and deception and leave in its place holiness, holy knowledge and holy love for God.
Now we will focus on our attention on 1 John for this Apostle focused much on the light of God and the darkness of man. He says in, 1 John 1:5, "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." Jesus Christ told His disciples personally that He was the light of the world and no darkness was in Him. John 8:12, "Jesus spoke saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." This is why the apostle John says in his letter that, "which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."[63] Believers have true fellowship with God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ. This is an amazing thing considering that God the Father lives in "unapproachable light", yet through Jesus Christ we have access to both Himself and the Father. Still, not just access but "fellowship" with infinite light, and this light has a Name: Jesus Christ the Lord.
What joy it will be to stand before our glorious Lord and Savior! How worthy of praise is He for saving sinful and worthless creatures, with His own love and bloodshed, so that they can know Him as He really is, having access to bask in His loving light forever!
1 John 5:18, "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin." John informs that God's true children, "born of God" do not sin. "Does not sin", means we do not sin in an active practice of it, and that the Christian never gives up fighting it. People, who give up fight sin, were never God's children to being with, nor those whom practice sin. A very distinguishing mark of a saint, or being truly saved, or being in the image of the Holy God is to be holy like Him. 1 Peter 1:15, "He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct."
John the Apostle gives us some instruction about how do you know if you are in this light of Christ and being a true image of His light in your own life.
1 John 2:9, "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now." Dear readers are you in darkness or the light of Christ? For only children of the light will be permitted entrance into the Kingdom of light. If you are not lovingly thoughtful, kind and gentle toward your family, fellow saints and neighbors then you are a child of darkness and not the light. If you think otherwise God is telling us personally through His own revelation that you are deceived and need to repent before God sends His command to acquire your soul like the rich fool. Jesus Christ, Heaven's true light, loved us even when we were His enemies, therefore, true image bearers of God will likewise honestly, sincerely, and practically love His fellow mankind. Do you dear reader? Do you understand that love for your fellow mankind is much of the time summed up as "brotherly kindness?" The same kind of loving help you would show your own brother or mother if they asked for help we are to show to all, this then is our call.
Furthermore, the definition of love that we are to give to our earthly brethren, as given in 1 Corinthian 13, deals more with character love than practical love. The reason for the emphases more on character love and practical love is because if your heart and character is full of light of Christ' gospel and fellowship, then your practicality will also be full of His light. The other reason is the God's character is light and therefore, His actions are light. Are you gentle, kind, always forgiving, thoughtful of their needs, willing to bear your friends burden and patient? Really? If so then you are a child of the light, a child of God and a brother of Jesus Christ. And if not then your brother is the devil.
But what if I am not so perfect in love. Then it is for either of two reasons. First, you are a child of the dark who is painfully deceived yourself into thinking your are child of God when you most differently are not. In this case God calls you to sorrowful and sincerely repent over your sin and start to actually believe in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Or secondly, you are a child of light how has tripped, but tripped forward, in your walk with God. The scripture give similar commands as to the unbeliever. You are to repent of your sins, honestly trusting your soul in the propitiation of Jesus Christ and then begin immediately walking worthy of the call of God's free mercy on your life. This is what the Apostle John tell us.
1 John 1:7-2:2, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [For] He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
Christianity can easily be turned into a fable, a worthily dace being acted out before the theater of the world, being watered down to nothing more than practical moral precepts. Many deceived Christians are inclined to wrongly focus and think that practical Christianity lived out is more about loving your neighbor, more than living in broken humbled trust, lying in the dust before God your Father: thanking Him, believing Him and rejoicing in Him that all yours sins are forgiven in His glorious Son Jesus Christ, your awesome Savior. The person, who does not live, dwell and stand here everyday, if not every hourly is stealing the name Christian for himself when he is not, for this is what Christianity is! This person's Christianity is nothing more than an old woman's fairy tale. Indeed it is a mater of eternal life and death, heaven or hell if you flip the first and second greatest commandments.
Mark 12:29-31, "Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." There is a grave misconception that if you are fulfilling the commandant of loving your neighbor you are automatically loving God, but this is not the truth. Loving God as defined by Jesus throughout His ministry and by the Apostles is living in daily (1) trust and (2) love given personally to Jesus Christ (not to others) for the forgiveness of sins and all the benefits of His bloodshed for you. There are fewer times when I feel more fear for so-called Christians when they do not understand this. Those who are filled with this first love, will have the power and infilling of God's Holy Spirit to sincerely and genuinely love their brothers and sisters as God has commanded us all.
1 John 5:13 will provided us with more understanding concerning what it means to be in fellowship with our beloved God or what it means to love Him, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." Now at the end of his letter, after telling us what real love is toward God[64] and love for our mankind is, John tells us why he has written this letter in a quick summary. Simply that we might persevere in our joyful faith, being placed in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we are forgiven and have eternal with to be spent with Him, every day.
Does this sound anticlimactic to your heart dear reader! Is simply wrapping your faith daily around Jesus Christ crucified for not fun or exciting enough to be sufficient to fill your heart? Is not the reason for this that you are swollen with worldliness and need more than Christ Jesus? Why is He not enough? Why is the conclusion of Christianity not marvelous to you? Is it not that you have fallen from grace and lost your first love; having lost the joy of your salvation?
Why hesitate? Psalm 51:12 "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." We are told that all who call upon the Lord Jesus will be saved, that backsliding will be healed and minds renewed in His truth and holy presence. This moment is the time to start living more in the "fellowship" of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ by the confession of our sins and experiencing the joy His pleasure knowing that we are forgiven, beloved and held in His Almighty power; now, 2 hours from now, tomorrow, and forever. This then is real love given to our great God. Are you loving Him dear reading?
1 John 5:20, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." Again John as he sums up the main lessen for his readers to depart with says: our salvation purchased by Christ blood means we have eternal life. Well, what is eternal life? John being a good disciple of his master, Jesus Christ[65], says eternal life is to "know Him who is true."
What does this mean? It means God our Father will, "in the ages to come show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." God, even in heaven, will be dealing with all His children with "grace." Many people it seems would have replaced the word "grace" in our verse with God's "love." Yet, because of the bloodshed of Jesus Christ for us, God's love will eternally kiss us, not as mere love, but as grace and mercy. In heaven it is not the light of the Lion of Judah but the Lamb that was slain, which shines on the saints. This is because, even in heaven 100,000 years from now God our Father desires for the saints to engage Jesus Christ with continual love for saving them in His sacrificial bloodshed for them; to remove our sin and make us holy in His sight.
Dear reader does this excite you, or do you want more? For man's all is to glorify God forever by enjoying Him forever, and the particularly loving Him and fellowshipping with Him for His bloodshed and sacrificial love to worthless persons. Is this not enough for you, why not? For indeed this is the hope to which you were called. Have you believed in Jesus Christ in vain? Is this world just a passing by for you, as you walk the narrow path to see your great God face to face, or has this world become a whore for you to give your heart away to it?
It was for this reason the Apostle Peter wrote in his first epistle chapter 2 verse 9, "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." We were all without hope and lost in this filthy world, until our wonderful God sent His Son to the world to save us and bring us out of it. Yet, not just to bring us out and stand idly, but to, "proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
People praise what makes them happy and what the find worthy of honor. People who truly see how sinfully lost and doomed they were and now by Christ truly saved, forgiven and freed to be with the Almighty God find God so worthy that they continual praise Him for this single reality. And it is not just a praise of songs rolled off their tongues, but their entire life is praise to God in faith, love and holiness given to Him forever. Romans 12:1, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable [praise to Him]." Again, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."[66]
Dear readers, keep yourselves form the pollutions of this world and by the grace of your good God and Savior by being a shinning glory and image to His honor. May your heart, as they ponder such thoughts, find their joy and contentment in Him. For undeniably only for whom Christ Jesus is their all in all, will be permitted to likewise be with Him Heaven forever. God will not allow anyone to have Christ as their eternal enjoyment by sight in heaven who do not have Jesus Christ as their eternal enjoyment now by faith and love through the gospel.
Continuing our discussion of Christ being the image of God by description of being a light we will now look into the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ is called "the Bright and Morning Start."[67] Accordingly, Jesus at the being of the book of Revelation speaks of His image and grace resting on the churches as a "lampstand." Then at the beginning of chapter 2 the scriptures reveal reasons why Jesus Christ will remove His lampstand from particular churches. The reason He will do so is, because they have stopped bearing the image of God and are therefore, worthless to the glory of God.
The churches from which God took the His light or "lampstand" from were for these reasons: for falling way from loving people, for believing false doctrines, for sexual impurity, for being dead toward God, for being wealthy in the world but naked and lukewarm toward God in zeal, faith, holiness and love. Therefore, if we wish to walk in wisdom and be true images of God, we as individuals and as churches scattered abroad, must avoid the things mentioned. Moreover we must be proactive in the righteous things exhorted to us.
Lastly, God is said to be the "light" of heaven itself, so that all the saints will sit under Him to soak in His glorious light. Yet, God gives a quite interesting and particular insight into what this light is. "The Lamb is its light."[68] Still yet the scriptures gives us more insight to this scandalous sight of a Lamb being the Heavens light, for it says it looked like "a Lamb as though it had been slain."[69] Should not the light of God's Kingdom be more like a Lion with a sword in His hand and not a little Lamb looking weak as though it had been killed with blood spattered on it? What is happening, what is going on here? Glory is pouring forth and beauty has now gone on grand public display, this is what has happened. To the many whose minds and logic have been putrefied with the sin of this world find such truth as foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the wisdom of God.
See, the main reason God saved us, as I have stated before, is to bring Him glory. And the brightest concentration of this is found in the Lamb of God shinning in Heaven and forgiven sinners seeing His radiance burst forth in love and their deepest pleasure expressed in worship to Him. If our hearts are not constantly filled with loving affections to Him then the goal of Jesus' has failed, for that was the goal, our hearts being flooded with love to Him, seeing Him as He really is. Those who do not live in constant loving and holy affections of Christ, viewing Him in the gospel, are not in the life of faith, for that is what faith is! Those who do not live in this faith now on earth will not live by sight before Him in Heaven either.
Herein the beauty of God's Son is described as a Lamb slaughtered. It is strangely odd and frightful to me that so-called Christians seem squeamish and show distain of the slaughtered Son of God to save sinners, when God, Jesus' Father, does the opposite. God beams with enjoyment and pride at the sight of His Son looking like a lamb as though He had been slaughtered. For hanging on the cross to be a Passover lamb for His people, Jesus above all things showed His love, not to humans, but Love to His Father by obeying Him with infinite delight. Furthermore, it is here the glory of God, the love God through Christ to sinners, shines the brightest like a kaleidoscope of many radiant colors or the whole world to behold and marvel.
Therefore, just as the whole bible is about to end in its last 2 chapters we read, "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light." It is amazing to me that not, the Jesus Christ as powerful looking King, but as the Lamb does His glory radiance so brightly that there is no need of a sun any more.
If only we could see in faith, now, the true glory and radiance that Jesus Christ shines as the Lamb slaughtered to save mankind from their sins!
The Apostle John helps us understand with greater clarity in His first letter chapter 4 verse 10 why the Lamb looking as though it has be slain is the center piece of Heaven, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
The point to remember about this verse is this: God proves He is love by mercy.
"Therefore, the best to know God is love for us is to see it the fact that He sent His son to be a propitiation for our sins. In other words, God's design was to show the height of His love by the depth of His mercy. It had long been in the mind of God to show and give the assurance of His love by mercy, for this is what His infinite wisdom concluded would most benefit a created creature concerning how best they could know His love. Therefore, this is what He did.
Yet, the point I wish to focus on is the same I believe is the focus of our verse and that concerns the word "propitiation." As I have discussed earlier in this book the word propitiation is a very particular word. It focuses on the part of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, which is about Jesus appeasing the wrath of God our Judge. This wrath was directed on us for our sins, yet Jesus removed God's wrath from coming to us by standing in our place and willingly taking the blow of God's horrific wrath for us. This means that for all the people Jesus died for, they are forever at peace with God the Father. God's wrath against them has already been removed by Jesus' sacrifice. This is what propitiation means.
But the interesting thing is that in our verse when speaking of the height of God's love it particularly mentions "propitiation." I find this extraordinary. For there are so many Christian leaders it seems who yell and scream for more love of God, yet they deny or ignore the "propitiation" of the sacrifice of Jesus! There are many Christians in their practically daily living who try to fill up their tired troubled souls with God's love for them, but with little thought on the "propitiation" of Jesus' death for them! These are Christian fools! Sadly, according to the bible they have set them selves up for defeat before they even began. My heart is sad for them, because I desire for them to know the love of God, yet they seem to seek this out in their own wisdom and not follow the advise given to them form the one they seek His love. What a tragedy!
Therefore, if we are to know in the best way possible in real life and heart felt experience how much God our Father and Jesus loves us it is how often and deep and primarily we look to the propitiation of Jesus on the cross! This does not mean the other accomplishments of the cross are less important for they are not; but the "propitiation" aspect has a primacy in its effect on us for causing us to see the highest height of God's love that He would crush His Son hour after hour of wrath and more wrath to save and love us! Look there, dear reader!"[70]
The Point to learn from all of this is simple; never forget the pain and bloodshed Jesus Christ went though, to save us. Is this not the reason why our Lord and God instituted the Last Supper to be remembered constantly by the whole church in all nations until His return? Undeniably, he is no fool who uses his best weapon while fighting on the front lines of a batter. Likewise, if the love of God for us is most brightly given and viewed by us, through the window of Jesus Christ being a propitiation for us, then how constant and deep should our thoughts live their? Our battle is with our evil hearts, a corrupted world and ragging devils. Therefore, we should bring out our best weapon to still their rampage and bring our hearts into the grace and peace of God our Father. This in found in Jesus Christ being a propitiation for us, in our place. By mercy God forever proves to His Church He is love! May we all hold this weapon in our hands, faith, thoughts, words, and lover every hour!
As everyday is a battle for our heart, whether given to this world or God, we must bring out this greatest weapon everyday. Daily we need to confess our sins at feet of Jesus Christ, and with great joy know He was a propitiation for all our sins; and that He did this out of love to us. He went through all that pain and horror out of love to us. He suffered unjustly and was mocked, and was crucified not for His benefit, but for ours! We have been truly forgiven! Furthermore, if Christ proves He is love by such great depths of mercy, then surly He has given us a guarantee that all His promises in His scriptures are true and strong. Jesus Christ personally said He will never leave us[71], may we rest out souls in this everyday. Jesus Christ informs us He is Lord of heaven and Earth, therefore, may we take confidence that our God is strong enough to carry us through any situation. We dare not doubt His sovereignty works for His glory and for our salvation.
Yet, how can we rest upon the deep, deep love of Christ for forgiveness and strength to persevere if we do not have His words in our mouth, hearts and thoughts continually? "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"
We must personally read our bibles as if we were seeing God face to face to hear Him speak words of His authority and love over us. For God has given us a full revealing of His Name, and Glory in His word, in the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ.[72] We must be willing to image the beauty of God's supreme power and authority by being willing to submit fully under His word. We must personally preach to ourselves daily the glories of Christ crucified for our cleaning of sin and making us righteous in our Father's sight, being beloved by Him forever.
Therefore, we are not only called to image God personally, but together as the Church, the complete temple of God in Christ. Therefore, in order to image aspects of God's love shared between the Trinity we must be united to a local church, ready to love in our giving, helping and upholding one another in Christ our Lord.
Also Christ says God always hears Him when He prays. John 11:42, "I know that You always hear Me." Therefore, if we are to image this we must always be in prayer to God as Christ Jesus commanded us. But not only to be in constant prayer but praying in true belief! Christ knew God His Father always heard Him. Jesus Christ in His death for the Church purchased all her members to have this same confidence because they are made righteous in His righteousness. Therefore, we must not dare doubt for one moment that our Almighty and good Father hears our prayers and keeps us under His loving gaze and sovereignty. God knows that He is truth or is true. Exodus 34:6, "The LORD proclaimed, "The LORD God [is] abounding in truth." Therefore, John the Baptist proclaims in John 3:33, "He who has received [Jesus'] testimony has certified that God is true." Jesus' testimony was He was the Son of God sent to die was a Lamb to save the world from theirs sins, and God's wrath. Furthermore, that all who believer will becomes sons and daughters of God having free access without fear to the throne room of heaven knowing their Father hears them, loves them and carries them in His strong merciful hands. People who live like this, in full faith trusting the Father through Jesus Christ crucified for them, images God who knows in perfect knowledge He is truth. These certify in a public way God is truth and give Him honor therein. Therefore, we must be full of faith, with doubting as we constantly pray to our good God and Father. Dear read, do you trust your God?
1 John 3:2-3, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." I will not spend long here for I have already gone over this, yet. If you notice our verse it says we will be "as He is." This means when we see Jesus in Heaven, face to face, it will have such an impact it will truly make us the image of Jesus Christ for we will be "as He is." We are told all who have this sincere hope, will purify themselves because Jesus who they love is pure, and they wish to be like Him. Therefore, those who do not presently purify themselves have not, (past tense) been saved or been purified by Christ's blood.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." Furthermore, because Jesus purchased the saints with His blood in a way that the saints have died with Christ on the cross so that their life they are now living is borrowed time in the life of Chris. This simply seems the saints no longer own their bodies, thoughts, choices or emotions. The saints now belong to God and are happy be so! Nothing more makes them happy other than that Christ be theirs and they be Christ's. Mature saints actually go out their way to seek, in God's scriptures, every possible command to obey Him; and they do this out of joy. See, they love their Almighty God so much they do not merely wait for God's commands to interrupt and find them, the seek them out, to lovingly and submissively obey. Are you a mature son or daughter of God?
2 Corinthians 11:2 "For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." We spoke earlier how the saints or the church will one day be married to Jesus Christ. Therefore, the scriptures exhortation or principle to take away from this most amazing doctrine is simple. We must find out what our Kingly Husband considers to be beautiful and pure and then walk in that way so that we will be a beautiful and pure virgin for Him.
Hebrews 10:39, "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." Being an image means to persevere in being an image! Christ Jesus, the image we are grafted into, persevered as a radiant image of God under the strongest of hardships, persecutions, temptations and circumstances. Therefore, an obvious sign that we are also grafted into Jesus Christ is that we too will persevere. It does not mean earthly perfection, yet, we must "not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."[73] Our verse instructs us that the persons who will reap (everlasting life) where the ones who persevered in their faith and love to God and men. Those who do not persevere will not reap this reward, but instead reap everlasting death. Those who are quitters, and "cowards"[74] in their perseverance in the faith and love of Christ Jesus are not fit for the kingdom of God.
Jude 1:20-25, "Beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen."
Place your faith, dear blood bought saints, in the God you are imaging. Notice, in the same manner we are imaging God's wisdom, holiness and pleasurable love, that God Himself uses these same things, exerting with His infinity and power to save and keep us until we are at last standing before His beautify face.
First, may you find a resting place and an anchor for your souls in this. God is infinite knowledge and wisdom and so He being infinitely "wise" uses this to "keep" us "from stumbling." With perfect wisdom He orders the steps of the humble and although it might seem their steps are directed on steep cliff sides, yet by the power of God's wisdom they are as safe there, being held in God's hands, as if they were being held by Him in Heaven itself.
Second, our God is "Holy" with infinity, which is why our belief in Him in called a "most holy faith." Our God is an endless fountain who shines forth in perfect purity being "faultless." He uses the infinity of His holiness to personally hold and keep us "faultless" who trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Thirdly, God is infinite energy of breath out "love" and "joy", and so He likewise while looking upon His saints does so with infinite love and joy. He no longer sees their sin, but through His Son He beams upon them like soft sunshine, as it warms winter into spring; like a cool breeze upon a weary traveler, making their hearts light, as they walk on the narrow path, which leads to the God's Home. God's power is not necessarily a different attribute, but is the energy of His moral holiness or goodness being infinite like an erupting fountain. God's infinite happiness and goodness directed to His children on earth will hold and carry them safely and securely till that faithful day where God's love will cover them like a great ocean and fill them like a busting fountain.
Let us take cartful consideration to ponder afresh the wisdom of God, the holiness of God and the loving mercy of God display to us, particular in the gospel. King David would over and over make these types of statements: "I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. I delight in Your law."[75] Why did David not just say, I delight in God. The reason David said he loved God's "commandments", "law" and in other places God's "judgments" and mighty "works" is simple.
How does a person know God? God must reveal Himself, for His scriptures tell us God is "invisible"[76] and lives in "unapproachable light."[77] David knew God had revealed His Glory and beautiful Divine Nature through His works, His righteous judgments, His law and commandments, which can all be found in His divinely written word, or scripture. In and through these things David was able to see how beautiful, how glorious and how valuable God was as He shone through these His: Justice, Love, Power, Faithfulness, Compassion, free Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge and Authority. Likewise, if we wish to have our souls elevated from this dusty earth and its hardship into the throne room of our glorious Lord and Savior we must hourly consider the beauty of Jesus Christ display in the gospel, who's blood was shed for our sins. He saved us and made us His own!
(1) It was the Father's wisdom that thought of the cross, which is the only place where mercy and justice were able to kiss, so that God's wrath is satisfied and sinners are made clean. (2) It was Christ's holiness that gave Him the power to endure the hardship of a sinful world and pass through all its temptations. It was this same holiness, which was transferred to the saints. (3) It was Christ's love and delight of the Father, which enable Him to endure the cross in happy obedience and will one day be given personally to the whole family of God.
Be amazed like drunk men and stagger under the weight of glory displayed to you in Jesus Christ, and be overjoyed it is this wonderful God whom you are called to image!
Hebrews 13:5, "Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
I will end this essay, concerning the image of God, by concluding on this verse. The reason for this is how well this verse shows the impurity of our hearts so that our good God my expose them, so that we my sincerely repent, seeking for the day until we are clothed in His robe of light, love and eternal sinless holiness.
First, observation of this passages reveals we are commanded to be content with what we have for this day and everyday. The doctrine is this; what our good God has personally, wisely and sovereignly given us today is all we need and so we need to be content. Yet, most of us are not wealthy and many of God's dear children are even suffering in some sort of lowliness earthly goods and materials. Still some saints are given by God a larger portion of wealth, for the good of others. Yet, all these saints, in varying degrees, struggle in finding contentment. And for this reason our verse gives us the deepest reason why we should be content with what we have this day.
We are reminded to consider our spiritual wealth in Christ and not our earthly fleeting wealth. Particularly, we are told to find the foundation of our daily contentment in the fact Jesus Christ who was crucified for you and I, "will never leave you nor forsake you."
First, we must marvel at such a marvelous promise! Christ being with His saints is referring to His comforting presence. Christ is in all things and upholds then into reality or being. Yet this presence of Christ spoken here is His intimate, loving and comforting kind. It is the type, which is between a husband and wife, parents and children, and between best friends. What wonders of wonders, which lay before us in this doctrine! Jesus Christ's words are true when He said he loves the church, so that He bloodshed proves He is love to them. He not only removes her sins, but Jesus Christ covers the church with the best of His comforting presence; He is delighted to do so!
Yet, for our application this leaves the soul naked before our God's eyes, and yes even ours. God does not threaten us in this passage, but only says in essence: if you love Me then my promise of always being with you will be enough to keep you content from day to day! Therefore, if you need more, than Jesus Christ's promise of always being with us, then we really do not love Him, but have other lovers in our lives. Jesus Christ is perfectly and infinitely satisfied in the fellowship of the Father and Holy Spirit. If we are to be a true image of this, we must also be totally satisfied with the close love of our Father, Jesus Christ and the Spirit in the gospel, needing nothing else for our contentment or fun.
Dear reader where does your heart rest today, with your Savior Jesus Christ or with the harlot of this world? Do you know this answer? God does. Be a true image of the invisible God, by standing in the gospel of Jesus Christ; No, living in the gospel of Jesus Christ with the fiercest trust and passionate love. Therefore, let today be the day of repentance, trust and love given to your Great God and Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father, who is Blessed forever. Amen!
Sincerely: Oshea Davis
[1] Certain aspects of God's Holiness that we cannot image are: His infiniteness, having life in yourself (self-existing), immutability, being clothed in unapproachable light, being eternally existing and so on.
[2] I will not go into long specific differences and likenesses of man and woman imaging God but will briefly state this. Man as leader and head shows moral beauty by going out of his way to protect and cherishes his wife, just as God looks to loving protect and cherish Himself, His Son Jesus Christ and Holy Sprit. Woman is mans helper so when she helps to loving encourage and strengthen her husband she images God's moral beauty for the Father encouraged His Son Jesus Christ and strengthen Him by His Spirit on earth. The Spirit is called the Helper and therefore, lovingly helped Jesus Christ. Matthew 3:16, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." I say all this to point out that God made them male and female both equally in His image, yet both specialized to image particularly aspects of God's glory strongly so that as man and woman are united together as one flesh and as both image God in their strengths the brightness of God's design of man imaging God's glory is realized. This is a creation issue not cultural or historical issue. If you are apart of creation, then is reality applies to you across all time, culture and history.
[3] Able was even labeled as a hero of righteousness in Hebrews chapter 11.
[4] Genesis 4:23-24
[5] Isaiah 40:14, "With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?"
[6] Ephesians 5:9
[7]John 3:4-7, "Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'"
[8] Chapter 36 verse 27
[9] Contrary to popular misconception man is not responsible for his actions because he as freedom to will or chose! Man does not have true fee choice or will, because God has total control over man's soul. (Proverbs 21:1, 20:24) Every creature including original man and redeemed man as no true free-will, because they are not free from God's influence, which God uses every second of every moment over man. Furthermore, fallen man's soul is neither free from God nor sin. (NIV) Romans 8:7, "The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." Although fallen man has no ability or "freedom" to choose to obey God's commands yet he is still responsible. Responsibility comes to a person when they are commanded by a higher authority to do something. Therefore, mankind is responsible specifically because God is Sovereign. See, man is responsible simply because God created him (Romans 9:20-23), has commanded him as God (Genesis 2:15-17) and because man has a soul with God's reveal truth written there (Romans 2:15). The more knowledge man has and the more man understands with his heart (morally) or the more inclined his heart is toward God only makes man guiltier for his choice. But this is not the foundation reason why he is responsible. Such things make man foundation, in a sense, guilty before man, but not God.
[10] As I will discuss later about the order of God's decrees, but I will briefly say: Adam was not God's original goal for man. Mankind in Christ being the true image bearer of God's glory was. Furthermore, what Adam showed in his sinning was a clear pointer that man cannot fully accomplish being a perfect image bearer part from being grafted into the body of Christ, who "is" the outshining of God's holiness itself. Doubtlessly this is why God in His eternal decrees planned and orchestrated the fall and then allowing sin into the world. By this God could send His Son Jesus Christ to die and unit the church Spiritual and humanely into Himself in the most intimate connection possible. Furthermore, God insured for Himself the perfectly designed public audience capable of actually viewing the true radiance of His glory expressed fully through His Son, so that in this God is supremely honored and gloried by public man's enjoyment of God through the gospel. As an infinite Being and Creator of all things, this is God's good right and pleasure to order the fabric all physical and spiritual reality like He did and is doing forever. Amen
[11] Ephesians 1:23, "[The Church] which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
[12] John 7:38-39, ""He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
[13] At the least man is worthless in sustaining his holiness even though he was made in holiness. Mankind was designed for the purpose to showcase the great need and therefore, the supremacy of God Almighty and the worthless of not only man but of all created things. God is the Cause and fountain of all good things and of all power, while creation is only an effect. Yet, to man, this dusty worthless effect without power and hope, God has freely and lovingly sent forth His Son into their hearts, through Jesus Christ blood sacrifice, causing man to know the infinity of the Almighty God's pleasure for all eternity.
[14] The ultimate reason why God would create Adam this way was to setup the situation where Christ would come and show, not by mere love by but grace, that God is Supreme and Glorious.
"The result is that God brings all the human children of His love (now of His electing mercy) with all the elect angels of His grace and heavenly creatures of His goodness, IN CHRIST, whom Christ is in the Father, in order that the most indescribable and brilliant display of the Glory of His Supremacy is accomplished for all to marvel and enjoy. This is why Ephesians talks about the "Glory of His Grace," because the displaying of grace is the height of God's wisdom for the reinforcing and magnification of His Supremacy. All goodness in life is from free grace, therefore, the source of where this grace flows from has the "Preeminence." All who receive this grace must boast in that source. The result is that all of their life, strength, and hope came not from themselves but from the source of free grace.
The creating love of God magnifies His Supremacy, as this is the spring from where all good things flow out, but the free mercy of God, even more, magnifies the Glory of God's absolute Supremacy! God's mercy does this because it exposes, in a tangible way, our absolute dependence, while, on the other hand, exposing tangibly the sheer beauty of God's absolute Supremacy." - This is from by book, The Divine Decrees, Publish America, 2007, page 118.
The best way for me to sum up God's Sovereign choices and design with Adam and him being decreed to fall into sin although made holy and the coming of Christ to place redeemed man kind totally on mercy is this verse: Ecclesiastes 7:8, "The end of a thing is better than its beginning."
[15] John Owen, The Holy, His Gifts and Power, Introduction by Sinclair Ferguson, Christian Heritage, 2004, pages 80, 93, 113, 140, 142. Editing by Oshea Davis
[16] John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion, Edited by Tony Lane and Hilary Osborne, Baker Book House, 2006, pages 64-65.
[17] Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness."
[18] A. W. Pink comments about this verse in his article, The Total Depravity of Man, emphasis added. "This supplies us with additional information on the making of Adam. First, the matter from which his body was formed, to demonstrate the wisdom and power of God in making out of such material so wonderful a thing as the human body, and to teach man his humble origin and dependence upon. Second, the quickening principle bestowed on Adam, which was immediately from God, namely, an intelligent spirit, of which the fall did not deprive him (Eccles. 12:7). That "the breath of life" included reason, or the faculty of understanding, is clear from "the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). Third, the effect on Adam. His body was now animated and made capable of vital acts. Man's body out of the dust was the workmanship of God, but his soul was an immediate communication from "the Father of spirits" (Heb. 12:9), and thereby earth and heaven were united in [man]."
[19] 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here the Scriptures refer to the man in his completion as his (1) soul (mind and heart), (2) spirit (The invisible spiritual essence and energy of man, and as a Christian our spirit has been united to Christ's Divine Spirit as one), and (3) body.
[20] John Owen, The Holy, His Gifts and Power, Introduction by Sinclair Ferguson, Christian Heritage, 2004, pages 80. Editing of quote by Oshea Davis
[21] Even our innate knowledge in our hearts have been tainted and cored by sins' effects, which is why we are told not to trusts our hearts, but God's words, for only the bible is clean from sins' effects and therefore have the building blocks for a true epistemology.
[22] Science was not designed by God to find truth. This is why scientist on such subjects as, the origin of life, give such stupid conclusions. God at the beginning of creation had this to say to the first two humans, Genesis 1:28, "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth." This is the official and true command of science to mankind from God! God does not say that we are to us science to find out how the world was made did He? God says: use science to take dominion over the whole world, in a usage that makes it better for man to be "fruitful and blessed." Anything else is an abuse of science and a miss-use of it. Therefore, a miss-use of science will produce messed up conclusions such as universal truths as the origin of life.
[23] John 1:1,14
[24] Contrary to popular belief man is not an animal. For the scriptures say, "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals," in Corinthians 15:39
[25] Lest we humans become puffed up we must realize an image is only an image no matter how closely it resembles its source.
[26] This statement I took out and footnoted here so that Edwards conclusion becomes easier to understand. "which is indeed the true nature and proportion of things, and agreeable to this infallible and all-comprehending understanding which He has of them, and that perfectly clear light in which he views them"
[27] God's Passion for His Glory, by John Piper and Jonathan Edwards, published by Crossway Books, 1998, page 169. Text from Jonathan Edwards: The End for which God Created the World. Emphasis and editing added by Oshea Davis.
[28] Isaiah 6:3, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"
[29] I know this is not the main message of this passage but it is something that it directly implies by how it sums up corrupted man with birds and creeping things.
[30] 1 Timothy 6:16 (NIV)
[31] Flesh is referring to the entire effects of sin's effects upon the whole of man both of this soul and body. In particular it refers to man's inner inclination is no longer godliness, but darkness and evil.
[32] Ephesians 2:1, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." This death referred here is the same death God promised would happen to Adam if he rebelled against his God. This death primarily meant a total separation from God. First man died spiritual as God took His Spirit from man, and then secondly man would die physically and be put physically in hell, and thus be totally separated from God. In the Scriptures this death promised is particularly focused on our spiritual death. One repeated promise in the Old Testament about God saving man focused on giving back to man His Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 11:19, "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh."
[33] Zechariah 4:6, "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts."
[34] This verse seems to be refereeing to all mankind, Christian or sinner, yet as it refers to the Christian who has been remade in the image of God, in Jesus Christ, to curse them is double the disrespect.
[35] Ephesians 5:8, "Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."
[36] Oshea Davis, The Divine Decrees, PublishAmerica, 2007.
[37] Ibid., 122, "The decree of God to have all things summed up in Christ gives the second foremost decree of God. This decree is to have humans "gathered" and made "one" into Christ. This decree is, in the general sense, to have human children of His love gathered into Christ. The order is this: God wanted to have His Supremacy made known; therefore, He decreed to have all things in Christ. Then God decreed to create children of love so that He could have people to gather into Christ. These first particular persons are the affection of His direct fullest love. His love actually creates these people in Christ. God's love reaches out in desire to gather all things in Christ and actually gives these particular people their eternal being and happiness in Him. This is what I call the primary creating or electing love of God. God's good "will" and "purpose" stretches out and gives existence to a certain number of persons to gather into His Son, Jesus Christ."
[38] Colossians 3:11, "There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." & Ephesians 1:23, "[The Church] is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
[39] 2 Peter 1:4, "that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature."
[40] Leviticus 16:16
[41] [NIV]Colossians 3:10
[42] Ephesians 4:24
[43] Romans 8:29
[44]Or better said with "infinite love"
[45] Romans 6:6-7
[46] John 7:37-39, "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
[47] Revelation 22:4, "They shall see His face."
[48] Jonathan Edwards in his unpublished essay on the Trinity has this to say, "But the Holy Ghost being the love and joy of God is His beauty and happiness, and it is in our [saints] partaking of the same Holy Spirit that our communion with God consists: (II Cor. 13:14) "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all, Amen." They are not different benefits but the same that the Apostle here [explains that] in partaking of the Holy Ghost, we possess and enjoy the love and grace of the Father and the Son, for the Holy Ghost is that love and grace."
To this I add in my book, " The blood of Christ Never Fails," the Holy Spirit when spoken about in the scriptures is spoken in this manner. "Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father", and then, "has sent forth the Spirit of His Son." It is important to note that nowhere is it recorded in the scriptures that God the Father or Son come froth from the Holy Spirit. But in our text before us we see the doctrine that the Spirit comes forth from both the Father and the Son. Now the question is this; does the scriptures give us understanding and langue to describe what is the reason for this? Psalm 36:8, "They are abundantly satisfied ... You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures." God is said here to give from Himself His pleasure to His saints to drink in like a river. But the bible gives us more specific langue for what or Whom this pleasure and joy is. John 7:38,39, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit." Rivers or waters are most often referred to God as His pleasure and Joy. Then when John baptized Christ the Father said this is My Son "in whom I am well Pleased (Matthew 3:16-17)." At this time of proclaiming His Pleasure in His Son the Holy Spirit came upon Christ in the form of a dove, which was a symbol of love and delight (Songs of Solomon 2:14, 5:2,6:9).
The Holy Spirit is the infinite energy Joy, love and Pleasure generated between the Father and Son. Take note and you will find the Holy Spirit is not credited with many of the attributes of the Father and Son, although the Holy Spirit does posses them. But what we have here is the scriptures teaching us clear doctrine. The fact that it commonly refers to the Spirit in terms of love, Joy, delight, grace, and peace, the scriptures therefore teaches, by this purposeful langue the special characteristic of Person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the infinite holy Joy of God itself in action.
[49] 2 Peter 3:13
[50] 1 Timothy 6:16
[51] Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
[52] John 6:45
[53] Galatians 3:24-4:7
[54] Revelation 22:1-5
[55] Jonathan Edwards, The End for which God created the World. Found in Oshea Davis' Book, The Blood of Jesus Never Fails. Next is more quotation from Edwards on this subject, found in the same place:
"God aims at that which the motion or progression, which He causes, aims at, or tends to. If there be many things supposed to be so made and appointed, that, by a constant eternal motion, they all tend to a certain center. Then it appears that He who made them, and is the cause of their motion, aimed at that center: that term of their motion, to which they eternally tend, and are eternally, as it were, striving after. If God is this center, then God aimed at Himself. From this it appears, that as He is the first author of their being and motion, so He is the last end, the final term, to which is their ultimate tendency and aim.
We may judge of the ultimate end that the Creator aimed at, in the being and nature, He gives the creature, by the mark that they constantly aim at in their eternal progress. Though the time will never come, when it can be said it is attained to, in the most absolutely perfect manner."
[56] Matthew 6:12, "Forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors."
[57] Habakkuk 1:13 (NIV)
[58] Matthew 27:46
[59] John 5:17, "Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work.""
[60] Jonathan Edwards, The End from which God created the world. As Quoted from, God's love Never Fails, by Oshea Davis. Edited by Oshea Davis.
[61] John Owen, The works of John Owen, Volume 1, The Banner of Truth, 2000, page 368. Found in the Glory of Jesus Christ, in the chapter, In the Recapitulation of all things in Him. Editing of text by Oshea Davis
[62] John Owen, from, The Works of John Owen -Volume 1, from, The Person of Christ, chapter 15 pages 171-173, published by, Banner of Truth, 2000. Copyediting and emphases added by Oshea Davis.
[63] 1 John 1:3
[64] 1 John 1:3, 7-2:2, "Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. ... But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [For] He Himself is the propitiation for our sins." We are told our fellowship is with God and then John tells us what this fellowship is, such as: walking in His light, having His blood cleanse us, confess our sins and believe Jesus Christ forgives us by being a propitiation for us and preserving in these things. John is telling us this is how we personally love our God face to face every day. Then additionally we love our neighbor as we would love ourselves with character love and helpful practical love.
[65] Jesus Christ Himself prayed in, John 17:3, that "this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
[66] Romans 13:12-14
[67] Revelation 22:16
[68] Revelation 21:23
[69] Revelation 5:6
[70] This is, by the grace of God, from my forth-coming book: The blood of Jesus Christ Never fails, by Oshea Davis
[71] Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
[72] 2 Peter 1:3, "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue."
[73] Galatians 6:9
[74] Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly. ... shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
[75] Psalm 119:47,70
[76] 1 Timothy 1:17
[77] 1 Timothy 6:16
