Genesis 1:27 “And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.”
1 Cor 15:47-49 The first man was out of earth, earthy; the second Man was the Lord from Heaven. 48 Such the earthy man, such also the earthy ones. And such the heavenly Man, such also the heavenly ones. 49 And according as we bore the image of the earthy man, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:3], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16], equal with God before Creation [John 1:1-5; John 1:14], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [Philippians 2:6-8].
The Hebrew word for image is ‘tzelem,’ within which is another Hebrew word, ‘tzel,’ meaning shadow…kind of an image within an image. It seems that God’s idea was for humans to be a shadow or a reflection of Himself from the beginning. [Genesis 1:26]
However, the first Adam allowed sin and death to enter this world, thus fracturing mankind’s relationship with God.
Now, through the second Adam, Yeshua [1 Cor. 15:21-28], this relationship can be restored. He came to address the problem of death and repair the relationship broken by sin, which had distanced humanity from its Creator. Now, through the second Adam, we have the opportunity to bear the “image of the heavenly” [1 Cor 15:45-49], which was God’s original intention.
What does this look like, the restoration of the image of God in spiritually regenerated human beings now, since God’s intention from the beginning was for mankind to reflect His holy image and to be an expression of His nature? Now, we are presented with the “opportunity of a lifetime” to touch a world in need! The world needs to see the reflection of His love, joy, and peace radiating in our lives — when we do so, we are fulfilling His original intention for us — to truly image Him!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The apostle Paul’s epistle to the Thessalonians contains clear and powerful exhortations concerning the will of God for believers. These exhortations express the specific will of God in relationships with others, with ourselves, and with the Lord. Packed into these short verses are patterns of life and behavior which receive His blessing in all these relationships.
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