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]Some of you know the miraculous story of our daughter Elianna. She was born blind, with a rare eye condition called bilateral vitreous hemorrhage. We didn't even realize it until she was three months old. When we went to the doctors in Israel, they advised an immediate risky surgery. We quickly went to the Lord in prayer and fasting for her healing. Low and behold, the Lord began to heal our little one!! Today, three years later, we're overjoyed to say that despite the fact that her vision is not yet perfect, she is a thriving and beautifully developing child!
The noted English architect Sir Christopher Wren was supervising the construction of a magnificent cathedral in London. A journalist thought it would be interesting to interview some of the workers, so he chose three and asked them this question, “What are you doing?” The first replied, “I’m cutting stone for a shabby 10 shillings a day.” The next answered, “I’m putting in 13 hard hours a day on this job.” But the last said, “I’m helping Sir Christopher Wren construct one of London’s greatest cathedrals.”
Ever since the Garden of Eden where the story began and our first parents sinned, fear has permeated humankind. The fracturing of relationships, God to man, man to man, man to woman, engendered a universal pandemic of fear and alienation. Fear supplied the Adversary, Satan ("satan" means adversary in Hebrew) with a powerful means for control, manipulation, and deception of fallen humanity, with nearly infinite varieties of expression.
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As believers, we are all called to transform the little world around us. C.S. Lewis offered a thoughtful perspective on remaining heavenly minded while continuing to make an impact in this present world.
“Teacher”, said a young boy, “why is it that so many prayers are unanswered? I do not understand. The Bible says, ‘Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened unto you.’ But it seems to me a great many knock and are not admitted.