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Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful week! Mine has been good, but pretty quiet, and this morning I find that I have no interesting news to share with you. So instead, perhaps you won’t mind if I share a little “Bible information” that relates to last Sunday’s message.

This past week we started a new sermon series on the family, based on the book of Genesis. We began at the beginning—with Genesis 1 and 2—and I put special emphasis on the concept of humanity being created “in the image of God.”

The image of God is an incredibly important concept! It is central to understanding what it means for us to be human within the Bible’s worldview. It’s at the heart of Christian ethics: our understanding of right and wrong behavior is shaped by the fact that all human beings bear our Creator’s image. And, at least historically, it was the primary driver behind the concept of “universal human rights,” which has had an enormous impact on our world—though sadly in secular circles the connection to Scripture has now been pretty much lost.

The image of God is an important concept. So we’d expect to find it talked about again and again throughout the Bible, right?  Of course we would! That would make complete sense. Only… that’s not what you actually find in Scripture, at least not on the surface. In fact, the exact phrase “the image of God” only appears 3 times in the whole Bible, and if you look for a slightly wider range of expressions that talk about human beings as “God’s image” you will only find 5. Three of these are in Genesis 1:26-27, a fourth in Genesis 9:6 (which quotes Genesis 1 as the reason murder is wrong), and the final one is in 1 Corinthians 11:7. Add the expression “likeness of God” and you get… another 2 whole verses in Ephesians 4:24 and James 3:9.

Now that doesn’t seem right, does it? Why would such an important idea show up only a handful of times?  Well, I have a theory. The word “image” comes up many, many times, especially in the Old Testament. But it’s almost always used to talk about idols. Israel is commanded not to make “images” and worship them. Of course, they disobey, and then they are punished again and again for making and worshipping “images.” I think the term “image” quickly came to have a negative connotation, and so—especially in the Old Testament—people avoided it.

However, there is more than one way to capture the essential idea that we’re made in God’s image. If you were here on Sunday, you will recall that I suggested the “image of God” involves at least 3 things when it’s presented to us in Genesis 1-3. It involves “resemblance”—being like God. It involves “relationship”—being in fellowship with God. And it involves “representation”—serving on God’s behalf. Sound familiar?

This is important, too, because this helps us to see that the “image of God” is not lost in the Bible. It’s just described using different words. Pretty much anywhere you look, from Genesis to Revelation, you find that God expects His people to do and be certain things. He expects us to be like Him, and to grow more like Him. (Remember “be holy, as I am holy”? Or love each other as Jesus loved us?)  He expects us to “walk with Him” and to “know Him”—to build a relationship with Him. And He calls His people to serve Him faithfully, extending His kingdom.

In other words, from one end to the other, the Bible tells us that we should act and live in ways that are consistent with being created “in God’s image.” The word “image” isn’t used very often for this. But the idea is everywhere! The Bible doesn’t forget about the “image of God” after Genesis 9. It simply describes it in different ways.

This changes just a little when we come to the New Testament. We still avoid worshipping idols, of course. We still worship only the one true God. But after the arrival of Jesus, worship takes on a new dimension, and “image” language starts to appear again.

Because we understand that Jesus really is the Son of God and a reflection of God’s triune nature, the New Testament uses expressions like this. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, we’re told about “the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Or when we studied Colossians, in 1:15 we read that “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” As God taking on human nature, Jesus perfectly reflects the image of God in a way that no one has since the days of Adam and Eve, and even more perfectly as the One who is fully God Himself. So “image of God” language starts to reappear in the New Testament, but it’s used especially for Jesus.

Then, by extension, we are told that God’s goal is to form you and me more and more into the image of Jesus. So for example, Romans 8:29 tells us, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Or 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all … are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory.” Or Ephesians 4:24 instructs us: “Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

I don’t know if you find this interesting, but I do. It helps me to understand why I don’t see the expression “image of God” everywhere in the Bible. And it helps me to see that this concept really is important, even when the language isn’t used widely. And perhaps most importantly, it reinforces the significance of Jesus. Jesus shows us perfectly what we human beings were created to be. He is the “true image” of God. And so we’re right to see Him as the model we should seek to follow in our own lives.

Well, that’s what you get when I have no news.  Meanwhile, I hope you have a wonderful week. This coming Sunday, our series on the family will continue into Genesis chapter 3, where we reflect on the impact of sin on the family. It’s not the happiest story in Genesis, but it reminds us that the family has been under attack since the very beginning, and I trust that it will give us some insights on how to stand firm and cultivate healthy families in a fallen world.

See you soon. Richest blessings!

—Pastor Ken