Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson: Imago Dei

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1 Corinthians 16:12, (TLB), I begged Apollos to visit you along with the others, but he thought that it was not at all God’s will for him to go now; he will be seeing you later on when he has the opportunity. 13 Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong; 14 and whatever you do, do it with kindness and love

1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (KJV) Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 14 Let all your things be done with charity.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (NKJV) Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.

Paul presents something common to his culture. Men were often idealized. We’ve seen this in our culture with television shows long ago such as, “Father Knows Best.”

That said, children raised in a home with a loving and caring father also have an idealized view of their father. This is an authentic reflection of Imago Dei, the image of God. Children from these homes will children most likely see God in a better light. How parents live and treat their children and others is the strongest witness to the living God.

Imago Dei is the image of God. It is not the image of self.

The thing that looks like a weakness is a doorway into strength. Paul discovered the principle:

2 Corinthians 12:10, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul was not trying to do “mind over matter” or trying to drum up PMA, “A Positive Mental Attitude.’ He had already learned from God:

2 Corinthians 12, And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.

Encouragement for Men and Fathers

Meet Every Need (M.E.N.) - Be willing, God will give strength
Pray and expect good and God
Provide the best example, even when you make a mistake
Love your wife and children with everything inside you and in your hand
Instill confidence that anything is possible
Only accept the best according to ability
Don’t expect anyone to give you anything, be prepared to earn it
Give more than you receive
Always bring your “A" game, even when you are the only one who sees it
Benefit your family before all others
Give space to flourish, fail, and recover
odel how to recover from failure and disappointment
Surround your children with the values that you value
Remember that love is unconditional

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Isaiah 49:1, “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” 3 “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’”

God's plan for helping us realize Imago Dei continues through the process of birth. Everybody is born of a woman, and everybody is created at birth in the image and likeness of God. Your mother is proof of your Imago Dei.

Proverbs 30:11, There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. 12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

Hebrews 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

“A little lower than the “angels”
In the Greek Hebrews 2:7, Angelos
In the Hebrew Psalms 8:5: Elōhîm (God)
You are made a little lower than God!

Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Her “Seed” would eventually lead to the birth of Jesus. Distorting or destroying the DNA and Imago Dei in women and men hinders the destiny of their children, and the human race.

Mother’s Provision is Essential to Imago Dei

Josiah was eight years old when he became king….His mother’s name was Jedidah (2 Kings 22:1,)

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king…His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 26:3)

Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old….His mother’s name was Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1)

Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king…His mother’s name was Jerushah (2 Chronicles 27:1)

Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king…His mother’s name was Jehoaddan (2 Chronicles 25:1)

Paul spoke about the Imago Dei of Timothy’s mother & grandmother

2 Timothy 1:5, When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Loisand your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.

One of the first mandates and commands to God’s people related to preserving and maximizing Imago Dei
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)

Reflection Questions:

1. What is the "matrix" of a mother?

2. What are your mother's special contribution to your DNA and Imago Dei?

3. Why is God so mindful of you and humanity?

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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. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God uses many activities to prepare people to receive the Gospel of Christ. For example, we cannot preach the Gospel to hungry people until we feed people. We cannot preach the Gospel to persons who have experienced injustice without dealing with the forces of injustice. Whatever injures Imago Dei (Image of God) in people hinders the heart and mind from receiving the word of God.

What was impossible, the love of God made possible.

John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We carry that same love. Love awakens the Imago Dei by connecting us with the nature of God, which is love.

“As we begin to treat each other with more love and empathy, it will not only change the world around us; it will also change us. As I have taken steps to promote racial justice, I have developed more endurance, discovered untapped wells of creativity, and experienced more joy than I ever expected. The journey of racial justice is itself transformative." (Jemar Tisby, How to Fight Racism, p. 7).

This love helps us not to stumble, or help others not to stumble.

1 John 2:10, He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

Definition of stumble:
σκάνδαλον

Transliteration, skandalon - The Greek word for “stumble” means, “a trap, snare, a stumbling block, any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall. Sounds like “scandal.”

Think of the all the traps and snares that come when we don’t receive God’s love, or share His love with others.

Realizing Imago Dei within ourselves and helping others realize it, is a function of the love of God. First, it is that God loved us, followed by the truth that because He loved us that we can love one another.

Many believers have misunderstood that social work and social justice is also the work of God and a manifestation of love.

Anything that restores Imago Dei in people is a work of God.

Reflection Questions:

1. Why is love related to the Image of God?

2. Why do good deeds represent the love of God?

3. How to walking in love help yourself and others not to stumble?

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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 and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

God’s image - Character
God’s likeness - Outward witness
Dominion - Responsibility, tasks, duty, service
Fruitful - Utilizing abilities and gifts
Multiply - Reproduce yourself, empower others
Subdue - Create and maintain order

What is the imago Dei?
Imago Dei is the Latin term for “image of God.”
Knowing who you are is foundational to both a healthy self-image and a strong sense of purpose.

God’s Purpose for People
Micah 6:8, He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly,To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Isaiah 43:21,This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

1 Peter 2:9, But 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

1 Corinthians 15:9, For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Imago Dei of God Calls to Imago Dei in You
Psalm 42:7, Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me. 8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me—A prayer to the God of my life.

Reaching Our Community
Romans 9:1, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh…

Factors Working Against Imago Dei
1. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
2, Mindsets not introduced by family and Kingdom of God
3. Anti-Christ forces
4. Self-loathing, Self-hatred
5. Confused and negative people
6. Failure to worship God

Reflections
1. Why was I born?
2. What place does Imago Dei have in my day-to-day life?
3. What is my role in the lives of others?

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Psalm 19:7 NAS, The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

What is the imago Dei?

Imago Dei is the Latin term for “image of God.” Knowing who you are is foundational to both a healthy self-image and a strong sense of purpose.

Psalm 86:10, For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. 11] Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12] I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

In today’s culture, people believe in a “God” who is made in their own image. He is a God who changes, adapts to whims and customs and permits whatever the maj

ority of people want to believe. Their god has many names, multiple personalities, no exclusive holy book and cannot be grieved by any act of sin except “intolerance.” – Dallas Willard

There are two Gods. There is the God that people generally believe in—A God who has to serve them. This God does not exist. But the God who people forget—the God whom we all have to serve—exists, and is the prime cause of our existence and of all that we perceive. God being God offends human pride. “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18) When the light of God is absent, the intellect become dysfunctional, trying to devise a truth that will be compatible with the basic falsehood that man is god.

– Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines

Image

Hebrew צֶלֶם - ṣelem (Pronounced seh’-lem)

From an unused root meaning a representative figure or image

It is best understood as representing the character of something or someone.

Likeness

Hebrew דְּמוּת - demût (pronounced, dem-ooth’)

Stong’s dictionary word (#H1819); means, resemblance; shape; like (-ness), manner, similitude.

This is best understood as representing the likeness or appearance of something or someone.

Indicators of the True God:

• Is from everlasting to everlasting
• Known to Adam, Abraham, Moses and the pagans of every generation
• Has the power to create, destroy, heal and reform
• Passes final judgment
• Knows the hearts of people
• Knows the motivations of the heart
• Has purpose that transcends the lifetime or sensual interests of people
• Manifests His presence in the earth through the Holy Spirit
• Has a son name Jesus Christ, who is God the Son

Thought: images, concepts, judgment; enables our will (or spirit) to range far beyond the immediate boundaries of our environment

Feeling: sensation, emotion; inclines us toward or away from things that come before our minds; involve a tone that is pleasant or unpleasant. Thoughts and feelings go together

Choice: Will, decision, character; our choices produce our unique contribution to reality. Temptation is the thought plus the inclination to sin. We must very careful about the things we allow our minds to dwell upon or allow ourselves to feel. Human life does not run by will alone. It must be organized by the will if it is to be organized at all. People nearly always act on their feelings, and think it only right.

Body: Our primary source of energy and the place from which we live. The body cannot be understood apart from human relations, The re-formation of the body is one major part of the process of spiritual formation. Spiritual formation is also and essentially a bodily process. It cannot succeed unless the body is reformed.

Social Context: The human self requires rootedness in others—God first, then people

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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 and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

This is an instance where a biblical worldview is helpful. A Christian worldview only applies to Christians, but a biblical worldview is for everyone.

What is the imago Dei?

Imago Dei is the Latin term for “image of God.” The term is used because it is distinctive and beautiful sounding. Knowing who you are is foundational to both a healthy self-image and a strong sense of purpose. (Watch this video)

Humankind was created to be an image bearer of the Creator. This ideal state was to be a representation of who God is and what He is like. Of course, humanity is far from this ideal state.

“The imago Dei is not a quality possessed by man; it is a condition in which man lives, a condition of confrontation established and maintained by the Creator. … The imago Dei is that in man which constitutes him as him-whom-God-loves.” –John Piper

The imago Dei was the outcome of being created by God. No other creature was made in the image of God, not even Angels.

Look at the words image and likeness in Genesis chapter 1

Image

Hebrew צֶלֶם - ṣelem (Pronounced tseh’-lem)

From an unused root meaning a representative figure or image

Stong’s Dictionary word (#H6754) is used in the old testament as image (16x) and vain shew (1x).

It is used mostly to denote objects of false worship such as idols. It is interesting that this is the word used to describe people being made in the image of God. It shows that this word is only understood by the context in which it is used.

It is best understood as representing the character of something or someone.

For example, my father is technically inclined, a problem solver, and a hard worker. I have my father’s or character IMAGE in me. My mother loved people, served people, and had great compassion. I possess that particular image or character of my mother.

Likeness

Hebrew דְּמוּתd - demût, (pronounced, dem-ooth’)

Stong’s dictionary word (#H1819); means, resemblance; shape; like (-ness), manner, similitude.'

This is best understood as representing the likeness or appearance of something or someone. For example: I RESEMBLE both my mother and my father.

Maximizing Imago Dei (Genesis 1:26-28)

God’s image - Character

God’s likeness - Outward actions

Dominion - Responsibility, tasks, duty, service

Fruitful - Utilizing abilities an gifts

Multiply - Reproduce yourself, empower others

Subdue - Create and maintain order

__________

Reflection Exercise

1. Describes ways in which you carry Imago Dei (the image of God)

2. Describes ways in which you represent God’s likeness, His witness to the world around you