July 11

“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…’”—GENESIS 1:26

In the beginning, we were created by God to display His moral character, which is why God said, “Let us make man in our image.” Theologians have debated frequently as to what the nature of that image is. By deduction, we can work out some of what it is, because there are things true of God that we know are not true of us. God has what we call ‘incommunicable attributes’ which He has not shared with humankind. For instance, God is omnipotent (all powerful); omniscient (all knowing); omnipresent (in all places at all times); immutable (unchanging); eternal (no beginning and no end). These are attributes of God that have nothing to do with the image He created us in. 

What God did share with us is what we call His ‘communicable attributes’. These are things true of God, which are intended to be true of human beings. God is love and we are intended to be loving. God is just and we are intended to act justly. God is merciful, kind and compassionate, attributes we are meant to reflect, having been made in His image. To be in His image means to look at the image and see what the real thing is like. God gave the law to Moses on Mount Sinai in order to reveal what He is like, so that we may understand what we are supposed to be like.

The only person capable of revealing what God is like is Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of his being…” The glory of God is not some kind of ultra glowing light surrounding the things of God, but it is His moral character; His goodness, righteousness and holiness. The nature of the Gospel is about restoring the goodness, righteousness and holiness of God into human experience, thereby fulfilling the law God gave to Moses. 

The law is like a flashlight. If we have a leak in our basement, the flashlight will expose the leak, but is helpless to fix it. Similarly, the law exposes our sin, but cannot solve it. Resorting to our own human capability, we are destined for failure because it requires divine capability. God sent His Son to fulfill His purpose for us, so that by His Spirit, living and working in us, we have the only means possible of attaining to some degree what we were created to be in the first place - the image of God. That is not only a liberating process, but an exciting process in which we come to experience God Himself.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for creating us in your image, and working in us so that we may reflect your character. 

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I drawing daily on Christ to transform me into His likeness?