FULLVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH WEDNESDAY NIGHT 6:00 P.M.

WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT MANKIND God created man in his own image: male and female. (Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:1-2; Mat 19:4-5)

In God’s Image Both the Hebrew word for “image” (tselem) and the Hebrew word for “likeness” (demut) refer to something that is similar but not identical to the thing it represents or is an “image” of.

What Is the Image of God? The image of God is not so much something that man bears as something that man is. God's character and attributes are reflected in people. Man is a personal, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and relational being. Image does not have reference to a physical appearance of God since God is Spirit. (Jo 4:24) The fact that man is the Image of God distinguishes him from the animal and every other creature” (Systematic Theology, p. 206).

In The Image of God Created in God’s Image is a likeness mentally, morally, and socially. Mental Likeness: mankind was created as a rational, volitional agent that can reason and choose. Man has the capacity to make free choices; good or evil. (Gen 1:28) Moral Likeness: mankind was created in righteousness and perfect innocence, a reflection of God’s holiness. (Gen 1:31) Social Likeness: God’s social nature is grounded in His affections. Mankind was created for fellowship, with God and mankind. (Gen 2:18)

The Bible teaches that all of mankind is descended from a single pair (Adam/Eve). (Gen 1:27-28; 2:7, 22; 3:20; 9:19) As those made in the “image of God,” Adam and Eve were God’s vice- regents. They were to fill the earth with godly offspring and glorify Him through their rule on the earth. (Gen 1:26-28)

The Test of Obedience The forbidden tree was to be a measure of Adam’s obedience and responsibility toward the One who created him. The first part of the temptation of Satan was the integrity of the Word of God. The second was the contradiction of God’s testimony. (Gen 3:1-5) The woman was deceived by Satan but Adam was not, Adam sinned in utter rebellion. (Rom 5:12; 1 Tim 2:14) At the moment Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, man’s spirit, that part of him that had communion with God, died instantly. (Gen 3:7-8) Man became a fallen image, dead spiritually (Eph 2:1-2), dying physically (Gen 3:19) and unless saved by God dead, dead eternally. (Rom 1:18-23; Rev 20:13-15).

The Fallen Image: knowing good and evil “Guilt and guilt feeling”- their eyes we opened but the knowledge gained by sin is guilt, which we seek to escape by denial. (Gen 3:7) “Naked and ashamed”- a second effect of that knowledge was shame and the attempt to get ride of shame is to conceal the sin. (Gen 3:7) “Fear and Flight”- the third effect of that knowledge was fear and the attempt to escape. (Gen 3:8-10) The image of God is marred by sin and humans do not now completely fulfill God’s original design. (Rom 3:11) Genesis 9:6 affirms the image of God in man as the reason for the death penalty for murderers.

“Where are You?” The arraignment: God called Adam: God’s call will make us come before Him. (Gen 3:9; Acts 9:4) The examination: who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I told you not to eat of? The questions were designed to bring them to the point of confession and repentance. (Gen 3:11-13) The verdict: not spoken by God but it is guilty. Their excuses held no weight. (Rom 3:10-12;19) The penalty: three-fold death- spiritual, physical, eternal.

“Where are You?” The passing of the sentence: God begins with the serpent through whom the sin originated. The curse has two parts (crawl on belly) (eat dust- know defeat). The second part applies to Satan, but there is a connection. (man’s fear of snakes) (Gen 3:14) Grace intervenes on behalf of man: woman is given pain in childbirth; the man lives by the sweat of his brow. The immediate physical death is postponed. The earth is cursed for man’s sake. There is the promise of a deliver. (Gen 3:15)

Restored Image of God Man’s fall into sin did not destroy or remove the Image of God; it merely marred or disfigured it. (Gen 1:27; 5:3) God in His grace is restoring His image through the person and work of Christ. (1 Cor 15:49; Col 1:14-15; 3:10; Rom 8:29; Heb 1:3) When God redeems an individual, He begins to restore the original image of God, creating a “new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Our conforming to Christ's image takes place in this life. (2 Pet 1:3-4)

Regeneration, Renewal, Redeemed Image When God saves a person He saves the whole person, beginning with the spirit, continuing with the soul, and finishing with the body. (LK 8:48; Jo 5:6) Salvation of the spirit comes first: this is regeneration- the new birth. (Jo 3:3; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 3:10) Second God works with the soul, renewing it after the image of Christ. This process is called sanctification. (Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18) Finally there is the resurrection of the body, which is redeemed from destruction.(1 Cor 15:42-54)

What Man Says about Man

Man’s theory about his origin. The Evolutionary Theory of the origin of man: Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from apelike ancestors. According to thorough-going naturalistic evolution, man descended from the lower animals, body and soul, by a perfectly natural process, controlled entirely by inherent forces. Theory of Panspermia as the origin of man: is that life did not begin on Earth at all, but was biologically brought here from elsewhere in space, most likely aboard a meteorite. It suggests that microbes transmitted to Earth from space are responsible for the origin of life. The theory also states that evolution of life to higher forms is dependent on the genetics of the original microbe(s) that came from space.

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