MAN MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD Devotion #9 of 17

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle , and over all the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them"

(Genesis 1:26-27) The Image and the Gospel

The devil is aggressive to blind the minds of men to the Gospel of Christ. He is not omnipotent in this perverse endeavor, praise the Lord! Wherever there is a love for the truth, his power is turned into impotence. He blinds the minds of those who chose to remain in his realm--those whose hearts are hardened against the Lord, who BELIEVE NOT. Scripture puts it this way. "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the Image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:4). Christ is the revelation of God, and the Gospel is the revelation of Christ. For this reason, God is never more clearly seen than when the Gospel is preached and believed. His hatred for sin and wrath against all ungodliness is revealed in the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17). There, in the Gospel of Christ, the account of the cursing of the Son is declared (Gal 3:13). Jesus was "made to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21). That is a mighty revelation of His hatred of sin. The Gospel also reveals the marvelous love of God for humanity. "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:16). Paul confessed the life he lived was lived by faith in the Son of God "Who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal 2:20). Once the extent to which God has gone to save us, bursts upon our hearts, we will have no reservations about living for Him. No wonder the Gospel is called "the Gospel of God" (Rom 1:1; 15:16; 2 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:2,8,9; 1 Pet 4:17). It is "the Gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), revealing His desire to bless His offspring through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why the Gospel is called a "glorious Gospel" (1 Tim. 1:11). It is a message that reveals, opening up the secret things of God to the ones bearing His image. Here God is seen in His salvational capacity.

Image of the Invisible God

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" (Col. 1:15). The "invisible God" cannot be perceived, or understood, by the "natural man" (1 Cor. 2:14). The word "invisible" means transcendent to the natural order. A germ is invisible to the naked eye. However, it can be seen if you magnify it. God is not like that. He is beyond the capabilities of nature. That is one of the reasons we required a Savior. Jesus brought God within range of our hearts, and our faith can therefore see and appropriate Him. The Divine imagery in man is confirmed by the impact of the Gospel upon him when it is believed. It has no such impact upon angels, even though they desire to probe into it (1 Pet 1:12). But it has a transforming power upon men because they bear the image of the Author of that Gospel.

-- TOMORROW: SALVATION AND THE IMAGE --