As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“The reason Gnostics denied that God became fully man in the incarnation is that they held a low view of matter in general and flesh in particular. For Gnostics, matter and flesh were not products of a good creation that fell; the creation of matter and flesh was itself the fall.” - Ref21
“The democratized forms of Christian belief profiled by Hatch existed on the frontiers of American society. Their adherents were outsiders, far from the elite bastions of the northeast. They tended to be highly individualistic, innovative, unconcerned with the past, and pragmatic in their overall approach to the Christian life.” - Mere Orthodoxy
“You were made to work. But you weren’t made to only work. ‘The seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God: in it thou shalt not do any work.’” - Ref21
“Understanding that our peak doesn’t come in this life should radically change our view of deteriorating health, which otherwise would produce discouragement, regret, anger, envy, and resentment.” - Randy Alcorn
“While I agree that the struggle in politics is ‘theological’… it is not merely a matter of the theology of left and right at odds with one another. The problem is that unless men submit themselves to the God who made all things, they can’t see the world properly.” - Don Johnson
You’re staring at the painting, pretending to appreciate it like those around you in the museum. Maybe they are pretending too? You’re not sure. What is this picture? Why do so many people like it? What’s the big deal? Maybe this is how you feel about the image of God. How does knowing you are an image bearer help you? What are the practical implications of bearing God’s image?
“they taught me to think about the creative act as a kind of worship, as a way to be human. Since we were made to glorify God, worship happens when someone is doing exactly what he or she was made to do.” - IFWE
Read Part 1.
The mirror shattered. When first made, the mirror perfectly reflected its Maker. A clean, clear picture revealed Him. But when the pit of that fruit struck the glass, snaking cracks distorted His image. Blurring obscured what He intended His creation to see. God’s image remained but not as He designed it to be.
No, you are not omnipotent, and you never will be. You are not a god, and you cannot ascend to that level. That’s been tried, and the devil and his angels got condemned forever for it. Yet, God made you like Him. You bear the image of God.
Genesis 1:26 records how God created human beings: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” By design, God purposely made us like Him. But how? What does it mean to bear the image of God?
“Desecration can take many forms, but it is always characterized by certain things: a delight in dehumanizing those made in God’s image; and an absence of gratitude to God” - Carl Trueman
Discussion