The Image of God

"Everyone who bleeds will bleed because God made a man in his own image" (Genesis 9: 6).

Yesterday we considered several competitive definitions of what humans mean in the history of Western thought. But as a disciple of Jesus, we must first pay attention to what he means to us. Several weeks ago, we studied Genesis 1: 26-27. It is one of the most important scriptures about the whole human doctrine of the Bible. In these verses, Moses tells us that God made a man according to his "image" and made a man after his "similarity" (v. 26).

Some people distinguish God's "image" from "similarity" in the history of Christian theology. Traditional Roman Catholic theology often says that "image" refers to our ability to make a reasonable choice while "similarity" refers to giving an additional gift of justice before the fall . After Adam 's crime, this view thinks that only similarity will be lost. Protestant, on the other hand, has greatly agreed that we can not distinguish God's "image" from "similarity" in human nature.

We will think more about this important idea next week. Well, we will realize that people who are images of Day (built with the image of God) convey some important things to us.

Imago Dei means that people are not gods. Because people reflect the Lord, it is not the Lord. Because we are biological, we are counting on. Furthermore, we are responsible to God, and God is not responsible to us (Job 38-42)

Imago Dei distinguishes people from animals. We are subordinate to the Lord, not to wild beasts and birds in the air. On the contrary, a person has the right to rule over other creatures created by God (Genesis 1: 28). Since we judge all violations ecologically and otherwise, we must rule wisely and compassionately (left 25: 1-7, Deuteronomy 25: 4). Humans have greater ultimate value than animals, but for example those who do not support abortion while maintaining insufficient control of God's creation will have to answer their crimes.

Sin does not destroy the image of God in mankind. Today's poem tells us that even after autumn human beings are still adults big. No matter how we destroy his image, everyone still reflects the dignity of the Lord in some way. Therefore our treatment of others represents a recognition for our Creator. If you are cruel to others, then if you are cruel to his statue, apologize and recall that you are guilty, (God 3: 7-10)

In Genesis 1: 27, "It is written that" God created people with their own image and created people with the image of God ". However, this part does not define the meaning of "statue of God". So, through the history of the Church, "the appearance of God" has been explained in many ways. Is it people's ability to refer to reason, free will, relationships, creativity, moral behavior, or other aspects? It takes less time to notice that the explanation seems selfish - it seems to point to what "I think the image of God" thinks is important in my life. A philosopher thinks that it refers to reason, artists think that it is about creativity, counselor thinks that it is about relations. Did the Bible give us a way to solve this problem?

Humans in Genesis III chapter are caught in sin and do not destroy it, but they will defile it. This is my premise. In the statue of God, the sentences preserving the statue of God are one of Genesis. "God created a person with his own image, he created him with the image of God, he created men and women." Therefore, men and women do the same when creating an image of God . Then, after the Autumn of Genesis 9, he says, "Anyone shedding blood will come out because God created a man in his statue." Morally, in Genesis IX, even if all human beings are sinners, we guarantee that the arrestees will get death sentences. Therefore, to be a sinner does not mean that we are no longer in the era of God.