Introduction

Genesis 1:24-27 NKJV  Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.  (25)  And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  (26)  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  (27)  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

• So know we have seen all six days of creation.And you will notice that a lot of people say “Six days of creation” instead of “Seven days of Creation” because God did not do any work on the Seventh day, on the Seventh day God rested… we will talk about that in a sermon down the road.But here, in the first 27 verses of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible we see all of the known universe being created.But this morning I want to focus on just the creation of man.
• You will notice that man was made last of all… of all of creation, Mankind was the last thing made.
  • And you know I think God does everything for a reason, including making mankind last.
    • Because in so doing, God humbles mankind for all of history, knowing that everything that was made, was made before us.
      • Unlike Jesus, who was there at the beginning, whom all things were created through… man was not there.
      • We did not help God created the stars and the sun.
      • We did not tell the sea where to end and the land to begin.
      • We did not advice God on what kind of fish, or birds, or insects to make.
      • We did not get creative with God and help Him come up with all the different kinds of land animals.
        • In fact, this is a big theme in the book of Job… where Job had ventured into pride in trying to vindicate himself before God, God reminds Job that man was not there at the beginning.

Job 38:4 NKJV “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

• In fact all of Job 38 is a recounting of creation reminding Job that he was not there…
• So God creates us last, so there is no confusion of who made what… it wont be long before man is building a tower in Bable trying to be like God… but for now things are perfect in creation.
  • And I think there is a kindness to God creating us last… because when we were created, everything was all ready for us.
  • One of my favorite things about staying in hotels is that when I get there everything is ready for me.
    • The beds are made, the towels are hung, the toiletries are out and ready to be used. It makes me feel like a KING.
    • And thus, God had the dwelling place for man, our earthly palace, fully furnished before we arrived.
• So to recap, here are our six days of creation:
  • Day One: The Heavens, the Earth, and Light
  • Day Two: The Atmosphere and Sky (Firmaments)
  • Day Three: Land, Seas, and Plant Life
  • Day Four: Stars, Sun, and Moon
  • Day Five: Fish and Birds
  • Day Six: Land Animals, Insects, and Man
• So there you have it, all of creation in six days… with man created last of all… last but not least… let’s pray…

• Of all of creation, this morning what I want to focus on is the creation of man… why we were created and whom we were created like.

• His Image… that is the title of todays sermon, because you were made in His image… and that has some very important implications… let’s get into it with point one this morning: You were created for Intimacy with God.

Point One – You We Created For Intimacy with God

Genesis 1:26 NKJV  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

• You know man’s creation is very unique… the way that man and woman were made is unlike the rest of Creation…
• You see, in all other creation, God spoke, and creation obeyed.
  • Then God said “let there be light”, and there was light.
  • Then God said “let there be a firmament (an atmosphere)” and there was an atmosphere.
  • Then God said “let the waters be gathered together”, and there was oceans and dry land.
  • Then God said  “Let the oceans and sky bring forth life” and there were fish and birds.
  • Then God said “Let the earth bring forth living creatures” and there were land animals and insects.
• But then at the very end of creation, God says something different…
  • Then God said “Let us make man…”

Genesis 1:26a NKJV  Then God said, “Let Us make man…

• Before it was “Let there be” now it is “Let us make”.
  • In the rest of creation God speaks with authority “Let there be”…
  • In the creation of man God speaks with intimacy “Let us make”
    • With the rest of creation it was an authoritative command “YOU WILL COME INTO EXISTENCE… OCEANS, COME INTO EXISTENCE, LAND, COME INTO EXISTENCE, TREES, COME INTO EXISTENCE, ANIMALS, COME INTO EXISTENCE…
      • This is authority… God commands and creation obeys.
    • But then with man, it is “Let us make”… it is God saying “Unlike the rest of creation, I am going to get down and form man with my own hands”
    • This is a creation of love… maybe you have heard the term “Labor of love” when it comes to an art project, or some other creative work that someone has done “it was a labor of love”… I think that is what is going on here… God made us not with authority, but with love, compassion, and intimacy…
      • Because, as is the title of this point, “You were Created for Intimacy”.
    • Let me say it again, just so it sticks…. The rest of creation God made with authority, you we made with intimacy.
  • Take a look at Proverbs 8 which talks about Jesus as the personification of Wisdom… lets read verses 27-31

Proverbs 8:27-31 NKJV   27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,

29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.

Two things to note here: First, Jesus here is the opposite of Job… because Jesus WAS there… but also take a look at verse 31… Rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

• At creation, saints, YOU WERE THE DELIGHT OF CHRIST.
  • Of all that was created, it was you, it was us, the children of man, whom God took delight in.
    • Why? Because unlike all of the rest of creation, we were created from a place of intimacy… and we were created for intimacy with God.
• And this is a foundational truth that should shape our understanding of God and His ways.
  • The Devil, our flesh, and this world want’s you to believe that God is some divine taskmaster who is up in heaven creating a ridiculous amounts of laws and rules… that He just enjoys us suffering under an incomprehensible set of laws.
    • Like God is just up there miniacly laughing “Mwahahaha… and then I told them that they shouldn’t cheat on their wives! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”.
• But that is not the case at all…
  • No, God created animals with authority.
  • And He created the stars with authority.
  • But He created you with intimacy and love.
    • So any worldview that try’s to change that is not a worldview that is in line with the Bible.
      • And this is were legalism fails the test… the idea that we must please God by following every Jot and tittle of the law, this is not a Biblical worldview… it fails to understand the foundation of all things through Genises.
    • It is not through obeying God’s laws that we please God, it is through intimacy with God that we please Him, because that is what we were created for.
      • And it is through that intimacy with Him that we naturally want to follow His laws…
        • Because, don’t get me wrong, God is still the authority of all, including mankind… and He certainly has laws, and we certainly must follow those laws… but it is through intimacy that we should follow them, form a place of love, not authoritarian obedience.
• I will put it to you this way, how many of y’all love being American?
  • I hope you do… we have issues that I am not proud of, but I am so grateful to be American.
  • One of the reasons I love America is because I don’t find our laws to be oppressive… for the most part we are still the land of the free…
    • And if you think our laws are oppressive, you have probably never spent much time abroad…
    • Our laws are not perfect, and it has been abused before… but for the most part I find that our laws are relatively liberating.
  • And because of this realization I find it funny when people accuse God, especially in the Old Testament, of being some kind of authoritative task master.
    • Why, because for the most part all of y’all are law abiding citizens in the US… you are not all being thrown into prison left or right… yet in the US there are between 15,000 and 50,000 federal laws! There are so many it is hard to get an accurate count.
      • So let’s say there are 30,000 federal laws, which is Wikipedia’s estimate, and that is just FEDERAL LAWS, that’s not state, county, and city laws…
      • Let’s say there are 30,000 federal laws…
        • Now compare that to the 613 laws found in the Old Testament…
          • Now, which is more oppressive? If you said the Old Testament then you need to go back to math class…
    • But there is not a person in here who can name all the laws that we are under in America… yet we don’t find ourselves in prison… why?
      • Because we are AMERICAN… we have an instinctive knowledge of what is and is not legal in America… we know what is right and wrong here… we love our Nation, we have an intimacy with it… and that shapes our behavior.
    • When I go to other countries I get briefed on what is legal and not… for instance, in Singapore it is illegal to chew gum… in Singapore it is illegal to talk bad about the government, in Singapore it is illegal to hang flags other than the Singaporean flag… These are things I would never know… because I am not Singaporean.
    • I am American. And so, I am a Christian… and it is with my intimate relationship with God that I learn to obey.
      • By the way, there are 613 laws and commands in the Old Testament, in the New Testament there are 1,050 laws and commands. Nearly twice as many in a third of the pages… just food for thought.
• But again, it is through intimacy with God, through a relationship with Him and His Son and His Spirit, that we learn to follow, to fear, to obey, to revere, to worship, to respect, to exalt our Lord, our King, Our Master, Our Father, and Our friend.

1 John 5:1-5 NKJV Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

If you believe in Christ you are born of God… children of God… those are RELATIONSHIP terms.

• For this we know that we LOVE God… that is a relationship term.
  • That we obey His commandments and His commandments ARE NOT BURDENSOME.
    • And y’all, this aint the sermon, but this is a freebee, if you are born of God, YOUR FAITH WILL OVERCOME THE WORLD. THAT IS YOUR VICTORY! YOU WIN, THE WORLD LOSES…
• But back to intimacy… God call’s us His children. What could be more intimate than that.
  • Not only that, but He calls us not just servant’s… but friends!

John 15:14-15 NKJV  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

• He calls us His beloved, He takes delight in us… should we not take delight in Him?
  • How is your relationship with the God who intimately created you?
    • Would you describe your relationship with Him as intimate?
    • Do you talk to Him daily? In secret and in public?
    • Do you worship Him? Do you delight in Him like He delights in you?
    • Do you love His Word? Is it food to your soul?
    • Is religion a burden to you, or is your religion pure, and pleasing to God?
    • Do you have a relationship with Christ, or is Christianity just vain repetition you do on Sunday mornings, trying to check off a box to feel like a “good person?”
      • Let me leave this point with this:

Genesis 2:7 NKJV  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

• God got down on His hands and knees to form you from the dust of the ground…
  • Can’t you get down on your hands and knees to worship Him?
    • What do you think people are doing up here at the altar during worship? THEY ARE HAVING INTIMACY WITH THEIR SAVIOR… if you have never done it, try it sometime, come up here during worship, kneel before the Lord… and just spend time with Him… just you and Him… because you were created for intimacy.
• Now that brings me to my final point this morning: You were made in the image of God… Represent the Image of God Well!

Point Two – Represent the Image of God Well

Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  (27)  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

• Now I don’t want to get into the Transgender issue this morning, God created them male and female, let’s just leave it at that… everything aside from that is a perversion of God’s created order.
  • Now that is all I will say on that… let’s take a look at what it means to be created in God’s image.
    • The first thing that we must understand is that God is a Trinity. Three in one.
• You will notice here that God says “Let US make man in OUR image”… we also talked about last week the unique language of Elohim Bara, God Created, where Elohim is plural but Bara is singular… a seeming contradiction, unless God is three in one…
  • Interestingly, here in these verses about man’s creation is the only other place we see in Genesis 1 the phrase “Elohim Bara” God created man in His own image… “Elohim Bara man in His own image”.
  • And so we see this language… and this jumble of nouns and pronouns… God, Gods, He, Us, Him, We…”
    • How is this possible? Again, it is because we believe in a Triune God, we believe in the Holy Trinity.
    • We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
      • Together, three in one, they are God. And each one individually is God.

• So here we see that God is a Trinity.
  • The Father is Not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Father.
    • Yet, The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
      • And further, we do not serve three God’s but One God, because all three together are God. They are individually God, and collectively God.
    • And if that feels hard to understand, don’t worry you are not alone, lots of people, even theologians struggle with this…
    • But good news, we were made in God’s image, we too were created as a trinity, not a holy and divine trinity, but because we are made in the likeness of God, we are trinitarian in nature… and we can look at ourselves to understand the Holy Trinity.

• You see as a human, you have three parts, you have a Soul, a Flesh, and a Spirit.
  • Your Soul is your mind your will and your emotions… basically what your brain handles…
  • Your Flesh is your physical body and it’s desires.
  • Your Spirit is the eternal part of you, sometimes called “your ghost”, that will live forever and gives us our connection with God. It is the breath of God inside of us.
    • Now, your Soul is you, Your flesh is You, and your Spirit is you… but your soul is not your flesh, your flesh is not your spirit, and your spirit is not your soul… Yet all three are collectively you, and individually you.
    • Let me make it even MORE plain to you:

• Who is this a Picture of? (Shakespeare)

• And who wrote this? (Shakespeare)

• Now Shakespeare was a Christian, he died in 1616… assuming he was truly born again, where is Shakespeare now? (Heaven)
  • Now see, you all fully understand… instinctively understand how the trinity of man works… because when I asked who is this:

• You said “Shakespeare”… you did not say “That is a picture of the flesh of Shakespeare”.

• When I asked “who wrote this” you said “Shakespeare” you did not say “The soul of Shakespeare wrote that.

• And when I asked “Where is Shakespear now” no one said “buried in the graveyard at Holy Trinity Church in Warwickshire England” nor did you say “Well his SPIRIT and SOUL are in heaven but his body is in Warwickshire”.
  • Because we understand that Shakespeare is Shakespeare… be it his flesh, his soul, or his spirit.
    • We also understand that Shakespeare is not three-individual human beings, but he is one human being, existing in three parts, that are all unique yet fully him.
    • So it is with God… three persons “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but one God.

• And interestingly, there are some strong similarities between God’s trinity and ours.
  • God the Father is the leader, He is in control, He is creative, Most of the time we talk about God’s emotions even, we are talking about the Father… this is like man’s Soul.
  • Jesus only does what the Father tells Him, He is God in the FLESH. Just like man has flesh that is subject to our Soul which tells it what to do.
  • The Holy Spirit is… well is like man’s Spirit. It is eternal and intangible, and it He helps us connect with God the Father.
    • Now it is not a perfect one-to-one ration between man’s trinity and God’s trinity… but we can see similarities…
    • Why?
    • BECAUSE WE ARE MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE…
• Now let’s conclude todays message with the application of today’s point…

Conclusion

• Here is the application, image bearers of God… Are you representing God’s image well.
  • When people see you, they see God… are you representing God’s image well, or are you dragging it through the mud?
    • Are you slandering God by misusing His image that He made you in… or are you representing Him well?
• In your Spirit, do you represent God well?
  • Are you a worshiper in Spirit and in truth?
    • Do you recognize the eternal nature of your creation… do you feel the longing to be with God and do the things of God… and do you let that longing drive you to be the best, God honoring Christian you can be?
      • Or are you just “Spiritual”… just on a “Spiritual” journey? Ignoring the truth of God’s word and the importance it has over your eternity and others?
      • Do you take care of your spirit through prayer and fasting… or do you only care about where your spirit Goes when you die?
      • When people consider your spirit do they think “There is a man destined for heaven!”
      • Or do they think “He is probably a good person”.
        • When it comes time to do your funeral will the preacher say “I know that he is in glory with his Lord, Savior, Father, and friend”…
        • Or will the preacher have to say something awkward like “We can’t know if he accepted Jesus in his dying moments or not…”
• Does your Spirit Represent God well?
• What about your flesh… oh some of y’all aint going to like this… is your flesh representing God well?
  • You know why I couldn’t vote for Chris Christy to be president? Because his weight shows that he is a man with no self control.
    • He just eats whatever and whenever he wants to…
      • Self control is a fruit of the spirit… and the way your body looks tells a story about you and the God who’s image you were made in.
    • But don’t think that if you are skinny that you are off the hook…
      • If you are chasing after fleshly desires, like sex or pornography… then you are running the image of God through the mud.
      • You are joining your flesh with another flesh who is not your wife… and you are supposed to be made in the image of God.
    • Y’all, let’s use our bodies and our flesh to glorify God, not to indulge in our own fleshly desires.
• So we should ask, does our flesh represent God well.
• And how about your soul.
  • How are you using your mind, will, and emotions.
    • Do you use your intellect for the advancement of God’s kingdom?
      • Or the advancement of your won?
    • Do you use your mind to plot, and scheme, and manipulate?
      • Or do you use it in holy and honorable ways.
    • Do you sin in your mind… feeding your flesh with mental fantasies, gossip, or hatred?
    • Are your emotions in line with God’s emotions? Weeping over what He weeps over and rejoicing over what he rejoices over…
      • Or are you a slave to your emotions… or worse yet, do you use your emotions to manipulate others?
  • If people looked at your soul… your mind, will, and emotions… would they see a soul that represents God… or would they find something much darker?
• Gospel Call – Quick

Aaronic Blessing