Enjoy Life In God’s Family!

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.” That’s how the creation account in Genesis 1 describes God’s decision to create human beings. And then on the sixth day of creation week that is exactly what he did. Of course, Genesis 2 gives us more detail about the “process” that God went through to create Adam and Eve.

But let’s get back to that short phrase, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.” Unlike any other living creatures, humans are made in the image of God. What is that? We know from the rest of the Bible (we always let the Bible interpret itself) that the image of God means Adam and Eve were holy and righteous—they were without sin. What God wanted they wanted. What God said to do they gladly did. Their will was in perfect harmony with God’s will.

Not only does this quote from God tell us about who we are it also tells us something about God. We hear what might seem like the odd way that God talked to himself. What did he say? He said let “us” make mankind in “our” image and in “our” likeness. Obviously, we need the rest of the Bible to fill in more of the details about the fact that God is triune—that is three in one. I think we can also say that from this verse we learn that God wants to bring mankind into a unique relationship. We who are created in the image of God, and in the likeness of God, are invited into the family of God.

On this Trinity Sunday let’s take to heart a reminder of what our Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) has done for us. Yes, God finished our salvation long ago. He planned it in eternity. Fulfilled it in time. And has delivered it to us through the Word and Sacraments. But we enjoy the blessings of that salvation today and forever. And as we reflect on the words of our Second Reading for today, we’ll see what it means to:

“ENJOY LIFE IN GOD’S FAMILY”

I. We are sanctified by the Spirit (vv. 12-13)

II. We are children of the Father (vv. 14-16)

III. We are siblings with the Son (v. 17)

Since the first word in this Scripture lesson is “therefore” you know what to do next, right? When you run into a “therefore” you ask what is that “there for?” If we back up just three verses, we can understand this section of the Bible much more clearly. Here is what the Apostle Paul wrote, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. In our Adult Bible class last Sunday, we finished a series on Peter’s two letters in the New Testament. We heard Peter declared that the Apostle Paul’s letters “contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” Yes, these are things that are hard for us to understand. And these verses are full of them! But let’s not miss the point. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have saved us and now welcome us into the family of God. That’s a powerful point for us to take with us this Trinity Sunday. We are sanctified by the Spirit. We are children of the Father. We are siblings with the Son.

I.

Last Sunday, when we observed the Festival of Pentecost, we considered the person and work of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has also been the focus of our recent midweek Bible classes. We’ll see later on in these verses that it is the Holy Spirit who brings us into God’s family. But in the first two verses of our Second Reading for today we hear about the new spiritual life we enjoy because of the Holy Spirit. We are sanctified by the Spirit. Listen again to this Word of God given to us through the Apostle Paul. “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” As members of God’s family through faith in Jesus we have been and are being sanctified—set apart as holy and set apart for service—by the Holy Spirit. And so, we are living and will continue to live a new life.