In Genesis 1-2, we read the Creation account and how God planned for us to live. In the midst of it all, a recurring phrase appears. Six times after God creates something the text says, "and God saw that it was good." He is pleased. Things are the way He intended for them to be.
On day six, the human race comes on the scene. With this final work of creation, God's assessment changes from "good" to "very good." Then the unexpected happens. Up until this point, everything was as God intended, but in Genesis 2:18, God says something is incomplete and, therefore, "not good." We are told that God looked at the man and said, "It is not good for the man to be alone," and then went on to create Eve as a companion for Adam. Notice what God said when He created man as male and female.
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."- Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)
To be created in God's image refers to man's spiritual capability. Mankind, alone among all created beings, has the capability to commune with God. God's intention was that as man lived in meaningful connection with His creator, he would then reflect the likeness of God, live in the right way God intended, know the blessings God intended, and lead all creation to bring glory to God.
Notice, however, another aspect of what it means to be created in God's image. God says, "let US make man in our image." Some say God is speaking to the angels. But angels have no creative power. No, God is speaking to Himself, addressing Himself as the triune God. The Bible tells us that our God is a trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -living in perpetual and eternal community and harmony with Himself.
God is a relational being, and being created in His image means that He created human beings to find their fulfillment in rightly relating to God and to their fellow man. God is a relational being and He created us with the need for significant relationships as well.
"God created us with a hunger for relationship -for relationship with Him and with our fellow people. At our very core we are relational beings. The soul cannot prosper without being connected to others." - Dr. Henry Cloud
So, mankind was living in right relationship with God, one another, and the rest of creation. All was right with the universe, until sin entered the picture. This is portrayed by what we are told about Adam and Eve:
"The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."- Genesis 1:25 (NIV)
This doesn't mean that they didn't have enough sense to know they should put some clothes on, but that they had nothing to hide.
There was nothing that produced shame or guilt, in either their relationship with God or one another. But all that was about to change.
Because God designed man to be fulfilled in meaningful relationship, He created man with the capacity to choose. If a relationship is to be meaningful, it cannot be forced, it must be chosen. God wanted man to choose to relate to Him, therefore, there had to be the opportunity for the choice to be made. Hence, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said that man could either choose either choose to go his own way or to go God's way.
If he chose God's way, he would be blessed with life. If he chose his own way, he would be cursed with death. Sadly, man chose his way over God's way. Notice the result:
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'" - Genesis 3:7-10 (NIV)
Because of man's choice to go his own way (sin) he now experienced the penalty for that choice - death, damaging all of man's relationships:
A. It damaged man's relationship with himself - man felt guilt and shame for the first time ever (v. 10).
B. It damaged man's relationship with his fellow man - Adam and Eve felt guilt and shame in their relationship with one another (v. 7).
C. It damaged man's relationship with God - Why did God ask Adam where he was? Did God not know? Of course He did! The point was that He wanted Adam to know where he now was! He was guilty before God and now their relationship was damaged.
D. It damaged man's relationship with creation - Genesis 3:17-19
Now, you might ask, "What's all this have to do with the purpose of resurrection of Christ? Through His resurrection, He proved two significant things. He was resurrected . . .
1. To prove that the penalty for sin has been paid - vs. 14-15
Through the cross, God took the initiative to provide forgiveness to us. A. God's forgiveness is unconditional - v. 14
God has taken the initiative in Christ to provide forgiveness of sin for everyone - even those who refuse to come to Him.
B. God's forgiveness is intentional - v. 15
God's intention is that man need no longer go his own way and continue to experience death, but can once again, go God's way and experience life. Through the forgiveness provided by the cross, we can move from living isolated, selfish lives to living for the One who died for us and was raised from the dead for us. We can move from isolation to intimacy in our relationship with God.
But Christ was also raised from the dead ...
2. To prove that the possibility for salvation has been provided -vs. 16-17
Paul tells us that because of the forgiveness available through the cross, we can be made new within. Just as surely as the physical body of Christ has been transformed through the power of His resurrection, we can be made a new creation within. We no longer need to live as the rest of the world does - selfishly, sinfully, but we can relate to Godjto ourselves and to others as God originally intended.
All the damage done by sin can and will be reversed in the experience of all who repent, accept the forgiveness available through the cross and are reconciled to God. As we grow in our relationship with God, we will eventually experience the restoration of all that was intended for mankind when God first made the universe. That's the nature of salvation - the complete restoration of all things.
And a major part of the restoration of all things is that God's original purpose for man - that of his finding fulfillment in his relationship with God, with himself, with his fellow man, and with all of creation will be fulfilled.
When someone faces death, their last conversations reveal their deepest passions, hopes and dreams. That's why we often pay special attention to a person's last words. Well, in his final hours, Jesus gave us clues to His chief concerns. In John 17, we read our Savior's prayer for us before facing the cross. Jesus prayed for His disciples, then He said:
"I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—-just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us."- John 17:20-21 (The Message)
Jesus prayed that all who place their faith in Him would experience the same quality of relationship that Jesus had been enjoying as part of the Trinity since before the beginning of time. And one thing we can make sure of concerning the prayers of Jesus - they are always answered. In fact, when He returns, this prayer will be answered as all things are restored to the glory known before sin entered into the world. Those of us who are rightly relating to God, will one day rightly relate to ourselves, to others and to all of creation. Until then, believers can experience the answer to this prayer to the degree that we allow God to teach us how to walk in the reality of the newness that is ours in Christ.
Shallow Hal is a movie about an unattractive, really shallow middle-aged man named Hal Larsen who judges women on how "hot" they are. But then one day, Hal gets stuck on an elevator with a motivational guru, Tony Robbins, who helps him overcome his shallowness by hypnotizing him so that he sees only the inner beauty of people.
Leaving the elevator, Hal sees large, unattractive women as supermodels. When a 330 pound blonde named Rosemary shows up, to Hal she looks like. . . well like Gwyneth Paltrow. He is overcome by her kindness and humor, and she becomes the most beautiful girl in the world to him.
This is how God relates to us. He sees us as someone He desires to have a relationship with. The resurrection of Christ is proof of the fact that God took the initiative to provide the forgiveness necessary for reconciliation to take place. And when we are reconciled to God through faith in Christ, just as surely as our Savior's body was made new, we are made new within. The resurrection tells us that salvation, restoration, is now possible through Christ. Shallow Hal was advertised as "The Biggest Love Story Ever Told." But the resurrection tells us that that billing really belongs to the cross.
