“Created Like God”
September 29, 2013
Genesis 1:26-31
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
We are created in the image of God. When God made us in His own image – He gave us responsibilities. He created us to rule. He created us to subdue the earth. He gave us every tree and plant. He gave us every animal and bird and creature that had breath. He placed us in authority over all these things. We were to rule the world for God. With pure hearts and perfect minds and a natural desire to please God – we were equipped to rule the world. But then you know what happened. We fell.
Sometimes evil guys want to rule the world again. It has happened throughout history up to the present day. But that is where we started – and we didn’t do such a good job. Notice that after God created everything in the first five days, at the end of each day He looked at it and He said it was ‘good’. But after He made man He said, “It is VERY good”. Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation – greatest work. We are created in His own image.
How are we like God? Do we look like Him? No, He is Spirit. Do we think like Him? No, His thoughts are far above ours. Do we have His power or nature? Of course not! Let me tell you how we are created like God. We are created with a free will. Like God, we have the ability to gather information, identify our preferred future and set our wills to achieve what has been conceived in our hearts. You have personality, dignity and potential. You have awesome power and responsibility. God has given you the ability to create life and to take life. With that power of choice; with the power to create and destroy – comes responsibility. God has given us personal responsibility with our free wills. Jesus will not force us and rule our lives for us. He could. We might even ASK Him to. He IS the King and He could overpower us. He could dominate us. But He will not. He will not make you a robot. He will guide you. He will empower you. He will lead you. But His desire is that you realize He is your King and willingly submit to His Kingship. He turns around and puts you back in charge of your life.
God, in making us in His own image, made us to love. He created us to be in a loving relationship with Himself. Loving relationships takes two willing individuals. One is not enough. No matter how badly one may want a relationship – it won’t happen unless both desire it. God in His sovereignty has determined that we have no choice but to make the choices that determined our eternal destiny. We have no choice but to make choices.
Jesus takes off His crown and He wraps a towel around His waist and kneels down to serve you – to cleanse you. Creator serving the creation!
THINK of that! The King of kings, the Creator of the universe humbles Himself to wash your dirtiness. Listen:
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” John 13:3-5
Jesus is the King! Why would the Creator God humble Himself to us? We are dirty. We are sinful. We are weak and ignorant. Why would the Greatest Power in the universe submit to us? Jesus told us.
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:12-16
Because we have this tremendous gift of free will, fallen man is naturally in opposition to one another. We are naturally self-seeking and selfish. Jesus came to change all that. He came to reveal His will for our wills. We are to exercise our power; our free choice – to serve one another. In fact, Jesus went on to say that the way people will know we are His disciples is by the way we LOVE one another. (John 13:35)
Look at any typical church and you don’t see love. You see selfishness and carnality. You see self-seeking and pride. Very seldom do you see humility and service. We need to take off our crowns and take up the basin and towel once again - if we truly want to be Christ-like. And that is our need. We need to be discipled in Christlikeness.
Our spiritual journey begins when we respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. But that is only the beginning. We need to, not only willingly follow Jesus, but we need to willingly and intentionally submit to Him discipling us. Last week we talked about all these voices speaking to us – trying to influence us. Do you remember them? (Mind, emotion, desire, body, people and Satan)
We need to learn to say ‘no’ to what we think and feel and want. That is really hard to do – but it is possible with the Lord’s help. What we need to learn is to distinguish Jesus’ voice from all the others and respond to Him. King Jesus in us – the Holy Spirit – makes listening for, and hearing Him, possible.
King Jesus speaking through His Word, makes listening to Him and responding to Him possible. The Word and the Spirit have not failed us. Yet, so many Christians flounder and even fail as authentic disciples of Jesus. Why? What is missing and so needed in our lives is the personal, intentional, coaching (or discipling) in listening to and following Jesus. Jesus told us to ‘make disciples’. He commanded every baptized person to be coached; to be taught His will for their lives – and yet we do such a terrible job of it. “Undiscipled disciples” is unacceptable. Someone said, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they can crawl off the altar.” The problem with disciples with free wills is that they can choose to be undiscipled. And one of the reasons for so many ‘undiscipled’ disciples is that we choose not to be discipled. We de-prioritize it. We neglect it. We don’t actually REJECT it – we mean to go to Bible Study; we mean to go to church; we mean to learn more about Jesus and His will for our lives – but we don’t.
It doesn’t help that many churches hinder discipleship by almost encouraging spiritual neglect by emphasizing that God loves us the way we are – sinners. And He does. But they stop there. There is no motive to grow in grace. There is no encouragement to seek God’s will. There is no motive to change lives. It is almost as if the church and the pastor teach “you have arrived! You made it!” And so many Christians remain at that immature level of spirituality until they die. And they could have enjoyed life so much more; been more productive and been a much greater blessing to others – not to mention eternal rewards.
Folks, I can’t impress on you more - that God wants you to grow in grace and knowledge. Disciples need to be discipled. It is important to go to church regularly. God’s Word tells us not to neglect that. It is important to daily get into the Word in private and personal devotions with Jesus. He desires to walk and talk with us daily – as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. But we also need to have a plan for discipleship. The form can vary. Midweek Bible Study; personal Bible Study with a mentor; Bible Study class at a college; or a small group study once a week - are all good ways to begin to be discipled into the Disciple Jesus wants you to be. If you are not intentionally, purposefully working on becoming a better disciple through a thoughtful plan – then you are missing the boat. You need a plan that stretches you spiritually. You need a plan that will help you grow and mature and become.
Last week I cautioned you that the enemy of your souls will do all he can to hinder your church attendance, Bible reading and hearing the voice of Jesus. How much more so will he fight against you being discipled. But you have the power. You have the responsibility. You have to MAKE it happen. You are a free moral agent – just like God. Your future is determined by your choices – or lack of making a choice. You determine your destiny. You can’t blame it on anyone or anything else. You have the power available to you to accomplish ANYTHING!
“I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
“the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 4:4
Jesus said, “...Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
God has created you for greatness. He has created you in His own image. He created you to rule and reign with Him. The world and the enemy of our souls beats us down and intimidates us and makes us feel weak and inferior. Don’t believe it any longer. See yourself through God’s eyes. See the potential within.
You have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You have determined that you will accept the call to follow Him. Now the challenge before you is to be discipled by Him. Will you accept that invitation. Make a plan to be discipled and in spite of all opposition – make it happen.
This week I want you to get out pen and paper and write down, “My plan to become a better disciple is ...” Then use your the incredible power of your will to make it happen. Let’s begin to live like the disciples Jesus intends for us to be. Let’s begin to grow and be stretched. Get off the couch. Turn the TV off. Call some friends and get into the Word – and listen to Jesus’ voice. He is speaking. Just listen.
SONG
