Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Ezek 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Ezek 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones
of fire.
INTRODUCTION:
What is a reflection? According to the dictionary it is an image/likeness/representation/ counterpart/impression. From the beginning of time God wanted to reflect Himself. He cannot create another god like himself so the next best thing was to create an anointed angel to reflect His glory in the heavens and created man on earth to
reflect His glory on earth.
So what happened? In this creation process God chose to allow everyone (angels included) to have a free will. God knew what would happen. The reflection would be tarnished or removed, let’s take a closer look.
I. LUCIFER: heylel, hay-lale’; (in the sense of brightness); the morning-star:--lucifer.
A holy angel with beauty and wisdom. A holy angel with precious stones and musical instruments. A holy angel that was to cover the mountain of God. A holy angel that was to reflect the glory of God. Tradition says he was the praise and worship leader
for all the angels in heaven. So why was he created?
a. To reflect God’s Glory
b. For God’s Service
c. To Bless God
What happened? Pride took over and he thought he could take over. Instead of reflecting God’s glory he wanted the glory for himself but God makes a very clear statement in Isaiah
Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
II. LET’S LOOK AT ADAM
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Created in the image of God.
He became fearful and ashamed
He hid from the presence of God
Adam was not the reflection of God that God had intended for him to be. Just as Lucifer he made a choice and the choice wasn’t the right choice. There was a price to be paid. Just as Lucifer fell from the heavens like lightening, Adam fell from the presence of God.
III. LET’S LOOK AT MOSES
Exo 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Exo 34:30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
In Chapter 32 we read of the golden calf and Moses braking the first set of tablets.
In Chapter 33 Moses goes back up on the mountain and asks to see God’s glory.
When Moses came into the presence of the Lord several things happened:
*He had a change in his relationship with the Lord - He interceded for the people
*Being in the presence of the Lord changed his physical countenance
*Moses had a change in his relationship with others
IV. NOW LET’S LOOK AT THE PERFECT REFLECTION
a. He had the glory of the Father
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
b. He could only do what the Father does.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
c. Jesus told Phillip if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father
John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then,Show us the Father?
d. He gave them a glimse of his glory on the mountain
Mat 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Jesus reflected not only the glory of God - he reflected the attributes of God:
V. THE LAST REFLECTION IS YOURS
Are you reflecting the image of Christ in your life. Do you die daily and take up your cross? Are there sins that are tarnishing the reflection?
a. God has called you, justified you, and glorified you.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
b. After your were called and justified you put off the old man and put on the new.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
c. God is doing a refining in your life
Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is
refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them:
I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
The silversmith would refine silver until he could see his reflection. The silver would be process in the crucible until it became pure and glossy.
Unfortunately sometimes, some silver cannot be refined to the point of purity. God calls this reprobate silver
Jer 6:29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Jer 6:30 Reprobate silver shall men call them because the LORD hath rejected them.
ILLUSTRATION:
In 1992, a Los Angeles County parking control officer came upon a brown ElDorado Cadillac illegally parked next to the curb on street-sweeping day. The officer dutifully wrote out a ticket. Ignoring the man seated at the driver’s wheel, the officer reached inside the open car window and placed the $30 citation on the dashboard. The driver of the car made no excuses there was no argument.
The driver of the car had been shot in the head ten to twelve hours before but was sitting up, stiff as a board, slumped slightly forward, with blood on his face. He was dead. The officer, preoccupied with ticket-writing, was unaware of anything out of the ordinary. He got back in his car and drove away. Many people around us are "dead in transgressions
and sins." What should catch our attention most is their need, not their offenses. They don’t need a citation; they need a Savior.
