39. Back to the Basics: The Doctrine of Humanity

In this episode, the hosts dive deep into the doctrine of humanity, discussing the unique position of humans as created in God's image, the importance of gender as designed by God, and humanity's distinction from the rest of creation through the soul and the ability to have a relationship with God. They touch on current cultural debates around gender, emphasizing the biblical perspective. The discussion extends to the roles of humans as workers, as part of the creation narrative, and explores how humans reflect God's image through work, creativity, and relationships. The conversation also navigates the theological implications of being made in God's image (Imago Dei), highlighting humanity's purpose for worship, partnership with God, and the joy and contentment found in living out God's design. The episode underscores the significance of understanding our identity and purpose from a biblical standpoint to navigate contemporary issues effectively.

00:00 Reflecting on Easter and Catching Our Breath
00:32 Diving into the Doctrine of Humanity
02:06 Exploring the Uniqueness of Humanity in Creation
04:53 Understanding the Imago Dei: The Image of God
08:30 The Role of Gender and Identity in God's Design
17:55 The Significance of Being Made in God's Image
34:58 Closing Thoughts and Prayer

Music used in intro: "Hard Answers" by JK Productions

Transcript

. Alison: 0:00

Adam, it's been a big week. It has

Adam: 0:01

been a very big week, in a great way though. I mean,

Alison: 0:04

I think last year, around this time, because we're, we're taping around Easter time this week, and you compared the week of Easter to the church's Super Bowl last week, I remember.

Adam: 0:15

Yes, yes, it does feel

Alison: 0:16

that way sometimes. And there's been a lot going on, and so we, uh, we re released, We've released some Easter episodes on Good Friday and then on Monday the day after Easter. So now we're back to the basics. Yes. Um, we've been doing a series on some of the basic doctrines. And today we're talking about doctrine of humanity. Yeah. And we were just trying to catch our breath. You especially have been speaking. Super busy. Literally catching

Adam: 0:40

breath. Yes. So busy. I need to work out a lot more because I should not be as out of breath as I am. Yes. Well,

Alison: 0:45

we, this is a good opportunity this week to catch our breath. Not that it's any less important, but we talked in the past few weeks, we've talked about the doctrine of God, we've talked about the doctrine of Jesus, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. And those things were lofty because God is lofty and um, beyond, I think you compared it to like, we have a Slurpee cup trying to drink the ocean. Yes, exactly. And so, but this week, I think we can catch our breath a little bit because we're talking about the doctrine of humanity. Yes, we're talking about us. And a little less lofty in comparison to God, right? Um, and so you were also so kind, um, we're, we're doing our podcast, but you also were so kind to let us video today our podcast so we can show this to the ladies that I teach on Wednesday night in my absence. So we're going to be there. So we're, we're sitting in the room today that I normally teach in, and I just appreciate all the ways you support ministry

Adam: 1:40

all around this church. Yes, this has been a great opportunity to, and we never wanted this podcast to be burdensome on any of us. So we, we try to do the best we can to fit them in, uh, into our schedules. Uh, and so, uh, being able to go along with the curriculum that you're also teaching on Wednesday nights as further study and that kind of thing, I think, uh, is very helpful. And so if we can supplement that when your presence may not be able to be here, then, uh, why not? Let's go for

Alison: 2:05

it. Absolutely. Yeah. So, so today we're talking about the doctrine of man. And probably the most important thing that we need to point out at the very beginning, um, is that man is unique. Yes. From any other created thing.

Adam: 2:20

I just had that, what was that, how do you, how do you scare a, uh, oh, what is that joke? Unique up on it? Why did you, why did I think that? It's going to come to me later, and it'll be a great joke to insert here. You can

Alison: 2:33

interrupt me if you think about that joke. I will not. Just go ahead and share that joke, because everyone wants to know

Adam: 2:38

now what your joke is. You neek up on it somehow, whatever

Alison: 2:40

works. Actually, you know, I actually thought about you whenever I was just reading Genesis 1. I think about you a lot in Genesis, because I know you're a big fan of Genesis. I love it. Um, something that you taught me, um, is this concept of hard right turn. Yes. Right? So you want to tell our listeners what you mean when you say hard

Adam: 2:59

right turn. Yes. So this is a very scholarly term that I have created out of thin air to explain to people. Explain when things seem to be moving a certain direction. And then it just seems like we just took a squirrel. It's a squirrel moment. Like a whoa, what We were here and now he's talking to nurse, we're going this direction in it. Yeah. So, uh, it is a great, um, tool that can help to, uh, clue you in when the author is trying to catch your attention. Okay. Um, and the basis behind that actually is scholarly. Um, the word has been read aloud for centuries, um, used to being read aloud and people are used to hearing it and not having their personal, a personal Bible in front of them reading along. And so there are certain tools that the author would use to help, um, re catch that, the attention of the, the listener. And so, uh, it's kind of the duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, goose. Yeah. Um, and, and so yeah, that would be like the hard right turn, like, whoa, whoa, something changed there and it catches your attention and it should stand out. Well, and when

Alison: 4:00

you point out that those exist, it helps us to kind of look for them a little more, which is what I do now, since you taught me about that. And I noticed one in Genesis 1, in the account creation. Nice. Um, it says, you know, and I'm sure our listeners are familiar with Genesis 1. It talks about how God said, let there be light. Yes. Let there be water. Yes. Let there be. And, and that kind of phrase is repeated. Let there be, let there be. Until. Yeah. It gets to man. Yeah. And when the Bible gets to man, it says, let us make. Yeah. Uh, which is so different than let there be. Yeah. Um, and so the us, um, that refers to kind of a concept that we were able to talk about in a previous episode, which is God is a triune God. Um, he's one essence in three persons, God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. And so we're made in that three person image. Um, but God didn't just say, let there be. God made us. In his own image, and a lot of theologians call that the Imago Dei, the image of God. We were made in the Imago Dei. And

Adam: 5:00

what is that Imago Dei term? That's not Hebrew. I know that's not Hebrew. Is it Latin? It is Latin. Okay. Yeah, it's definitely Latin, so that's a Latin term for

Alison: 5:08

it. So why did they come up with a Latin term, do you think? Uh,

Adam: 5:11

I think it's because when the people sat down to just kind of decipher out these theological and doctrinal type things, they were reading off of a Latin script. And so, the image of God, while that may look differently in Greek and Hebrew, in Latin it's going to definitely read differently. So, Imago Dei rolls off the tongue, too. I like

Alison: 5:30

it. Yeah. Yeah. It's something that, um, you can really think about when you think about the doctrine of humanity. Yeah. You can think about Imago Dei. Yeah. That, that, those two Latin words have a wealth of meaning. Yes. In them. So, let's talk a little bit about what it means to be made in the image of God. Yeah. To have, to bear the Imago Dei. So, um, one of the things that I think that it means is that, um, we know that God, um, is a God of work. Like, from the very beginning, um, He made us, in His image, to be workers. So, He was a worker. He was bringing order out of chaos in the very first verses of the Bible. God's word of the very first verses of the Bible, we see him bringing order out of chaos. So sometimes when we think about work, um, we might think about it as a punishment and while work is definitely harder and more frustrating after the fall than it was before sin entered the world, God made us to work. Um, he made us to bring order. His specific instructions to humans were in Genesis 1, 28, when he said, God bless them. And said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. And so we've got, we've been made to be fruitful, to subdue the earth, to rule over other creation. And so I think that's why lazy people are unhappy people, to be honest with you. Not that it's not good to rest. No, yeah. Because we do need time to rest. But God made us. Um, and so as God's imago Dei, when we want to bear the image of God, we need to be hard workers. Um, and then the other thing that I think, um, It really just speaks, and I'm sure there's a lot of things involved with that Imago Dei that make us unique in creation, but one of the things that is unique is that, um, God, God gave us a soul, um, so that we could have a relationship with Him and a relationship with others that are unique to all of the rest of creation. So Andrew asked me this question, um, he said, Mom, will, um, Nana, who's his grandmother, will, will Nana's? Does a dog go to heaven? That's such a hard question, right? Yes. Because we want to say yes. Because we love those animals and they love us back. But the truth is, if we were to say that dogs and cats and our beloved gerbils had the ability to be saved the way we are saved, we would kind of be

Adam: 8:07

cheapening. Jesus, we would no longer be unique in creation.

Alison: 8:10

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And so I'm not saying there won't be dogs in heaven. No, they're definitely, I don't wanna get help now. Yeah. Yeah. But um, we are unique Yeah. In our ability to have a relationship with God. Yeah. Um, and to, um, receive the gift that Jesus gave to us in salvation. Um, and God also made us to have

Adam: 8:30

gender. Yes.

Alison: 8:32

Yeah, that's a touchy subject these days. I know! Did you see the face? I mean, the people in the video are going to be able to see the face. And I did, I did make a face because that, why do you think that is such a difficult

Adam: 8:41

topic? I think it's a difficult topic. And this is purely opinion, honestly. Um, because I think that the powers of darkness have done a really good job of, um, uh, really, trying to guide culture into a direction, uh, that would further them, themselves from discovering, um, uh, the God who created them. And so I think that one of the stepping stones in doing that would be to, um, to really mix up the, uh, the way that God would, uh, create plan humanity to implement that first blessing that was given to them to be fruitful multiply. And one of the ways to do that is to mix up gender, um, to mix up, um, to, to really mix up the, um, marriage construct that was, that was given to us, the model that was given to us in Genesis chapter two. And, um, and I think in doing that, then, What it gets at is it really begins to pull people away from the true identity that was instilled in them at creation And so if you can mix up their identity, then that that really is going to affect their um, you know those uh characteristics that God instilled in humanity because As soon as I am I think another touchy subject would be transgenderism um, uh as soon as I begin to You question my own identity because of my feelings, then you're questioning whether or not God truly made you the way that he was supposed to make you. And that begins to question all of reality. Yeah. So, I think it's just a, I think it's a tool or a weapon, uh, in the powers of darkness. So,

Alison: 10:23

the Bible's pretty clear that God, in Genesis 127, it says that God created mankind in His own image. In the image of God, He created them male and female. He created them. And that's actually, um, a verse that Jesus alludes to in the New Testament no less than five times, I believe. Specifically, the male and female phrase even is there. And I think, um, I think one of the reasons that, um, is successful in making us move on our feelings or redefine our identity, like you were talking about, because I agree with you, um, is, is a lie that he tells us. And I think the lie specifically, um, is that, We possess one of the traits that is for God and God alone. And so you remember when we talked about the trait, the traits of God, the attributes of God, and we talked about, I used two big words. Um, I used communicable and incommunicable. And communicable traits meant things that could be true about me, but were perfectly true about God. So they could be imperfectly true about me, and, um, they were always true about God. Like I can be kind, I can be forgiving. Um, not always, but I can, uh, you know, bear those attributes as God sanctifies me and makes me more like Him. Um, but there are some things that are true about God that will never be true about me. Those are incommunicable. They can never be communicated to me. Um, and so one of the things that I think the devil has convinced humanity that we bear, a trait that we bear, is self definition. We do not. It's an incommunicable trait of God, and it's seen in Exodus 3. If you remember, in Exodus 3, we have Moses. And Exodus 3, 13 14 says, Moses said to God, Suppose I go to the Israelites, and I say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they ask me, What's his name? Then what shall I tell them? And God said to Moses, I am. Who I am. This is what you're saying to the Israelites. I am sent you. There, there's a difference, um, between a created image and the Creator. And so being able to define who we are. job, not our job. And I think that's a lie that we've believed. And here's, here's what's so dangerous about the lie. Besides the fact that we're taking attributes that only belongs to God and trying to apply it to ourselves and defining who we are. The world's definition is constantly changing what the world thinks a man is, what the world thinks a woman is, is constantly changing. But you know what? God never changes. Right. Therefore His definition of who I am is never going to change and there is freedom in that.

Adam: 13:08

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's such a, uh, a great reminder in a culture today that it's so, um, against those, um, unchangeable facts of, of who God is and the characteristics that, that he, um, uh, has instilled in us, honestly. Um, what's funny is if you listen to any of these debates about gender, um, inequality and, you know, Uh, you know, uh, any of these type of, uh, hot topics, subjects today, when you begin to bring it down to the defining traits and qualities, it's always based off of feeling and not off of fact. Um, you're always gonna, uh, they're always gonna define gender as whatever somebody wants to be or feels like they should be. Um, and they have to go that way because the science argues differently. Um, there are clear, uh, chromosomal differences between these genders, and so you have to create a what is woman versus what is female and male because female and male genetically look different and are different, and so you they have to build up a straw man argument in order to defend their whole stance on it. So

Alison: 14:16

let's talk a little bit about why God chose to make male and female, and I think the um, In Genesis it says, I believe it's in Genesis 2, it says that Adam, there was not a suitable helper for Adam.

Adam: 14:30

Yeah, yeah. And just one, one, one fun thing there is, you often, um, this is a good hard right turn example. Uh, it says that he had, um, formed Adam out of the dust and placed him in the garden. And it says there was no helper for him. And do you know what occurs right after that? He starts naming animals. Yeah. And you're like, what? Whoa, hard right turn. I thought you're talking about a helper, and then he goes back and starts to talk about the helper again. Well, it's because God was bringing to the man all the beasts of the field and all these animals, and he is showing his rule and dominion over them, but also seeking a helper. And at the end of all those beasts and stuff, guess what? Still no helper. Yeah. We need something. So that's where God gets to work. I

Alison: 15:12

love that. Yeah, and so, um, when we hear the word helper in our English language, you know, sometimes that can seem a little bit offensive to women. Like, I was made to assist, um, you know, because of my DNA, I'm an assistant, you know, not a primary, but that isn't what the word means at all. And so when we look in the Bible and we look at what the word helper means, it actually, um, is used of God as a helper. Um, and so in the Psalms it says where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord. And that's, that word for help in the Psalms is the exact same word for the kind of help that God saw that Adam needed. And so this kind of helper that God saw that Adam needed is someone who needs to come alongside him in order for him to be able to accomplish his responsibility. And so it's something he cannot do alone. Um, it's something that he requires help in order to accomplish and, um, in that way, um, the woman isn't the weaker vessel coming to assist in someone else's job, right? It's, it's a necessary part in accomplishing the responsibility that God gave to humanity. And, um, we know because Eve was as much created in God's image as Adam was, that she as Eve. is as valuable and is as worthy of the dignity that Adam is worthy

Adam: 16:38

of. Can you think about the sovereignty of God in that situation? Because what has happened now is he's instilled into humanity a, um, a purpose and a point in a way. Uh, um, if you think about it in Eden there in the, um, They're in heaven, ultimately, what we would consider heaven. They are in, um, they are in communion with God in the presence of God, fulfilling the works of God in His creation. Um, and in doing that, um, they would really, honestly, even not even have need to have children or anything of that nature. And by allowing, um, Uh, the woman to be made as a helper as well. Now they've, now he's opened up that opportunity to fulfill that blessing of God, because Adam couldn't have children himself. And the very next scene that we're going to see is the fall, and the fall, during the fall of, uh, in Eden, we're going to see a promise that will be made that it'll be through the bearing of a child, uh, through a woman, um, uh, that will ultimately correct this issue. And so, the plan of God is pretty simple. Pushed into place in the creator, creation of the helper, um, and you don't even realize that until the very next scene, which will necessitate the woman being able to have a child and, um, and, uh, and just like, well, that's another rabbit hole we should not go down, but yeah, I won't go down that rabbit hole.

Alison: 17:55

So when we think about the fact that Eve was made in God's image with the same value and dignity, um, As Adam, then when we look at some of these issues in our current culture, we can, we can, uh, take them back to Imago Dei issues. And what I mean by that is pornography, for one, is one that comes to mind. Um, pornography seeks to consume women. Not to value women. That's an Imago Dei issue because God, God made women in his image. Therefore, they are meant to be valued. And, um, you know, same with like prostitution and strip clubs or however you want to, you know, all of those. And so, you know, We, as men, they need to value women and not consume women, but we, as women, also need to recognize our value and expect more. We need to expect more out of men than boys who shave. That's how Matt Chandler says it, and I like that a lot. You know, we need to, we need to treat ourselves in a way that we expect to be valued and not consumed. Um, I know that's something you're trying to teach the young people, and I'm trying to teach in my own home as well. My own kids. Yeah, absolutely, and it all does come back to the fact that we were made in God's image, and so I think that you have a lot to share about that, and I, and you know, I think it's interesting that throughout the Old Testament, um, God tells his people not to make an image of himself. Yeah, and I think it's because he already made an image of himself. Yeah, he made us. Yes, right So why don't you tell us a little bit more about

Adam: 19:28

that? Yeah, so the idea the idea that I had was to take a Do a little bit of a word study with everybody and it would be found in Genesis 1 27 Which is that verse that you've already quoted that let us make man in his own image side note I think there is something we could go down eventually at a different podcast with that whole let us make man in his own image, um, outside of the Triune God. But that's for another time. We'll just tickle the fancy there. If you want to hear a podcast going more into some of that, we can do that. Uh, but, Being, uh, that made in his image, what would be helpful if you were studying scripture alone and you come into a word like this, you're reading an interpretation of a, of a, of a highly skilled and great, um, uh, amount of people who have, um, taken on the impossible task of taking an ancient language and trying to bring it into a modern, uh, language that will, uh, also communicate the meaning behind it. Well, image is going to bear with its own, um, bear with it. It's name or usage, um, it's own presuppositions in the hearer. Um, so if you hear image, you may, um, fill in the blanks as to what that might mean. Um, the word Selem in English, or in Hebrew, Selem, it's like a T S E L E M. Selem, uh, actually has a whole world of meaning in the ancient context. And if you were to look at the word Selem, um, you will see a very, uh, various wide range of uses. So if you pull out a concordance, you look up Selim, you look up, or if you have a step Bible and you click on Selim, uh, image, you'll start to see that, uh, the majority of the time that the word, uh, Selim is used, it's always used in idols, as an idol. In fact, it is the same term that will be used in Exodus, um, 20, when he says, you shall not make for yourselves any images. It'll be used, uh, often in Deuteronomy. Don't worship, uh, idols of false gods and things like that. So when you take that word, idol, um, or statue, and you put that back into this context, it begins to be a little bit more confusing. He made a, uh, uh, image, an idol, a statue in humanity. Um, that's kind of strange. Um, until you look at the ancient cultures. And what the idea of the idol was in the ancient cultures was it was a formed, um, formulated statue that the ancient cultures would then have, uh, uh, host a ritual in which they would invite their god to embody this statue. this thing. And in, like, for instance, one of the famous ones is in ancient Egypt. They would, they would create these massive statues and then they would have this thing called the opening of the mouth ceremonies where these priests would perform these rituals and then they would pray to this god and they would pray that this god would embody this statue and then the people would come to the statue and, uh, make wishes. offer worship to it. They would make sacrifices to it. They would ask for guidance and these kinds of things. So it was not that the image or the statue was the God. It just was a physical representation or manifestation of a, a, uh, of a God that exists in a spiritual realm, a non physical realm. Mesopotamia did this. They had statues of gods that believed to house the essence of the deity. Um, in fact, we're given, uh, a peek into one in a story in first Samuel chapter five, where the background is the Philistines bring the ark of the covenant, um, into their, uh, their, uh, city. And. Uh, into their temple and their, the temple was the temple of Dagon and Dagon was this ancient Mesopotamian fish god. Um, and you know, it's a funny story. You should look it up at some point, but just in the mere presence of it, there's the multiple little things that happen and ultimately the, the fish god, you know, is broken. It breaks. Like his head's like on the ground. They come in and he's like in pieces. Yeah. in before the Ark. And then, uh, uh, the Philistines are like, we got to get this thing out of here. It's causing our gods to like, whoo, not, not do well. So, uh, knowing that and understanding that context, um, we begin to see that there's a whole, um, vast array of meaning behind this What it means to be that idol or statue of God. That, that implemented into the biblical culture, we begin to see that we are the physical representation or manifestation of the embodied God in his creation. Now, I want to be very clear. There are false religions out there that claim because of that, We are in essence deified ourselves. That is not what that means. We are not God. We are not talking, um, a, a, um, descriptive term of, of who we are in essence. It is a functional term of what our purpose is in, in our essence and in our creation. Um, and, um, That separates the God of, uh, of Yahweh, the God of the Hebrew people, the Israelite people, um, to all these other nations that are very familiar with the embodiments of their gods, um, because those peop those nations also believed in a second element of that image of, of God, and that is that they were, um, they had the royal representations, um, the manifestations of their God in physical form in their rulers. And so if you do a quick Google search, you'll start to see that for vast, large amounts of time, and especially in the ancient Near East, uh, the kings and the gods claimed to be not only royal, uh, royal, uh, uh, special people who were put in place to rule the people, but often that they were, um, descendants of the gods physically on the earth. Which, when you put that into that, into their context, what you see is now we're beginning to segment out. Um, the, um, classes of people. Because if I'm a descendant of God and you're not I'm automatically in, of greater, um, authority rule than you are, um, and that creates nations like the Egypt that would enslave the Israelites, Babylon that will, will exile the, the Israelites, Rome that will, uh, come in and, uh, authoritatively, uh, you know, rule the Israelites. Um, in fact, Caesar Augustus, who was, um, around the time of Jesus, uh, he was believed to be, uh, the son of the god Apollo, um, and on his coin he was, uh, called, uh, the son of God. And so during the time of Jesus when he, the true son of God is coming into creation, there's another son of God, you know, quote unquote, um, son of a god, uh, in Rome, uh, ruling. Um, and So you have to begin to compare what the Hebrew Bible is trying to do versus the rest of the culture of the time. And what it's doing is showing that, no, no, no, it's not certain people that are made in his image. It is all of humanity that are here to rule in his image. And the ones who rule in his image, that means we are equal in this. I can't rule you because you were also made in his image. So we are to rule his creation in the ways that you said, um, in, in, uh, being fruitful, multiply and working. continuing the creative works of God or the works of God in, in his creation by creating, um, by bringing order from chaos. Um, unfortunately we have a whole Bible and a whole world that we live in right now that shows that humanity is really good at actually just bringing chaos back in. Um, and that's another story. Um, but as a royal ruler in this world, we are also, um, instilled with a second. And that is, as the embodiment of this God in creation, we stand as, um, a intercessor in his creation of that God. The one who communes with God, um, in the personal presence of God, has communication with God, seeks guidance from God, and in the ancient world, the, the ones who were instilled with that work were the priests. they were the ones that were able to go into the holy places to offer sacrifices, ask for guidance, ask for atonement, these kind of things. Um, and what we're shown is that from Adam and Eve who are called to work the garden, these words will also be the exact same words that will be used of the priests and the Levites who will work the temple, um, and the tabernacle. Um, and so simply put. We, as image bearers, are the physical representation of the God in His creation, and we are set as royal priests. We are to rule and to intercede and to work and to be in communion with that God in His creation. God has formed us with the function or the purpose, um, to be partners in His creation, um, in His good creation. Um, and that is our mission. What Jesus will use when he will come and say, Um, that we, uh, that, uh, the one who rules actually is the one who serves. Um, it is not like the ancient Egyptians or the Romans who rule with an iron fist. It is the one who serves others. They look more like servants. It's what Peter in first Peter two, nine will declare about the followers of Christ, that we are a chosen people, a royal, uh, nation set apart. We are, we are to continue that. Mago Dei within His creation as His representations and, uh, and partners in that

Alison: 29:06

creation. I love that you brought the historical context into, you know, the Bible verse, and what I was thinking whenever you were talking about, um, how we were made in God's image with those functions in mind to rule, um, as a priest, um, you know, and, um, a king, um, you know, in his image. Um, you know, all of us are created by God, but not all of us are children of God. And the Bible tells us that those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus have the right to be called children of God. Yes. And so, you know, uh, Repeatedly throughout scripture, and we can testify to this in our own life, there's a sort of joy and contentment, is how Paul likes to describe it, in following God. And I think it's because we were made, all of us, were made in the image of God. We were all created by God. And we were all created for those functions that you talked about. But unless we place our faith in Jesus We can't, we can't operate in those functions, and we can't experience the fulfillment and the satisfaction for which we were created. And so that's where the joy and the, um, just contentment of being a Christian comes into

Adam: 30:19

play. Well, it's a right for inheritance. Yeah. Um, we are all created in His image with that function, but not all of us are, um, um, accepting and adopted into this inheritance that God has, um, has instilled into, um, those who choose to, um, be called children of God, followers of God. And so while all of us are in His image doesn't mean that all of us are, are, um, set to inherit the kingdom. Um, like those who would choose to follow the ways of Jesus.

Alison: 30:49

But one thing we have to remember, and I think that sometimes followers get this wrong, is that just because we're children of God doesn't mean that we can treat those made in God's image outside of the family any differently. They still receive the same value and dignity as we do,

Adam: 31:07

made in God's image. I heard this one time. Once in the study of Daniel, when Nebuchadnezzar saw what Daniel had done, one of the times that he interpreted a dream or something, he fell down and worshipped Daniel. And it was a weird passage, and it's not spoken of necessarily in a bad way, but I heard one commentator say that people should see us and worship God. And I thought that was a really good way to put that because as that representation, it's not that they should see us, Adam, or my identity is that they should see the new identity, the way that Paul would say it is no longer I, but it is Christ who dwells me, uh, dwells within me. It's, it's that first Corinthians path passage that, uh, talks about, Uh, when he goes to Athens, I think it's 1 Corinthians, maybe Romans. When he goes to Athens and he's talking to the unknown god statue, he says, Uh, I want to talk to you about the god who does not dwell in man made houses. And of course, he dwells in man. It's the, it's the god made houses. Um, and, actually, uh, one extra thing. As his royal image bears in creation, continuing the works of creation, the blessing that God gave us is, um, the closest that we can get to a creative act, and that is in the male and female having of a child. That is the closest that we can come to of creating in a way that God has, um, uh, instilled in, uh, in his creation. And that is done through a blessing that God has given man and male and female, um, and husband and wife.

Alison: 32:41

And so, um, probably just one thing I want our listeners to know as we close is that while Um, God made man in his image with great value and great dignity and functions, um, that are so important. Um, we, we also, um, were not made because God needed us. So why were we

Adam: 33:03

made? Yeah, we were made because God wanted to partner with His humanity and His humanity to continue to work in His creation. We were made with purpose. We were made with joy. We were made, um, to worship and love the Creator who, who created us. And we were made to

Alison: 33:21

glorify Him. Yep. Absolutely. For His glory and for His pleasure and, um, One last question I just want to ask you. Maybe we can end on this. I didn't tell you I was going to ask you this, and it's not an easy question, so I hope that's okay. That's okay. If God created us for His glory and His pleasure, and He knew that we were going to rebel, why did He make

Adam: 33:41

us? Because God has known from the start that He would have a people who could truly and freely worship Him. but would necessitate his act in creation to fix. that problem. If he had forced us to love and worship him, then it wouldn't be true love and worship, and so there needed to be an option to not, and in allowing us to have the option for not, he also knew that he would, it would necessitate a fix from himself, and that in doing that, he would give the model of true love, which was laying himself down. to fix that problem. And then we, in essence, will replicate his love by serving others and loving others in that creation. Um, and so, uh, yeah, he created us. He didn't need us. Uh, but he wanted us, uh, so that we could in all ways glorify and love him.

Alison: 34:49

And so I think that there is as much, he receives as much glory in our creation as he does in our redemption. Yeah. And we're going to talk more about our redemption

Adam: 34:57

next week. Great. I cannot wait. So do you want to close this today in a word of prayer? Yes. Yeah. Let's pray. Father God, I'm thankful for this study. I'm thankful that, um, That we get to, uh, just realize and come to a greater knowledge of what it means to bear that image that you have created in us. But, God, what it also means to be truly a child of God, to, to be adopted into the family of God. Um, God, that we have a hope of eternity, um, uh, back in the presence, restored back in the presence with you through what your Son has done for us. God, we're thankful that he came and lived on this earth, that he was crucified as we celebrated. That tomb was empty. He did what no man could possibly do, but what only you could do and conquer that death. So that we may become inheritance of that, um, of that true blessing and, and, and a hope of a new creation one day. God, I pray that as we move forward, we'll continue to, um, Come to a greater realization and of what it means to love and glorify you and that others in our realm of influences Will begin to look at us and want to worship God God the Creator want to see and recognize who you are and what you've done for us God We ask these things in your name. Amen. Amen