HOW ARE WE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE?

GodsGrace said:

I gave you a LOVE because I love how you explained everything regarding the relationship between parents and children in the OT.

I do want to disagree however, with the idea that today we are following Jesus and not our parents. I hope I haven't misunderstood you John.

When I give kids lessons on the difference between love and honor I make it a point to explain that even if we don't LOVE our parents we still must HONOR our parents. This is a difference that is lost in today's society. To honor means to give respect to our parents even if we think they don't deserve it. It means to care for them and to speak well of them to others...it means not denigrating them in any way - especially to outsiders (of the family).

In a proper situation - which maybe does not exist anymore - children SHOULD follow in the footsteps of the parents. Of course, this would entail that the parents are persons worthy to be followed: People with moral values, civil attitudes toward their neighbors, and, yes, maybe even a touch of spirituality.

So, yes. we don't bring our children to the edge of town to let our neighbors stone them when they misbehave....but at the time of Moses order had to be restored after 400 years of slavery...but the 10 commandments will never be abolished - and honoring our parents is one of those commandments.

Sometimes honor can be a weight...but it's a weight that must be accepted by children.
(to reasonable degrees of course -).

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Of course we are the product of our parents and their parenting.
Of course we should br grateful to God for the parents He provided us with....because through them or because of them we ran into the arms of our Heavenly Father.

"Give unto Caesars what is Caesars". God is ultimately in charge in this world....and sometimes the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line. Meaning sometimes it's not a result of our parents but a child's rejection of parents that makes them run to God. (Billy Graham's father was the town drunk)
And Franklin Graham looked great giving the prayer at the Presidential inauguration.

What Jesus was saying is that the Caste based society is over....you are not bound by your ancestors anymore. You can have a direct, personal relationship with God.

One of the Ancient Eastern beliefs is that God exists in and outside of time. And the only proper worship of God must include a good sized chunk of it.
Since you didn't have a personal relationship with God you couldn't start your own worship....you joined in your "Father's " worship (Abraham and Sarah's) And your parents were as well....which means you dress like you grew up in Abraham's house, ate only food Abraham would eat. All the rest of it.
And as you joined in Abraham's worship yours would be recognized as well.....but as the generations kept coming the traditions grew....and grew more extensive. The weight/heaviness of honoring all those generations became a heavy burden

That's what I was referring to.

Modern times kids and parents? We just about got a train wreck. If people actually have any kids...or even stay married long enough for kids to know both parents. Single parent families are the "norm" today. Over half of all kids grow up in a single parent home. Those that have two? One of the parents is usually a step parent.

GodsGrace said:

Genesis 1:27
27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him;

(Please comment or add to this thread; but this will not be a debate about God's attributes.
Thanks.)


If we understand God's character, we can better understand His desire for us.

I'd like to state that theology teaches something that is called Divine Simplicity. This can be found on YouTube and is an interesting listen. Those that teach it all explain it exactly the same way, so no problem. Wm Lane Craig has a video on this too. It simply states that God is not made up of different parts of attributes...God IS everything that makes Him be God.
For instance, John tell us that God is love. He doesn't say that God is loving, or that He has love...John states that God IS love. 1 John 4:8
Everything God is totals a complete being of that quality. Check it out...

So let's begin with some qualities/attributes of God which He passed on to us:


GOD IS LOVE. 1 John 4:8

1 John 4:16
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world,

Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us

1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us.

1 John 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God;

Galatians 2:20
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Psalm 86:15
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,



God must love because He IS love...many more verses, but these should suffice.

Love is an attribute that God passed on to mankind: LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE...Genesis 1:26
God did not mean to make us into little gods....what He did do is to gift us with some of His attributes. Needless to say each and everyone has been tainted by sin after the fall...however we can still practice these attributes and if we're born again and strive to please God, we will actually find it easier to practice these attributes in our daily life (although we will always fail at times).
Some go so far as to say that without love, life would be meaningless - and, indeed - love is an important component of our lives...we both need to love and to receive love...

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When Jesus washed his mates feet I don't think it was something he practised any more than breathing is practiced.
Washing others feet was the natural unconscious extension of who he was.

Have you ever wondered whether Jesus went to funerals where he didn't intervene?

I think the meaning of Jesus washing His Disciples feet was that he was performing a Mikvah,a Baptism, of sorts in preparing them for their journey in fulfilling His Great Commission.

God humbled Himself and came to Earth in the flesh so to Save His people.

quietthinker said:

When Jesus washed his mates feet I don't think it was something he practised any more than breathing is practiced.
Washing others feet was the natural unconscious extension of who he was.

Have you ever wondered whether Jesus went to funerals where he didn't intervene?

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Sometimes Jesus would not only not go and intervene in funerals, but nor would let his own disciples attend their own family funerals

Mat 8:21-22 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

GodsGrace said:

How about this for the washing of the feet?:

Indeed, Jesus knew He was going to send out the Apostles.
He wanted to train them to serve each other and respond to their needs.

Having your feet washed by someone could be rather humiliating...In fact, Peter told Jesus He would not wash his feet.
We must become humble in order to serve God. Pride gets in the way of a lot.

John 13:3-6
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
4got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.
5Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?”
7Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”
8Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

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The Hebrews of that day knew its meaning.
Peter wasn't rebuking Jesus there. He did not feel worthy that Jesus would humble Himself for such a task.

GodsGrace said:

Hi Quietthinker....sorry, been away a few days.

I'm not sure the point you're making above and I hate to assume.
Could you clarify?

I'd say that Jesus did attend funerals....did He intervene?
Interesting question. He intervened at the wedding at Cana but only because He was asked to.
What do you think?
He seems to have done everything every other person of His time did.

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Thanks for taking the time asking to clarify, it's appreciated.
Yes, Jesus did the ordinary things of everyday life and in his interaction shone the glory of God.

I think that death and sickness cannot get the ascendancy in the presence of God so wherever Jesus went he healed and raised the dead. From what I glean from scripture, he arrived in villages and in time, left not one sick person, Luke 4:38-41.
He healed and raised the dead whether asked or not. I mean, a dead person is not capable of asking.....and as far as sick people go, the Jews believed that if you had a congenital illness it was either because you had sinned or your parents had sinned. (this is evident from the question the disciples asked Jesus. John 9:2)

The first thing Jesus said to the paralytic let down through the roof was 'your sins are forgiven'. I think this was to give him courage to believe that what Jesus was about to do would be believed by him. Matthew 9:2

.

HOW ARE WE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE?​

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In Gen. 1:26, God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness [...]". In Gen. 2:7, we read, "God formed the man of dust of the earth, and breathed upon his face the breath of life [...]". What are bones? A proof of the power of God Who made man with dust, but nothing else. The act of having "breathed the breath of life upon" indicates giving something that makes a man who he is: a creature bearing the image and likeness of God. In Jn. 4:24, we read, "God is Spirit", and thus the "breath of life" is a spirit (soul): God's image and likeness. This wonderful thing which is a soul, a thing created by God to give man His image and likeness as an unquestionable sign of His Most Holy Paternity, shows signs of the qualities characteristic of Him Who creates it. It is therefore intelligent, spiritual, free, immortal, and so on, like the Father Who created it.

GodsGrace said:

Genesis 1:27
27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him;

(Please comment or add to this thread; but this will not be a debate about God's attributes.
Thanks.)


If we understand God's character, we can better understand His desire for us.

I'd like to state that theology teaches something that is called Divine Simplicity. This can be found on YouTube and is an interesting listen. Those that teach it all explain it exactly the same way, so no problem. Wm Lane Craig has a video on this too. It simply states that God is not made up of different parts of attributes...God IS everything that makes Him be God.
For instance, John tell us that God is love. He doesn't say that God is loving, or that He has love...John states that God IS love. 1 John 4:8
Everything God is totals a complete being of that quality. Check it out...

So let's begin with some qualities/attributes of God which He passed on to us:


GOD IS LOVE. 1 John 4:8

1 John 4:16
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world,

Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us

1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us.

1 John 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God;

Galatians 2:20
And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Psalm 86:15
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,



God must love because He IS love...many more verses, but these should suffice.

Love is an attribute that God passed on to mankind: LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE...Genesis 1:26
God did not mean to make us into little gods....what He did do is to gift us with some of His attributes. Needless to say each and everyone has been tainted by sin after the fall...however we can still practice these attributes and if we're born again and strive to please God, we will actually find it easier to practice these attributes in our daily life (although we will always fail at times).
Some go so far as to say that without love, life would be meaningless - and, indeed - love is an important component of our lives...we both need to love and to receive love...

Click to expand...

His spiritual image has:
Mind
Will
Emotions
Spirit

Within each of those we express His attributes.
In man, the soul ( mind, will, emotions), requires a new spirit to commune with God, be one with Him as we are "in Christ".
So when we are born with a dead spirit, we are still in the image of God but defective, incomplete and unable to commune with Him; so at some point in our lives we must be recreated spiritually, become a new creature.

regardless of what the scripture exactly says or indicates about the " Image " of mankind, one thing is certain and that is that the image of man that God made is not specifically, just and only about appearances and the outward look, this meaning, " Image Of God " also applies in scriptures to the meaning of my behavior, lifestyle and the way we treat one another....

especially as we get into the New Testament with God speaking through His son we are given an understanding of what it means to be conformed to the Image of God

Heb 1:1 Many ways, also various ways, long ago the God spoke to their fathers
:2 in their prophets unto these last of days, of these, he spoke to them in his son upon whom is given heir, of whom also this is forever made / done.

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.

yes, here is the original message directly from the ancient Hebrew manuscripts


Gen 9-5 .............. at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.