The Hope of God's Image Bearers

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind when a society removes God from the situation. It's an effort simply removes the truth about mine from the situation because when we remove God we take away our identity and sadly we no longer know who we are in times of crisis. Difficult people begin to search anxiously for foundations desperately want to know who they are neither here and who's going to fix this.

People are looking for hope is our firm conviction that faith in the one who made us in his image provides that Dr. Sinclair Ferguson to think about in this final session is this wonderful biblical truth of the whole of God's image. I want us to take us a kind of income for our thoughts statement, but the apostle Paul makes in first Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 429 very simple but intensely profound statement speaking about those as Christian believers.

He says as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall bear the image of the mind of heaven and the same slots out entire conference in about show. We were made from the dust of the Genesis to verse seven. As we've already found out of the dust of the God created something wonderful.

He created man and woman as his own image and gave him dominion on yet through our sinfulness. Instead of having dominion over the dust of the gas we apostle Paul is reflecting the fact that we are dust, and we returned to DOS. We were meant to have dominion over the fund instead them essentially announced has dominion over Iran's we die we disintegrate on this is true of all men. All men and women die the next sections and frequent in Scripture about Enoch walked with God and God took him a larger cavity to heaven and not chariots of fire, but apart from these exceptions – passes upon all men, because all men send in the sin of Adam and send in their own sin, but here is the glorious hope of the Christian believer that one day we bear the image of the man of dust will bear the image of a man from heaven on Laurent Jesus Christ.

This reminds us of the tremendous importance of the theme of being made to the image of God. After all this in a sense is the bookends of the whole story of the Bible from Genesis 1 and two to the end of the book of Revelation when the whole story is complacent, but we are managed as the image of God but that image has disintegrated in our lives through the gospel by image will be restored and was two hours and then will appear.

Finally, in all its glory in my own view this doctrine of the image of God is to be one of the most neglected doctrines in the last hundred years of the Christian church and in the evangelical church and in many ways it is an explanation about current political and social climate.

If you think about the disintegration the model disintegration that has been in the Western world over the last 25 to 50 years on people is often said to me, actually sent this to you. I can't believe how rapidly this was happened.

The fact that now you have to choose your identity, you've got to invent good identity or for your own person fuel. Given that a whole variety of possibilities, but you've got to invent food you are and we no longer know what it means to be me. We no longer know who we are.

We no longer know what it means to be a man auto woman and all things don't happen so rapidly. But you know if you think about such it's happened very logically, because when a society removes God from the situation. It's inevitably removes the truth about mine from the situation because when we remove God we take away our identity.

The image of God and sadly we no longer know who we are and the consequences of the district to supply it washes up upon the shores of Western societies. But then comes the gospel into this confusion and teachers as the great truth but in Jesus Christ. This image may be restored. I think we can think about the whole story of the Bible. This way created is the image of God and then if I can put it this way. That image stolen from us by the self pumped by the evil one and then our Lord Jesus Christ, who is himself as God's son. The image of God coming in on the two restorers to about image and finally as well as Paul says in Philippians chapter 1 putting the finishing touches to about what by transforming us fully into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ can help explain this in the form of a pretty obvious countable the language of image and likeness list used in Genesis 126 to 28 reappears. You remember in Genesis 5 verses 1 to 3 God made man as his image and likeness. And then what happens then if you look at what God says they are about what happens, it's this Adam lived 150 years and father – son in his own likeness, after his image puts Moses telling us where he's giving us a little hint, but image being the image of God is firmly language firmly language you see the connection layer God made sources image and likeness, and Adam has a son in his image and likeness. The atmosphere is the family Butler son fiercely image of the father and the you can see this written into the warp and both of Genesis 1 and two.

What God did in creation was as our gracious father to create son in his likeness. One might even say to create a son terrestrial son a miniature son in the likeness of his on eternal son in the story is this.

Imagine imagine a father who loves his son and so loves her son. She she hires the greatest portrait painted in the world to pick a portrait of his son and suddenly one night he hears assigned in the house. The alarm bells are ringing. He puts on the lights and he sees a man running out of his house with the great portrait under zone and he is he is desolate he calls the police. The police calmly take fingerprints. The CSI people commonly do all the things that we do on television and then three weeks later the policeman turns up at his house with great smile on his face insists we have come up with leaf. Now this father believes in justice. Just what you believe in justice group they call safe, but you're not so interested in the initial public policy.

What do you say to the policeman if you're the father you say, did you get my portrait back in a way that's a parable of the gospel listen to God. Of course, is wholly committed to justice to judging soon to overcoming the soft and Satan, who has been engaged in the fact of God's image that he just did not have a portrait painted he himself created a living portrait and perhaps you can think about this, but the whole story of the Bible is the way in which God gives expression to the fact that he wants us portrait by he wants the portrait of his son, but he painted the living portraits of his son, but he painted.

He wants my portrait from whole story of the Bible is how he prepared the way for that to happen and how it did happen. How did it happen you know the story well the studios tremendous significance in this context is that the way in which she restored the portrait was by sending the original by sending the original in such a way that the original himself would be defaced. The language that Isaiah uses them in Isaiah 52 justice he's coming up to speak about the suffering servant.

He says that he would be marked beyond humanlike sure one of the commentator says the new also flatters that man would not just say he is about Limon, he would be so bad when they would say can you really be human mind beyond human likeness. It's Isaiah's prophecy of what would happen to the Lord Jesus, how he would take our shame by banning arson and then in crushing the head of the thief. He would himself be crushed but then in the resurrection.

This was the great plan of God and the resurrection, the son of God who was long would be perfected in our place in our humanity is not as the family first restore mine in the pilot of the resurrection in a body that the apostle Paul calls a glorious body that body that was able to do amazing glorious things even even as he didn't want to totally take to the apostles on his friends by complete shawl, even the way he was able to appeal and disappear the marvelous presence of the risen Christ as the apostles understood the slayer realized what God was doing. But now, through the Holy Spirit. He was opening our eyes to see what the image of God was really like the article puts it in second Corinthians 4 verse six is a sunrise would be open to see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And he says that writing on the back of what Hugh Dallaire said, but those who have seen the image restored indeed glorified in Jesus Christ as the guineas upon him mostly trust in him.

Mostly come to know him. We come to love him. They themselves are being transformed into his likeness into his image from 1° of glory to another so that we know who we are. We are those who have been re-created in the image of God. After the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ in our humanity and we know what's happening in our lives in good days and bad days and times of joy, times of sorrow under pressure and affliction facing something.

We know that he is transforming us more and more into his likeness from 1° of glory to another and this is the reason we can be sure the whole of the future will never let us down because it's already begun and this is what Paul means when he says we board the image of the man made from the dust and were going to fully bear the image of the man who came from heaven to restore the afterimage to us and in this context. In first Corinthians 15. The apostle Paul teaches us. I think two very important lessons. First of all, he spells out what will happen in the future, and God accomplishing this great plan, and then he also spells out what the implications are flat hope for us so if you will let me just take a minute or two to open up these two things. How will this take place in front of the present implications for laws of the fact that it will take place from interesting thing in first Corinthians 15 is Paul has sent both you saying about we build the image of the man of dust will bear the image of the man from heaven he puts that within a fairly interesting framework under find that free my family out on the chapter from about verse 22, following first 22 is a direct parallel to verse 49 in verse 22.

He says, as in Adam all die, so in Christ will be made alive. We board the image of the man of dust, looking to build the image of the man from heaven, but now his interest is in this question. How is that going to happen in the verses that follow quite complicated really.

If you look at these verses and think about them. You will notice that he uses an expression here. Verse 23 as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

That's the big picture, but each in his own order. Think God is going to do this according to his own order. Note, let me untangle that object. It won't take a minute but it's very thrilling to be able to do it, he says. First of all, God begun to do this in the day of Christ's born resurrection verses 22 to 2380 as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own onto Christ the firstfruits, Christ the firstfruits, Christ the firstfruits, who guarantees the final harvest Christ the guarantee that what is happened to him will happen to all those who belong to him.

So the author slips first of all, Christ is raised from the dead, so that is the day of Christ's resurrection, but now he fast forward to the future in verse 23 and he speaks about the day of our resurrection as in Christ all will be raised from the dead to belong to Christ. Christ the firstfruits, and then when he comes, those who belong to him but then he says on that day that day of our resurrection will also be a great day of destruction because notice he says in verses 24 and 25 that at that time he will green I'm thinking especially verse 25 until he has put all of his enemies under his feet, and that day of destruction will also be rodeo final victory notice.

Then he says in verse 26 and that is the last enemy who will be destroyed the enemy of the day so there hasn't been the day of Christ's resurrection and guarantees this David is still to come.

The day of our resurrection.

That will be the day of the destruction of our enemies that will be the day of Christ's victory over our last enemy. And then he says in verse 28, which simply expounds verse 24. At the end he will deliver the kingdom to God the father.

Once he is done all this and verse 28 when all things are subjected to him then just can't take this and then the son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, but God may be all in all no. Let me give you the picture. First, before I explain it. The picture is that the sunless come from heaven. He is taken out of place and now he's going to exercise dominion over all things where we fail and he is not only exercise dominion by expanding the garden of Eden. He is exercise dominion by overcoming the soft by dealing with the weeds. By destroying all of his enemies on dollars by abolishing – by as it wound fulfilling the dominion command that God gave to the first the second man. The last item is fulfilled in our place and now he's coming with all that picture him coming with all that on this great day when you gather six people to go back, he's coming with all that he's coming with all of his enemies under his feet.

He's coming is the one who transforms all things and make some new underwear with him went behind him went beside him. We were watching him. What's he going to do. And Paul says he's going to go to the father and he's going to say it's for you. You gave it to us and it was lost but now I've regained and all of these.

They are my joy and Taylor's and now we're coming to you and we want to give this back to you as our present of faith is our present of love and then can you see the whole of the church of Jesus Christ in every age gathered with Jesus Christ and this is why was one instinct as we keep our eyes on Jesus. He bothers God and before the heavenly father in a gracious submission to him and sleep like him. Blau diluting and with whom we say to the father. You are all in all, you see everything caller said in this passage helps us to understand this amazing hope that we will be available on Monday.

Paul is not saying that the town will divine son will then become subordinate to be a town will divine father what he's saying is the son who came into our flash is the second man in the last Adam will as representative and leader.

Leaders all to the throne of God and the defined recovery of everything that we had lost and say to him. We bring it to you because our desire which item failed to fulfill is that you should be all in all in our lives and in all thing is not let Leah Thomas Saunders subordinating himself to be a terminal father that would be a total misunderstanding but it is to say our dear Savior, because come into our flash, who wasn't born the image of God in our flash so perfectly and yet been done. Then God's grace and justice restored DiNardo that he might restore that image to launch one day on our behalf complete the work which he came from heaven to do lead us all to that place where with one voice we will say that God is all in all a bit. God is all in all Thomas on policing is already begun.

He's already begun to transformers so that we long for that day you see what the implication of this is the first is 20 goes on to see him versus Dr. to Dr. to sing. This is the reason we are able to be in danger every day. This is why we willing to die daily.

This is why I fought with beasts at Ephesus this whole puts muscle into my life. It gives me courage in the face of danger and threat and difficulty even the flattop on my own existence. These light afflictions says probably seen the light by compressing with the hope of glory about if you fast-forward to the conclusion he draws 20s fully expended all this right at the end of the chapter and he says to us, and therefore, my beloved brothers in verse 58, be steadfast in movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord because you have this whole therefore you know the tissue move for retirement.

None of your labor will be what a this is the gospel gives to us to what great encouragement.

Christ has won the victory. He makes all things right and that gives hope and that hope gives us courage in the face of every difficulty we are from Dr. Sinclair Ferguson today here on Renewing Your Mind. His message was part of our recent special online event made in the image of God, our leader, teaching fellows and other speakers considered what it means to fulfill our God-given calling to serve well in our families, churches and communities and now in the in the face of this worldwide crisis.

It gives fresh perspective on how to care for the sick and needy. The fact that every person has been made in the image of God as radical implications for the Christian life, our founder Dr. RC Sproul wrote a book to help us see those consequences more clearly is titled the hunger for significance seeing the image of God in man and it Dr. scroll explained every person's dignity and worth and how we as believers can love and serve one another as well as her neighbors, you can request your copy when you give a donation of any about the Wegener ministries.

You can find us online@renewingyourmind.org or you can simply call us with your gifted 800-435-4343.

As a result of this global health crisis. Churches are canceling Sunday services, small groups, and Bible studies.

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