What Does it Mean that Jesus Was Made in the Image of God?
One of the most significant Scriptures in the Bible, out of all the other powerful, profound and prophetic Words of God is this: “For in Jesus Christ lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) The reason it is so important is because these words firmly and without any dispute establish the divinity of Jesus Christ.
For the Christian, the fact that Jesus Christ is God and is not a separated or individual part of God is an established fact of faith. However, there is an attack from the outside (and even from within!) the body of Christ to diminish Jesus as the Person of God and to strip Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of His divinity, His power, His Lordship and His Godhood.
If Jesus Christ isn’t Lord, then the entire Bible is a lie, but if He is Lord, then the entire world has an eternal choice to make with eternal consequences.
Many people think that when Jesus Christ “became flesh” that it was the first time He had a body like ours, but that is a Christmas story, an assumption that doesn’t align with that the Lord said about Jesus in His Word.
God made humanity in His image in Genesis 1:26, at the beginning of the world, but we were not made in the image of “God” – we were specifically made in the image of Jesus Christ because HE bears the physical likeness of God. The distinction is small, but crucial.
Jesus Christ is the physical image of God, but that did not start at His birth
Jesus Christ was not made in the image of God, as we were. Jesus Christ IS the image of God. John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time. The only Son, who is at the Fatherβs side, has made Him known.” (John 1:18 & 1 John 4:12)
Every human being who has ever been created bears the image of Jesus Christ and that is what makes human life worth preserving and defending and protecting. It’s what makes human life of great and precious value to the Lord.
We look like the Person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son – who was, who is and who is to come. Jesus Christ took on flesh at His birth into this world, but we aren’t fashioned after what Jesus looked like when He was born on earth because He already had an image, a physical appearance. Do you see why God loves the world so much? Can you imagine what it must have meant to Him to send His Son to save His people?
βHe is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creatureβ¦ He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence.β
Colossians 1:15, 18
Remember that in Luke 10:18, Jesus told His disciples that He was an eyewitness to Satan falling “like lightning” from heaven– that took place before the world was created!
Remember that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earthβ¦and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.” (Gen. 1:1-2) and also that “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus the Christ] and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were created through Him and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life and the life was the light of mankind.” (John 1:1-5)
JESUS WAS THERE. When the Lord said, “Let us make man in Our image” – He was referring to the image of Jesus Christ, who – even then, before anything was created – bore the physical image of the invisible God.
Thought for today: You Bear the Image of Christ in Two Ways
Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil.”
John 1:5 says, “The Word [who is Jesus Christ] became flesh and made His dwelling among us…”
The miracle of God sending His Son is a powerful and profound, complicated, complex orchestrated series of events that we will never fully comprehend on this side of eternity- but never forget this: Jesus Christ took on flesh as we know it to be, but He already had life and existence, shape and form, memory, emotions and experiences that pre-date His time on earth and because of His great love, we are blessed and honored to bear His likeness.
You bear the image of Jesus Christ in two ways: Physically and spiritually. It makes a tremendous impact to understand that Jesus Christ went first. In the natural realm, He is the “firstborn” because He bears the physical image of God.
In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ is the “firstborn” because His transfiguration and death signified eternal life and spiritual rebirth for all of us. Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone is your firm foundation. You can trust Him. You can grasp onto His Word. You can trust His promises. Everything God has ever promised is backed by the guarantee of His Son, Jesus.
Dig Deeper into Fresh Revelation About Jesus Christ, the Messiah:
“Seven Prayer Principles Jesus Gave in the Lord’s Prayer”
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