Image

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Last week we introduced this new Kingdom-Story series by looking at an account recorded in the Gospel of Luke, about two disciples who have an encounter with the resurrected Jesus as they are walking along the road. As a result of that conversation and what they had seen and heard from Jesus, all the disciples’ expectations and assumptions based on their previous interpretation of Scripture were reinterpreted and changed after being with him. As we embark on our own journey in the coming weeks, looking at 17 important words that tell the biblical story leading to Jesus, our desire is for him to do the same for us.

The word we’re discussing this week—“Image”—is possibly one of the most important concepts running throughout the whole biblical story. The word means “likeness” or “the mental impression or conception of someone or something.” Now, Scripture is clear that our Creator God is Spirit, not a physical being, so when we talk about image, we’re talking about an impression in our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits, not a physical likeness. Our image of the Spirit of God is our conception of what our Creator is like; it’s our impression of who he is—his nature and character—which leads directly to our conception of what he wants—his will.

What we believe about the image of our Creator God impacts how we interpret the whole biblical story, but more than that, it ends up being one of the main sources of division between different religious beliefs. In fact, our concept of God influences almost everything about how we live our lives. It affects how we relate to God, or if we will even relate with him at all, and as image-bearers, it affects who we think we are, why we think we’re here, and what we will reflect into the world. The Apostle Paul says it this way: “But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB). The image we behold is what we will become and what we will reflect. A concept this important is worth looking at in more depth.

Before we go on though, it’s important to say a word about gender and culture as it relates to the image of our Creator. Knowing that the Bible is ancient writing, and that it was written within a culture of patriarchy—a system where males hold supreme authority and family lines are traced through the fathers as the perceived originators of the seed of life—it is not surprising to find the Creator, the originator of all life, being referred to with masculine pronouns. Jesus himself refers to God as his Father, the Greek word meaning, “one who imparts life, a parent, or an ancestor”. But as the Creator Spirit—the originator of life in all its diversity—God cannot be contained within the concept of gender. The Spirit of God is described in the Scriptures as having both masculine and feminine qualities—the nature of both a father and a mother—so even though male pronouns are used to describe God in the Scriptures, the image of our Creator must be both inclusive of and outside of gender identities.

Keeping this in mind, let’s put ourselves in the disciples’ place on that road, and let’s allow Jesus to interpret the biblical story for us by looking at what he and his first followers had to say about the image of our Creator. Then we can look back into the story and apply it. 

Throughout the gospel accounts, Jesus repeatedly tells his followers that he was sent by God, his Father. But he doesn’t stop there, he goes on to say things like this: “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30 NASB), and “If you had known me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him…The one who has seen Me has seen the Father…” (John 14:7, 9 NASB).

Let’s really let that sink in. “…From now on you know Him, and have seen Him…The one who has seen Me has seen the Father…”. That’s a mind-blowing statement! If we will believe Jesus, as the disciples eventually did, then we can trust that he is telling us the truth—that we can actually know our Creator God in a relational way, and that Jesus shows us his exact nature and character. Later in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul summed it up this way: “He is the image of the invisible God…” (Colossians 1:15).

Now, let’s take this revelation of the image of God back into the biblical story, starting at the very beginning. 

Remember, the disciples’ image of God came from their interpretation of their Scriptures, our Old Testament, and some other writings. That scriptural story begins with the book of Genesis, and more specifically, with that symbolic creation story we’ve been following the last few weeks. Let’s look at it more closely through the lens of what Jesus reveals to us about the image of God.

Jesus reinterprets the image of God in the revelation that our God is not violent, vengeful, and destructive, but instead, he is a creative, loving, life-giver. We can see this right away, in the opening verses of Genesis 1. They speak of the earth as being a watery, chaotic, wasteland; lifeless, empty, and dark; and yet, the self-existent Spirit of God is there, hovering above it all. Then, into this dark, chaotic, emptiness, the Creator Spirit—the ultimate creative mind and heart of God—speaks light and life and brings creation, with all its beautiful diversity, into being. Then he blesses it as an act of loving adoration and calls it all “very good”. The symbolism is clear, God is life, and he loves and values his creation.

As the biblical story progresses though, this loving, creative, life-giving image of God becomes obscured and distorted into images of violent tribal gods, and eventually, even the nation Israel itself; the people God called to carry his image out into the world, the people who wait for him to come to their rescue through his Messiah, expect him to come with violence, vengeance, and destruction.

But Jesus, the promised Messiah, does not come in the way they expected. Instead, he comes with peace and humility, and he proceeds to explain to his listeners that their image of God has been obscured; that they are blind to who he really is; and that they do not truly know his Father (John 7:28, 8:19, 8:55, 9:39). Jesus reaffirms the true life-giving, lifesaving, loving image of God and insists that he has not come in vengeance to destroy, but to save, and to bring abundant life (Luke 9:53-55, John 3:16-17, 10:10). His disciples go on to echo this message when they speak of God as being Love itself (1 John 4:8), and Jesus as being the Life and Light of humanity (John 1:4). 

Jesus does make it clear to his disciples, however, that there is indeed a spirit of vengeance, destruction, and violence in this world (John 8:41-47, 12:31, 16:11). He tells them that this force or power is not the Spirit of his Father, but instead, stands in opposition and active rebellion against his light, his love, and his life. We’ll come back to this concept in more detail next week.

In addition to the revelation of God as a compassionate life-giver, Jesus also shows us that our Creator is a Father who desires a loving relationship with his children, not a terrifying, unapproachable judge who demands perfection. The biblical story in Genesis tells us that the Spirit of God has always desired to be in the presence of his human creatures. It tells us his Spirit walked with them in the garden (Genesis 3:8), and even after they were sent out of the garden, he continued to speak directly to those who would listen, to reassure them that they did not need to be afraid of him, to bless them so that they would be a blessing to others, and even though they were far from perfect, to continually reach out to them with the promise that he would restore what was lost (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-6, 26:2-5, 24, 28:12-16). 

Eventually though, the image of the Creator becomes even more obscured, until even the people who continued to listen to his voice come to view him with terror. Apart from some notable leaders and prophets, most believe they will die if they approach God or even hear his voice; they believe they must offer daily sacrifices to him to earn his acceptance; and they believe his presence must be hidden behind a curtain and his name must not be written or spoken aloud. 

Jesus resets this image as well. Instead of being afraid to approach God, Jesus encouraged people to come to him. He said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NASB). And “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27 NASB). And he told his followers that the Spirit of God they are so afraid of; the Presence that is kept hidden behind the curtain; is the very Spirit they need within them to make them whole again and restore them to life (John 3:3). 

Instead of viewing God as someone who demands perfection, Jesus invited and accepted those who were cast out and deemed “unworthy” by the religious system. He told his listeners, “…I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 NIV). And throughout his ministry, he continually showed them that he desires faith, not perfection (John 6:37).

And finally, instead of believing God is unwilling to forgive without payment or blood, Jesus walked through the countryside offering forgiveness to anyone who would just come to him in faith (Matthew 9:2, Luke 7:47, 19:9, 23:43). He said, “I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice…” (Matthew 9:13 NASB), and then he went on to tell a parable about a father who forgives his son without any sacrifice, payment, or punishment at all (Luke 15:20) and he told his followers they were to go and do the same (Mark 11:25).

It’s no wonder Jesus’ listeners thought his message was so radical! No wonder so many would not believe him. His words and actions caused them to re-think everything they thought they knew about their God, to rethink what they thought he wanted from them, and to rethink what it looked like to reflect his image into the world. 

What about you? What are your thoughts about the image of our Creator God? Where did they come from? Perhaps, like the disciples, you hold an image based solely on the Old Testament scriptures and you are hesitant to loosen your grip and allow their perspective to be reinterpreted. Or perhaps you believe Jesus doesn’t actually reveal the full nature and character of God, and therefore he may still be like the Old Testament authors viewed him, or that he may yet return with vengeance and violence. Or maybe, you don’t believe we can know God at all, and his image will always be an unfathomable mystery. 

In any case, whatever you believe about the image of our Creator, Jesus invites us to think deeply about those beliefs, question them, wrestle with them, and hold them up to the light of what he reveals to us. And as we do that together, consider these questions: 

How do the words and actions of Jesus challenge our thoughts about who our Creator is? How would our world be changed if we truly believed that the nature and character of our Creator looks like Jesus? And, for those of us who call ourselves Christians, followers of “the image of the invisible God”, do our words and actions reflect the image Jesus reveals? Are we becoming who we say we’re beholding? Do the people around us see him in us?

Jesus gives us so much to think about! I hope you’ll join the conversation on the YouTube channel or on the website at singlovelouder.com. See you next week.