How to Let the Gospel Drive Your Disagreements, Part 1 - Image of God

8/7/2019 How to Let the Gospel Drive Your Disagreements, Part 1 - Image of God

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Gospel-Driven Disagreements, Part 1 1 Rob Wilkerson

How to Let the Gospel

Drive Your Disagreements

Part 1

Remember That EVERY PERSON is

Made in the IMAGE OF GOD,

& Therefore Deserves

RESPECT, HONOR & DIGNITY




Introduction

In my experience with people of many backgrounds and cultures, I have had

disagreements and conflicts. And in many of these I, like many of you, have

experienced a denigration of my relationship with many people because WHAT Idisagreed with them about devolved into something personal. Our conversations

seemed to move from the ISSUE we were discussing to our FEELINGS about each

other. To be sure, the people with whom I've had a disagreement sometimes hide

how they feel. And sometimes they don't. Either way it becomes evident pretty

quickly HOW they feel about me or how I FEEL about them through the course of

our disagreement.

Generally, the thing that devolves is our ATTITUDE toward each other. Somehow

we fall into the snaring lie that the ISSUE over which we disagree MUST change theway I FEEL about the person or VIEW the person. I have ended up believing the lie

many, MANY times which tells me that if they are wrong I MUST avoid them and

warn everyone else about them. In reality however, this avoidance and warning

itself devolves into sinful communication about that person, even though I am almost

ALWAYS sure to tell everyone that it is spiritually and lovingly motivated. In the

name of sound doctrine of righteousness I end up slandering, gossiping and even

hating the person I disagree with. But, like any good hypocrite, I'm always careful to

hide THAT part, being sure to EMPHASIZE the other.

This issue is the thing which I have probably exhausted more thinking and inking

than any other subject in my life or in Christianity as a whole. It is my belief that

THIS issue, MORE than any other, is responsible for the ALL the divisions in

Christianity. You know how it goes. Here are the 20 Steps to Start a New Church

I've come up with over my years of experience in dealing with disagreements.

1. You disagree with someone.

2. You assume that your viewpoint is the ONLY correct one.

3. You continue arguing from your assumption. 4. Pride and arrogance builds inside of you about your view.

5. Frustration and impatience builds inside of you about the other person.

6. This cycle builds and deepens until anger is aroused.

7. Anger builds and deepens to the point that you say hateful things to the other

person.

8. The hateful things you say build and deepen to the point where you storm off

from them.

9. Storming off leads to a replaying of the entire conversation over again, usually

emphasizing YOUR points and CRITICIZING theirs.




10. The replaying continues in the hours and days that follow, so that your dislike

of the person deepens and builds as well.

11. Your dislike seeks to garner support from others who may "feel" the same

way.

12. Your support-building campaign turns into a neglect of praying for them anddesiring God's blessing for them.

13. Your neglect of praying for them turns into avoidance of them when you are

around them next time.

14. Your avoidance turns into outright rejection of them.

15. Your rejection of them is communicated to others in "righteous" or "pietistic"

terms.

16. Your sinful communication about them seals your separation from them for

"biblical" reasons.

17. Your separation turns your support-team against that person as well.

18. Your corporate separation from that person creates division from that person

and his support-team.

19. Your division creates hostility and a feud is waged between the two "camps."

20. Voila! A church split and/or a denomination is born.

After step one, ever other step I take from there is taken out of ignorance of the truth

that person I'm disagreeing with is made in the image of God...just like I am. That

ignorance has been unwitting at times. And many other times it has been willful.DESPITE the theology I know about them being an equal image of God with me, I

choose instead to ignore that and launch my personal campaign against them. It's

my contention then that really and truly understanding this doctrine of the image of

God, or the imago dei , is probably THE most critical, crucial, foundational, significant

truth EVERY Christian must know and believe in order to see the nature and

outcome of their disagreements changed for the good.

Let's start then with the foundational passages for this theology of the imago dei . In

these texts we see that EVERY human being is made in the image of God.

Genesis 1:26,27 - The first two people God created were made in His image.

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let

them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens

and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing

that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image

of God he created him; male and female he created them" (ESV).




Genesis 5:1 - "This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God

created man, he made him in the likeness of God" (ESV).

Genesis 9:5,6 - "And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from everybeast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a

reckoning for the life of man. 'Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall

his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image'" (ESV).

A Brief But Important Lesson on How to Study the Bible

In each of these texts the word "image" comes from the Hebrew word, selem . The

English word "likeness" comes from the Hebrew word demut . Just like English

words, Hebrew words can carry different connotations or "flavors" of meaning. In

these verses in Genesis, the translators decided to use the word "likeness" or

"image." But what does this mean? When you're doing Bible study and you want to

study what a word means, there is really only one way to do that: find other places

where the word is used, read the text or passage in its context, and then compare

what you find in that passage with the passage you are studying. This helps give

you a general idea of what the word means.

But this practice does NOT necessarily give you an exact meaning? Why? For the

simple reason that two people may not use the same word with the same meaningall the time. If they are having two different conversations, and one person may use

a word one way, and the other person may use the same word a different way. So

then, if we are studying a word in Genesis, but then turn to another passage written

by a different author where that same word is used, we can't expect it to mean the

EXACT same thing, because they are probably having a different conversation.

However, if we listen in on that conversation, we WILL be able to at least get a

general idea of what the word means.

In Bible Study we call this the "Circles of Context." Here's how it works when youare doing what's called a "word study."

1. First, you start with the person who's written this book and try to find

other places in their book where they use the same word. Chances are

very high that the author is going to use the same word the same way in the

same book he's writing.

2. Second, you move outside what the author has written and look for

other books that are similar to the one you are studying. If you arestudying a piece of narrative or history, for example, you will turn to other books




of the Bible that are also narrative or history. But keep it in the same

Testament, of course. That's because word meanings change or shift over the

centuries. I'll show you an example of that in a moment with the Hebrew word

we are looking at now. If you are studying a word that was written at one point

in the OT, and then try to find that same word in the NT, the massive amount oftime that separates the two usages will definitely mean that the word has shifted

meanings at least a little bit, if not a whole lot. That's just the way language

works. Many words just drift out of usage altogether, and some change

meanings in significant ways. Take a word like "gay" for example. When I was

a kid, we sang the "Flintstones" theme song, with the line, "we'll have a gay 'ole

time." Fifty years later, having "a gay 'ole time" means something totally

different, doesn't it? That's just one example of how a word shifts

meanings...and in just fifty years!

3. Third, after you've looked at the same word used in the same type of

literature, you want to move outside that literature and see how the word

is ued in different literature. If the word you're studying is in a history or

narrative, then you study that same word in another narrative, moving on then

to literature like prophecy, or poetry, etc. The contexts will be clearly different,

but you will be able to squeeze a few more drops from the word to use in

comparing to the one usage you are studying.

4. Finally, after you've studied a word in those three "circles of context"

you will want to move to the other testament to see how the word is used

there. Do you see what we are doing essentially then? We are studying the

occurrences of a word closest to the time in history in which it was used, then

studying it in the same kind of literature, then studying it in different types of

literature, and then studying it in a different testament and time period

altogether. Each circle is an attempt to squeeze more drops of meaning so we

have as much as we can to compare and understand. Pretty simple, eh?

Studying the Concepts of God's "Likeness" and "Image"

Getting back to our Hebrew word selem , in Genesis, we don't have any other usages

of that word in Genesis to study. So we move out to the rest of the Law. You see,

Genesis is actually part of a larger "book" called the Law, or Torah, as the Jews refer

to it. That book includes Genesis through Deuteronomy. And as we move out

through the rest of the chapters in that book, we find one other reference in Numbers

33:52 where the word is used to refer to an idol. So in the Torah, three of the

usages of this word are used in a good way, to refer to a human as the likeness or

image of God, and the fourth usage is used in a bad way, to refer to the likeness or

image of God or a god in a non-human form. You can immediately see just from fourusages in one book so far, that any likeness or image of God that is found in man is




a good thing, and making any likeness or image of God or a god in non-human form

(like an idol) is a bad thing. From just four usages we can make the conclusion then

that God means for His image and likeness to be only represented in humanity who

is NEVER worshiped, and God does NOT mean for His image and likeness to be

represented in something manmade that IS worshiped.

That being the case, according to our "Circles of Context" we move to the next circle

which is occurrences of the word used in other literature. When we do so we find

three usages in similar literature (history or narrative) in 1 Samuel, 2 Chronicles and

2 Kings. All three of these usages are just like the one in Numbers, in that they refer

to a bad image or likeness of God or a god in an idol of some kind. That's

considered abominable to God.

Then, when we move to the next circle of context, which is literature that is differentfrom the one we are studying, we find three usages in Ezekiel, one in Daniel, and

one in Amos. This is prophetic literature, and interestingly it contains the same sort

of usages, referring to selem as a bad thing, a likeness or image made into a non-

human idol that is worshiped. Per John Piper in his study of these texts, "In the

remainder of the Old Testament, selem is used, but for the two exceptions, to refer to

the physical likeness of a person or thing, and almost uniformly these images are

abominable."(1)

Now, there are usages of the Hebrew word selem in other types of literature wherethe meaning is NOT bad, and has nothing to do with idols that are made or

worshiped. When we look at these occurrences, which occur in the poetry literature

of the Psalms, do that, here's what we find.

Psalm 39:5, 6a - "Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and

my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere

breath! Selah. Surely a man goes about as a shadow !" (ESV). The word

"shadow" in the English is the translation here for the Hebrew word selem .

This Psalm, written by David, uses the word to basicallyrefer to theresemblance or reflection of something greater. A shadow of something is

always less than the something, yet always representing something greater.

In this passage then, a selem is not bound to a physical image.

Psalm 73:20 - "Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse

yourself, you despise them as phantoms " (ESV). Here in this psalm, written

by a different man (Asaph) several hundred years later than the previous one,

the Hebrew word selem is translated as phantoms . So it's pretty plain here,




as in the previous Psalm, that we aren't dealing with "a concrete, tangible

image, but again, a more abstract likeness."(2)

In conclusion, it seems from the usages of the word throughout the OT that the word

selem refer to duplicate or copy which has a diminished or lesser resemblance of the

original thing. In the Genesis passages we are trying to study, that "image" or

"likeness" can be a duplicate with a lesser resemblance of God in humanity. This is

a good thing. And in the other passages it can be a duplicate with a lesser

resemblance of God or something else in something manmade, like an idol. That is

a bad thing.

So what about the Hebrew word demut ? It seems to be a bit more flexible than the

Hebrew word selem . It seems to be used in a more concrete sense, in that it is

connected with something tangible, something that can be experienced or

encountered with the five senses. The word points to a copy that looks like the

original.(3)

When we put both words together, "image" and "likeness," a theology unfolds for us

that includes both the physical and the abstract. In other words, Moses (the writer

of Genesis) is saying that God created man with His physical likeness, as well as His

spiritual image; with His intangible essence, as well as His tangible appearance.

Jesus Christ as THE Image of God

"But I thought God was a spirit and therefore had no body. So how can God say He

is creating man with some sort of physical likeness of Himself?" Because of Jesus

Christ. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is the bodily appearance or form of

God. Colossians 1 teaches us this. "He is the image of the invisible God, the

firstborn of all creation...For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell..." (vv.

15, 19). Jesus is the physical, tangible representation of an spiritual God.

We see Him in the OT appearing as "the angel of the Lord" to Abraham and Gideon,

for example. When He appeared in this form, it was bodily, physical form just like a

man. We see Him in the NT appearing as God Himself (John 12:45; 13:9). He is

also the radiant brightness of God Himself, much like the light we see from the sun

(Hebrews 1:3; John 14:3). Therefore, to say that man was made in God's physical

likeness is to say that he was created as a copy of Jesus Christ. Man looks like

Jesus in his physical appearance. And man also has the intangible, spiritual

essence of Jesus. This doesn't mean man is God, per se. Rather it simply means

that man is a lesser copy of Jesus Christ. He has many of the same thing Jesus

Christ has, but he is not Jesus Christ. He is LIKE Jesus.




Now, this was all God's original design, mind you. In the beginning, when God

created Adam and Eve, they were the perfect copies of Jesus Christ, both physically

and spritually. But when they sinned, death was brought to the whole human race,

as Romans 5 teaches. This introduced and sort of injected sin into the very DNA of

humanity, and into the very fabric of the universe. This had the effect of damagingthe image of God. Humanity and earth malfunction now because of sin. If man is

like a mirror of Jesus Christ, that mirror is broken. This is why we have crime, war,

death, sickness, suffering, and mutation. Sin causes human beings and planet earth

to malfunction.

But every man, woman, and child is still made in the image of God! We know this

because even after sin, human beings are still said to be made in God's image

(Genesis 5, 9). This means that human beings are still the copies and

representations of Jesus Christ on planet earth, but those copies are malfunctioning

and marred. However, just like I can look at a broken mirror and still see something

of myself when I look into it, God looks at humanity and still sees something of

Himself in every human being when He looks at us.

So then, how does all of this teaching on the imago dei apply to our main point so

far? It applies in this way: if every human being is made in the physical likeness of

Jesus, and with the spiritual essence of God, then one human being is no better than

any other human being - since every human being is marred and malfunctions - and

every human being deserves respect and honor from every other human being. In

short, I am as broken as you are, and I am as much made in the image of God as

you are, both in body and soul. Even though I look different from you and have

different personality issues from you, we are both made in God's image and are

therefore equal to one another in status. You are not better than me in ANY sense,

and I am not better than you in ANY sense.

Therefore, when it comes to something over which you disagree with me, I deserve

your respect and honor since I am as much an image of God as you are. And

conversely, if I disagree with you over something, you deserve my respect and honor

since you are as much an image of God as I am. We are both made in the image of

God, both marred and malfunctioning because of sin, yet both equal to each other in

God's eyes. Our status is the same: creations of God Himself.

Key Questions We MUST Deal With

But what if one person is a Christian, and the other is not? Then the one who is

a Christian has had the unmarred image of God (originally given to Adam and Eve)

restored to him because of Jesus Christ, the perfect image of God. When I am

adopted into the Father's family, I am looked at and treated as if I were Jesus ChristHimself. What is more, God has regenerated me, made me alive, resurrected my




soul from the dead. That act of regenerating me also began the work of restoring me

to the full, original image of God at creation. It won't be completed, mind you, until

Jesus returns and finishes that work by giving me a new body. But until then, the

restoration has begun and I am growing more and more into Christ's likeness (2

Corinthians 4:7-5:5).

Therefore, if one is a Christian then they have had the restoration process begun in

them. This necessarily puts the responsibility of even greater respect and honor on

the Christian...NOT to receive it from the unbeliever, but to GIVE it to the unbeliever.

In other words, because the Christian person has been set right with God, they

actually have the power and ability now to TREAT the unbeliever with the respect

and honor they deserve as image-bearers of God. Jesus Christ, the complete and

perfect image of God, exemplified that when He said His life mission was "to seek

and save the lost" and "not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a

ransom for many."

This places ALL the responsibility of respect and honor on the shoulders of the

BELIEVER when it comes to a disagreement with an unbeliever. And to be sure,

this is HOW the believer WINS the unbeliever...by giving the respect and honor and

dignity that the unbeliever deserves as an image-bearer of God. All conflict is not

bad, but it usually turns bad because one or both persons in the conflict think they

are better than the other, or that their viewpoint is better than the other.

The very moment that happens, unless it is repented of, the conflict will only grow

into sinful hatred, bitterness, resentment, anger and impatience. As that sin grows,

so does the treatment each gives to the other. They no longer treat each other with

love, respect, honor and dignity. Instead, they begin tearing each other down,

pointing out each other's faults and weaknesses, lying, manipulating, discouraging

each other, and eventually even plotting against the other. The prevention of this

sort of thing lies entirely at the feet of the believer in relationships and conflict with

unbelievers.

But what about two believers who disagree with one another? It should be even

BETTER! BOTH persons are redeemed, regenerated, and are being restored to the

image of God. So BOTH should be tripping over one another to love, respect, honor

and dignify each other as image-bearers of God. Conflict and disagreement

between Christians should be the best and highest example of how to love, honor

and respect one another in the "heat of the battle." Conflict or disagreement

between two believers should be THE shining moment in which we show to each

other as well as to the unbelieving world HOW we can disagree and still deeply and

fervently love, honor, respect and dignify each other. Any disagreements Christians

have between themselves are opportunities to show the world how we hold each




other in the HIGHEST esteem, regardless of the nature or subject of our

disagreement.

What about disagreements between a Christian and someone who just thinks

they are saved...or even someone who is supposedly a heretic? Is that reallyany different? Does the fact that someone is deceived about their relationship with

God really change their status as image-bearers of God? Does the fact that

someone is supposedly a heretic really change the fact that they are made in the

image of God? Of course not! On the one hand, these things certainly emphasize

the malfunctioning factors in the marred image of God. That is, these things may

simply serve to point out with greater clarity the cracks in the mirror. But it does

NOTHING to the FACT that they are still made in the image of God and therefore

deserving of respect, honor, love and dignity as image-bearers of God.

Murder and Sinful Anger Are EQUALLY Destructions of the Image

of God

Let me put it in terms of a couple of biblical passages to make my point. Turn back

to Genesis 9 and read the bit about murder and the death penalty. Moses wrote

there, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God

made man in his own image" (v. 6). It is a sin to murder someone else precisely for

the ONLY reason that fundamentally they are representations or image-bearers of

God Himself. To kill a person is to destroy an image of God. THAT is why murder is

a sin. That is the ROOT cause of the evil of murder. It takes matters into its own

hands and decides to destroy something God made, without God's permission.

THAT is why God says in the Ten Commandments, "Do not murder."

Now turn to Matthew 5 and see how Jesus applies the issue of murder. There, in the

Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached, "You have heard that it was said to those of

old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I

say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;

whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!'

will be liable to the hell of fire." Jesus teaches that there is essentially no difference

between anger and murder. Both destroy the image of God. One does so physically

and the other does so verbally. Attacking someone to death physically is murder.

Attacking someone verbally is death to their soul, and is also considered murder.

Murder kills the body, and anger kills the soul. Murder kills the likeness of God

outwardly, and anger kills the image of God inwardly. Jesus sees them both as the

same thing and even pronounces the SAME judgment on both: the fire of judgment,

or hell.

It is safe to say, theologically speaking, that when we murder a person physically ORverbally, we are actually murdering Jesus. If human beings are made in God's




image (in the likeness of Jesus Christ), then to kill one is to attempt to kill the other,

or at least an affront to the other, in the very least. To disrespect, hate, or dishonor

the copy is to do the same to the original. Burning someone's picture in effigy for

example, is a pulbic way of dishonoring and disrespecting the person himself.

Mudslinging in politics during election season for instance, is a public way ofdishonoring, respecting the political opponent himself, so that people will not view

them the same way and therefore not vote for them. This is what we call

"demonizing" someone, which is making them out to appear to others to be so evil

and underhanded and bad that we lessen our respect and honor for them, and begin

to actually hate them. But when we do that, Jesus says we are actually, in our own

soul, killing the other person's soul. Whenever we not respect, love, honor and

dignify a representation of a person, we do not respect, love, honor or dignify the

person himself.

The biggest and most important example of this is forgetting that our actions in this

way to one person are actually actions to Jesus Christ Himself. To dishonor and

disrespect another human being is to do the same to Jesus Christ. Jesus teaches

us this principle with the utmost clarity when He blessed the sheep and cursed the

goats in Matthew 25. To the sheep He blessed them saying, "And the King will

answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my

brothers, you did it to me'" (v. 40). And to the goats He cursed them saying, "Then

he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire

prepared for the devil and his angels...Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say

to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' Andthese will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (vv.

41, 45, 46).

I don't think it can be any clearer than this. ANY activity or behavior toward another

human being that does not treat them with respect, honor, love, service, and dignity

as an image of God, is activity or behavior that treats King Jesus in the very same

way. To treater the lesser of the two with disrespect is to treat the Greater with

disrespect. To hate the lesser is to hate the Greater. To dishonor a human being is

to dishonor Jesus Christ. Every single human being, no matter what is wrong withthem, is an image-bearer of King Jesus and as such should be treated with the same

respect and honor we would give Jesus Christ.

The Crucial Question: Do We IGNORE What's Wrong With Someone

Else?

Now enters the most crucial question we can come to, the crux of the whole deal.

Everything else we've said so far has been conceivably palatable to us. But when it

all comes down to it, we actually DO disagree with things other people say, do, orbelieve. There is just no avoiding that. The fact that we disagree with them is just as




much a fact of reality as the truth that they are image-bearers of God. But image-

bearers are sinners by nature. Their image is marred, and therefore their image-

bearing abilities malfunction. So what about the crucial issue of what we DO with

what is wrong?

What about the actual wrongdoing another person does? What about the

actual wrong things another person believes? Am I saying that we should just

ignore the wrong things they do and believe, and just honor and respect them

as if they've done nothing wrong? Of course not. Again, the fact that they do

something wrong or believe something erroneous is just as much a matter of fact

and reality as their being an image-bearer of God Himself. Regardless of the fact

that these two things are incongruent and contradictory, they are both true at the

same time. So I am NOT saying that just because they are image-bearers of God

that they are somehow magically not guilty of what they've done wrong or whatever

erroneous thing they believe or teach. And I am also NOT saying that the wrong

things they do or believe somehow cancels out the fact that they continue to be

image-bearers of God.

What I AM saying is that this theology of the imago dei DEMANDS that we treat

every person with respect and honor and dignity IN THE WAY that we handle their

wrongdoing or IN THE WAY that we hold them accountable. The fact that they ARE

image-bearers of God MUST dominate and control everything we SAY to them and

everything we DO to them. We DON'T excuse what they do by ANY means!

Rather, we DO handle it by holding them accountable, yet in a WAY that is guided by

this truth: no matter what they have done, they are still made in the image of

God and as such are always deserving of dignity , including (and especially)

when punishment or disciplined is meted out.

ALL Broken Image-Bearers Need MERCY from the Perfect Image-

Bearer

Plain and simple, this is called "mercy," which is NOT giving the other person what

they DESERVE, but instead giving forgiving them. When the need arises to censure

someone, or discipline them from the church, or point out a wrongdoing, or hold

someone accountable, or ANY action really that acknowledges wrongdoing and calls

for accountability...in ANY and EVERY case WE should reflect THE MOST

significant and crucial and fundamental reflection of the image of God, which is

MERCY. And this IS the God of the Old AND New Testaments.

"'The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity

and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity

of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.' Pleasepardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast




love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now" (Numbers

14:18, 19).

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast

love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does notdeal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities"

(Psalm 103:8-10).

"The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast

love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made"

(Psalm 145:8-9).

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an

end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations3:22, 23).

"And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified

him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said,

'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do'" (Luke 23:33, 34).

Regardless of WHO the image-bearer is, or WHAT they have done, they DO

deserve respect, honor and dignity because of WHO they are. However, they ALSO

deserve God's judgment because of WHAT they have done. Both of these areequally true. But, JESUS came as the MERCY of God Himself toward WHAT

broken image-bearers have done, so that WHO they are can be restored to who God

ORIGINALLY intended them to be.

The Image of God is a Metaphorical Issue, NOT a Categorical One

This is such a difficult thing for us to get our minds and hearts wrapped around. We

think in black and white, if you will. Our culture teaches us to think categorically,

instead of metaphorically. We are taught to believe that if you are in one category,you cannot at the same time be in another category. If you deserve to be punished

for commiting a crime, our culture tells us that you are NOT also deserving of dignity.

As a result, the criminal is demonized and made out to be something he is, but is

not. He may have committed a demonic act, but that doesn't change the FACT that

he is still an image-bearer of God. Metaphorically speaking however, God is

mysteriously able to declare a criminal "not guilty" and treat Him as such, while at the

same time confronting that person with additional wrongdoing that needs to be

repented of.




This is really no different from the way we treat our own children. They are our

children, and we love them and nothing will EVER be able to change that. But we

discipline our kids nonetheless for the wrongdoing they commit. Our discipline is

meant to help them BECOME or GROW INTO who they really are: children bearing

our name and reputation. And God's discipline is also meant to help ChristiansBECOME or GROW INTO who He has declared them to be. They can sin and at the

very same moment not be guilty of that sin, but still stand in need of correction for

that sin, yet not be judged for that sin. That's a reality that cannot be categorically

defined. It is metaphorically defined.

A similar example is how we look at our President. We may not like what our

President decides to do, but we still respect and honor the office which he holds.

Bad-mouthing his decision is not respecting his office. It is okay to disagree with it,

but NOT okay to slander him because of our disagreement. This is perhaps THE

single most troubling feature in Christianity today. Christians are taught by the "fair

and balanced" media to hold a view of the President which is anything BUT fair and

balanced with regard to this fundamental premise, much less with regard to a

theology of the imago dei. When they demonize the President, they demonize Jesus

Christ who made the President. When they bad-mouth a decision the president

made or something he believes, they bad-mouth him personally. Sometimes you

may hear one of them say that they don't actually hate the man. But the way they

talk about him is clearly hateful and disrespectful, and dishonoring and without any

dignity or integrity whatsoever. The media doesn't allow for ANY of that, at least for

the most part. THEY are the ones who teach us to think categorically which leads todemonization of a person. This is why we should ignore almost everything they tell

us.

This is a METAPHORICAL issue. A human being can live and breathe as an

image-bearer of God, while AT THE SAME TIME live and breathe as a very bad

person, doing very bad things, and believing very bad things. But mysteriously, the

one doesn't negate the other. We don't understand that, primarily because of the

cultural mileu, as well as because of the fact that, again, our image-bearing source

malfunctions and is marred. BUT they are nonetheless BOTH true. Any humanbeing may be an image-bearer of God AND AT THE SAME TIME a criminal, or an

unbeliever, or a heretic, or whatever you want to call them.

However, WHAT you call them, and the WAY you represent them or talk about them

MUST be guided and guarded by this theology of the imago dei . You cannot bad-

mouth, slander, gossip about, or denigrate another human being without ALSO doing

the same to King Jesus. Therefore, Christians MUST find new and healthy ways to

talk about the ISSUES you disagree with RATHER THAN the people we disagree

with. Talking about the PEOPLE we disagree with usually leads to sin. Talkingabout the ISSUES can certainly lead to the sin of bad-mouthing them, but it leads to




this FAR LESS than talking about the person. Regardless, our esteem and respect

and honor and love for the PERSON as an image-bearer of God MUST guide and

guard what we say about them, as well as how we actually feel about them.

The Image of God is About How I FEEL Toward, THINK About, andBEHAVE Toward Other People

This gets down to the "nitty-gritty" of this theology, doesn't it? This image-bearing

theology is connected to every human being outwardly AND inwardly. They are

marred but divine representations of God, both in body and in soul. Therefore, what

I say about them outwardly AND how I feel about them inwardly MUST take into

account these truths. If they are images of God physically and spiritually, inwardly

and outwardly, then I MUST inwardly think of them as such and outwardly treat them

as such. In other words, I'm leading a contradictory and hypocritical life if I only treat

them outwardly with respect and dignity, but inwardly judge, criticize, condemn or

think disparagingly toward them. That's just being nice on the outside, and almsot

EVERYONE does that. Rather, Christians are to think INWARDLY of every human

being in a way that is guided and guarded by the fact that they ARE...every second

of their lives...image-bearers of God Himself...no matter what they do that is

ncongruent with that fact. That's why we are called to LOVE one another. That's in

inward AND an outward reality. It's how I FEEL about them and toward them as well

as WHAT I do to them or for them.

Paul exhorts us for example, to not let ourselves be overcome with evil, but rather to

do the OPPOSITE. In Romans 12, his theology behind this exhortation teaches us

to,

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the

lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the

sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is

written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him

something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Peter points us in the same direction. In the second chapter of his first letter he tells

believers to,




12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak

against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the

day of visitation...

17 Honor everyone . Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor... 21-23 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no

sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not

revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting

himself to him who judges justly.

And in the third chapter, he teaches them,

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tenderheart, and a humble mind.

9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for

to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

10 For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his

tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their

prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

WHY Christians Behave and Think This Way

Why do we behave this way? Because we truly love everyone. That is why Peter

exhorted us in the first chapter of the same letter, "Having purified your souls by your

obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from

a pure heart ..." (v. 22). This purity of heart excludes hypocrisy. It is a heart that

deeply and fervently loves every human being ever made, because they are made in

the image of God, just like we are...even though they may be marred, just like we

are.

Going back to Romans 12, this is why Paul explicitly and plainly and clearly says,

"Let your love be without hypocrisy" (v. 9). This is just as much about OUR inward

feeling and outward treatment of them as it is about their outward and inward needs.

We are to love them and honor, respect, and dignify them by meeting THEIR needs

outwardly AS WELL AS speaking to THEIR hearts and about their souls inwardly

with dignity. Parallel to that, WE are to serve them respect them outwardly, as well

as inwardly in OUR hearts. The physical likeness of the image of God within us

should meet the physical needs of the likeness of God in other people. And the

spiritual image of God within us should meet the spiritual needs of the image of God

in other people.




In conclusion, this theology of the imago dei teaches us that NO Christian should

EVER ACT toward another person with disrespect and dishonor or hatred, nor

should they EVER FEEL any disrespect or dishonor or hatred toward another

person. Again am I NOT saying that Christians should just ignore everything theysee that is contrary to the image of God. What I AM saying is that Christians should

NOT wish on another person or treat another person with the kind of behavior,

words, or thoughts that WE would not want from God for OURSELVES! Give to

them what God gives to you...no matter who they are, or what they have done.

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5:43-47.

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate

your enemy.'

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his

sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the

unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even

the tax collectors do the same?

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

A Pop Quiz to See if You REALLY Believe in the Image of God

Now let me test you on where you are at with all of this right now in your life. Let me

do so by throwing various names or titles out there. What I want YOU to do is to let

that name or title sit in your heart for a few seconds and then you examine how you

feel. These include "hot topics" by way of key words that are meant to incite

something inside of you, whether sinful or righteous.

o President Barak Obama

o President Bill Clinton

o President George H. W. Bush

o Senators or Congressmen

o Homosexuals

o Muslims

o Terrorists

o Rob Bell

o Brian McLaren

o Emergent Church

o Rush Limbaugh

o Sean Hannity




o Liberals

o Conservatives

o Univeralists

o Arminians

o Calvinists

o Your Boss

o Your Husband

o Your Children

o "That" Neighbor

o "That" Teacher

o "That" Policeman

o "That" Judge

o "That" Coworker

If you did NOT feel any sort of honor, respect, esteem or dignity toward the person or

groups I mentioned, then you do NOT view them as image-bearers of God. The

BEST way to check what you believe about another person is against how you FEEL

about that person. If you do not FEEL honor, respect, love, or dignity for that person,

then you do not believe they are made in the image of God, for that is what the very

image of God invokes in our minds, doesn't it? When we think of God we think

respect, honor, love and dignity. But when we think of certain people made in the

image of God, these feelings don't always come to mind, do they? So there's some

work to do, some praying to do, some repenting to do for ALL of us in how weunderstand the image of God, and therefore with how we TREAT others and FEEL

about others.

Concluding Challenges

Let me leave three examples of what this looks like by way of a challenging close.

Each example centers on the issue of how you view your leaders, because that is an

issue we see often repeated in the Scriptures.

1. The first example comes from Paul's life and ministry, and it's found in

Acts 23. If your heart gets frustrated with a passage like Acts 23:5, then you

are not seeing your leaders first and foremost as image-bearers of God. Check

this out and see if you would respond like Paul.

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my

life before God in all good conscience up to this day."

2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to

strike him on the mouth.




3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed

wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to

the law you order me to be struck?"

4 Those who stood by said, "Would you revile God's high priest?"

5 And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for itis written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"

2. The second example comes from Stephen's life and ministry...the man

whose murderous execution was sanctioned by the previous man we just spoke

of, the Apostle Paul. From Acts 7:54 - 8:1 we read the following story.

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground

their teeth at him.

55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory ofGod, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

56 And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man

standing at the right hand of God."

57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed

together at him.

58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses

laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive

my spirit."

60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not

hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

8:1 And Saul approved of his execution.

3. The third example comes from the life of Jesus, who's example is the

most supreme of all. I shared two other examples of Him first, SO THAT you

would see that two ordinary human beings like Paul and Stephen are

essentially no different from you. They were image-bearers of Jesus, and so

are you. If THEY responded like Jesus, you can too. Here's how THE Image of

God, Jesus Christ, responded. Here is the spectacular display of THE Image ofGod dealing with other image-bearers of God...who were at that very moment

persecuting and murdering Him. The story comes from Luke 23:32-43.

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with

him.

33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they

crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

And they cast lots to divide his garments.






In the end, the gospel of Jesus Christ is GOOD NEWS because it says that this

image of God in every marred and malfunctioning human being can be set aright.

Jesus came to die on the cross to meet the just demands of God against our

brokenness. Then, in His resurrection, He defeated and overcame sin and Satanand death. All of this is GOOD NEWS because it preaches that ANYTHING and

EVERYTHING that has marred the image of God in us...anything and everything that

makes us malfunction as human beings...has been forgiven and taken away

because of the work of Jesus Christ. When a person believes that what Jesus has

done can be counted for them personally, they become a follower of Jesus. They

are "born again," regenerated, converted, and "saved."

Being "born again" means that this second birth completely replaces and

repairs everything about their first birth. Being regenerated means that their "dead" souls have been resurrected,

leaving everything that marred them in the grave with Jesus.

Being converted means that the marred and malfunctioning lifestyle they

experienced before is now changed and will continue to change.

Being saved means that they've been rescued and delivered from every

marring feature of sin which kept them enslaved.

In short, the gospel is good news because it preaches that Jesus has come torestore the image of God in every person who believes, regardless of who they are

or what they have done. This restoration is for EVERYONE. That is the good news.

Jesus experienced death for every person (Hebrews 2:9). This is not just good

news. It's GREAT news! It is the BEST news! We don't have to put up with

whatever is broken or marred or malfunctioning inside of us! Jesus has brought

repair, renewal, reconciliation and restoration to us.

What's ALSO good news, even GREATER news, is that we CAN forgivingly forbear

with what's broken and marred and malfunctioning in OTHER people. We CAN

experience inner peace and comfort within our hearts DESPITE whatever

disagreements we have with others. We can LIVE like this because we know that

we are right with God and that nothing can change that...not even the greatest

disagreement or conflict we have. And we can live like this because we know that

GOD is powerful enough to change and transform the other person, just like He has

done to you. OR, God is powerful enough to change and transform YOU, so that

you come to see the OTHER person's point of view, and perhaps repent from your

arrogance and pride!




But all of this ONLY works for those who BELIEVE it. If you continue to live in your

current state of life and ride the tornado of devolution, you will eventually have few if

any friends. And the friends who DO agree with NOW will eventually disagree with

you later, since the only grounds of friendship you have is your current, temporary

agreement and not Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ, and what He has done forBOTH of you, is NOT the foundation for your relationships, those relationships will

fail and descend into bitterness, hatred, separation, and division...and eventually,

loneliness.

Jesus has come to deliver every human being from this lifestyle of eventual

loneliness. He is calling you and I into a community of unconditional love and care

and respect and honor and service to one another. That community is built on the

restored image of God in Jesus Christ, instead of on mere agreement with

information. There are few pieces of information on which we HAVE to agree to

have REAL community. Yet there are NO pieces of information which prevent me

from honoring, respecting, loving and dignifying EVERY human being, regardless of

who they are, what they believe, what they say, or what they do. This is the good

news which the gospel brings to the image of God BECAUSE of THE Image of God

in Jesus Christ.

Footnotes:

(1) Numbers 33:52, molten images to be destroyed; 1 Samuel 6:5, images of your tumors and images

of your mice; 2 Chronicles 23:17 and 2 Kings 11:18, images of Baal; Ezekiel 7:20, abominable images

made of ornaments; Ezekiel 16:17, images of men made of gold and silver; Ezekiel 23:14, images of

Chaldeans portrayed in vermillion on a wall; Amos 5:25, images of other gods and kings; Daniel 2:31-

35, the image made of five substances; Daniel 3 (twelve times), the image sixty cubits high and sixty

cubits wide. John Piper, "The Image of God: An Approach from Biblical and Systematic Theology"

(Source: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/the-image-of-god).

(2) Ibid.



(3) The usages of demut which are synonymous with selem are found in Isaiah 40:18, "what likeness

will you compare with God"; 2 Kings 16:10, "the model of the altar"; 2 Chronicles 4:3, "in the furnishing

of the temple there were figures of gourds"; Ezekiel 10:1, "the likeness of a throne." The usage of

demut that is different is found in Ezekiel 10:10, "as for their appearance, the four had the same

likeness."

How to Let the Gospel Drive Your Disagreements, Part 1 - Image of God

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