For creating all things, God just commanded and it came to be but while creating man, God Himself got directly involved. He did not command but said, ‘Let us make man’ and then like a Sculptor, put His hands in the dust of the earth to give it shape in the form of man. Then He breathed into the nostrils of that form to give it life to make him a living and speaking being to communicate with the Creator. What could be the reason for God to give such importance to the creation of human beings and what should be our life in such an exalted state, especially after redemption through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son?
Effect of being created in God’s image – The first two chapters of the Holy Bible depict two narratives of creation for in the first one God commands and it happens; while in the second, God is personally and physically involved. God first ‘formed man of the dust of the ground’ and this is like a sculptor giving shape to a lump of mud (Genesis 2:7-8). The second step in this creation of man is that He ‘breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being’. In this again, is His direct involvement, for Lord Jesus declared ‘For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself’ (John 5:26). Apostle Paul has further clarified the process of creation and redemption by linking the two. In lord Jesus we have ‘redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins’ and He Himself is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:14-17). The whole process is linked in Him for ‘by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him’. He further clarifies the status of the Son of God that ‘He is before all things, and in Him all things consist’.
Nothing can be added to God’s presence for He is perfect in all aspects and as per Jewish mysticism, for creation to begin, first God contracted His glory and created an empty space and then released a beam of the Light of His glory in that vacuum. This beam is the revelation of His only begotten Son who ‘is the image of the invisible God’, the Living Word (John 1:1-2). The Spirit of God represents the whole character and power of God and He aligns with the Son in the process of creation. Lord Jesus becomes Man to reveal that same image of God in which we were created and which had become invisible in us due to darkness of evil and sins in our lives. An image is exactly like the original but cannot act on His own. Lord Jesus Himself emphasised this point, ‘the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does’ (John 5:19-20). Lord Jesus expresses His total and absolute dependence on God the Father for His works.
God’s daily visits to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were to give them a glimpse of this same works that they were supposed to do (Genesis 3:8). This communication can only be discerned in and through the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. Since the Spirit of God is Holy, He will never reveal heavenly things to someone steeped in sin, though He may lead a person in such a state to the source that would cleanse Him of His sinful state. The forgiveness of sins and cleansing by His shed blood restores that same state, for then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in each believer to be an Intercessor, a Guide, a Teacher and a Source of ‘power, love and self control’. In this state a believer is now made capable to be a true representative of God on the earth before others.
The Redeemer became Man so that ‘through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage’ (Hebrews 2:14-15). God became Man to die for us and firstly, to set us free from the slavery to sin and the devil and secondly, to destroy the works of the devil and his hold over us. Apostle Paul further clarifies about the work that the Saviour Lord did, He disarmed principalities and powers and made a public display of their defeat through His death on the cross and resurrection on the third day (Colossians 2:15). Israelites were rescued from slavery of Egypt by the LORD God and the might of the Egyptian empire was mightily destroyed. At the Red Sea, while the Israelites crossed on dry land, the Egyptian chariots and horses that were following them, were stuck in the sea bed and buried under the sea.
King Solomon, the wisest man of that time, has said, ‘I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it’ (Ecclesiastes 3:14). What God has already done by destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) no man can add or reduce anything from that. We are to live with the realization of these two basic facts; first, that God dwells in us to teach us His ways and lead us to obedience; and second, devil is a defeated foe and the One who defeated the devil is always with us. Once we do this and start living by faith in the Saviour and His glorious works, we start living in victory. God made us part of His Divine family and made us citizens of heaven, not to live a life of a loser and cause damage to His glory, who has chosen us. A believer’s right type of worship and glorifying God is to live victoriously but submitted to God who has given this.
Why is the defeated devil still so powerful? After revealing the light of the glory of His Son, ‘God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness’ (Genesis 1:4). God could have removed the darkness of evil but He did not. In New Jerusalem, after the throne of God and of the Lamb is set up on earth, ‘there shall be no night there’ (Revelation 22:5). God would have already bound forever the ‘prince of darkness’, the devil to eternal damnation in hell before coming of New Jerusalem to the earth. Lord Jesus told Apostle Peter about the devil seeking him to sift him as wheat but then assured him of protection through His prayers (Luke 22:31-32). But He did not deny the right of the devil to seek someone from God, for till then forgiveness of sin was not available. Post the cross and resurrection of the Lord, all believers have been freed from the control of the devil. The only way the devil can have any right over me is when I accede to him that right over me, through sin for which I have not sought forgiveness or I persist in that. Many believers live in unbelief in the finished work of Lord Jesus, and it comes through lack of proper knowledge and understanding.
The Apostles started preaching the message of salvation in the Temple courts and did many miraculous deeds in the name and authority of Lord Jesus (Acts 5:17-19). The Jewish leaders and the high priest, had them arrested and put in prison but ‘at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and brought them out’ with the command to go and preach the message of the Gospel and of salvation, inside the Temple. The Apostles could have ignored the message of freedom and remained there only. Also, they could have refused to believe and continued to sit in the prison only. But they believed and walked out and that is what we are supposed to do.
The three attempts of Satan to tempt Lord Jesus were beaten off by the Lord by quoting the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-10). We also in like manner are to counter every doubt that the devil brings into our minds about answers to our prayers or any situation with the Word of God. Apostle Paul has taught all believers a practical way to cast all worries away through prayers before the Lord God and it is a command and not a suggestion (Philippians 4:6-8). He has assured us that then the unimaginable peace of God will ‘guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus’. Peace of God is the undisturbed serenity of the happy and well contented God and this cannot be understood by anyone and must be grasped in faith. To ensure that this peace prevails fully in us, the Apostle has also said, ‘whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things’.
Most of a believer’s life is about control of his mind where walk of faith is about the ‘renewing of your mind’ (Romans 12:2). And then the way is through ‘casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 12:5). Thus what we choose to continually think about or meditate upon, matter in this battle. Every evil power has been defeated in the spiritual realm, though it may still hold sway in the earthly, but the true power in this world is centred in the powerful name of our Lord Jesus. We have the authority to use this power against the devil and his forces of darkness and the challenges that we face, to emerge victorious.
In a believer’s life darkness has no place but we are surrounded all around by it and sometimes do get overwhelmed by it, but we are ‘the light of the world’ (Matthew 5:14). Thus, we are to be the light to help others shed their darkness and like a true branch, even when it has undergone some pruning, still yield fruit and not remain in despair. Evil is potent but our Lord has assured us that ‘in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ and so can we in His power working in us through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (John 16:33). Joseph had a dream but he was sold as a slave, put in prison on a false charge but as per Scripture, ‘until the time that his word (dream) came to pass, the Word of the Lord tested him’ (Psalm 105:17-19). God keeps on testing us till realization of our God given dream.
Job in all his suffering and admonitions of his three friends could stand strong in faith to declare, ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another’ (Job 19:25-27). Job could declare this emphatically to his friends not because he considered himself better than others but because of surety of his walk of obedience to God and His ways. Satan can attack us only if God permits him and then also he cannot break the boundaries set by God. Or else if we submit to his authority through sinful living for a long time and even a believer does fall into this trap while living under the false assumption that our sins were forgiven at baptism and now even our missteps will be condoned. Apostle John addressed all believers when he classified all as sinners and provided the remedy by saying, ‘ If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:8-9).
For every promotion in the spiritual and the worldly realm, there is always a test and one must qualify that, to move up. God in His mercy gives us chance after chance to pass the test and our failure does not mean that it will go away, but we keep facing the testing till we qualify or perish. Joseph had to fulfil his God given destiny and his being sold into slavery, attempted seduction by Potiphar’s wife, imprisonment over a false charge and self attempt at release by requesting the Pharaoh’s cupbearer to help him, were all tests before his elevation as the Prime Minister of Egypt. How we face a test decides our next step in life and though God has a plan for each one of us, it cannot get fulfilled till we are found fit to receive those blessings. God uses the devil for most of these tests and there is no way to escape that.
Obstacle in our walk of righteousness – There is nothing that God lacks and the only thing that He does not have is a watch, for He is above time is not governed by that. All of creation is subject to time and changes due to that. We want to step ahead of time and God cannot allow that, except in the case of someone special like Joshua who could stop the sun and the moon or Hezekiah who could seek God and get his life extended by another 15 years. While telling the disciples about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus taught that ‘He will convict the world of sin (by bringing it to remembrance of their soul); and of righteousness (of Lord Jesus as compared to our sinful state) and of judgment (for everyone has to face the LORD God one day and give account) (John 16:8). We see someone’s sin and demand immediate judgment while in between there is the time of righteousness of Lord Jesus to work His grace for forgiveness.
The message of God through Apostle Paul is, ‘we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). God spoke to Moses ‘face to face’ and our walk with God in the New Covenant is the same, for ‘when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away’ (2 Corinthians 3:16).
In our present state, we see God’s glory in a mirror and it is only an image and not perfect, the way He really is. As we behold His glory, we will be transformed through change in our character and life styles. We can see the glory and walk away but the more time we spend in His Divine presence, the image gets fully engraved within us and the change happens. This change is affected by the Holy Spirit in our lives and not due to our own efforts. But unless we ‘behold’ or ‘see’, which is more than a casual glance, and involves careful study, we have nothing as our model to be changed into. What we behold, that is what we are changed into; if it is His love, grace, peace and righteousness, we start becoming that. God’s mirror is not about seeing what we are but what we will become through the transformation process. If we see a distorted image of God, that is what we will also become.
We do not have to remain in bondage to a false image of God or of ourselves, for we are assured ‘whom He (God) foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son’ (Romans 8:29). Thus the original that has been defaced by our sin is getting repaired continuously during our whole life, little by little. The two steps in this are, first our surrender to Lord Jesus and His New Covenant to receive the Holy Spirit, and second, letting God work in us through His Spirit of truth and not by any man or our personal will and effort. We simply put ourselves in a position where His Spirit can work in us and that is by submitting to His will for our lives.
The period of darkness of our life does not go even a day beyond our period of light, for God executes His design at His right time. In the process of rebuilding in us, we fail, regroup and are strengthened again to follow His commands. We fail only when we fall down and do not catch the hand of the Lord to get up and cling to Him.
Lord Jesus has restored the original image that mankind was given at the time of creation but our sinful nature interferes in the proper display of that in our lives. This transformation is a lifelong work of the Lord in us. The closer we get to the Lord God, the more is His might readily available and working in us to strengthen and enable us to let His power work in us. Our walk of faith and strength in the Lord actually depends on us!
