Blueprint - Discovering God's Intended Design 1


The current preaching series in VCF is entitled Blueprint (Discovering God's Intended Design) and will run for 3 weeks.  It will answer the question on what it means to be created in God's image and it's purpose is to help us understand Biblical manhood that result to change in mindset and produce positive impact in relationships, the community and the nation. 
Creation
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

tselem - Hebrew word, meaning shadow, translated as image.  
Imago Dei - image of God

The designer gets to define the purpose of his creation.

Isaiah 43:7
...everyone who is called by my name,  whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

God made us in His image and likeness and manifested in:
  • intellectual - think, reason and leard
  • ethical - distinguish right and wrong, we are accountable for our actions
  • teleological - longing for purpose and responsibility
  • relational - relate to God and others
Distortion
Distortion in this image came about as a result of sin.

Romans 1:21-23 
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Redemption
Redemption - the progressive recovery of the image of God in man.

Hebrews 1:3a
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. 

Colossians 1:15
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

"Only through Christ can we redeem our original image."

Victory Fort, October 9, 2011

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