Article 5: "In Whose Image at Birth?" under the title, "Living in Heaven Now- Really."

By: Bob Jamison

LIVING IN HEAVEN NOW- REALLY

Who Are You?
by Bob Jamison

“The spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterwards
the spiritual.” In 1 Corinthians 15:46, Paul presents this
major principle of biblical interpretation.

5. In Whose Image At Birth?

I have always heard in church teaching and read in Christian magazines that “We are all born in God’s image.” But the Bible does not teach our first birth is in God’s image, and belief that it does has had disastrous consequences.

The Bible speaks of only three people born in the image of God- Adam, Eve and Jesus. God did create mankind with souls and the birthing process, but that has nothing to do with image and likeness. After their creation, Adam and Eve believed and obeyed Satan, thereby exchanging their birthright in the image of God for an image of corruptible man, the choice described in Romans 1:23.

Jesus was tempted by Satan to do the same, but He refused Satan, saying that He would live, “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

In 1 Corinthians 15:49, Paul tells us, “As we have borne the image of the man of dust, (Adam), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man, (Jesus).” The Dictionary of Word Origins defines “image” to be from Latin meaning the likeness of something, coming from the same Latin source as imitate. Strong’s Concordance defines image, ”to shade, resemblance.” The Hebrew Lexicon says, “a shadow, a likeness.”

The Hebrew language often uses two words or two phrases side by side that mean the same thing. Image and likeness in the Genesis 1:26 creation of man account are two such words. Paul said the goal of those God has justified is to be conformed to the image (likeness, essence, inner quality) of Jesus (Romans 8:29-30).

In John 3:6, Jesus told Nicodemus, “that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the (Holy) Spirit is spirit.” In John 4:24, Jesus told the woman at the well that God is spirit. Birth in God’s image therefore requires our becoming spirit by the Holy Spirit.

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul lists the works of flesh including contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, envy, forms of hatred and uncleanness, and many more obvious character flaws. Our first birth of flesh means we have as our nature these sinful inclinations, the works of the flesh.

God has provided our only hope for deliverance from that first birth nature through belief in Jesus as Lord. Once we believe, we receive our second birth by the Holy Spirit, we become not only spirit, but also a completely new creation in the image of God. The natural becomes the spiritual. Then our inclinations described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 changes to become love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These inclinations although foundational, require a lengthy disciplining process in order to become our character.

Who are you? Genesis 5:1-5 tells us that we, like Seth, Adam’s son, entered into this world in the image of fallen Adam. We had an Adamic nature, inclined to do the works of the flesh. Satan tells us the lie that we are in God’s image; therefore we can simply choose to do good things, and even attend church. Consequently, Satan continues, we need not concern ourselves about those works of the flesh inclinations we can’t seem to overcome, nor about any second birth foolishness. In John 8:44, Jesus exposes Satan as a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” You become a new creation when Jesus, the express image of God, and God the Father, come to make their home in you (John 14:23), and you put on Him in Baptism. Only when the express image of God is in you, and you in Him, do you experience your new birth in the image of God. As a new creation, you become a part of a new humanity; old things, the old creation in the image of Adam, have passed away.

Romans chapter 6 describes this whole process, the old that we leave, and the new that we enter into during our water Baptism. Jesus told his disciples in John 13:8, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Secularists have long enjoyed scoffing at the widespread notion that all men are created in the image of God. They point to Islamic terrorists, corruption in governments, business greed, street gangs, identity thieves, drug pushers, killers and criminals of all sorts that appear to be on the increase around the world. Then they laugh at Christian beliefs that all these are born in the image of God. The secularists are right. All men are born in the image of Adam, not God, and they share Adam’s depravity.1

But God gives all men the mark given to Cain (Genesis 4:15), and that mark provides the qualities we need to move us to our second birth in the image of God. These qualities are identified in my article titled, “How Does the Mark Given to Cain Help Define You,” (see footnote).

The story of Esau and Jacob, sons of Isaac and Rebecca, provides truths regarding these two very different and distinct creations of humanity: one humanity being flesh or Adamic, and the second humanity being spirit in the image of God. In Romans 9:13, God says, “Jacob (spirit nature) I have loved, but Esau (flesh nature) I have hated.”

Fitting the biblical interpretation principle of ‘first the natural and then the spiritual’, Rebecca bore Esau first and Jacob second. Genesis 25:30 tells us people called Esau the name “Edom”, meaning “red”, similar to Adam’s name which means “red earth.” Esau represents our first birth in the image of Adam, the birth of our flesh nature.

Jacob’s name at birth means “supplanter” which describes his destiny to supplant or replace Esau in this true but representative story. In becoming a new creation, your body remains looking the same, but you get a new heart, mind and emotions that potentially supplant your old heart, mind and emotions. Your will is free, but its new creation inclination is to choose spirit over flesh and eventually to overcome all works of the flesh that have been such a hindrance and caused you so many problems.

The end of Genesis 25 describes an incident giving evidence to Esau’s flesh nature when he quite readily sold his birthright, the right to his inheritance, to Jacob because he, like Eve, saw that the bowl of stew was pleasant to the eyes and good for food (Genesis 3:6).

Jacob, representing our second birth, had some horrible qualities in his old creation flesh nature to overcome and even uproot (supplant), for him to receive his inheritance. God promised Jacob a rich inheritance and blessings, but it would take decades of trials and tribulations dealing with the works of Jacob’s flesh inclinations that had been so strong in his old nature.

Likewise, when we receive our new and second birth, we still have horrible qualities, foreign to our new spirit nature, that must be drastically overcome before God supplants them with our inheritance. Both Old and New Testament inheritances are portrayed in word pictures in my website, (See text box below).

The climax of Jacob’s transforming process, described in Genesis 32, came when he wrestled with God at the brook Jabbok. Jacob would not let God go until God blessed him. God touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh making it out of joint, a figure for the breaking of his pride and dependence on self. God then renamed Jacob, “Israel”, meaning “prince with God.” Jacob could finally receive God’s promised inheritance.

Who are you? Jacob’s story becomes your story and my story, with one big difference. When we receive our second birth, we receive Jesus, the express image of God, in us; therefore, the Holy Spirit births us in the image of God and empowers us to submit to His transforming processes. We have a new heart, a new mind, and new emotions, and we become part of a new humanity, called spirit.

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days of testings prior to the beginning of His ministry. Likewise, the Holy Spirit will lead us into years of humblings to break our pride and dependence on self. He will also teach us and test us to renew our minds in the Word of God. He will, through perseverance in tribulation, form the character of Jesus in us so that His nature, described in part in 1 Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5:22, supplants our old nature. Then we will know the beautiful riches of our inheritance, Christ Jesus, the image of God, revealed in us.

1 Read the next article, “Why Such Rampant Acts of Hatred, Violence, Corruption and Greed?” and the other six article under the “Who Are You” heading through my website, www.whatwasjohnthinking.com.

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

Bob has held various management positions in local governments and credit unions, and is a retired Captain in the Naval Reserve. He has a B.B.A. degree from S.M.U., an M.A. degree from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Theology degree from Fountaingate Bible College, where he learned principles for interpreting figurative language in scripture. Bob is author of a book, "What Was John Thinking?" A free chapter of the book and 19 articles under the heading, "Living in Heaven Now- Really", and several word pictures can be found in and through his website, www.whatwasjohnthinking.com. He invites you to check it out.

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