Chronicles of the End Times
Chronicles of the End Times
In the Image of God
What if you're more than just a reflection of divine creativity? What if you could truly transform into a child of God? Join Russ Scalzo on this enlightening episode of Chronicles of the End Times, where we unravel what it means to be made in the image of God, touching on attributes like creativity, decision-making, and possessing an eternal spirit.
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00:07
Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo. Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for being with me today.
00:12
Today we're going to be looking at a subject that I think is really interesting. What is the difference between being made in the image of God and actually being a child of God? So we're going to look at a few scriptures and check that out. What does being made in the image of God mean? What kind of attributes? What is the scripture talking about when it makes that statement? I want to thank everyone for subscribing and for supporting the show. I appreciate it so much. It helps out in many different ways.
00:42
So let's dive into our subject for today. Being made in the image or the likeness of God simply means that we are made to resemble God, and we know Adam didn't resemble God in the sense that God has flesh and blood, because the scripture clearly says that God is spirit. Adam's body mirrored the life of God insofar as it was created in perfect health and was not subject to death. But there are many other attributes of God, but there are many other attributes that God has given us. He gave us the ability to make decisions. He gave us a sound mind and an eternal spirit. Where we spend eternity is up to us, but our spirit is eternal. We are eternal beings. But let's look at some attributes.
01:26
God is a creator. That's probably the most obvious. He created all things. The scripture declares that many times, and that's one of the things that's been taken away from God, at least in our society. The thought that God actually created everything is foolish talk in the minds of many people. God's gave us his creative ability, and I find it strange that the same people that dispute the fact that God is a creator and everything we see has been created by him, as declared by the scriptures, are the same people that have no problem accepting an award for creating something, whether it be a song, a play, a movie, a sports award or some high-tech discovery that's going to change the world. Getting rewarded for something that you've done is a positive thing, but it is incredibly egotistical to think that just came from us. Gifts like writing a beautiful song or to discover a medicine or a technique to save a life.
02:31
Every time we care for someone, give someone a hug, do something for somebody else shows the fact that we are made in the image of God. Despite all these gifts and attributes and the fact that we bear the image of God, we also bear the scars of sin mentally, morally, socially, physically. And that's the difference between being made in the image of God and becoming a child of God. So let's look into that a bit. God has also given us the ability to love, because that's what he is. God is love. The scripture says he is not one who loves; he is love itself.
03:11
One of the greatest definitions of that, I believe, is in Hebrews, chapter 2. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says I will declare your name to my brothers in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises. Wow, what a statement. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. That's a staggering statement. And all this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. This is the most important ministry any of us could have, the ministry of reconciliation.
04:08
Take those who have been made in the image of God and who live their lives contrary to the word of God, as we all have before we came to Christ, then having the privilege of being used to set them free with the word of God. It is very important that we never lose our focus on what our mission is, declaring the truth and being confident in that truth. We talked about that before. That is paramount. We must be so well-versed in the Word of God and so confident in our faith. That is what's going to draw people to you to hear more about why you believe the way you do. We cannot allow ourselves to be tossed back and forth by everything that comes along. We must stand firm.
04:51
If we are going to bring people into the kingdom of God, they need that supernatural change. Jesus told Nicodemus we must be born again. We've been born once of the flesh and now we have to be born of the Spirit. We are walking around like dead people if we don't have the Spirit of God in us, and because of that, people are easily controlled by the enemy. We all will be required to give an account for our gifts. Whatever gift you have, God has given it to you and he wants you to use it for his glory. But in order to do that, we must become a child of God, we must be changed. We all know there's a great battle going on for the souls of people around the world, and the greatest battle is going on within the churches, churches that have walked away from the Word of God and go their own way to become more popular. It's a dangerous, dangerous cliff that they have perched themselves on.
05:49
I'm going to end with Hebrews chapter three, a warning against unbelief and walking away from the Word of God. So, as the Holy Spirit says today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and, for 40 years, saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation. Their hearts are always going astray and they have not known my ways. So I declared on an oath in anger that they shall never enter my rest. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God, but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called day, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. The church is having a desert experience and they are testing God and hardening their hearts. It's a time of rebellion. The writer of Hebrews pulls this from the Old Testament, when Israel rebelled in the desert, the writer is clear saying be very, very careful that we don't do that. And he repeats today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.
07:00
First Corinthians, chapter 15, beginning with verse 45. It is written the first man, Adam, became a living being. The last Adam became a living spirit. But it's not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, the man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those of the dust, and as in the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. One bears the image of the dust, the flesh that came first, and the second bears the image of Christ, the one from heaven. So, though, we are made in the image of God, in that sense we are still of the dust, but then we become born again and we become the image of the one in the spirit from heaven, Jesus Christ. So the natural comes first, and then the Spirit, and that's what Jesus was talking about. We must be born again.
08:00
It's always better to have a positive approach when you're talking to people. Tell them did you know you are made in the image of God. God has given you gifts and given you an eternal spirit so that you could live forever. But because we have fallen as a people, we need to be redeemed, and that's by the blood of Jesus Christ. Then we can become everything God intended us to be, and if we can explain that intelligently and with the Spirit of God on us, we will bear much fruit. This is Russ Scalzo for Chronicles of the End Times. If you enjoyed the podcast, please support the ministry by going to https://www.russscalzo.com and click on support. Thank you so much. God bless. Keep looking up. The King is coming.
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