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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
CREATED IN HIS IMAGE
As far as the Word of God is my authority, I become like John the Baptist; I am the "voice of one crying in the wilderness," bringing forth the Word of God without any private interpretations, Cf. MAT 3:3. This is significant because there is nothing to be seen in a voice. No flesh shall glory before God.The Lord laid this powerfully upon my heart when He called me to preach the gospel. JER 15:19 states, "Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth..." What is more precious and powerful than, "Thus saith the Lord."? What is more vile than human reasoning or anything that is added to or subtracted from the Word of God?
The beginning we see in GEN 1:1-3 is the exact replica of the new creation when God works grace in the soul. Christ, being the perfect image of God in our human nature, glorifies our heavenly Father. The Lord Jesus Christ, in our human nature, fulfilled God’s purpose in this station, the station from which man fell. God created man. GEN 1:26 says, "And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." God would be glorified therein. Why? Man was the representative of God’s character. It is as if God were ruling over all of these things.
Look at EPH 1:20-23 and see how the Lord Jesus Christ represented the true character of the Father in our human nature, "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet [God put Jesus Christ in the station He created for man, putting all things under His feet. Adam left his station; Adam fell. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is placed in that station.], and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." Jesus has now fulfilled the purpose of God’s creation. Christ has accomplished God’s purpose for man. He created man for His glory. He created man to serve Him and to be the representative of His character and person on the earth. We see the purpose of God’s creation recorded in GEN 1:26 and the fruition of it in EPH 1:21-23.
Without understanding man’s shameful fall recorded in GEN 3:6, we could never gain a right knowledge of God’s blessed predestining love recorded in ROM 8:29-30. In GEN 3:6 we read, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." That is the record of the shameful fall. In ROM 8:29-30 we read, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
Do you see the blessed image of the *****Son of His love? He came in our human nature to fulfill the purpose of God’s creation. He came for much more than to bleed and die to take away the penalty of our sin so we can go to heaven. He came to fulfill the purpose of God’s creation; it was the glory God purposed in the creation of man. Jesus had to take away the penalty in order to be in the right station. After Jesus had fully taken away all of God’s wrath upon our sin, He placed Him in the station Adam was created to fill.
Without a right understanding of GEN 3:8-10, one would never see the beauty in God’s sovereign pleasure in predestining you and me unto holiness. In GEN 3:8-10 we read, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden [See God’s predestining love. Adam and Eve would never have returned unto the Lord, but He sought them out.] And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? [Adam didn’t come crying to the Lord to beg forgiveness for sinning and for God’s mercy; God sought Adam hiding among the trees.] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Let’s seek to rightly understand those verses, or we will never understand the predestining love of God calling you and me unto holiness. The reason God must seek man first is that man will not turn back to the Lord on his own. It is only the drawing power of the Holy Spirit that works in us to will and do of His good pleasure. We need to understand the meaning of salvation. It is when the Lord comes with His Holy Spirit into our hearts to will and do. We are predestined to holiness to will and do of His good pleasure. Amen.
This is my Father’s world,
And to my list’ning ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres,
This is my Father’s world!
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees. Of skies and seas--
His hand the wonders wrought.This is my Father’s world--
O let me ne’er forget
That tho the wrong seems oft so strong
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world!
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heav’n be one.
Our sermons and devotions are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a daily devotion. See also our sermon notes. We pray this devotion has been a blessing to those who read it. Thank you.