Living in the Image of God M07S07
This bible study discusses Christ binary categorization of a person based on performing or declining their individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships. He categorizes as “good” (righteous) a person that he judges as “those who have done what is good.” In contrast, he categorizes as “evil” a person that he judges as “those who have done what is evil.” God will grant eternal life to every person that he judges as good but will condemn every person he judges as evil. Christ declares the categorization in an interaction documented in John 5:28–29. In another teaching, he tells the Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant (Mathew 24:45–51) to explain that people that perform their individual responsibilities in human interactions are categorized good. The others are evil. In yet other teachings, he refers to the categories as “righteous” for the good and evil for the others. There is no middle category.
The study discusses Christ declaration of the categorization of people as good or evil (John 5:28–29) and his teaching in the Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant (Mathew 24:45–51), where he explains the basis for the categorization. In other related teaching, he refers to the “good” category as righteous. Please see our previous study under M03S21, Righteous or Wicked in Parable of the Weeds.
Christ made the declaration as part of his response to Jews that had begun to persecute him based on their understanding that he was breaking the Sabbath (because he healed a blind man on the Sabbath) and that he called himself the Son of God: “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” [John 5:18].
In a different interaction (Mathew 24:45–51), he tells the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant to explain the basis for the categorization. There he describes the human relationship with God in terms of an interaction between a hypothetical master and one of his servants. In the parable, Christ describes the master’s judgment of the servant based on performing his responsibilities to the other servants while the master was away. The master judged the servant as “faithful and wise” if he performed his responsibilities to the other servants. In contrast, the master would judge the servant as “wicked” if he declined his responsibilities to the other servants.
In the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant, the master represents God and the servant represents any person (any individual regarding his or her relationship with God). The other servants represent other people in human interactions with the subject person. Christ uses the relationship between the subject person and other people to model human relationship with God, whereby God places every person to represent him among other people—to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived with us in human form. Therefore, the parable describes human relationship with God regarding individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships. Please see more discussion of individual responsibilities under M04S01 through M04S21.
Categorization of People as Good or Evil
Jesus declares the categorization as part of his response to Jews that were persecuting him. They were persecuting him because of their understanding that he broke the Sabbath when he healed a blind man on the Sabbath. Additionally, they were persecuting him because he calls himself the Son of God [John 5:16–18]: “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
Jesus had talked to them regarding the relationship between God the Father and God the Son and the authority to judge people [John 5:28–29]: “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”
That is, he categorizes people based on their performance in human interactions: “those who have done what is good” he categorizes as good and “those who have done what is evil” he categorizes as evil. As we discuss in a previous study under Righteous or Wicked in Parable of the Weeds (M03S21), he describes the same categorization in other teaching, where he refers to the good as righteous and the others as evil.
Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant: Bases for Binary Categorization
The Relationship
The opening sentence of the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant describes the human relationship with God in terms of God appointing every person to represent him in human interactions: Jesus describes the relationship in terms of a hypothetical master-servant interaction. The master was going away and placed the servant in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” [Matthew 24:45].
In the parable, the master represents God and the servant represents any person (any individual regarding his or her relationship with God). The other servants represent other people in human interactions with the subject person. Christ uses the relationship between the subject person and other people to model human relationship with God, whereby God places every person to represent him among other people—to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived with us in human form. Therefore, the parable describes human relationship with God regarding individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships.
Positive Performance
God judges a person “good” (i.e., righteous) if at the time of judgment he finds the person does what God appointed him to do among other people: that is, God finds the person represents him among other people—being for the others what God would be for them if he lived with us in human form: “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns” [Matthew 24:46]. Such a person performs their individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships. We discuss the individual responsibilities in other studies under M04S01 through M04S21.
Negative Performance
God judges a person “evil” if at the time of judgment he finds the person does not do what God appointed him to do among other people: that is, God finds the person does not represent him among other people—has declined to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived with us in human form [Matthew 24:48-51]: “But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Such a person typically declines their individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships.
Judgment
The Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant conveys a message that God will judge every person as good or evil based on how he finds the person at the time of judgment. He judges a person good if he finds the person performs his individual responsibilities—being for others what God would be for them if he lived with us in human form. Otherwise, he judges the person as evil.
The judgment is binary (i.e., good or evil with no middle category), is based on how God sees a person at the time of judgment, and depends on how God sees the person’s performance in human interactions and relationships: “…those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned” [John 5:29].
Summary of What We Learned
The study discusses Christ binary categorization of a person based on performing or declining their individual responsibilities in human interactions and relationships. He categorizes as “good” a person that he judges as “those who have done what is good.” In contrast, he categorizes as “evil” a person that he judges as “those who have done what is evil.”
God will grant eternal life to every person that he judges as good but will condemn every person he judges as evil. Christ declares the categorization in an interaction documented in John 5:28–29. In another interaction, he tells the Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant (Mathew 24:45–51) to explain that people that perform their individual responsibilities in human interactions are categorized good. The others are evil.