Category: Basis for Living in the Image of God

Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Benefits of Living in the Image of God

Living in the Image of God M01S06

Building faith by Living in the Image of God arises from commitment to God’s purpose and recognizing that your every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals. Furthermore, “Living in the Image of God” makes you a beneficiary of God’s promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Every blessing you earn is yours to keep until fulfilled.

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 06 (6:46)

Living in the Image of God begins with commitment to God’s purpose and living according to the commitment. A person builds and strengthens faith by Living in the Image of God—based on recognizing that every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals. Furthermore, in the Beatitudes, Christ proclaims God’s promise of blessing for every person that commits to the responsibilities of representing God in human interactions: through humility toward others, compassion, motivation for righteousness based on commitment to God’s purpose, and acceptance of individual responsibility for peace and righteousness irrespective of what others do or fail to do. Also, Christ describes the blessing further in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, using compassion as an example for Living in the Image of God.

Thus, faith building is the primary benefit of Living in the Image of God. The other benefit is the promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes (see Resources for Living in the Image of God and Human Responsibilities in Living in the Image of God) and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (see Call to Compassion—Parable of the Sheep and the Goats). We discuss Living in the Image of God as a basis for faith to make a case that a person builds faith of God by committing to God’s purpose and living accordingly.

Continue reading “Benefits of Living in the Image of God” →
Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Salt of the Earth

Living in the Image of God M01S05

The “salt of the earth” teaching conveys a message that God creates every person with an intrinsic capability to represent his presence and radiate his impact in human interactions. This capability represents the human value of a person before God, which he expects to be evident in interactions with others: to enhance and preserve the goodness of people, like salt enhances and preserves the goodness of food. Let your Godliness be evident to others and motivate them to appreciate God and seek to interact the same way with other people.

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 05 (6m 11s)

In the “salt of the earth” teaching (Matthew 5:13–16), Christ explains the role of a person in human interactions and conveys a message that God creates every person with an intrinsic capability to represent him in interactions with others. Godliness, i.e., the capability to convey the presence of God and radiate his impact in human interactions, is intrinsic to a person as saltiness is intrinsic to salt. Furthermore, every person can implement the capability by harnessing resources that God has provided to guide us in interactions with others. A person’s human value before God arises from the intrinsic capability to represent God in human interactions. Godliness is the intrinsic value of a person in human interactions as saltiness is the intrinsic value of salt in food.

We discuss the “salt of the earth” teaching to understand God’s purpose for every person to make positive impact in human interactions and motivate others to do the same.

Continue reading “Salt of the Earth” →
Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Human Responsibilities in Living in the Image of God

Living in the Image of God M01S04

The second part of the Beatitudes (third through eighth) identifies four cardinal responsibilities of Living in the Image of God: Humility toward others, compassion (care for others and sensitivity to the needs of others), motivation for righteousness based on commitment to God’s purpose, and individual responsibility for peace and righteousness. The Beatitudes proclaim God’s promise of blessing for a person that commits to these responsibilities and lives according to the commitment.

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 04 (8m 17s)

In the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, referred to as the Beatitudes, Christ proclaims God’s promise of blessing for every person that performs his/her responsibilities of representing God in interactions with others. As we discuss under Resources for Living in the Image of God, the first three Beatitudes describe resources that God provides to guide us whereas the last six (i.e., Beatitudes 3–8) describe the human responsibilities. There are four cardinal responsibilities.

  1. Beatitude 3: Humility toward others.
  2. Beatitudes 4 and 5: Compassion (i.e., care for others and sensitivity to the needs of others).
  3. Beatitude 6: Motivation for righteousness based on commitment to God’s purpose.
  4. Beatitudes 7 and 8: Individual responsibility for peace and righteousness.

We discuss each of the cardinal responsibilities briefly in this bible study and provide more detailed discussion in future studies.

Continue reading “Human Responsibilities in Living in the Image of God” →
Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Resources for Living in the Image of God

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 03

The Beatitudes describe the responsibility of every person to represent God in interactions with others and resources to empower a person to perform the responsibility. The first three Beatitudes explain how to access the resources: commit to God’s purpose of representing him in human interactions; recognize and accept total dependence on him; seek him in recognition of total dependence; and humble yourself before him that he may provide, guide, and direct your human capabilities to accomplish tasks that he assigns to you. The Holy Spirit will lead you to receive and follow God’s guidance and direction every time in every situation.

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 03 (5m 28s)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ explains every person’s responsibility to represent God in interactions with others. The first part of the sermon, referred to as the Beatitudes, describes the responsibility, God’s promise of blessing for those that perform the responsibility, and resources that he provides to empower every person to perform the responsibility. The first three Beatitudes describe how to access the resources (more detail under Following God Schedule by Living in His Image 2of2). The last six (i.e., Beatitudes 3–8) describe the responsibility in terms of God’s purpose for human interactions and relationships. This bible study focusses on accessing the resources.

Continue reading “Resources for Living in the Image of God” →
Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Created in the Image of God

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 02

God creates every person to represent him among others. He establishes provider-receiver relationships among people, whereby every person is potentially a provider of goods and service needed by others and receiver of goods and service provided by others. He expects every person to keep “the way of the Lord” so that he will fulfill his promise. Keeping “the way of the Lord” means “Living in the image of God.”

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 02

In this bible study session, we discuss God’s declaration of his purpose for people to understand the implications of being “created in the image of God.” Further, we discuss his explanation of the purpose in a statement to angels regarding Abraham. The information leads to an understanding that God creates every person to represent him among others: to be to other people what God would be to them if he was human like them.

He establishes a network of provider-receiver relationships around every person, which defines human responsibility to others and benefits through others. Every person is potentially a provider of goods and service needed by others and receiver of goods and service provided by others. Thus, the concept of a provider-receiver network around every person enables an understanding of human responsibilities and benefits in God’s distribution of human service to the points of need. The network is dynamic: God can insert people into a network or withdraw people from the network at any time.

Continue reading “Created in the Image of God” →
Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Human Interaction with God

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 01

God creates every person as channel for his interactions with others. He can interact with a person directly but often chooses to channel his interaction through other people. We discuss Peter-Cornelius meeting to draw examples of direct interaction with God and the Parable of the Good Samaritan as an illustration of God directing human assistance through another person to a person in need. He creates every person with opportunities and capabilities to function as his representative among other people, will call a person to represent him at a point of need, and another person if a call recipient declines.

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 01

God can interact directly with a person: through a vision, through the Holy Spirit, or through other manifestations of his presence. Also, he can and often interacts with a person indirectly through other people. He chooses any person as channel for his interactions with others. He often offers the opportunity to a person by placing a need in his/her path. If the person declines, like the priest and Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, God offers the opportunity to another person he chooses. We discuss examples from Peter-Cornelius interactions where God shows he has several options to interact directly with a person. Furthermore, we discuss the Parable of the Good Samaritan as an illustration of God choosing a person to care for another person on his behalf.

Continue reading “Human Interaction with God” →