In Search Of A Better Tomorrow

Tuesday, November 15

Time Alone With God Daily Devotional

Message by Pastor Phil Stout of JAXNAZ Church

Read: Genesis 1:26-27

Genesis 1:26-27

New International Version (NIV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Start

Consider: As we read and consider the simple statement of our creation, there is what seems like a strange little quirk in it.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…’” (1:26)

God is presented as plural rather than singular in the very first chapter of the Bible. And how that plays out throughout our scriptures has intrigued us for centuries.

The Old Testament specifically and repeatedly says…

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

This was an important statement to the Hebrews because they lived among nations that served many “gods.” The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob declared, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). And yet, in the New Testament we hear this “one” God described as three—Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 and elsewhere).

Probably all of us have wrestled with this. We’ve tried to grasp this one God who is three. And we’ve come to the conclusion that, on a logical level, it will never make perfect sense to us. That is because God can be known by us, but is beyond our comprehension.

What we take hold of from the New Testament teaching of the Trinity is the dynamic of God. These are not three static “offices” that the Almighty inhabits. These are not three “roles” he assumes. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit teach us that God is relationship. God is fellowship. God is unity. God is three. God is one.

If we, then, are made in the image of the Trinity, we have to ask ourselves what that means in our everyday existence. If God is relationship, fellowship and unity, how do I let this amazing God live in me and through me? How do I fulfill the image in which I am created?

Of course, that is a question that will challenge us for the rest of our lives. But we begin with the simple task of seeing the image of God in one another. We begin by seeing every human being as an image-bearer of God.

Pray: “Lord, I want to live by the design you had for me when you created me. I want to live in the image of my Creator. I want to increasingly comprehend and live the truth that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8).