“Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:26-27, NAS95)

Beginning with the original creation, God has established the existence of man and woman as an expression of the image of God, the tzelem of God. In today’s world, there are so many who are lost and trying to find themselves. I think it has to do with the issue of image.

We are bombarded with images. Facebook, one of the most popular social media began as a way of sharing images. Over time, these images became more about how people wanted to be known.

God created us in His image. To know ourselves we really need to know Him and what He is like, His image.

Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that when man was originally formed as the image of God, male and female, it was to bring a rule or a dominion over creation.

This tells us that creation will not ever be right until we are right in our expression of the tzelem, the image.

The Apostle Paul tells us that coming into our true image as sons and daughters of God is the key to healing the creation.

“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Rom 8:19-30, NAS95)

This tells us that our image is connected to the Son and that the very creation is dependent on our maturity into that revelation.

This also explains why we are so desperate for an image to become. We look around to others and want to emulate what we think about who and what they are.

When we get saved, we get born again into a new image, the sons and daughters of God. The challenge is that there isn’t much that can inform us as to what that looks like. It is the same challenge that Israel faced when they came out of Egypt. They knew what it was to be an Egyptian slave, but not very much about being free as the children of God. In Exodus 32 we see this played out:

“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"” (Exo 32:1-4, NKJV)

The people first identified with God through Moses. This is to be expected because God said:

“So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.” (Exo 7:1, NKJV)

So, it was natural for the people to see Moses as the expressed image of God. God revealed this image as deliverer, as protector, as provider. The problem is that Moses has now been gone for 40 days. What do the people need? A new image. So they go to Aaron and demand a new image they can call God. Aaron takes that which they value, gold and makes an image of a gold calf. The important thing here is to notice the drive for an image.

This is what we do. We seek an image of God to worship to tell us who we are. To Israel, gold embodied the what God was to them. Today this would be all the trappings of success, what Yeshua spoke of through the word Mammon. Our golden calves could be anything that we use to tell us who we are. They are the images we put our faith in.

God deals with Israel’s idolatry as He will deal with ours:

“And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' " And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation." Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: "LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.' " So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.” (Exo 32:7-14, NKJV)

Notice first that God says the people have corrupted themselves. This tells us that the images we worship define us. Think about that for a minute. The images corrupt us. The Hebrew word Tzelem, means a reflection. Like the moon reflects the sun, we reflect whatever source of light that is the object of our affection. Israel worshipped a golden calf, which was their source of light, their God.

Also Moses’ intercession goes into how the world, Egypt in this case will see God’s image. He challenges God to remember His covenant and act according to that and not according to the sin of the people.

You see it is all about the image of God being reflected in the world. Yeshua was the expressed image of the Father.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Col 1:15, NKJV)

He is the light that has come into the world. He is the image source that comes into the world.

What does that image reflect about God? Love. Yeshua is the expression of the image and the image is love. This is what He said that they will know Him in us by our love.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."” (Jhn 13:35, NKJV)

The image of God is seen in the earth by love. Yeshua was image of love in action and His disciples which we are a part are to show that love as a testimony of who he is and in whose image we are created in. This also includes His love expressed by His death. In dying He showed us that true love is about sacrifice, about putting others before ourselves. This is the true tzelem, the true image.

Colossians 3 describes the importance of this process:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col 3:1-4, NKJV)

Our role as image bearers is as those hidden in Him, who express that place in the earth and will be fully manifested at the resurrection. He continues:

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,” (Col 3:5-9, NKJV)

This is a description of the corrupted image, which comes from Satan, the father of lies. It is called being sons of disobedience, which is an image of a God of rebellion. This is called the old man who died with Yeshua on the cross. Paul continues with the true image of who we are, called the new man:

“and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” (Col 3:10-14, NKJV)

This is who we are, the true tzelem. We are neither Greek nor Jew, neither circumcised or uncircumcised, nor barbarian, Scythian, a slave or free. This is just a reference to natural birth distinctions, the family we grew up in. None of that is who we are. We are Christ’s who is all in all. We live in Him, and He is all that we are, those elected by God. We are the holy and beloved. Say that to yourself. “He chose me, elected me, I am holy and beloved”. Now we put on His character, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, and we bear with one another. We forgive because that is the image of who we are. But above all, we put on love, which binds us to Him who is perfection.

Activation: What am I looking at to determine who I am? I have the choice of what I put before my eyes. Close your eyes and ask God to give you an image of who you are as an expression of His love. Each day meditate on who you are as His image-bearer.