"Image Is Everything"
March 13, 2011
Senior Pastor Dr.
David Craig
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Date: March 13, 2011 - WEFC
Sermon Title: "Image Is Everything" - Sermon 14 of Colossians Series
Text: Colossians 1 : 15a
Expanded Sermon Notes for
"Image Is Everything"
( Click here to download or open the Word
document file for these expanded notes.
)
Image Is Everything – Colossians 1:15a
Image Is
Everything – Colossians 1:15a
March 13, 2011 – Dr. David P. Craig
The Importance of
Your World-View
Your foundational beliefs, influence your decisions,
which impact the outcome of your life, and where you will spend
your eternity.
The Gnostic Heresy
– The Gnostics Believed:
1) That
matter was evil and spirit was good.
2) That
the true God (who is spirit) could not create matter, and therefore must
not be the agent of creation.
3) That
God put forth a series of emanations until one was so distant from God
it could handle matter and create the world.
4) That
the creator of the world; and the world itself was hostile
to God.
5) That
Jesus may have been the highest of the emanations between the world
and God.
6) That
Jesus must have been a phantom in bodily form.
7) That
the way to find your way to God was to get past the emanations through
special knowledge for the intellectual elite.
Paul’s Refutation
of Gnosticism - The Supremacy of Christ:
Jesus is the image of
the invisible God (1:15a).
- Fulfillment of Jewish & Greek Thinking J
-
In the OT = wisdom – see Pv. 2 & 8 – eternity W God &
w Him in Creation
-
In the NT = logos – see John 1 - sense and reason in
creation/uniting pncpl
-
Jesus isn’t just a representation of God, but the perfect manifestation
of God.
-
Genesis 1:26-27 'Then God
said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over
the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the
earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man
in his own image, both male and female he created them.'
Firstly, the Image
of God marks us out from all other living creatures, which by implication are not made in the
Image of God. Genetically, we may be almost identical to our nearest animal
relative, the Chimpanzee, but spiritually we are poles apart. So we will gain
insight into understanding what the Image of God means, if we explore the
differences between mankind and the rest of the animal kingdom.
The second point of reference is of course God
himself, so we will also understand the meaning of being made in his image if
we explore what he has revealed of himself – in nature, in scripture and most
especially in Christ. The image of God in man therefore distinguishes us from
all other animals on the one hand and shows our family resemblance to our
heavenly father on the other. I believe this process leads us to focus on 6 distinctive characteristics of Humanity. Firstly, we are...
1) Creative-
Animals are wonderfully uncreative. They do not change the world they live in.
The creativity we observe in them is instinctive. So birds build their nests
but every year it has the same design. They never think to build on an
extension, create a loft conversion or develop their skills. They just do the
same old instinctive thing. God on the other hand has been creative beyond
anything we can comprehend. Both science and the Bible testify that the entire
universe came into existence - out of nothing! Our knowledge of the expanding
universe traces everything that exists, including time and space, back to an
unimaginably small ‘singularity’ which came into existence from nothing. Now
human creativity is of a different order from God’s, not least because we lack
his astonishing power, intelligence and artistry. But nonetheless, we have
original, creative ideas.
2) Intelligent-
The mind that lies behind the creation is reflected, albeit in very small
measure, in our capacity for understanding and rational thought. The Psalmist
wrote, 'Do not be like the horse and mule which have no understanding but
must be controlled by bit and bridle (Ps 32:8&9).' Human intelligence
is unlike anything found in the animal kingdom. We ponder the meaning of our
existence, the significance of our actions and the prospects of our destiny.
Unlike animals, man is a thinker and capable of being instructed and growing in
understanding. The extraordinary Mind behind the Universe has given us minds to
enquire, to reason and, as Kepler put it, 'To think God’s thoughts after him.'
So the apostle Paul urges that we should be 'transformed by the renewing of our
minds' to discern the will of God (Rom12:2).
3) Aesthetic-
Thirdly then, our capacity to appreciate beauty. Genesis 2 v9, 'The Lord God
made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to
the eye.' God is not only the great artist who made a beautiful creation
but has made us in his image so that we can appreciate beauty and make things
beautiful.
4) Moral-
The creator God, the mind behind the universe, was the artist who designed a
beautiful world and created mankind who could understand his moral character
& purposes. Animals suffer from fear but as far as we can tell, they have
no natural sense of guilt or awareness of good and evil choices. Yet our daily
lives are dominated by such awareness. Human conscience is a major aspect of
our humanity. We battle with evil within ourselves and witness it in others. We
long for the good but find all too often that the good that we would do we
don’t do, while the evil we know we should not do - we end up doing. Paul’s
description of this dilemma in Romans 7 struck me with great force when I first
read it in my late teens. The world is like that. Morality fits the facts and
points us to an ultimate, absolute moral being.
5) Relational-
If we want to understand what people in general believe to be of central
importance in their lives, we have only to read novels or watch Soap Operas.
The dominant theme of human existence, reflected in stories the world over, is
about relationships. In a word, Love. We may be confused as to what love is; we
may reduce it to intense emotions or sexual functioning. We may keep love
entrapped within the limits of the nuclear family. But life and love go
together so closely that the breakdown of relationships is the single biggest
cause of people wanting to commit suicide. We know in our souls that we were
not made to live in isolation. 'No man is an island'. But where does love come
from? How do we discover what it is? Where are the deepest descriptions of it?
Has the world found any better exposition of the meaning of love than in the
life, teaching and passion of the Christ? No it has not; and Jesus was emphatic
that loving our neighbour was the second commandment about love, not the first.
As Augustine so powerfully expressed it. 'Thou hast created us for thyself, O
God and our hearts will not rest until they find their rest in Thee.' Here is
the relationship that fulfils and transcends all others. Here in Christ is the
vision of love that elevates and redeems human life.
6) Spiritual-
Man is incurably religious. Until the 20th century, every culture in human
history has been dominated by belief in a God or Gods. In the last century,
atheism was imposed upon much of the world – across China, the Soviet Union and
much of Europe. The overthrow of Communism and Nazism has led those oppressed
people to return to their religious heritage. In the free world, where the
demands of Christian belief have been cast aside by post-modernity, we have
seen the enormous rise of superstitions such as astrology, spiritism and
magical charms. All these themes then challenge our humanity and ask us if we
are really alive? Are we creative, thinking, artistic, moral, relational
beings, who hunger after God? Are we growing on all fronts? Are we
well-balanced individuals, giving proper attention to each area?
Now an image is but a reflection of the original.
Sometimes the image may be hazy and distorted. But it does not exist on its
own. Beyond the image is the reality. The Image of God in us not only helps us
to see who we really are, but also reveals God to us. But we are not left
searching through a haze to find hints and images of the One who made us. For
the Christian testimony is that the one in whose image we are made, has come
among us and revealed himself. 'No-one has ever seen God, but God the
only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.'(Jn 1:18)
Paul wrote, (Col 1:15-19)
'He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created…For God was
pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him…' It is therefore not a
coincidence that these major themes are themselves the best evidences for God. The
argument from Creation, from Intelligence, from Beauty, from Morality, from
Love, from our intrinsic Hunger for God and of course from the person of Christ
himself in his teaching, deeds, character, claims, death and resurrection are
the major lines of argument for the existence of God. (Notes excerpted and
edited from Peter Williams and Peter May lectures in Britain).
-
2 Corinthians 3:17-4:6
Image Is
Everything – Colossians 1:15a – Guide for Discussion
March 13, 2011 – Dr. David P. Craig
1) Can
you identify any cults or modern religions that teach any of the same heresies
the Gnostics taught? Why is it important to know what people believe outside of
what the Bible teaches?
2) Why
is it important that Jesus had a physical body? Try to come up with at least
three reasons.
3) Read
through Proverbs 2 & 8. In what ways does Jesus personify wisdom?
4) Read
through the first half of John 1. Why is it important that Jesus is the logos?
What difference does it make that He has come in the flesh?
5) What
principles can you glean from the concept of being made in God’s image from
Genesis 1:26-27; and 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:6?
( Click here to download or open the Word
document file for these expanded notes.
)
Image Is Everything – Colossians 1:15a
March 13, 2011 – Dr. David P. Craig
The Importance of Your World-View
Your foundational beliefs, influence your decisions, which impact the outcome of your life, and where you will spend your eternity.
The Gnostic Heresy – The Gnostics Believed:
1) That matter was evil and spirit was good.
2) That the true God (who is spirit) could not create matter, and therefore must not be the agent of creation.
3) That God put forth a series of emanations until one was so distant from God it could handle matter and create the world.
4) That the creator of the world; and the world itself was hostile to God.
5) That Jesus may have been the highest of the emanations between the world and God.
6) That Jesus must have been a phantom in bodily form.
7) That the way to find your way to God was to get past the emanations through special knowledge for the intellectual elite.
Paul’s Refutation of Gnosticism - The Supremacy of Christ:
Jesus is the image of
the invisible God (1:15a).
- Fulfillment of Jewish & Greek Thinking J
- In the OT = wisdom – see Pv. 2 & 8 – eternity W God & w Him in Creation
- In the NT = logos – see John 1 - sense and reason in creation/uniting pncpl
- Jesus isn’t just a representation of God, but the perfect manifestation of God.
- Genesis 1:26-27 'Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, both male and female he created them.'
Firstly, the Image of God marks us out from all other living creatures, which by implication are not made in the Image of God. Genetically, we may be almost identical to our nearest animal relative, the Chimpanzee, but spiritually we are poles apart. So we will gain insight into understanding what the Image of God means, if we explore the differences between mankind and the rest of the animal kingdom.
The second point of reference is of course God himself, so we will also understand the meaning of being made in his image if we explore what he has revealed of himself – in nature, in scripture and most especially in Christ. The image of God in man therefore distinguishes us from all other animals on the one hand and shows our family resemblance to our heavenly father on the other. I believe this process leads us to focus on 6 distinctive characteristics of Humanity. Firstly, we are...
1) Creative- Animals are wonderfully uncreative. They do not change the world they live in. The creativity we observe in them is instinctive. So birds build their nests but every year it has the same design. They never think to build on an extension, create a loft conversion or develop their skills. They just do the same old instinctive thing. God on the other hand has been creative beyond anything we can comprehend. Both science and the Bible testify that the entire universe came into existence - out of nothing! Our knowledge of the expanding universe traces everything that exists, including time and space, back to an unimaginably small ‘singularity’ which came into existence from nothing. Now human creativity is of a different order from God’s, not least because we lack his astonishing power, intelligence and artistry. But nonetheless, we have original, creative ideas.
2) Intelligent- The mind that lies behind the creation is reflected, albeit in very small measure, in our capacity for understanding and rational thought. The Psalmist wrote, 'Do not be like the horse and mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle (Ps 32:8&9).' Human intelligence is unlike anything found in the animal kingdom. We ponder the meaning of our existence, the significance of our actions and the prospects of our destiny. Unlike animals, man is a thinker and capable of being instructed and growing in understanding. The extraordinary Mind behind the Universe has given us minds to enquire, to reason and, as Kepler put it, 'To think God’s thoughts after him.' So the apostle Paul urges that we should be 'transformed by the renewing of our minds' to discern the will of God (Rom12:2).
3) Aesthetic- Thirdly then, our capacity to appreciate beauty. Genesis 2 v9, 'The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye.' God is not only the great artist who made a beautiful creation but has made us in his image so that we can appreciate beauty and make things beautiful.
4) Moral- The creator God, the mind behind the universe, was the artist who designed a beautiful world and created mankind who could understand his moral character & purposes. Animals suffer from fear but as far as we can tell, they have no natural sense of guilt or awareness of good and evil choices. Yet our daily lives are dominated by such awareness. Human conscience is a major aspect of our humanity. We battle with evil within ourselves and witness it in others. We long for the good but find all too often that the good that we would do we don’t do, while the evil we know we should not do - we end up doing. Paul’s description of this dilemma in Romans 7 struck me with great force when I first read it in my late teens. The world is like that. Morality fits the facts and points us to an ultimate, absolute moral being.
5) Relational- If we want to understand what people in general believe to be of central importance in their lives, we have only to read novels or watch Soap Operas. The dominant theme of human existence, reflected in stories the world over, is about relationships. In a word, Love. We may be confused as to what love is; we may reduce it to intense emotions or sexual functioning. We may keep love entrapped within the limits of the nuclear family. But life and love go together so closely that the breakdown of relationships is the single biggest cause of people wanting to commit suicide. We know in our souls that we were not made to live in isolation. 'No man is an island'. But where does love come from? How do we discover what it is? Where are the deepest descriptions of it? Has the world found any better exposition of the meaning of love than in the life, teaching and passion of the Christ? No it has not; and Jesus was emphatic that loving our neighbour was the second commandment about love, not the first. As Augustine so powerfully expressed it. 'Thou hast created us for thyself, O God and our hearts will not rest until they find their rest in Thee.' Here is the relationship that fulfils and transcends all others. Here in Christ is the vision of love that elevates and redeems human life.
6) Spiritual- Man is incurably religious. Until the 20th century, every culture in human history has been dominated by belief in a God or Gods. In the last century, atheism was imposed upon much of the world – across China, the Soviet Union and much of Europe. The overthrow of Communism and Nazism has led those oppressed people to return to their religious heritage. In the free world, where the demands of Christian belief have been cast aside by post-modernity, we have seen the enormous rise of superstitions such as astrology, spiritism and magical charms. All these themes then challenge our humanity and ask us if we are really alive? Are we creative, thinking, artistic, moral, relational beings, who hunger after God? Are we growing on all fronts? Are we well-balanced individuals, giving proper attention to each area?
Now an image is but a reflection of the original. Sometimes the image may be hazy and distorted. But it does not exist on its own. Beyond the image is the reality. The Image of God in us not only helps us to see who we really are, but also reveals God to us. But we are not left searching through a haze to find hints and images of the One who made us. For the Christian testimony is that the one in whose image we are made, has come among us and revealed himself. 'No-one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.'(Jn 1:18) Paul wrote, (Col 1:15-19) 'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created…For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him…' It is therefore not a coincidence that these major themes are themselves the best evidences for God. The argument from Creation, from Intelligence, from Beauty, from Morality, from Love, from our intrinsic Hunger for God and of course from the person of Christ himself in his teaching, deeds, character, claims, death and resurrection are the major lines of argument for the existence of God. (Notes excerpted and edited from Peter Williams and Peter May lectures in Britain).
- 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:6
Image Is Everything – Colossians 1:15a – Guide for Discussion
March 13, 2011 – Dr. David P. Craig
1) Can you identify any cults or modern religions that teach any of the same heresies the Gnostics taught? Why is it important to know what people believe outside of what the Bible teaches?
2) Why is it important that Jesus had a physical body? Try to come up with at least three reasons.
3) Read through Proverbs 2 & 8. In what ways does Jesus personify wisdom?
4) Read through the first half of John 1. Why is it important that Jesus is the logos? What difference does it make that He has come in the flesh?
5) What principles can you glean from the concept of being made in God’s image from Genesis 1:26-27; and 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:6?
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