Man Created in God’s Image to Express God
Genesis 1:26 records that God created man in His image. God’s purpose was to gain a corporate expression of Himself in this age through the church and in eternity with New Jerusalem.
Image refers to God’s attributes. We could name dozens of God’s attributes. One is righteousness. Man was created with the ability to express God’s righteousness (and His other attributes) after man received God as life. Man’s ability to express these attributes was spoiled by sin.
In God’s salvation we receive His justification from sin and Christ becomes our righteousness. “The righteousness of God [comes] through the faith of Jesus Christ to all those who believe” (Rom. 3:22). Thus we can be “filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:11). This is true today and much more in New Jerusalem!
In the reality of Galatians 2:20— “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” —we are in the present reality of the kingdom of God. The essence of this kingdom is “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17), an expression of these three attributes of God.
When the kingdom age begins it was given to the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-8) to “be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.” This is a reward, signifying Christ as our righteousness lived out (expressed) through us in this age. This is part of God’s path from the creation of man to New Jerusalem.
Posted by Don on November 29, 2021
