Sermon Notes 1/25/26: Created in The Image of God

Psalm 5:1-3

¹  Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my groaning.

 ²   Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to you do I pray.

 ³   O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. ^[1]

Communion

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. ³¹ But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. ^[2]

Giving verse:

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

⁶ The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written,

    “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. ^[3]

Last week we looked the claim of false teachers who proclaim we are little gods

They not only base this on John 10:31-39 and Psalm 82

But as we will see today they twist Genesis 1:26-27 to say what they want it to say

Joyce Meyers says If you as a human being have a baby, you call it a human kind. If cattle have another cattle, they call it cattle kind. I mean what’s God supposed to call us? Doesn’t the bible say we’re created in His image? Now, you understand, I’m not saying you are God with a capital G. from Joyce Meyer on youtube called little gods

Hubert Armstrong says as God repeatedly reveals, his purpose is to reproduce himself into what may well become billions of God persons… Why did the creator God put Man on earth? For God’s ultimate supreme purpose of reproducing himself, of recreating himself from Mystery of the Age page 37 and 85

Benny Hinn says Adam was a super being when God created him. I don’t know whether people know this, but he was the first Superman that really ever lived. First of all, the scriptures declare clearly that he had dominion over the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, which means he used to fly. Of course, how can he have dominion over the birds and not be able to do what they do? The word dominion in Hebrew clearly declares that if you have dominion over a subject, you do everything that the subject does. In other words, if that subject does something you cannot do, you don’t have dominion over it. I’ll prove it further. Adam not only flew, he flew to space. He was – with one thought, he would be on the moon. From Praise The Lord broadcast on TBN December 26 1991

First of all is this actually biblical?

Second realize that those who platform this stuff are as guilty as the person saying it

TBN platforms many of these people

But here is what God says in His word

Isaiah 43:10-13

10       “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And My servant whom I have chosen,

So that you may know and believe Me

And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no God formed,

And there will be none after Me.

 11       “I, even I, am the Lord,

And there is no savior besides Me.

 12       “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,

And there was no strange god among you;

So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And I am God.

 13       “Even ^afrom eternity I am He,

And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;

I act and who can reverse it?” ^[4]

God makes it clear that before Him there was no God formed

And there will be none after Him

There is no savior besides Him

He alone is God

From eternity He is God

When we look at New Age and New Thought what we find is that there is a desire to be god

We live in a day and age where many today desire to be God to determine what is right and true in their own eyes

But does being created in the image of God mean that indeed we are little gods?

Today we look at Genesis 1:26-27

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 ²⁷  So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them. ^[5]

1.  We are made in the image and likeness of God

a.   God says let us make man in our image and likeness

                                             i.     We find the trinity speaking

                                           ii.     All three members were involved in creation

                                        iii.     Colossians 1:15-16 ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ^[6]

b.  Image means Refers generally to something that is a likeness or representation resembling something or someone.^[7], often a visible representation like a statue

c.   Likness means model; shape; likeness, similarity in appearance, character, or nature between persons or things^[8]

                                             i.     Implying resemblance or pattern

d.  As those created in God’s image, Adam and Eve reflected the goodness and character of God before the fall

                                             i.     Human beings possess inherent qualities like rationality, morality, spirituality, or creativity

                                           ii.     We have the capacity for relationship with God and others

                                        iii.     the role or vocation to represent God by ruling creation

1.  Adam was given dominion over the earth

2.  He was called to steward and manage creation according to God’s will and design

3.  Adam and Eve were to be extension of God upon the earth

                                         iv.     Humanity is given free will

2.  Adam and Eve are given dominion over the earth

a.   Over all the earth

                                             i.     Over the fish of the sea

                                           ii.     Over the birds of the air

                                        iii.     Over the livestock

                                         iv.     Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth

b.  Adam and Eve were given dominion

                                             i.     The authority they were given was given by God

                                           ii.     They were to govern and steward responsibly

                                        iii.     Adam could only do what God allowed

3.  Verse 27 we are told twice that we are created in the image of God

a.   The word image means statue, inscribed column, image figure

                                             i.     Adam and Eve were physical representation of the Living God

                                           ii.     God is Spirit and when God created man He created Him body, soul, and spirit

b.  What it reveals is truly how special and precious every human life is

                                             i.     This is why God says You Shall Not Murder in Exodus 20:13

                                           ii.     Human beings are created in the image of God

                                        iii.     From conception in the womb we are given life

                                         iv.     We develop for 9 months and God has unique and precious plans for our lives

                                           v.     The devil hates humanity because when He looks at us he sees the Living God

                                         vi.     His hatred for humanity is born from his hatred for God

                                      vii.     He understands that greatest way to wound the Living God is to go after those He loves and those who are created in His image

                                    viii.     This is why one of the great lies of the enemy is that a person is useless, a loser, they don’t have a purpose, a mistake

                                         ix.     Every person is created on purpose with a purpose

4.  He created them male and female

a.   Both Adam and Eve were created in the image of God

                                             i.     Together they fully reflect who God is

b.  Ephesians 5:31: ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.^[9]

                                             i.     When man and woman marry they become one flesh

                                           ii.     Man is not greater than woman

                                        iii.     They both have precious value in God’s kingdom

                                         iv.     But they also are called to distinct roles

                                           v.     There are certain things that only men are called to and there are certain things that only women are called to

                                         vi.     The way that a man and woman are wired by God is essential to the purposes and plans God has

                                      vii.     This is why in the world we live today where people are steeped in sexual and gender confusion that it causes incredible damage

                                    viii.     The farther we get away from God and His truth, the more we walk in darkness

But does this mean we are little gods?

2 Peter 1:4 says ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.^[10]

Peter here states we have become partakers of the divine nature

Kenneth Copeland says this Now Peter said by exceeding great and precious promises you become partakers of the divine nature. All right, are we gods? We are a class of gods. From Praise the Lord TBN February 5 1986

But to understand this verse we must look at verses 5-11

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^[11]

When Peter speaks of partaking in the divine nature he speaks of the character of Christ in us

It is through the work of The Holy Spirit living in us

As we abide in Christ the fruit of the Holy Spirit is produce throughout our lives

Fruit must be cultivated

Those the Father loves He prunes

We are not little gods

But God Himself dwells within us in the person of The Holy Spirit

The truth is we are created in the image and likeness of God

At the fall that image is distorted

When sin entered in Adam and humanity became self centered instead of God centered

But Christ came to redeem and reconcile us

Christ came to rescue us and deliver us from the dominion of darkness

We are not little gods

We are created in His image and may we build our lives upon sound doctrine and a right understanding of His word

A word concerning TBN and anyone else who would platform false teachers

Know that if we give to these ministries financially that we have a hand in this wickedness and darkness

There is much corruption in the American church and God is refining and pruning His bride

May we desire discernment and have eyes to see and ears to hear

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ps 5:1–3.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 1 Co 11:23–32.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Co 9:6–11.

^[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Is 43:10–13.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ge 1:26–27.

^[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Col 1:15–16.

^[7] Douglas Mangum, “Idolatry,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

^[8] Rick Brannan, ed., Lexham Research Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible, Lexham Research Lexicons (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020).

^[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Eph 5:31.

^[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Pe 1:4.

^[11] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 2 Pe 1:5–11.