Image of God vs Child of God: What's the difference?
I heard a great message yesterday about who is a child of God, and I really wanted to dive a little deeper into it. A couple key passages we'll look at are Genesis 1:26-27 and 1 John 3:1-10. Anytime I do a devo, I really want it to be based in the Word of God, the Bible. If it's not, at least for me, than it may not be worth writing. If we allow it to, God's Word can be transform and renew us. If you guys ever have any questions, I'll try to answer them as best as I can, but I also may not have the answer either.
Genesis 1:26-27, God creates humans in his own image. We are made perfectly in the eyes of God. But Adam and Eve get tempted and sin enters the world. And then we get the prophecy of Jesus who will defeat death and sin, but we aren't sure when that will happen. Jesus is born of the virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit. Around age 30, Jesus begins his ministry. The pharisees and other religious leaders don't accept him and call him out for blasphemy. Jesus knows his path is hard and his cup is heavy, but he so loves us that he continues his mission. His mission is fully carried out when his body is broken and blood is shed for us on the cross where he defeats death and sin. We now have freedom through Christ. The punishment we should have taken for our sins, Jesus bore that for us, so that we might be called children of God if we accept him.
Sometimes it's easy to lump all humans together as children of God since we are all created in his image and likeness. That's honestly what I think I did and how I thought as of until yesterday. I totally believe God wants to call everyone his children and wants everyone to live eternity with him, but not everyone accepts him. We look at 1 John 3:1-10, and it talks about how much the Father loves but that those who belong to this world don't recognize God's children because they don't know him. Everyone who sins breaks God's law. Jesus came to take away sin, and anyone who keeps on sinning does not understand who Jesus is. In verse 8 there is some heavy stuff there. "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." Thankfully that is where Jesus came in to save us from our sin and sent the Holy Spirit to guide us to live lives that would bring glory to God. It goes on to talk about that those born into God's family don't make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. Those who don't live righteous or love other believers don't belong to God.
This is a tough passage to swallow, and it is one that has definitely challenged me. I feel like I've had these moments where I've chosen to live in sin and in the flesh. I've found hope that God doesn't leave me where I'm at. I think it could be so easy to stay in the mindset of messing up so why try, and I have found myself there before. As scary as this passage from 1 John 3 sounds, I also think it brings incredible hope to keep striving for a life that brings you close to Jesus. The part we need to keep an eye out for is that practice of sinning, of choosing the sin you're living in day after day until it consumes you. With the Holy Spirit, we need his strength to lean on. We can't beat sin on our own. If we could, we wouldn't have a need for Jesus. Try to live a righteous life as best we can leaning into our guide/advocate, the Holy Spirit.
As we wrap up, you might even need an accountability partner as well. It's very biblical to have friends that push you in the right direction towards God. Proverbs 27:17 ESV, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." We are all made in the image of God, but that doesn't mean everyone is a child of God. It's hard to share your faith sometimes, especially in a place where it's easy to assume that most people believe. I want to challenge us to try talking to people more about what Jesus has done for us.
- How can you live a righteous life in a world where sin can be the norm?
- Do you need a mentor or accountability partner to help you with questions or struggle with sin?
- Who can you share Jesus with this week?
Love you guys, God bless,
JFed