As we enter the season of Advent, let us reflect on the work of Jesus in restoring the image of God in his followers through his incarnation.
images of God and idol worship
Psalm 115:2 asks, “Why should the nations say, “Where now is their God?” What's your reply? “But our God is in heaven, and He does whatever He pleases” (verse 3).
Indeed, Yahweh is “the maker of heaven and earth” (verse 15). In contrast, the gods of pagan nations are lifeless.
Their idols were of silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel. They have legs but cannot walk. They cannot make sounds with their throats (verses 4-7).
And then we come to the following memorable sentence: “Whoever creates them, everyone who trusts in them will become like them” (v. 8).
In his book We Will Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry, New Testament scholar G.K. He says that he notices that he encounters That is, God created humans as “imaging”. It is a reflection of His glory. ”
Christ, the very image of the invisible God, came to restore that image that had been tainted and hidden by sin.
As we see in Psalm 115, when humans are not dedicated to God, they end up reflecting something else in creation instead of God. We reflect either the Creator or the creature. Idolaters resemble what they worship. “What people respect is like ruin or recovery.”
In Martin Luther's Great Catechism, he wrote:
God is where we look for all good things and where we always ask for help in times of need. To have God is simply to trust and believe in Him with all your heart. As I have often said, the confidence and faith of the heart are the only gods and idols. If your faith and confidence are right, then your God is likewise the true God. On the other hand, if your confidence is false or wrong, then you do not have the true God. Because there is a necessary connection between the two: faith and God. Now, I say, whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is truly your God.
Where we find ultimate security and to whom we claim our deepest allegiance, that is our God.
In his book The Mission of God, Old Testament scholar Christopher Wright writes that while gods and idols may be gateways to the devil's world, the Bible primarily describes them as “the work of human hands.” , a construct of our own depraved and rebellious imaginations. ”
Mr Wright added: “The fundamental problem with idolatry is that it blurs the distinction between God the Creator and creation. It harms creation (including us) and diminishes the glory of the Creator. is.”
Regarding Exodus 20:3-6, Biel asks: Do we have two commands or just one?
After all, “there is no other god” before the Lord meant not making “idols or likenesses” of anything in this world to be worshiped. “For it was believed that the image contained the presence of God.'' And even images that represent the Lord, such as the golden calf (Exodus 32:1-9), are connected to the Creator. It was an attack on the distinctions of creation. Such images were banned in order to “maintain the continued awareness of God's people that there is a distinction between the Creator and finite creatures.”
To represent God in the form of a creature was to misunderstand God in an idolatrous way. God's presence cannot be localized in objects. To do so would diminish His unique glory (Isaiah 42:8).
images and incarnations of god
This brings us to the point of the Incarnation and the mission of God.
In Wright's words:
Because God's mission is to fully restore His original purpose of bringing all glory to Himself, so that all creation may enjoy the rich blessings He desires, God He fights against all forms of idolatry and calls us to join him. In that conflict.
Therefore, we “need to understand the full scope of the Bible's revelations about the harmful effects of idolatry in order to understand the seriousness of idolatry and the reason for the Bible's passionate rhetoric about it.” is.
Father Irenaeus wrote: “He who was the Son of God became the Son of Man, that he might become the Son of God.” In other words, Christ is the very image of the invisible God (2 Corinthians 4:4 (Colossians 1:15) He came to restore the image that had been tainted and obscured by sin. He is the truest human being, the very archetype of humanity, the second Adam who came to undo the damage of the first Adam.
His incarnation, death, and (especially) resurrection brought about a new creation. As a result, we acquire a new self and are “renewed with true knowledge according to our image.” [Christ]” (Colossians 3:10).
As Advent approaches, we are reminded of these themes. Charles Wesley’s hymn “For My Son Has Set Me Free” says:
Heavenly Adam, divine life,
Change my nature to yours.
moving and spreading throughout my soul,
Activate it to fill the whole.
Even if I'm no longer here
You live in the body, but you.
And in his book, “Let Heaven and Earth Join,” he writes:
He designs to appear in the flesh;
The widest extreme to participate.
To bring our baseness closer,
And sanctify us all.
And we who are the life of God will know.
Because God is revealed below.
And again with “the Lord who is all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful.”
Didn't you participate yourself?
human nature and divine nature,
as gods and humans can be
Is this one thing that you cannot separate from now on?
Then hurry up and let me know your true nature.
reincarnated inside me.
This article is adapted from the following posts: originally appeared in Worldview News Substack.
