A Man ; and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man

Posted : 16 Jan, 2012 04:38 PM

Humans are made in God's image. The New Testament picks up this emphasis and requires that we become like Christ. Not even the angels are made in God's image. God made man in His image so that He could become human. He did not become an angel.

In the future life, redeemed humans will judge the angels (1 Cor. 6:3). They will reign with Christ (Reb. 5:10). These two facts tell us that regenerate humanity is the nobility of the universe. Redeemed humanity will someday be the highest ranking of all creatures, even above the angels. From the beginning, God intended our Christlikeness. Redeemed and perfected humaity is God's highest creation.

Whatever glory we finally attain, God will use our time on earth to prepare us for that unimaginable reign. His training program to prepare us is found in the Sermon on the Mount. The basic principles of living to please God are spelled out in that sermon. In these three chapters, Jesus tells us what redeemed humans are to be and what kind of behavior pleases God.



The Old convenant was based on law. The New convenant is based on the Redemptive work of Christ for Us. The Old testament law dealt with physical matters. It was to be obeyed strictly. The Sermon on the Mount deals with the Spirit and with attitudes. It is concerned with principles, rather that restrictions.

We obey its principles by conforming to its Spirit.

Jesus introduces His sermon with eight blessings, or beatitudes. These beatitudes set the framework for the attitudes and actions in the teaching that follows. They are symmetrical. Between the first four and last four, they establish a balance in the way God will work in our lives and the way we will work in God's kingdom. Each beatitude contains a principle about the way God works in us.

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