Made in the Likeness of God
Pastor Tan Thai · Nov 20, 2020
This sermon expounds the meaning of humanity being created in the image and likeness of God, based on Genesis 1:26-27. Five key attributes are examined: immortality, the Trinity (unity), holiness, love, and glory. The sermon concludes with the hope of restoration of these original attributes through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
The sermon opens by posing the central question: what does it mean that Adam and Eve were created in the 'image' and 'likeness' of God? The pastor reminds the congregation that Genesis chapters 1 and 2 describe all things according to God's original good intention, and that the finite human language of Scripture can only partially express the attributes of an infinite God. Passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Deuteronomy 4:24 are used as examples to illustrate this hermeneutical principle.
Five key attributes of God's image in humanity are analyzed in detail. First, immortality: Adam and Eve were created to live eternally in the Garden of Eden with imperishable bodies. Second, the Trinity and unity: humanity possesses three parts—body, soul, and spirit—reflecting the Triune God. Third, holiness: in the Garden of Eden there was no bloodshed, disease, aging, or death because Adam and Eve were completely holy. Fourth, love: God is love (1 John 4:8) and the first marriage relationship reflected that perfect love. Fifth, glory: humanity was not created through evolution but is God's highest creation, bearing His glory (1 Corinthians 11:7).
The sermon then analyzes the consequences of sin upon each of these attributes. Sin destroyed bodily immortality, broke the unity of body, soul, and spirit by causing spiritual death, eliminated holiness and defiled the world, replaced love with hatred and envy, and caused humanity to abandon God's given glory by reducing itself to the level of animals.
The concluding section brings hope through redemption. The pastor proclaims that through the sinless blood of Jesus Christ, humanity's original standing has been restored. Ephesians 4:24 and Colossians 1:13-14 are cited to affirm that in the last day, those who belong to God will have all five attributes fully restored.
The sermon closes with a practical call for the redeemed to live toward these original attributes even now: nurturing the immortal soul, worshipping God in spirit and truth, living in unity modeled on the Trinity, pursuing holiness, loving one another, and displaying the glory of God through daily life. This final exhortation grounds the doctrinal teaching in concrete Christian living.