Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Image of God, the Fall of Man and the *

*Great Awakening of Youth*

Texts: Gen. 1:26, 3:1ff; Rom.

8:29

(Sermon 3-25-07)

*Introduction*

*          The title of the sermon today is "The Image of God, the Fall of Man and the Great Awakening of Youth."*

I want to emphasize relationships today, but as you can see in your outline, I want to lay down some groundwork first.

We will briefly look at the */image of God in man/* from Genesis 1:26 and */the fall of man in Adam/* from Genesis 3. How we view these two Biblical facts will greatly determine how we view many situations in life—including relationships.

We will end with an application directed toward relationships with the opposite sex, /especially/ as it relates to youth and their *"Great Awakening."

*More specifically, we will ponder how all this affects relationships within our own Youth Group here at Grace—XMYM.

*(TRANSITION)*

*Let us notice first of all that,  *

* *

*I.

The Image of God Reveals our Value (turn to Gen. 1:26)*

          The doctrine of the image of God is a wonderful, superb truth about His creative reality within man.

*This foundational fact, when understood correctly, will have incredible, far-reaching implications.*

The study of this subject should enrich the mind and soul of a Christian, and the Christian should have an enriched appreciation for their life, and for those around them.

Genesis 1:26,27 captures the heart of the issue, for as the passage of first mention on this subject, it carries exegetical weight and as such becomes the anchor verse from which all other verses are tied.

In fact, *proper understanding of this verse will keep all other texts from floating into the sea of confusion.*

In chapter 1 we see God in His glory and grandeur creating the heavens and the earth, the light, the lights, the vegetation, the waters, the animals and then we read,

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man *in Our image*, according to *Our likeness*; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God created man *in His own image,* *in the image of God* He created him; *male and female* He created them'" (Gen.

1:26-27).

Man, therefore, is the very special creation of the Father –the ZENITH.

It seems that David had these verses in mind when he wrote Psalm chapter 8 where we read.

*PSALM 8:1-5*

1 O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength, because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 4 What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?

*5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, (some translations read angels) *

*And You crown him with glory and majesty!

*

*                                                Yes, man, wonderful man.

*

*          *The Westminster Confession states that we are, "endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image, (Gen.

1:26, Col. 3:10, Eph.

4:24) Chapter IV, 2. It needs to be established as well, that God’s image in man affects his entire being.*

*That is to say, we are to reflect who He is in our whole person: spiritually, physically, emotionally, morally.

Notice, for example, Colossians 3:10 "and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the *image of the One* who created him— (Col.

3:10).

Within the context, we see the total man is called to total submission: “Set your mind on the things above…” (Col.

3:2).

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead. .

.” (Col.

3:5a).

What is your body dead to? “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. .

.”(Col.

3:5b).

Paul’s presupposition is that *the whole created person* should /act /differently, godly, because we are “image bearers.”

As such we have an incredible responsibility to our creator, *and to others*.

In fact, it is interesting to note two places in Scripture where we are told that a behavior is wrong based on image-bearing.

The first is in the Old Testament Gen. 9:6, where we read,

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for *in the image of God*

He made man” (Gen.

9:6).

The second is in the New Testament Jam.

3:8,9 where we read,

“But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.

My brethren, these things ought not to be this way” (Jas 3:8-10).

In short, within our context for today, we see that mankind has */value. . .

dignity. . .

and  worth!/*

*TRANSITION*

*Man is glorious, yes, but there is a balance that must be kept in mind.*

*Which leads me to my next point that *

*"The Fall of Man Reveals our Corruption"*

* *

*II.

The Fall of Man Reveals our Corruption*

          It is imperative when considering the nature of man that you not only read Genesis 1 BUT also Genesis 3. Within Genesis three, we are suddenly taken from the beautiful picture of creation where there was a */river of peace/* that "flowed out of Eden to water the garden" (Gen.

2:10).

There was shalom—peace, but something occurred.

Shalom was disrupted by the Evil one.

Now we see temptation, submission to the temptation, and the fall.

Notice the words that surface as a result, "cursed" (3:14), "pain" (3:16), "ruling over" (3:16), "cursed" (3:17), "sweat" (3:19).

This is what is called "the fall of man."

Therefore, when we talk about the image of God in man, it is imperative to delineate between the pre-fall image of God in man, and the post-fall image of God in man.

When I speak of man in the present tense, I speak of him in his post-fall, Adam image state, the state of every created person.

Let us take a brief look at this teaching.

All men, women and children are spiritually dead by virtue of the disobedience of Adam.

Paul makes this clear when he states, “therefore. .

.”

"[t]herefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. .

." (Rom 5:12).

As a result, every person is born in a */distorted, fallen/* image of God—they are still *in the  image of God, but now the image is in Adam*.

Let us read a New Testament passage that illustrates this and shows us the result:

*Romans 3:9-20*

 

*9 What then? Are we better than they?

Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; *

*10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; *

*11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; *

*12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; *

*There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

*

*13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; *

*14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; *

*15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, *

*16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, *

*17 And the path of peace they have not known.”

*

*18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes" (**Rom.**

3:9-18).*

So here is the balance; here is the reality of the situation.

Indeed, we are made in God's image, but because of the fall, we are in a */corrupt fallen state/*.

We are as Paul says in Epeshians 2:1, “and you were *DEAD* in your *TRESSPASSES* and *SINS*” (Eph.

2:1).

We have this mysterious tension within ourselves—image bearer on one hand, corrupt sinner on the other.

But to balance this out, we must also state that there is hope!

The hope is the GOSPEL.

Just like you have to read Genesis 3 to balance Genesis 1, so, too, you must read passages like Romans 8 to balance out Romans 3. In particular notice Romans 8:29 where we read, "[f]or whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the *image of His Son*. . .

(Rom.

8:29).

Here we see that through the redemptive work of Christ we have the opportunity to be set straight—returned to /the/ image.