$2.99 – $23.99
| Pages | 196 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 8.5" x 11" x 0.38" |
| Library of Congress Control Number | 2022902030 |
| eBook ISBN | 978-1-68547-059-3 |
| Paperback ISBN | 978-1-68547-057-9 |
| Hardcover ISBN | 978-1-68547-058-6 |
You and Your Creator embraces the wonder and the privilege of being human – of being a member of the human race that had been created in the image of the Creator. The believer does this while living with the challenge of being in a world in which God has no welcome place in the hearts of most men. Yet the believer holds in his heart the joy and peace that is freely offered to all who trust Him. The believer sees the eternal purpose of God in creating man. As we gain the knowledge of God’s plan and understanding of how He works in the lives of man to conform them to the image of His Son, the believer comes to spiritual maturity. As the believer learns of and applies the divine principles laid out in the pages of Scripture, he develops the wisdom to actually live the very life of Jesus Christ in this present evil age in which we live today. As he then sees God’s plan for the ages unfold in time, he can see how and where he fits into it. It is when members of the church the Body of Christ comes to full spiritual maturity that the church will have the impact that God intends for it to have in this world.
What is man? Job asked that question in Job 17:17 &18 “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?” Job notes that God has set His heart on man and carries on a watchful oversight of him. He notes further that God has a daily interest in man. The thrust of the question is “Why would God be interested in the likes of us humans?”
King David asked that question in Psalm Chapter 8 and then proceeds to answer it: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:4-8) What David saw as God’s interests in man is what God said in Genesis 1 regarding man having “…dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Gen 1: 26). David saw man as having custodianship over the earth but not beyond.
David saw man as being lower than the angels – as truly man is lower than the angels as we see man today. Angels have superiority over man today in that they can’t die physically while man can and does. Angels are very powerful creatures. They can appear to man and then disappear while yet interacting with man. We find in scripture that angels are very interested in man and in the human race. They are referred to as the watchers (Daniel 4:17) – and (at least in the Old Testament times) the elect angels acted to carry out God’s plans as they affected man.
The writer of Hebrews picks up on David’s answer to the question “What is man?” and then expands it. The writer of Hebrews goes on to state regarding man that “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:8-9) This implies that in eternity to come; all things will be placed under the custodianship of man (including the angels). The apostle Paul actually states that we shall judge angels in 1Corinthians 6:3.
The writer of Hebrews points out the obvious that not all things are put under man today. In fact, man dies and the very earth that he was to have dominion over actually reclaims his body at death. However, God has a solution to that problem in Jesus. Though we do not see all things put under man, we do see Jesus (the creator of man) made lower than the angels when He became man. He was made lower than the angels so that He could die and by so doing, to solve man’s main problem – sin and death.
“Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:8-9)
Jesus was made lower than the angels so that He could die for man and to thus solve man’s death problem. He died and rose again so that He could conquer death and be able to give man eternal life. By conquering death, He could be the captain of man’s salvation and lead the human race to be what God created man to be in the beginning. The only members of this human race who will be what God intended man to be will be those who find the fulfillment of God’s plans and their destiny in the person and the work of God’s only begotten Son – Jesus Christ our Lord.
Man Created in the Image of God
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27
According to this passage in Genesis, God created man in His image. If we are to understand man and man’s makeup, we need to look at God and learn about Him. Our only way to know about God though is in the written Word of God – the Bible. As we read and study the Word of God, we find that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) but we find also that there are three persons who are called God in the Bible. In this passage in Genesis, we see that God [singular] said “let us [plural] make man [singular] in our [plural] image [singular]…” In Isaiah 45:5-7, God said “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”
The Bible says that there is one God and yet in the Bible there are three persons in the Bible called God. Each has their own personality. Each operates independently of each other but when they act, they do so in perfect harmony of purpose with each other. God is called “the Father” in the Bible. (Romans 1:7) He is called the Father because He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6). He has a Son (Proverbs 30:4) who He (the Father) also calls God: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:” (Hebrews 1:8 – 10).
The one who the Father calls the Son is the eternal Word from eternity past. We find the reference to the eternal Word in John 1:1-4 where we read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
This in John 1: 1-4 is an amazing passage. In the beginning there was a person called the Word and that person was with God and further, the person who is called the Word was God. There are two persons in this one verse both of whom are called God. It is particularly interesting to note from this verse that everything that has been made was made by Him (the Word). This excludes Himself so that we are to understand that the Word eternally existed with the Father from eternity past.
In Colossians we see another intensely fascinating passage regarding this one who is called the Son. Let’s look carefully at this passage because it is packed with rich and wonderful information about who the Son is and about the relationship that we as believers have with the Father through the Son.
“12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:12-20)
This passage in Colossians Chapter 1 speaks volumes about the nature of the relationship that believers have with the Father through the Son. First of all, the Father made the believer fit (adequate, suitable) to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints. He did this through the work that the Son did for us. The Father delivered the believer from the power of darkness and put him into the kingdom of His dear Son. We therefore understand that the Son has a kingdom and the believer is placed into it. The believer has redemption through the blood of the Son and therefore has the forgiveness of sins. To have redemption is to be purchased from someone or something (which in this passage is the power of darkness). The price of that redemption is the blood of the Son. This is the blood that Jesus Christ, the Son shed for man on Calvary. He surrendered His life (the only perfect human life ever lived) as full payment for man’s sins.
In verse 15 of Colossians 1 we see that He (the Son) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. He is the visible manifestation of the God that otherwise could not be seen. He is the first born of every creature because every creature was created by Him and for Him (see also Hebrews 2:10 and Revelation 4:11 on this). The reference to “first born” is a reference to the fact that He (the Son) inherits everything. He inherits everything because He created everything. John 1:10-14 states it saying “10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
The Holy Ghost
In Acts 5:4 we meet one called the Holy Ghost and find that he too is called God. This brings us to the concept of the Trinity. People who oppose the doctrine of the trinity readily point out that the word “Trinity” is not even in the Bible. That is true but the doctrine is clearly there. The Bible word for the Trinity of God is the word “Godhead” as we see it in Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; and Colossians 2:9. Doctrinal statements regarding the Godhead basically state that God is one in essence and being but three in person. Seeing then the Trinity of God and understanding that God created man in His image, we expect to see a Trinitarian makeup to man. Here again we go to the Word of God and indeed do find such a concept in 1Thessalonians 5:23 where the apostle prays “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Man is created as a three-part creature. Unlike the creator, man is not three in person as the creator is. Man individually is singular in personality. There is however only one humanity created by God which encompasses many persons who comprise this human race (and there is only one race that being the human race composed of billions of individuals).
It is the soul of man that constitutes the person of the individual man. However, while each soul is a unique person, each of the three parts of man has what we would call a mentality that can each be identified in the Bible. The spirit of man has a mentality that the Bible calls “the mind.” It is there in our human spirit where we formulate the paradigms by which we interact with each other and with God. The human spirit is that part of our makeup that is given by God to enable us to relate to God and to each other. There is a correspondence between the human spirit and the Spirit of God. We see this in passages as Romans 8:15 – 17 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
The soul of man has a mentality that the Bible calls “the heart.” It is there in the heart (in the mentality of our soul) that we form our affections. It is there where we make decisions in life. It is the heart that believes as the apostle says in Romans 10:9 and 10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
If the spirit of man corresponds to the Holy Spirit of God, then there is a correspondence of the soul of man with the Father. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Verse 20 is a direct command. We understand from grammar that the subject of a direct command is “you”. The “you” here is the “you” of your soul. You are a soul (an individual person) which has a body and which also has a spirit and you (the soul that is you) decides what you will do with each.
The soul is then the decision-making part of our makeup. There appears then to be a correspondence between the soul of man in the tri-part makeup of man to the Father in the Godhead. As we study our Lord Jesus Christ in His relationship with the Father, we find that He lived His entire life on earth in full reliance and dependence upon the Father. Note the Lord’s words in John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” Jesus Christ as the eternal Word is sent into the human race by the Father to be fully man while yet being fully God. He does that to provide a way for man to have eternal life. Note the Lord’s word in John 5:36-40 to the religious leaders of Israel “36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. 37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. 9 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
Let’s review what we see so far regarding the Lord Jesus Christ with regard to creation. We see that He created everything that has been created (Colossians 1:16). We saw also that everything that has been created was created by Him and for Him. When God interacts with creation, it is the eternal Word who does it. He then is the visible manifestation of the God who is otherwise invisible. We see this in John 1:14 where we read “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Interestingly no one has seen me and neither has anyone seen you. People see the physical manifestation of you but the real you (the soul that is you) no one has seen. It is through your physical body that there is a physical manifestation of you. Now with regard to the tri-part makeup of man, it is through our physical body that we interact with the physical creation. There is then a correspondence between our physical bodies and the Lord Jesus Christ. While we have physical life, we are able to live in God’s physical creation which was created by the eternal Word.
The created universe itself is a trinity. It is a space-matter-time continuum. Each of these is Trinitarian in nature. Space has three dimensions of length, width and depth. Space would not exist without all three. Matter has three states of being – solid, liquid, and gas. All three are necessary for the existence of matter. Time has three tenses of past, present and future. If any of these were removed, there would not be time.
At this point I direct the reader’s attention to Figure 1. This figure illustrates in graphical form information presented in the narrative presented below. You will notice that the Godhead exists outside of and independent from His creation. You will also notice that creation (the universe) has a Trinitarian makeup in its entirety. Note that man is created in God’s universe. Also, notice that the Word is the one who interacts with God’s creation. The Word enters His creation as the only begotten Son to accomplish redemption by His work of redemption on Calvary. Notice too that the Holy Ghost then administers the redemption program on behalf of the Godhead. The Holy Ghost works in response to the faith of the believer to accomplish salvation of the sinner’s soul. He does that by going into that person’s life and bundles up the sin and all uncleanness and imputes them to the account of the Son on Calvary. The redeeming work of Christ then clears the account of the sinner’s debt by virtue of His death for our sins (1Corinthians 15:1-4). The Father then receives that person into His family as the sinner trusts that work of redemption.
Michael J. Tiry came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at the age of twenty-nine. His deep appreciation for having the assurance of eternal life, his passion for study and his quest for truth compelled him to search deeply into the Bible with a desire to learn its truth that he might present the riches of God’s grace to others. Over the last forty years Michael has been involved in itinerate preaching, a church planting ministry, and a teaching and preaching ministry at Berean Bible Church in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Michael also serves Berean Bible Church as director of the Timothy Institute, designed to prepare men for leadership in local churches. While involved in the institute, Mike has written sixteen study guides on various books of the Bible. One of those study guides (More than Conquerors on the Book of Romans) was published in 2019. Additionally, Mike has been active over the last fifteen years in a prison ministry. Michael and his wife of 43 years, Linda, have raised five daughters.
You might enjoy More than Conquerors (2019) by M J Tiry. It is published by Westbow Press and available from Amazon. More than Conquerors is a detailed study of the Book of Romans. This study will give the reader a deeper understanding of the total victory that the believer has in our Lord Jesus Christ
A Study in Genesis –From Adam to Abraham (2023) is a study in the Book of Genesis that takes the student into the origin of the earth and looks at man’s place in God’s plan and purpose.
A Study in the Revelation (2023) takes the Bible student into the last book of the Bible to look at the consummation of God’s plan for the ages and the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ in His work of redemption.
