Foundations for a Christian Worldview: The People of God (1)

So God created man in His ownimage; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1.27

Chip off the old block
The basic meaning of the Hebrew root צלם, tsalam, is “cut off.” According to the definitive Hebrew lexicon, it refers to “something cut out” of wood or metal to represent something else. Of all the beings created by God, only one is referred to as “cut out” in His image: man. Men and women are the image-bearers of God. They are chips off the old Block, as it were, which means that, in many and various ways, human beings are not like the animals. 

We share many genetic similarities with animals, but this is only what we might expect for beings that have come from one Creator and have their existence in a common world. But people are not animals. We are the image-bearers of God. We have reason. We communicate. We are creative, and we work with purpose, toward particular ends. We create culture which reflects our interests, tastes, and values.

But, it will be argued, many animals do similar things. Whales communicate, for example. Higher primates can reason. Even birds create culture, since they always make nests unique to their particular species.

The key word here is similar. Is this not what we might expect of beings inhabiting a common creation and sustained by a common Creator? And true as such assertions may be, they pale into insignificance when compared with the powers of human beings to communicate, work, create culture, enjoy beauty, and shape their environment.

Of all the beings God has created, humans are the most amazing of all, and not simply – as proponents of a secular worldview insist – because our brains are so far advanced beyond any in the animal kingdom; but because we are made in the image and likeness of God. We are like God. He has stamped His image on us. 

What really sets people apart as the image-bearers of God is that we know and can serve the God Who made us. This means that people are not merely material beings, like the animals. We are spiritual beings, and are of such a composition as to allow us to connect with the ultimate Spiritual Being. As we continue our examination of the worldview vision emerging in the Law of God, we turn to the people God has created for Himself. God has made all people, and, like everything else in creation, they all belong to Him. But among all the peoples God has created, all of whom have fallen into sin and rebellion against Him, some have come to know His special favor; and in knowing His special favor, they have been and are being renewed in the knowledge of God and the mission He has appointed for them.

The ability to know God
The primary characteristic that makes human beings the image-bearers of God is that they know Him. Not merely can know Him, but do – all of them. We see this throughout the books of Moses, as pagan nations grope to connect with God by attaching themselves to all manner of false deities. There has never been a culture or people who have not indicated some sense of the transcendent, or contrived ways of seeking to engage it. Something in us insists that there is a higher power, a greater good, an ultimate truth, and we seek to connect with that ultimate reality by a wide variety of means. 

All people know there is an ultimate something which is good, true, and most to be desired, and they seek that ultimate unseen something along many paths, most especially in our day, the path of secular materialism.

But like the pagan religions of the books of Moses, the pagan religions of our day are a dead end. They remind us that all people know God – know that He exists, and know something about His greatness and desirability (cf. Rom. 1.18-21). But because of sin, the human ability to connect with what we all know – the true God – is obstructed. Only God can restore people to the true path that leads to right knowledge of God.

To know God is to fear, obey, serve, and love Him, as God Himself explains (Deut. 10.12, 13). This is the path of the good life which all people seek. We are the image-bearers of God, and only when we are rightly bound back (Latin: religare) to Him through faith and obedience can we expect to know the righteousness, peace, and joy we seek from the worldview we embrace. Animals cannot know God in this intimate, loving, humbling, and exhilarating way. The image-bearers of God are made to know Him, and they will only realize the highest hopes of their worldview when, as Augustine observed, their hearts come to rest in Him.

The mandate to serve God
People are called to serve God by being fruitful and by developing the goodness God has invested in His creation (Gen. 1.26-28; 2.15). The mandate assigned to the first human beings continues to be the defining commission of our lives. We are to serve God by bringing more people into being who know and serve Him. And we are to serve Him by developing the goodness He has invested in the world into ever greater measure and extent. This was Adam’s charge in the garden: To serve – or develop – the garden, and to guard it against whatever might threaten its ability to realize increasing goodness and blessing.

Over and over God promised His people in the Law that He would increase them – like the stars of the heaven and the sands of the sea – and that He would cause them to enjoy a wide variety of blessings (cf. Deut. 28.1-14). God has given His people a clear mandate; and He provides the direction and power for them to fulfill that mandate.

But they must not balk at the opportunities God puts before them, like the people of Israel did at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 14.1-10). Instead, loving God and being committed to serving Him, those who know Him must be strong and do exploits in line with their calling as His image-bearers and people (Dan. 11.32). Those good works begin in worship and spill out from there into every area of life, all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities, where the people who know the Three-in-One God serve Him out of hearts filled with wonder and love.

For reflection
1. God is remaking His people into His image (2 Cor. 3.12-18). Why is this re-make necessary?

2. We are created to know and serve God. How do these verbs come to expression in your life?

3. How would you explain to an unbelieving friend what it means to know God?

Next steps – Conversation: How can believers encourage one another in knowing and serving the Lord? Talk with some Christian friends about this question.

The Christian worldview focuses on Jesus. Do you know Him? Our book, To Know Him, can help you answer that question confidently, and equip you to tell others about Jesus as well. Order your copy by clicking here.

At The Ailbe Seminary, all our courses are designed to help you grow in your Christian worldview. Watch this brief video (click here) to get an overview of our curriculum, and to see again the place of Jesus in the Christian worldview.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.