Planetshakers College

Student Assessment
Cover Sheet

Student ID No: P24077 Name: Sinai Cansino Miranda

Subject Code: T5105PTASK2 - Major Essay 40%
Assessment no. 2 Word Count: 1600 Due Date (23/04/2024):

Declaration and statement of Authorship

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another
person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any
other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning, except
where due acknowledgment is made in the acknowledgments.
Student Signature : Sinai Cansino Miranda Date (23/04/2024:
What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What are the implications of this
truth?

Introduction

In this essay we will explore the topic of being created in the image of God, we will see the

differences between image and likeness which are necessary to understand since it does

not have the same meaning in current life as God teaches us, to be able to identify more

clearly what it means and fully understand the beginning of creation. Once we understand

the differences, we will come to know the special plan that God has with man, which makes

him different from the rest of creation and we will end with the identity that we have by

being created in this way, as we will also see life of Jesus who is the main character who

was known as a clear example of the image of God.

God created us

In the book of Genesis, the main character is God, we can see the story that there is a God

by whom all things were made, among which is the human being, now we will see the

characteristics and how said creation was carried out.

The human being is a creation made directly by God. In the book of Genesis, it is mentioned

how God decided to make us in his image and likeness, male and female he created them.

(Genesis 1:26-27)
God is Spirit, and this is the image of God, so when the Bible teaches us that we were created

in his image, it is not referring to the physical or what our eyes can refer to an image, but

rather it is a spiritual representation of God, we have been made according to his Spirit and

this makes us a living representation of the moment when the scriptures mention “Then

the Lord God… breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” (Genesis 2:7) we were born

through his image that is his Spirit.

When we talk about the likeness of God, this becomes something that we can see, it is the

resemblance that we will have with God in the spiritual qualities that can be reflected

physically. We can observe this in man's way of living, since when God takes Adam and Eve

out of the Garden of Eden, we see how their children present an offering to God, but both

in a different way, which led God to see the offering. of Abel with pleasure, but when seeing

that of Cain it was not the same, because the intentions of the heart were different.

(Genesis 4)

We were created by Him, for Him and in Him, so God's purpose in being created in His

likeness is for us to be like Him. To have it in a clearer image, it is like when the father will

give to inheritance the characteristics that He possesses in his son, that is why when the

Bible teaches us how God talks to Cain about his offering, He explains to him that he needs

to do it the right way to be equal to the characteristics that God wants us to obtain from

Him, in us. This is what decision to make whether to be in his likeness or to be in our image,

in our way of thinking.

The Holy Spirit plays a very important role since it is the source from which we can obtain

those spiritual qualities that we will need to be similar to Him, the more we are in

communion with God, the Holy Spirit will be in charge of producing in us the fruits that will

demonstrate who is and what is God like. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The plan of God

The word that God was the one that made it possible for us to be created, demonstrating

the power that his word has in this world, “Let us make man in our image, according to our

likeness; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle,

over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

From the beginning of history, we see that the things that he created fulfill a specific

function to see his majesty in each of them, but the creation that was chosen to

contemplate his wonders was man, who was created with the Spirit to obtain the

characteristics of the creator and be the representative that dominates the other creations.

What a privilege was placed in us from the moment we were created since we obtain three

important characteristics that differentiate us from the rest of creation, which are; spirit,

soul and body, these play an important role in God's plan, for man to have a connection

with the creator, he would need to have each of these attributes to be able to fulfill God's

purpose. (Genesis 2:7)

God's plan is something beautiful, from the beginning He has wanted to make us know who

He is, in such a way that man can understand the plans that He has for us, at the moment

of creation we can see eternal life reflected in the way Adam and Eve lived, delighting in his

presence in that place made specifically for the two of them, in which God let himself be

known to them as the provider of all the things they needed and also showing himself as

the only God in the life of man. Although man has disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden,

God has never forgotten his initial plan for man, since in the omniscience of God He knew

what was going to happen, for which He already had His plan in progress. perfect, which

continues in the life of human beings to this day.

When man knows God, he adopts the characteristics that He teaches us, therefore we can

be on the path to fulfilling the purpose of our lives on this earth, which is to glorify God in

our lives. (Isaiah 43:7)

Who are we?

We are a creation that in the eyes of God we are something good (Genesis 1:31), this is

because by being created with the characteristics that God gave us, we are a representation

of Him on this earth, therefore when He observes us, He sees himself, like a father seeing

his son.
We are God's main objective in his plans. He wants to rescue us from our human nature

which seeks the desires of the flesh, which go against God. His has planned to work in us

those faults, impurities or imperfections that do not make it possible for us to have a

communion with Him. God amid the evil that man decided to carry, He had already designed

a perfect plan to attract us to Him again, whose plan aimed to restore man's relationship

with God.

The plan of salvation for man was announced throughout the Old Testament, which

culminated in a cross, this character who brought salvation is called Jesus “And that Word

was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten of

the Father), full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Jesus came to live among us to teach the original plan that God has for man, as well as to

be a living example of the truth of God since the time he lived on earth could bear witness

to the exact expression of the nature or image of God. (Hebrews 1:3) Jesus lived a life where

he knew his Father (God), he lived in obedience to Him, for which Jesus transmitted the

truth to men so that they would know God and live in obedience to Him, to be part of his

plans as well as of his heavenly promises, just as He was living according to God's plans.

The original identity that is restored through Jesus is that man is the masterpiece of God,

we are a creation with endless capabilities that were given to us through our creator but
being dead in our sins God allows us to be born again to redirect us to the path that He had

already destined for us from the beginning of creation.

Application

God is the truth that we need in our lives, in which we can find the necessary answers, not

in the information that the world provides.

We live in a society, where the visual image is something that gives you the value of your

person, which can classify you as good, bad, pretty or ugly, but when reading the Bible, we

see that humanity has given value to the wrong things, not It is the physical that matters

but what is not visible the soul.

God is interested in your heart. He wants us to give importance to the right and necessary

things so that our lives can delight.

I know in his presence, to be people who direct themselves according to the characteristics

of that original design that I created from the beginning.

Let us choose to know our creator, our Father, since He is our reason for existing, the plans

that He has for you and me are for eternal life, for everyone who truly knows Him through

Jesus His son.

 Conclusion

In conclusion, we have learned that our identity has been marked from the beginning of

creation through the only creator who is God, who has given us life by creating us in his

image and likeness through those qualities that He deposits in us we can be more like Him

and thus be participants in the eternal plan of His kingdom through Jesus His son.

We are a good creation, but sin has distanced us from that purpose that God had already

destined from the beginning, which is why we have to be separated from the impurities

that prevent us from knowing Him as well as being more like Him.

The plan has not stopped, the salvation of the human being is still ongoing because what

God created was good and his word has the power to change the situation that the human

being is living in, it is only a matter of man's heart being directed in the right direction. The

right way in your reason for existing on this earth.

 Bibliography

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