Monthly Archives: September 2026

22 BY THE WAY…WHAT DOES THE IMAGE OF GOD MEAN?

Christian Life, ,

Why did God make man in His image? When we unpack the meaning of ”the image of God“ against the background of the culture, the meaning becomes clear. Let me explain. 

In ancient times, when a king conquered territory far from his homeland, he would place an icon…an idol or image of himself…in a prominent place in that country, to signify his government and authority over that land. The “idol” would stand as a representative of himself so that the people would recognise his sovereignty and obey his laws. 

God is the owner, ruler, and authority over the whole earth. 

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When God had completed His work of transforming a damaged earth and filling the planet with plants and creatures in preparation for human habitation…

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is much more in these verses than a superficial reading reveals. Let’s look at the specific words God used…

“Tselem”…”image”, is the word usually translated “icon” or “idol”…not necessarily meaning a false god but rather a representation of the king or god of that land. An idol was made to represent the god who was the real figure behind the image.  

Paul understood this. 

“Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To Paul, idols were only the visible representation of the demons who were the real beings behind the idols. 

The second word is “damuwth” from “ damah” which means “shape” or “resemblance”, the word translated “likeness”. Man would be created as a visible representation of God, filled with His breath, resembling Him, literally a phantom or shadow of Himself. For what purpose? To be God’s deputy, His representative on earth, managing the earth on God’s behalf as His “idol” or “icon”…just as a king would place his icon in a conquered territory. 

Every human on earth, therefore, is a living, walking representative of God, carrying the authority to manage the earth for Him. The fact that sin distorted God’s image, does not change this truth. 

The image of God is still imprinted on every person whether they know or acknowledge it or not. To all mankind has been given the mandate to rule over the earth for God as His designated authority. This means that God also holds humans accountable for what they do with  His earth. 

Can you see, then, how significant this truth is? That man has God’s image imprinted on him, has some spinoffs. For example…

“And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭9‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The death sentence for a murderer is not about justice, or being inhumane. It’s about being accountable because murder is an assault on the image of God. 

Second, God’s image in humans must also govern the way we speak about and treat people. Regardless of their social, financial, or physical condition…their appearance…their function…or any other external consideration…everyone bears God’s image and is therefore, worthy of dignity and respect. Contempt in any form is also an assault on the image of God. 

The third spinoff is something we can deduce from the reality of God’s image in us. Should it not be, as far as possible, the responsibility of every individual to elevate others, whether by attitude or action, because they bear the image of God? By doing so, we not only benefit others but ourselves also because we all stand on level ground before God. When we put others down, we despise Gods image in them. 

We see, then, that the image of God in every human…regardless of colour, culture, or status…sets us apart from all other creatures, gives us dignity, holds us accountable, and gives us authority…under God…to fulfil His mandate for all humanity. He has put us on His earth, His territory, to signify His ownership and rule over His creation and given us the mandate to deputise His rule on His behalf. 

21 BY THE WAY…WHAT DOES REAL FELLOWSHIP MEAN?

Christian Life, ,

It is unfortunate that our English (and other) translations often rob the original languages of Scripture of their rich meaning. 

I recently encountered a concept that our word “fellowship”, translated from the Greek word “koinonia”, means that actually fleshes out ”fellowship” to be much more than what we understand it to be. 

We see fellowship as a word that describes what we share in common as God’s children…especially when we meet together with a common purpose. We “fellowship” around coffee and eats in the church building, doing things that express our togetherness. We fellowship around God’s word when we meet on a Sunday. We even have fellowship with another person through a phone-call or a message from our homes. 

The most important idea is that we share the same faith in Jesus…and it’s this that binds us together. 

The Bible uses “kononia” and its related words in a much broader sense. This word is actually an accounting word, relating especially to money. How can this idea be connected to our life as believers?  

“Kononia” is used in the New Testament in a variety of ways, circling around the sharing of our money. Let me illustrate. 

“All the believers were together and had everything in common…(“koinos”…fellowship”).  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭44‬-‭45‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The early Christians pooled their resources so that no one had need. This is fellowship. 

The Philippian church fully participated with Paul in his ministry…

“Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners (“kononia”) in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They also took care of Paul’s financial needs…

“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul describes the generosity of the Philippians in accounting terms. They shared their resources with Paul when he was in prison.  This was both worship and fellowship…

To the Hebrew believers…

“And do not forget to do good and to share (“koinonia”… fellowship) with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fellowship is more than meeting together periodically. It’s about doing life together in all its aspects, experiences, and needs…expressed in English words like communion, partnership, collection…all translating “koinonia” in context… but there’s more. 

Fellowship starts with the solid foundation of our relationship with Jesus. 

“…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship (“koinonia”) of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Being a Christian is so much more than having a free pass to heaven. It’s about participating in every part of the life of Jesus, including the parts that are painful, inconvenient, or undesirable. 

“and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our partnership (fellowship) with fellow-believers in the body of Christ is rooted in our intimate union with Jesus…that includes sharing in His death and resurrection…all the suffering and overcoming that His death means…as well as sharing in the glory that is to follow. Without this foundation, our fellowship in the body of Christ is nothing but plastic fruit…a pretence, not the powerful reality that sets us apart from the world as the true children of God. 

We can only experience true fellowship in the body of Christ as we participate fully in the shared life of His people…rejoicing and suffering with each other as one “loaf”…one body with many parts. 

“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is no other group of people on earth that is intimately bound together in a shared life than Jesus’ body because…first, we are one with Him…sharing in His life…and, second, because we are one with each other, sharing our lives and resources with one another as one body. 

The love of God through Jesus is the glue that binds us together. 

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

20 BY THE WAY…WHAT IS THE REAL WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Bible Study, ,

We live in an era when the work of God’s Holy Spirit has come to the fore in spectacular ways. The rise of pentecostalism and its offshoot, the charismatic movement, has caused many of the branches of Christianity to become more aware of the Holy Spirit, not only as a doctrine, but also as a person…real and active in people’s lives. 

The real presence of the Spirit in the church has been recognised and has even altered our worship style from formal to a greater measure of freedom of expression. 

However…

…as often happens, this “freedom” has led to some excesses outside of the Biblical pattern…excesses which have been attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit but have nothing to do with His work in salvation, sanctification, or the day-to-day Christian life. 

What have the “miraculous” manifestations of, for example, gold dust or gold feathers falling on a congregation…gold fillings in teeth…people acting like animals during a worship service…or even ”holy laughter” or “falling under the power” have to do with the evidence of His presence, power, or work? 

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Real faith in God does not need outward signs. 

“A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Can this verse also be applied to those who need the above kind of signs to convince them that the Holy Spirit is present and at work? 

“For we live by believing and not by seeing.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, what does the Bible teach us about the work of the Holy Spirit?

There is no clearer summary of the Holy Spirit’s work than in Jesus’ own words shortly before His death. He wanted His disciples to understand that His departure was not loss but gain because the Holy Spirit in them would be far more to them than His presence with them. 

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If the Holy Spirit was coming to be Jesus’ “other self”…one just like Himself…to be in them, then what would He do? It is reasonable to think that He would carry on where Jesus, in His physical presence, had left off. He would make real inside them what Jesus had done and was about to do for them. His entire focus would be Jesus…

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬, ‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Since these were Jesus’ final significant words to His disciples before His departure, would it not be reasonable to think that He would tell them what was most important for them to know before He left them? Where do any of the frivolous “signs” feature in these precious moments, and yet… these are things are treated as part of the “work” of the Spirit!

We need to take Jesus’ words seriously and use them to measure everything that is attributed to the Holy Spirit. 

Salvation is what Jesus did to reconcile us to the Father…to provide forgiveness of sin…to erase our guilt…and to reinstate us as God’s beloved children. The Holy Spirit is powerfully active in convincing us of sin…

“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me;”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life…

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…revealing Jesus to us…

“All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…and making real in us what Jesus did for us through our faith in Him. 

Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit restores in us the image of Jesus, setting us apart from sin to God, and transforming us into the likeness of the Son…

“…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us…

…convinces us that we are righteous…

…and witnesses in us that we are God’s children…

…The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The third and significant work of the Spirit is in the day-to-day walk we have with Jesus. The Spirit lives in us and leads us…He is the reality of Jesus’ presence in us, supplying for us the life of Jesus to live out who He is in us to the world around us. 

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God…”

The Holy Spirit provides the grace, power, and wisdom to overcome the flesh in us…to obey Jesus as Lord…and to navigate the tests and temptations that life in a fallen world presents. 

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ NIV

Can you see, then, that the real signs of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit are in not spectacular manifestations but in the slow and steady transformation of God’s people into the image and likeness of Jesus…reproducing the character of Jesus described as the fruit of the Spirit…

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are the real signs that the Holy Spirit is present and working. 

We can conclude with confidence that, if Jesus is not the focus, then the Holy Spirit is not the one doing the work. 

19 BY THE WAY…WHAT IS THE GIFT?

Bible Study, ,

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

According to Paul, God has given us a gift beyond description. It’s not easy to understand what he meant in the context. Let’s look at this gift from two different perspectives. 

Paul had spent two chapters, according to the artificial divisions imposed on his letter, talking about generosity and giving. He commended the people in the Macedonian churches for their generosity despite their poverty. They contributed to the needs of the saints in Jerusalem during a time of great need. He encouraged the Christians in Corinth, , who had begun to make a collection, to finish what they had started. 

“And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In the next chapter, Paul launched into a detailed explanation of God’s economic system. As He often did, God used a natural law to illustrate a spiritual principle. In this case, He used the law of the harvest…planting seed and reaping a harvest. 

Generous giving is like planting seeds…the more seeds one plants, the greater the harvest. 

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Seeds have two functions. They feed the hungry…for example…wheat seeds make bread. They also produce more seeds to grow more plants to produce more seeds to eat and to sow….an endless cycle of sowing and harvesting. 

However, God is the source of the seeds, so…He should be the one who determines how much we eat and how much we sow. 

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God doesn’t only provide the seed, but he also does something amazing in the heart.  The crop we reap when we “sow“ into the needs of others not only produces more “seed” but it is also yields an ongoing harvest of righteousness. 

In the Bible, righteousness and generosity are often used interchangeably. 

“The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously…I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭21‬, ‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It seems that generosity produces a change in the heart. Our natural inclination is towards selfishness and greed…ignoring the needs of others and acquiring more for ourselves. Generosity breaks this power in us…the power of “mammon” gives way to a heart of love that gives…which is exactly who God is!

Jesus explained this principle like this…we will serve who or what we love. 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a miracle of grace…an unspeakable gift as Paul declared. A changed human heart, expressed in generosity, is a mirror of God’s heart. 

However, we can interpret this verse in another way. 

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul may be looking at God’s greatest gift…His own Son…as the model of generosity for us to follow. God is always a giver. He gives to His people in every possible way. 

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He even gives to those who hate and reject Him just because He is who He is…

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The point is that God, who gives lavishly out of His abundance because that is who He is, will never stop giving to those who give generously to others. He will keep the current flowing because His economic system works on giving and receiving. Unlike the world’s system, which puts self and selfishness in the centre, God’s system flourishes when others come first. H is greatest gift to sinful humanity is Jesus…who gave Himself for us. 

Can you see, then, that these two perspectives merge into one? God has given us two great gifts through this principle of generosity…the gift of righteousness which confirms the righteousness of Jesus in us  without which we have no standing with God…and the gift of Jesus…who is the foundation  and model of everything God has given to us and has done for us. 

So, we can say, with deep gratitude in our hearts…that we are thankful for God’s gift of Jesus and for the gift of righteousness that He multiplies in us when we give, and that, through our generosity, He confirms His work of grace in us. 

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

18 BY THE WAY…WHAT IS GOD’S AGENDA?

Christian Life, ,

I have learned, by trial and error, that God has an agenda for our lives that is often very different from what we think, what we desire, and what we plan.  Let me explain…

About forty years ago, a friend and I went to the United States to attend a Christian women’s conference in New Orleans. Our trip extended for one week beyond the conference week…and we had grandiose visions of God using us to minister to people in America after the conference.  

During the meetings, we met a lady who invited us to her home in Los Angeles for a few days,  so…after the conference, we duly took a bus ride to California to meet up with her there. Plan A, so we thought, was beginning to take shape!

Despite our expectations, plan A didn’t happen but…God’s plan began to unfold. We did not have opportunities to minister to anyone. Instead, God arranged the things that happened to minister to us. Many times, when we didn’t know where to go or what to do, He intervened, set our feet on a path and gently led us along His way. 

We came home from the USA with one deep lesson imprinted on our hearts and…not easily forgotten…and the lesson? God is a faithful Father! We were two women alone in a great big country…a big city…with very little money…and a week to burn before our flight home and…He took care of us. We looked back on those days…not making a name for ourselves but…the memory of a loving Father who taught us to trust Him in a strange country. How naive we were!

This experience has lingered… and a lesson I have had to learn many times…that God is far more concerned about what He can do for me, and in me, than what I can do for Him. Yes, He graciously works through us to bless others…often when we are, thankfully, unaware of what He is doing but…more often, He works in us to move us ever closer to His goal…to transform us into the image of His Son. 

Our problem is that we are inclined to take the credit when we think that God is working through us. God will never put up to with this so…He masks His work through us by working something deeper in us. 

Paul has to learn this lesson in a painful way. 

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth…But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 Paul had some out-of-body experiences that tempted him to become proud…to elevate himself above others but…God put paid to that idea by allowing him to go through some rough times…persecution, hardship, suffering of one kind or another…so that he had no opportunity to become proud. He was too busy batting away at his own troubles to set himself up as someone special. 

Paul recognised that this was God working in him but…he didn’t like the suffering so…he asked God to take it away. 

However, God said, “No!” 

The heavenly visions had their place in Paul’s experience but so did the weaknesses he was forced to endure as God’s chosen servant. What he was about to learn was that God used both of these situations to knock off any pride or self-sufficiency that might be surfacing in him. There was no place for pride…that “I am somebody. I can do this by myself” attitude that kills dependence on God. 

Paul learned this lesson well…so well, in fact, that he began to embrace his weaknesses as his best friend. 

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, what’s the lesson in this for us? 

I have learned that I must not be so quick to think that God needs me to do things for Him that I forget what a frail and failing creature I am. He works, in all things, for my good…to conform me to the image of His Son.  However much He might work through me to bless others, His primary goal and priority is to change me…to expose the darkness that still lurks inside me…the selfish behaviour…the motives that I don’t even recognise…the attitudes that betray the old nature still very much alive in me. 

God has pledged to restore the image of Jesus in His people. He is calling us to holiness. He does not want plastic fruit hung on the outside of our lives for decoration but the real fruit of our union with Jesus that grows, slowly, on the inside. 

It’s the real fruit that displays the nature of the tree. So, let’s keep in mind that anything God does through us for the sake of others is His business. Our business is to work out through faith and obedience, the life of Jesus that is at work in us. 

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬