Purpose of His Coming

The establishment of free will presented contradiction requiring a divine and eternal plan. In order for God to save creation and for creation to live before God, God had to find Himself in creation. Christ as the TRUE IMAGE is The Kinsman Redeemer (satisfying the law of kinsman redemption) for man. The church had to be created to allow man to live with God. The TRUE IMAGE HEADS THE CHURCH and assures us of the love of God.
The Image and Likeness:Both of these words are found in the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament, they make statements about the nature of man. In the New Testament, they make important statements about Jesus and the destiny of those who have been washed in His blood.

Old Testament-Mankind in God's image and likeness

New Testament-Christ in God's image

Christ in mankind's likeness

Renewal of the image and likeness

Two Hebrew words are used in the Old Testament identifying man as being made in the image and likeness of God. The word "selem" means image as a representation. This word is used primarily to designate an idol shaped in the form of a person or an animal. The word d^emut, likeness is a word of comparison i.e. it is used to compare/explain something by referring to something else. We can not understand God by comparing man; however, we can understand the nature of man by comparing man with the Lord.
Man is a likeness-image of God.

The book of Genesis makes it clear that the image-likeness is not of a physical form; the material for our bodies came from the ground. It is our inner nature that is reflective of the nature of God. In order to share with God, we must do it personally; therefore, we had to have intellect, emotion and morals reflecting a likeness to God. This likeness is what sets man apart from the rest of creation and is perpetuated through generations by our ability to reproduce (unlike the angels).

Christ in God's Image is the New Testament teaching that Jesus perfectly expressed the Image of God. The Greek word eikon is used to express Jesus' relationship with God. This is not a comparison; it means an exact representation. In Hebrew 1:3, the Greek word, charakter is used for Christ being the exactness of God.

Heb 1:3: Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image(charakter) of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;¹

Christ in man's likeness, in His humanity represented the restoration of man to the Godhead, qualifying as an acceptable sacrifice. Romans 8:3 shows that Jesus represented the sinfulness of man and was condemned in the flesh. Philippians 2:7 describes how Jesus took upon Himself the likeness of man.

The Fall did not take away the personhood from man; therefore because of our personhood, the True Image and the Cross, we can expect renewal/restoration in the eikon relationship. As I write this, His Holy Spirit is transforming me until the day of redemption when we will be given our resurrection bodies and be conformed to His Image.

The image of God in man has been corrupted by man's sin; however, the True Image, Jesus Christ, has divinely restored that image. Man in God's image is distinct from the Creator, Jesus Christ in God's image is the same substance intrinsically and completely, even though He took on humanity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are the same substance; therefore, when God the Son took on humanity, His deity remained intact. Therefore, He was the TRUE IMAGE and at this point, I would like to refer to the scripture found in Colossians 1:15-20:⁷

The Son is the pre-existent Word of God, the agent of creation and the final Word of God, the agent of redemption. Personally, I like the theology of Charis Theological Seminary i.e. in order to accomplish His purpose God had to step into creation to create a divine resolution for His creation. That divine resolution is Jesus Christ. He had to create Himself, the TRUE IMAGE. Scripture teaches us that God always revealed to man what He was going to do. Jesus Christ as the exact image, identical to God represents His revelation of His Glory in us. Colossians 1:19 and 2:9 describes the indwelling fullness of God in Christ. Philippians 2:6 describes Christ as the pre-existing Form of God, and of course, chapters 1,9,13 and 14 in the gospel of John confirms the Humanity of Christ begotten in His image. As the Image of God, Jesus revealed knowledge of God, holiness of God, righteousness and Lordship of God. Again, as I write this Jesus is transforming me to the true image of God; as I mature spiritually, I participate more in His nature.

The love that God wanted to share with His creation had to be able to respond to Him. Therefore, man had to have the freedom to choose; man had to be a moral being with intellect and a will; man had to have a free will. In the Garden of Eden, man used that free will to choose against God allowing sin into the material world. God being holy could not be in the presence of sinful man; therefore, He had to reconcile man back to Himself. Jesus Christ is that reconciliation/bridge to the Godhead. The love attribute is active not passive); therefore, in order to keep His integrity and accomplish His purpose for man, God had to die as a man. His resurrection, ascension and presence on the throne confirms to us that He was the TRUE IMAGE.

The Greek word for church, ekklesia refers to the household of God; a group of people who has responded to the gospel message by trusting Jesus and joining the company of others whose lives have found new focus in relationship with the Lord, having faith in Jesus in the fullest sense, depending on Him. This is a unique relationship and is not clearly understood outside the body. In this relationship, we can understand God's will in our lives. The church represents the body of Christ or His bride. The church, today, lives on earth as the fiancée of Christ. The relationship between Jesus and His church is the example for marriage on earth. Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loves the church. The marriage union will take place at the rapture, the feast/supper for this marriage is revealed in Revelations 19:7-9.

The Bible presents marriage as a divine institution, ordained and regulated by the word of God. The pattern in the husband/wife relationship relates to God. Marriage is the only institution that was established by God before the Fall. When Adam said "bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh" he was identifying the likeness of Eve to himself. Marriage on earth is an image of God. Idolatry and adultery were equated to and by the Old Testament saints) revealing God as the husband to faithless Israel. Despite Israel's sin, God did not reject them, calling them back into a relationship with Him. He continued to love and forgive. Human beings need intimate relationships with others; marriage provides that opportunity to have and to understand relationships. In the biblical definition of marriage, the husband's headship is expressed by his giving himself up for his wife, committing himself to help her achieve her full potential and what is best for her. The wife's submission represents acceptance and dependence of that provision by doing what is right by the standard placed before her without conflicting with divine law. Husbands are legally and socially responsible for their wives; wives are to submit to the protection of those laws of responsibility and sociability. The spousal relationship is one of reciprocity and in a Christian marriage, we learn to accept, love, encourage, forgive and participate in another's life. God uses the institution of marriage to reveal our relationship to Him.

Scripture tells us that the husband's body belong to the wife and the wife's body belongs to the husband. Likewise, the church is Christ's body, an extension of Himself, currently on earth. We, His body must submit to Him as the Head of the church as the wife submits to the head of the marriage. Love, intimacy and involvement with one another's lives are essential if we are to function as a body (Romans 12:9; Ephesians 4:25-32 and 1 Corinthians 13). The image (church) as the body is to function as an inter-dependent, ministering community, gathered so that the members can serve one another, and in this way the individual and the community will grow to maturity. This is the same as the marriage relationship and the grace of God allowing us to grow. To live together as Christ's body/church requires the development of close personal relationships, for the ministry of members to one another, for the experience of family love and spiritual maturity. Marriage is an exclusive relationship. The total unity of persons, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual, comprehended by the concept of "one flesh" eliminates adultery/polygamy as an option for the espoused. Marriage represents intimacy and richness in fellowship.

The Old Testament figure of marriage was the Kingdom of God and Christ pictured through the feasts and sacred writings. The New Testament figure of marriage is Jesus and the consummation of his reign, the marriage between God and His people (i.e. Christ as the bridegroom and the church as His bride). According to earthly custom the woman leaves her community to join her husband's community. The bride waits for the return of the bridegroom to come and take her away to his home. Likewise, the church today waits for the bridegroom to come and take the church to His home. Marriage represents reconciliation, restoration and rejoicing, the church represents reconciliation, restoration and rejoicing. The True Image bonds lives on earth spiritually to heaven and eternity and marriage is a spiritual union bonding lives on earth. 

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