December 6, 2023 Show with David Reece on “Defining the Image of God”

Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson,

19th century hymn writer George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports

legend Jim Thorpe, it's Iron Sharpens Iron.

This is a radio platform in which pastors, Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning

issues facing the church and the world today.

Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man

sharpens another.

Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to

have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.

It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener,

with your own questions.

And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen.

Good afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet

Earth.

We're listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.

This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Wednesday on this

sixth day of December, 2023.

As always, I am absolutely thrilled to have back on the program a returning guest who has proven to be

one of my favorite guests, and a growing number of my audience members reflect

that opinion.

His name is Pastor David Reese of Puritan Reform Church in Phoenix,

Arizona.

He is also a conference speaker and the CEO of Armored Republic.

And today, we are going to be addressing defining the image of

God, also frequently described as the Imago Dei.

And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Pastor David Reese.

Brother, thank you for having me on.

It's an honor to be here.

I'm excited to be able to talk about the image of God and how it relates to knowledge, holiness and righteousness.

And I hope it's of great practical use to our audience and is an honor, an honoring discussion for the

Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Well, as we always do when we have you on, please, for the sake especially

of our listeners who have not yet heard you on the show, give us an explanation of Puritan Reform

Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Puritan Reform Church is a church that holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith.

We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture.

We believe that every jot and tittle is inspired and preserved.

And our desire is to teach the whole counsel of God to disciples and to evangelize.

And our goal is to make sure that we are teaching right doctrine, have right worship, and that the

government of the church is ordered in accordance with the appointment of the king of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so our desire to apply all those things carefully and to see disciples

raised, not just by having sort of a let's gather as many as we possibly can to get together, but rather to

see the law order of Christ used and to see people discipled

and to see that in depth and not just having kind of the gathering of people, but instead trying to disciple

the people that have been given to us by the Lord.

And if anybody wants to find out more about Puritan Reform Church of Phoenix, Arizona, you can visit

their website, puritanphx, an abbreviation for phoenix .com,

puritanphx .com.

Now tell us about Armored Republic, the company for which you are CEO.

Yeah, Armored Republic is a business that we manufacture body armor.

Our desire to manufacture body armor, the way we think about it is body armor is a tool.

Of liberty.

So we think about wanting to honor Christ in all of life.

And so the mission statement of the company is to provide tools of liberty to free men to defend their God

-given rights to the honor of Jesus Christ.

And we think about the idea of your rights being something that can be taken by criminals, whether they be petty or

whether they be grand tyrants.

And so, and everything in between.

And so the concern is to get into the hands of individuals the equipment they need to be able to

resist evil.

And I think in particular, heads of household have a duty to defend themselves, but also to defend everybody under their charge.

And so I would encourage men to be ready to be able to rally around the lesser magistrate to resist tyrants, and

also to be able to be ready to resist petty criminals if anything were to come up.

And one thing that just, this is not meant to be some sort of a crazy reality, but I think sometimes people forget that

something like 1 of people in the country have to deal with a violent crime or

some sort of a threat of violence on a yearly basis.

So if you just take that out over your life, you think about the reality that there's a majority probability that in

your lifetime, you're going to have to deal with some sort of a violent crime or a threat of violence.

And so having tools to be ready to deal with that makes it so that you have a greater preparedness

and it's a reasonable risk to prepare for.

And so I would just encourage people to be ready and equipped to defend themselves and.

Those whom they love.

And the website for Armored Republic?

ArmoredRepublic .com.

It's ArmoredRepublic .com.

And if you want to, it's easy to find both by simply checking me out on X, formerly known as Twitter, at

real David Reese.

So that's at real David Reese.

Great.

And I'm going to give our listeners our email address if they have any questions.

If you would like to join the conversation with a question of your own, our email address is ChrisArnzen at

gmail .com, C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com.

As always, give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside

the USA.

Well, if you could please define for us the historically

accurate definition of the image of God, and we have

to obviously be careful not to abuse this glorious biblical

truth by arriving at the conclusion

that all men, regardless of whether they are saved or lost, are the children of God,

and that all men and women are our brothers and sisters, even if they reject Christ and his gospel.

But if you could give us this definition.

Yeah.

So the image of God, if we're going to get the shortest possible definition,

the image of God is reason.

And so reason is the ability to think, and

thinking is distinct from just having some sort of an awareness or

having feelings.

Those things are distinct.

So animals, for example, have feelings or a sort of awareness.

They operate off of innate structures that we could call

instincts.

And so there's this sort of, there's a distinction between simply being aware or

what you might call sentient, being sentient, you have feelings.

And that's distinct from being a thinker.

And so the image of God is rationality.

And when we think about humans, humans are the image of God.

And this ability to think, I want to run through a couple of things in scripture that

would help you to see that the image of God is reason.

And I also want to explain what this means in more detail.

So there's a lot to say here.

And I think that if we spend some time meditating on it, we will find that it is highly practical.

But when we think about, for example, in the beginning of Genesis, it talks about man being the image of God.

And then there's also the giving of authority, the dominion mandate is granted near there.

And there's a commission to subdue the earth, to work and to keep.

These things are associated.

So sometimes people have talked about dominion being the image of God.

And dominion is not the image of God.

Dominion is authority.

And authority, when exercised with power, is the exercise of

dominion.

And so we are to subdue the earth.

And it's necessary that you be rational.

But on the other side, if you

are rational, it does not necessarily imply that you have authority.

So you could be...

And unfortunately, my guest is beginning to break up a little bit.

We apologize for the technical difficulties.

Are you back now, Pastor Reese?

Can you hear me okay?

Yes.

Okay.

So the image of God is rationality, and it's not dominion.

People often associate it with dominion because of the fact that in Genesis 1 and 2, when the

image is talked about, there's a close association with dominion.

There's a grant of dominion.

But dominion is authority.

And it is the exercising of authority, but subduing is how

that's accomplished.

So we subdue the earth.

We work.

We keep.

The working is the positive building.

The keeping is the preserving of the gains that have already been attained.

And so dominion presupposes rationality.

But being rational does not necessarily mean you have authority.

So those things are distinct.

For example, the fact that I have rationality is sometimes used by people to say,

therefore, I should have authority over animals.

Well, God owns all the animals, and He defines the authority that we have.

And for example, Chris, if you own a dog, I don't have authority over your dog just because I'm rational.

It's your property.

Right.

Of course, you have authority over it if it's attacking you.

Of course.

Right.

That's right.

But you think about, like, for example, man was not granted the right to eat animals until Genesis 9.

So in the beginning of Genesis, there's no – in the garden, there's no eating of animals.

And that's because one thing is there's no death, right?

And so this idea that then after the fall, there's still not an immediate grant of the right to eat animals, even though animal

sacrifice is instituted.

And so it's not until Genesis 9 that we have the right to eat animals.

So this authority is still defined by God.

Dominion is not just a broad grant to do whatever we want with the things that God has

made.

It is a specific defining of power, a defining of rights that we have.

So image of God is not dominion.

The image of God is rationality.

And one of the things that's really helpful to see this is, for example, in both the Hebrew text of the Old Testament

and the Greek text of the New Testament, you have places where people that are equated to animals or to

unreasoning beasts.

And the idea here is that when somebody begins to go against the law of God or if somebody

is doing something that is destructive to their own good, it is irrational.

And so, for example, in 2 Peter 2 .12, heretics and people that are engaged in

gross sin are equated to brute beasts is how the English is normally translated.

But that word brute is actually eloga, which is unreasoning.

The eloga, like logos, and a being like not, like atheist.

Like an atheist is somebody who believes in no God, right?

A being no.

So this idea of eloga is the brute beast, the unreasoning beast.

So we have animals on one side that are unreasoning.

When Nebuchadnezzar, for example, has his reason taken away, he becomes like a beast.

So we have the difference between man and beast being shown for us in terms of this idea of reason.

Furthermore, we find other texts where in the New Testament we are told that we are being

renewed after the image of Christ and what we're told in those passages is that we are renewed after the

image of Christ in knowledge, holiness, and righteousness.

And you can find that being listed, for example, in the Westminster Shorter Catechism or Larger Catechism when the image of God is discussed.

And so man is made after the image of God.

Man is the image of God.

And that image is rationality.

And rationality implies knowledge, holiness, and righteousness.

I want to unpack that some.

But the idea here on a basic level is that if you're rational, you inherently are someone

who has thought content.

You have beliefs.

And so if those are rightly formed beliefs, it's going to be knowledge.

If they're wrongly formed beliefs, it's going to be ignorance or error.

And you've froze again.

If you're thinking about it.

You can't be a thinker without thought content.

Furthermore, if we deal with the idea of holiness, holiness is purpose.

When it's rightly formed, its purpose is holiness.

Improperly formed purposes are unholiness.

And so to be unholy.

And then we deal with choice.

So rational beings necessarily have thought content that they're thinking about.

They have purposes they're pursuing.

And they have choices that they make.

And the choices, the purposes they have.

Rooted in the knowledge or the thought content that they have.

So the choices.

And if they're improperly formed, they are unrighteous.

I'm sorry Chris, am I cutting out?

You cut out a little bit.

But they were very short cut outs.

Okay.

So again, knowledge, holiness, and righteousness are properly formed

rationality.

If you have knowledge, it's because you have thought content that's properly formed.

If you have holiness, it's your purposes that are properly formed.

If you have righteousness, it's choice properly formed.

And so righteousness is going to be applying the means that God has given in terms of the law.

Holiness is the goal of glorifying God.

And knowledge is truth that you believe that you can show to be true.

And that showing ultimately comes down to showing it from the word of God.

And so that's the properly formed image of God.

And so what we want is to be renewed after the image of God in knowledge.

So we want to learn what the scriptures teach.

In holiness, we want our goals to be focused on the glory of God.

And in our choices, in righteousness, we want to make choices that are rooted in

glorifying God based upon what He has revealed.

And so that would be the matured, the renewed man

after the image of Christ.

And so the goal is for every Christian to manifest that maximally in this

life.

And also that when we are glorified, that will simply be the way it is.

And we'll just be growing in knowledge more and more and be finding more and more effective ways as we mature further in the

glorified condition.

And as we are resurrected, we will be able to then exercise in the new heavens and new earth in that

consummate form.

We'll be able to enjoy a labor that has no toil, no strife,

and no old age, sickness, or death.

And so that is sort of what we have to look forward to is this constantly enjoyable, fulfilling work

glorifying God in enjoyment together in the presence of our Lord, Brother Christ.

And that is, I think, a glorious thing to think about.

So there's more to go into in detail on these, but that's sort of the flyover.

Now, going back to something that I said at the outset,

how do we biblically make sure and differentiate

between the fact that all of humanity universally

is made in the image of God against or distinguish it

from the error that many have come to conclude

by that fact that we are all brothers and sisters and that God is the father of all of

humanity?

Yeah, so in one sense, we can talk about the idea that God is the father

of all humanity in the sense that he's the creator of all.

But he's obviously not the father of all humanity in the sense of he has not adopted every human being.

And so we need to differentiate between creation and adoption.

And so the image of God is an important thing for us to realize.

This is about the nature of man.

Man is a rational creature with a body.

And that differentiates us from angels who are rational creatures without bodies.

And obviously that differentiates us from God because God is a rational spirit.

The three persons of the Trinity are rational spirits, but they are not created.

And so they are without body and also without being created.

But yet the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit are rational spirits, they're rational minds.

And so rationality being shared by God and the angels and by men.

Now, we have to realize that when we look at, for example, the angels, there are the righteous angels

and there are the fallen angels.

And both are rational, but the fallen angels suppress their rationality and

suppress the knowledge of the truth.

And they have rejected truth and have rejected God as

the highest good and have lied to themselves and they deceive themselves even in their pursuit of their own

divination.

And that's why they seek their own worship, for example.

Worshiping idols is demon worship.

And so when we think about this idea of the race of man, we need to remember that there

are elect and reprobate men just as there are elect and reprobate angels.

And though rationality is shared, that rationality is not the basis of God's election.

God elects and reprobates and holds us all accountable using our rationality as a part of our

accountability.

But he does not elect everyone who's rational.

And so just being the image of God is not sufficient for our salvation.

Salvation is not by being human alone.

Instead, what we find is that being human makes us so that we are able to be held accountable.

But what we find is that God has made all men, but he has

adopted only those who are represented by Christ in the covenant of grace who are given

faith by the work of the Holy Spirit.

So the Holy Spirit gives faith to all the elect.

Christ has paid for the sins of all of the elect.

And we are all adopted.

All of the elect are adopted after they are given faith.

So they're given faith, and that instantaneously results in them being justified in the righteousness side of God and

in them being adopted, counted as sons, in the sight of God.

And so there's a legal possession, a legal right, a legal inheriting of the good things

of God.

And that would include, for example, our renewal.

A part of our adoption is a promise that we will possess the renewed, restored image

of God, that we will be renewed after the image of Christ.

That's one of the glorious things there.

So hopefully that makes clear the difference, the image of God versus adoption.

Well, we have to go to our first commercial break right now.

And if you'd like to join the conversation, send in your email to chrisarnson at gmail .com.

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But please, if it's a general question, give us your first name, city and state and country of residence.

Don't go away.

We're going to be right back with David Reese right after these messages.

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We're now back with our guest David Reese pastor of Puritan Reform Church in

Phoenix Arizona conference speaker and CEO of Armored Republic

and we are discussing the image of God.

And we do have uh a listener in Thunder Bay Ontario Canada who

is actually asking a question about something that you and I Pastor David

briefly discussed before the show started.

Uh fits.

In Thunder Bay Ontario Canada says about 4 or 5 years ago Chris

Arnzen had a 2 part interview with a Reformed pastor in Northern Ireland who is trying

to make the case that only the elect of God are made in the image of God.

How do you respond to that?

Yeah.

So I would say that um in one sense.

I agree.

In one sense I disagree.

So let me explain that.

So first of all in the sense that I disagree I disagree that only the elect are the image.

Of God.

Because everybody has rationality.

But then there's this.

Deforming of their rationality in the following senses the content the thought content

people.

Have.

Um.

There is.

We're told in Romans 1 that um.

That the that the.

Eternal power and divine nature of God.

Is um.

Is a part of.

General.

Revelation um.

And so.

What happens.

Is uh.

The the definition of God the divine nature is something.

That we.

Suppress and we take the attributes.

Of God.

And we take them and apply.

Them to other.

Things so we might worship the universe we might.

Um you know.

Have some some ridiculous you know demon false.

God.

Besides that whatever.

Um.

And we.

We we.

Take.

The.

Attributes.

Of God.

And apply them.

We.

Attribute them.

We.

Impute them into something other than.

God now.

In that way we are both the image.

Of God.

We're being rational we're thinking and then we're also.

Destroying.

The image.

Of God.

And that we are destroying knowledge um.

And so.

Our purposes.

What we know if we're.

Pursuing the glory.

Of God.

We have holiness if we're.

Pursuing.

Something.

Else.

We're.

Unholy.

And.

Same with righteousness you have.

Our.

Choice unrighteousness being you know breaking the law.

Of God.

Righteousness.

Keeping it.

So if we are.

If we.

Are.

You know.

If we.

Instead of.

Knowledge we have.

Error.

Instead of.

Holiness we have.

You know.

Profanation or vulgarity and if.

Instead of.

Righteousness.

We have.

Unrighteousness.

We've.

Obviously.

We don't.

Have the.

Image of God there in that sense right we're.

Not.

It's a deformed or suppressed or devolved or broken version it's.

Corrupted.

That would be.

The corruption of the nature and so.

There's this the idea.

Of man as the image of.

God.

Has been.

Corrupted.

In that way.

And so.

In that sense.

That we.

Don't.

Have.

The properly formed image of.

God there sure.

Only those who have been.

Regenerated.

Are.

Actually renewed.

After the.

Image of.

God but in.

The sense that everybody has rationality and that.

Our.

Accountability depends upon.

That.

Rationality the image.

Of God.

Applies to everybody.

And so.

In the general.

Sense there's a there's.

The image.

Of God.

Is not destroyed it is.

Corrupted.

And.

Our guest froze are you back Dave.

I am.

We were.

Doing speed.

Tests and stuff.

On the break.

And everything and everything was looking great.

I don't know what's going on.

I'm really sorry.

Everything seems theoretically looks great over here.

The last word you said that was audible was corrupted.

Ok so there's a.

Corruption.

Of the image of.

God.

In everybody.

Who has.

Fallen and there.

Is.

In.

The.

Reprobate.

No.

Restoring of that corruption in the elect.

At the time of regeneration there's a restoring and then there is also.

Furthermore.

In the process.

Of.

Sanctification.

A further.

Renewing.

After the.

Image of Christ after the image.

Of God and so that is the way.

In which you can you can say I can say yes or no but hopefully it's been very clear that no I

disagree.

That even.

The reprobate are the image.

Of God.

In a corrupted way because of rationality whereas the elect.

Once they.

Are regenerated they are renewed and then they are.

Further.

Renewed.

Through.

Sanctification and fully renewed at glorification.

So to clarify for our listeners unfamiliar with the term reprobate because that term is

probably rarely used outside of reformed churches but reprobate would be

describing someone who is not of the elect.

And we can really only know that someone was reprobate after

they die and are known to have died.

Rejecting Christ am I correct.

Because obviously we can't know who God's elect are and who his non -elect are

unless of course we can have confidence who his elect are when they come to Christ and make professions

and repent and live a believable life that is spirit -filled

and an obedience to Christ.

But we cannot really in confidence declare somebody.

A.

Reprobate while they're still alive.

Can we.

Can.

Really.

That.

Someone.

Was.

Reprobate.

Correct.

Because.

Obviously.

We.

Can't.

Know.

Who.

His elect are unless.

You know that you are elect and you have you have assurance of salvation and the

election gives you a grounds knowing that God is never going to let you go.

He's not going to cause you to to fall.

He's going to uphold you.

So there's the perseverance of the Saints.

The second one is when you're looking at other people the only you know if supernaturally God can reveal

somebody's elect.

For example as he did about Judas it was prophesied beforehand that Judas was reprobate

and and so.

And you can have people that it's told were told our elect.

So for example like Paul was told you know that he was saved you know.

And so other people could hear that too that was told to them that he was saved.

And so we have those examples of the idea of supernatural revelation about somebody else being elect to reprobate.

But apart from that what we're required to do is to look upon the external evidence.

And so we we look at people who are they have a profession of faith we think they're elect.

And if somebody is is you know is behaving in a way where they're claiming to be.

You know to not be a believer you go.

Well maybe they will be.

Maybe though maybe they'll become a believer.

Maybe they're elect.

Let's preach the gospel to them.

And so we use the evidences of good works and profession of faith as the basis to see if we think

somebody else is a believer.

But we cannot read their minds.

And we do.

Not know the secret decrees of God.

Now clarify that if you could should we not preach the gospel to a seemingly

unrepentant serial killer on death row hoping that the Lord will

change his heart.

Absolutely so.

It is a supernatural.

Work of God for anybody to believe the gospel.

We have no power in ourselves to believe the gospel and so it is entirely a work of the

Holy Spirit to cause a person to be born again.

And so the there's no more difficult for a serial killer to come to belief than it is for a

you know two -year -old raised in a Christian home to come to belief they are both supernatural works of the Holy Spirit

resurrecting dead souls.

And so that that resurrection from the dead from spiritual deadness is the work of giving

faith.

And so we should absolutely preach the gospel to everybody and we should call all men to repentance but we know that

God knows who he's going to bring to repentance he accomplishes his purposes.

We're told in the book of Isaiah for example that the Word of God does not return void but it accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent.

And so we know when we preach the gospel it will either cause a person to believe as God intended or it

will harden a person and increase their responsibility for their rejection as God intended.

And so we can have surety that the success of the purpose of that word preached

will always be accomplished.

And so it glorifies God in either case.

But we do not know who God has elected and so we are called to love our neighbors and to

you know to treat everybody who we do not know if they are saved or not as a person who

could be saved because we don't know God knows and he will bring the preaching of the Word to all those he intends to save.

But we don't know who they are.

And so we're commanded to preach the gospel promiscuously broadly to to everybody.

And one last thing is simply that those who are false prophets who are called Antichrists

that some people will you know the idea that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is claiming to speak for the Holy Spirit falsely.

So I would say that I think we've been given for example an evidentiary basis to see false prophets for

example the papacy or the false prophet of Mormonism or something like that as people who are

who are these sort of people that are blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

So false prophets I think are examples of people that were we have an evidentiary base to say that we don't think that they are you

know elect and so we're supposed to fight them in a more vigorous way.

But that doesn't mean they're not human.

It doesn't mean that they're not in the image of God.

But that means that they are people who have been revealed to us to be enemies and we have to deal with them in a way that we should we don't really expect false

prophets to repent.

We just have we have to fight them.

Okay we have Christiana in Feather Falls

California and Christiana says how do we differentiate the fact that

we are made in the image of God from the heresies of men like Kenneth

Copeland and Jimmy Swaggart who teach that God the Father actually has

a physical body just like you and I.

And of course we could add to that the Mormons but of course the Mormons have a lot more problems

than that in their in their belief system as do the Word of Faith

Pentecostals.

But if you could let our listeners know why the image of God doctrine does

not teach that that we are made in God's image which would include the fact that he is a body like

we do.

You know the scriptures.

Teach that God does not have bones it teaches that he is I have flesh.

So so we have that we have that that teaching of the scriptures and furthermore the fact that

the image of God is equated to knowledge holiness and righteousness and that it's the

difference between man and beast is the image of God.

Those things help to make that plain.

This idea that God has a body.

I mean there's many other systematic and scriptural reasons why that would be wrong.

For one thing we know that that matter itself is is changeable.

It's it's not a it's not an eternal thing.

The scriptures teach us that there's a beginning to the creation and we're told that God is a

spirit.

And and the fact that God is a spirit and that he creates the heavens and the

earth in time that's the beginning of time.

Because in the beginning Genesis 1 1 is in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And so the place where there's the space itself and matter are all created.

And to have God have a body have a material body is a category error.

To suggest that that if he's eternal and he has a body then space itself has to be

eternal and matter has to be eternal.

So those are things that are.

That are that are category errors that are contradicting many places of scripture.

But but furthermore the idea that that the image of God would make us

somehow have to be divine is connected to that.

And that is the first sin is believing that we will be as

God that we can be the definers of good and evil that we can have the attributes of God that are distinctly gods.

And so to mix to make God like a creature is a basic idolatry error.

And to try to make man like God in ways that only God is is another type of idolatry error.

So the raising of ourselves to be God and also the bringing down of God to be a

creature are examples of that kind of error by.

The way Christiana if you're a first -time questioner please give us your full address

in Feather Falls California because Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service

CVBBS .com will mail you a free brand new New American Standard

Bible as a result of being a first -time questioner.

So if that is the case please let us know and if you could continue on with some of the

primary essential teachings that we should all understand to maintain

orthodoxy in our theology in regard to the image of God.

So the image of God as we continue to.

Think about the the pieces of it in terms of how to maintain orthodoxy.

I've already mentioned the idea of again image of God is rationality a necessary implication.

If you are rational you have thought content.

You are going to think thoughts.

You're going to test those thoughts for coherence.

And the scriptures themselves show us how to use reason properly.

First of all reason is three laws.

A reason is three laws of logic or three laws of thought.

The law of identity a thing is itself the law of contradiction a thing

cannot be both.

You know a statement cannot be both true and false at the same time in the same sense.

And then the law of the excluded middle a statement is either true or it is false if it's actually

a meaningful statement.

And so we think about these we can find those laws in the scriptures for example the law of identity you know true statements a

true statement.

You can find that when God says when he identifies himself when he's introduced when he's identifying himself to Moses he

says I am that I am.

And so God in asserting his own name presents to us the law of identity.

When we get to the idea of the law of contradiction we're told that you know the possible

policies that the truth is not of a lie.

We are also told when we deal with the excluded middle that Lord Jesus Christ communicates

you're either with me or you're against me.

And he's showing that there's that that he's helping to show us the fact that there is no middle ground

there.

And we see that in other places of scripture as well.

But there's this idea of a era believer or you're not a believer and

all not believers are necessarily opposed to Christ.

And so he's showing us with the law of the excluded middle there how that works.

So these laws of logic identity contradiction excluded middle are are the laws of

thought.

And when we think about us having the image of God us being rational being rational and thinking

rationally is thinking in the way that God thinks not not that we you know that

we think eternally right.

God is the eternal thinker he has all truth.

He never learned anything and and so he doesn't think successively.

We think successively.

We think one thought after another in time.

That's a part of our creatureliness.

It's distinct from God whereas you know God has all truth in his mind without change we think one thought

after another and we learn we didn't we didn't have a bunch of truth in our mind.

We learn and that's you know the the scriptures communicating truth to us and the Holy Spirit illuminating our

minds.

But as we learn to reason we are learning to think properly.

And for example is the famous episode in in Christ's life where he's arguing with the Sadducees

and they argue that there's no resurrection and he communicates for example that you know that they don't understand the scriptures of the power of God

and he uses a logical argument with them.

He shows you know look God is the God of the living and out of the dead and God is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

Well it's the implication there the implication is that if he's the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob that they are living

and so he uses that to argue that the the dead view the the soul sleep and non -resurrection view that

the Sadducees would put forward for something that's wrong.

And so he's showing the logical implications there he's using a syllogism is what it's called where you're showing a necessary

inference from two premises.

And then we also have for example in 1st Corinthians 15 laying out of a bunch of logical arguments in order

where the Apostle Paul is also again defending the resurrection it seems as though the God that God really liked to use logic to defend

the resurrection.

And so we have that in both 1st Corinthians 15 with the Apostle Paul and also with Jesus arguing with the

Sadducees so the the rules of right thinking or a proper logic and so that we're taught

how to think properly which that's one of the important things about the image of God as we realize

that that how we think is a moral issue.

And so if we're thinking badly if we're making category errors if we're mixing stuff if we're interpreting the scriptures wrongly

that's sin and we're called to think clearly to be of a sound mind to know the truth to have

wisdom to seek wisdom as the principal thing.

And so when we think about this if we're designed to be yeah the if we're designed as the image of God if we are the image of God

and we're designed to be knowers of God.

And in fact if our good is to know God we're told that he who glories let him glory in this that he knows and

understands me that's from Jeremiah it's quoted in you know in 1st Corinthians as well we're also told in

John 17 3 that this is eternal life to know Jesus Christ and to know the only true God

and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

And so the knowledge of God the knowledge of Jesus Christ is eternal life.

And so that's what you know faith is it's the knowledge of God that that that saving knowledge of God.

And so we this idea that the image of God is knowledge holiness and righteousness that

it is rationality we realize we're designed to be knowers of God.

And we're told in Ephesians for example that we as the body of Christ are going to be filled and made mature

we're going to be filled with the knowledge of God we fill with the knowledge of Christ and the church is going to fill the earth.

And so thereby the knowledge of God will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea which holds in other parts of

scripture and as a result Christ will be he who fills all in all.

So in other words the church fills the whole earth and the knowledge of God fills the church.

And so in all that working we have as the image of God as knowers of God there's this feeling that the knowledge of

God and as the church spreads and the knowledge of God is filling the church and the knowledge of God is filling

the earth.

And so the image of God is a very important doctrine because it also helps us to see and understand what man is designed

for and we're designed to be knowers of God.

And if we pursue the knowledge of God as the principal thing we pursue wisdom which is the knowledge of the good

and the means to get what's good.

So therefore God and his law we pursue wisdom between the knowledge of God and of his law then we're

seeking the principal thing.

And so we see that in Proverbs you can see there's all these places all over scripture with these things are emphasized and

taught.

And so our purpose of glorifying God is the purpose of seeking to know him more fully

and to then spread the knowledge of him to others and to apply the knowledge of God.

And so the law teaches us how to live a life in accordance with the knowledge of God.

And so these things that's what knowledge holiness and righteousness are as they're being manifested

is is is showing forth in those ways and so that as the image of God that's the Orthodox

doctrine of the image of God and how it relates to God glorifying himself in the earth.

And so as we look at some of the more particular applications if I were to do that later on I want to give that as

a sense of that's what we're going for.

This is about glorifying God and this is about being what we were designed to be so that we can

joyfully suffer things that are temporary in this life but have the fullness of joy

and the knowledge of God and have the joy that there's no greater joy than seeing our children walk in the truth.

As we have disciples as we have natural children adopted children spiritual children in the sense that they've been

discipled by us that type of thing that we see them walk in the truth that's a great joy and understanding the image of God makes

us that we can pursue to glorify God ourselves but also help others as we.

Understand what man is really designed to be great.

And before the break I guess we have time for one quick question.

We have Chico and Alvo Nebraska who asked can you recommend any good books that

explain the image of God doctrine.

Yeah.

So I think there are two there are two that I'd want to emphasize.

First of all a minor thing I'd say is make sure to go to look at what the Westminster standards have to say about the image of God

under the chapter on creation in the Confession but also about the image of God in the larger and shorter catechisms.

But I'd say as far as books go the doctrine of man.

There's two books with the title of doctrine of man.

One is by Jay Gresham Machen and another one is by

Gordon Clark.

They both have the same title and they're both very good books.

The one by Machen is a little bit longer and he tries to deal with a lot of the modern

errors whereas Clark seems to try to engage on a more a shorter way of trying

to talk about the key verses there and he deals with a more historical errors.

So he kind of goes across errors throughout time more.

But I think those two books Clark's and Machen's books on the doctrine of man

and and I would further say that the one of the things I think is really

helpful to do is to really go back to the beginning of Scripture and read what it has to say there

in chapters 1 2 of Genesis and I think meditate on those two chapters and to see what it talks

about in terms of the image of God and thinking about how it's connected to this command to multiply and

fill that kind of connects to this idea and going back again.

Go read Ephesians.

Go read Ephesians especially chapters 1 through 4 thinking about the image of God.

Looking for stuff.

In there.

Great.

Well we have to go to our midway break.

Don't go away we're gonna.

Be right back.

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maintain a biblically Orthodox understanding of the doctrine of the image of God.

Yeah.

So.

Thanks Chris.

So basically one of the things that was brought up in the last hour was the idea of God not having a body and

I had kind of paraphrased something I wanted to give a citation for that.

Luke 24 verse 39 the Lord Jesus Christ talks about how a spirit doesn't have a you

know and have bones and flesh like he has and he's using that when he is resurrected to demonstrate that he was

bodily resurrected not just an appearance of a spirit.

So God were told as a spirit for example.

And so John chapter 4 communicates that very plainly that he is a spirit and he's to be worshiped as spirit.

And in truth.

Furthermore Deuteronomy 4 verses 15 to 18 communicate the fact that God did not reveal a form that he has

to be viewed as having.

And so although there are theophanies where God has physical manifestations of his

glory or of his presence they are not his body.

And so he he does not have some sort of permanent body he has temporary manifestations or

appearances where he takes on something.

The only thing that's that's a body that we would talk about as being gods in terms of the second person of the Trinity

the Lord Jesus Christ has obviously taken on a body.

He's taken a body as a part of his the human nature that he's taken on so that he as God and man

but that is not eternally the case he was not from the beginning God and man he is

forever he is everlastingly now God and man.

But there was a point in time at which the conception occurred of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy

Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

And that that is something where we need to realize that that's not the divine nature

having a body but rather a union between the human and the divine as one Christ

one person one legal person where there's the divine and the human.

We spent a time on that in the past.

I think it was several weeks ago we talked about the incarnation in some depth so it was review that they can check that out.

The other thing I want to point out is also there was this just to build on this

question that we came in earlier about the idea of the image of God and whether or not

everybody is the image of God whether every human being is.

So I want to remind you of John chapter 1 verse 9 which says that Christ is the light that lights the

minds of everyone coming into the world and that is the same idea the image of God is the light of

nature.

It is reason that equates there.

So John chapter 1 verse 9.

And the other thing I want to point out people will sometimes talk about logic being created because humans are created.

And I want to point out that logic is an attribute of God it's not created.

And we know that because in the beginning was the logos in the beginning was the word the doctrine the logic

that reason the wisdom.

And so John teaches us both that we are we have

logic as creatures given is the image of God but also that God is logical and he is eternally so

and so God doesn't contradict himself.

And there's not you know God's thoughts aren't nonsense they are logical and he reveals in his word his

logical thoughts.

The word is beautiful because it cannot be broken and so we can distinguish truth from error because the word

does not contradict itself.

If the word did contradict itself we couldn't just we couldn't distinguish truth from error and in fact we just have to say that that in

fact that there's meaningless things when they contradict themselves.

So the beautiful thing is the Bible does not.

I also wanted to point out the idea of a reasonable soul.

This point is communicated in the Westminster larger catechism in question 17.

It talks about humans being made in the image of God as reasonable souls and it says that

also in Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 1 section 2.

So there's a bunch of places where people can go to think about these things besides the actual creation text

Genesis 1 and 2 we have all those places where those issues can be dealt with and looked into further.

And so what I'd like to do is to dive further now into the meaning of the of

knowledge as it applies in terms of the image of God as sort of a duty that we have as Christians.

And so we think about the idea that that we are rational and therefore we're supposed to be knowers of God.

That's a part of the commandment that we have to know God and that's part of this duty that we've

been given to be prophets not in the sense that you and I Chris are taking new revelation and bringing it

to people but rather that we are called to know the truth of God and to communicate it to other people and to correct

error.

And so we can only do that if we know the Word of God.

And so this idea of teaching and correcting both ourselves and others is done by

having the knowledge of God and then communicating that the idea of

holiness in terms of the work there that's associated with the office of priesthood.

So priests are called to holiness.

And so we are all called to be priests to be ones who are praying and

sacrificing we we don't sacrifice for sins because Christ is the high priest has offered himself once for all

time for all the elect for all the sins and all the elect has offered himself.

But we sacrifice in the sense that we should self sacrificially live and we should live our lives as a

sacrifice that is acceptable to God.

And so this idea of of being priests where we pray using the

intercession of Christ using the mediation of Christ and we we sacrifice and holiness

is about the purpose the goal of God glorifying him.

But also it's about right relationship.

And if we are focused on on the glory of God we're gonna pursue relationship with him.

But we're also going to pursue relationship with fellow believers because bad company corrupts good morals.

But those who are companions of the wise become wise.

And so this as we understand that we are relational creatures and that the purposes we

pursue we as we invest in things we increase our perceived value the way if we pursue

God and his wisdom it will help us to value God more.

And if we are around others who also pursue that then it ties us relationally in to pursuing that.

That's what the church is so important that God has established a church in the earth where we're to have solid

relationships with each other seeking to honor the Lord together.

And we see that also in families godly families our place where that should be occurring and then furthermore

righteousness and the idea that we make choices is tied to the idea of the office of the king

that we are to be prophets priests and kings we've been commissioned to do work.

And as kings we are to provide and protect and we apply the law to know the right means to use.

And so this this image of God relates to offices and calling and our

duty.

And when we have rightly formed views of knowledge holiness and righteousness they help us to understand how

to fulfill the work we've been assigned to do.

And so this is about being more fully human.

This is about fulfilling our roles more and being of service to others and living a life that maximally

glorifies God.

So I don't know how we are in time but those are things that I can go into further as there's availability.

Well we.

Have before we go to our final break 20 more minutes.

Great.

So then when we talk.

About this idea of the the office of prophets I want to again connect back

and delve into that a little bit further so that the image of God is rationality.

And if you're rational you therefore inherently are thinking thought content.

And we want to have right contents.

We won't have knowledge and we really want to know the most important things.

Right.

The most most important.

You know God.

And so if you're gonna seek wisdom you're gonna seek the knowledge of God.

So we often feel as though the doctrine of God is impractical.

But I want to guess there's nothing more practical than knowing God.

Because when you know God the knowledge of the truth God is the truth.

And as we know God the knowledge of the truth we're told by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 8 that the knowledge of the truth sets

men free.

And so what.

Free from what.

Well free from slavery to sin.

Three free from Satan free from the world.

And and so there's this power as we know the truth we become capable of governing ourselves.

We are no longer governed and enslaved by passions and by heresies.

We now begin to be able to apply self -control.

Egocratia is the Greek their ego is a I you know and in karate a rule to this idea of

self -rule.

And so as we begin to know the truth more deeply we begin to exercise self -rule better

and we can engage in the work of of teaching and correcting.

Now oftentimes as we are trying to teach people truth we want to evangelize.

We find people kind of bounce off.

We talked before about the idea that Isaiah says the Word of God doesn't return void.

But I want to suggest that since we often have to correct and rebuke sin as we're dealing with evangelism

we teach we teach law and gospel the law to show the need of a Savior and then the gospel the news of

the Savior.

We have to put that out.

And if we're gonna correct things it's funny.

We often we often kind of go after the hot -button issues.

But I want to suggest that a part of rationality a part of being an effective prophet so to speak is

trying to identify the most philosophically basic or the most theologically systematically

foundational issue where a person is rejecting God's truth.

And so it's so much easier oftentimes for people to discuss the idea of you know how do you know what's

true versus their particular sin.

Now we should tell people hey here's a particular sin.

Yes God forbids that and you ought to obey him.

But oftentimes we can draw people into discussions by talking about the things of God and talking about questions of

you know how do we know truth or how do you know what's real or how do you know what's right and wrong and the ability to kind of examine it and

we're academic way and then you can come in and hit the particular sins again.

But you think about the Lord Jesus Christ when he's talking to the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4 and and he

he's talking to her and you know she she asks him you know she is told by him

hey you know you're you've been married multiple times and you're living with a guy you're not married to now

and and then she says you know you're a prophet you know where should we be worshiping here in Samaria

or the Jews.

Right.

And we should go to Jerusalem.

And a lot of people say you know hey this woman is just like avoiding the topic that Jesus is talking about.

She's avoiding talking about her sin and at the same time she's bringing up another subject

about her worship and whether or not her worship is done sinfully.

And so I think a lot of times we think that oh people want to avoid talking about their sins and they go to

theology to dodge that but I don't think that's true.

I think it's important that we realize that the root sin is the sin of unbelief that all of our

all of our fruit sins all of the ways that we disobey God in particulars come out of a corruption

of our not glorifying God as we ought and so if we can like Jesus talks to the woman

at the well talking to her he gives the answer he says hey the Jews are right they're supposed to be supposed to worship in Jerusalem but a time is coming

when God and now is when God is seeking those who will worship him in spirit and in truth and that's throughout the world

not just in a particular location.

And so he goes to the theological issue and answers that and and so what I want to say is

we actually really want to try to get in theology and that will address the issues of particular sins.

And so if we can find ways of talking to people about the stuff that's kind of academic and also

about the things that are sin we want to hit both and we want to find ways of getting to what's the

basic point of disagreement.

They reject the authority of God's Word they reject his law.

They reject the reality of an eternal God what's the thing that is the error that's driving

so much of their sin.

And when we when they we want to elevate both God himself and his law and help them to think about

both so that they will see the holiness of God and see their own sinfulness.

And so as a prophet I wanted to encourage people to look for ways to find the more basic things and if you want to know how to do

that the Westminster larger catechism sorry the Westminster confession of faith but the table of contents is basically an

order from more basic to less basic chapter ones on scripture.

Then it goes to the nature of God then it goes to his decrees then it goes to creation then it goes to Providence.

And so you actually have this systematic ordering and almost any systematic theology that you find like whether it's Calvin's

Institute or whatever you're going to find an effort to systematically arrange so this the study of these subjects and

looking at a confessional standard for example to see the order of those things are done that helps you to find more basic things to get to.

And so this idea of studying the more basic to the less basic or Augustin like to use the

language of going to the higher things.

He would reverse that.

So we'd say if we can get people to talk about how do they know and whether whether God reveals things.

That's sort of the high questions you're getting to these things that are heavenly so to speak but the high up so you're trying to

get people to engage on those.

Now as a priest everybody's looking for relationships and looking for goals.

What does it show you should be doing.

And if you can study the book of Ecclesiastes the book of Ecclesiastes

is a manual of how to deconstruct false views of the good.

But the good is the highest good.

It's the thing that's that's the most valuable.

And God is the good he's the most valuable thing.

And we possess God by knowing him.

And so seeking the knowledge of God is how we pursue God and seeking to apply that knowledge.

And so the book of Ecclesiastes is a manual of deconstructing false views of what is good.

You know people talk about deconstructing their evangelical faith.

Let's not do that.

Let's construct our evangelical faith and let's deconstruct every other faith.

Let's tear them down.

And the you know the Prophet Solomon in the book Ecclesiastes goes through and deconstructs things like hey

are you pursuing pleasure as your good.

Let me tell you all the reasons why.

That's totally dissatisfying.

Are you pursuing power as your good.

That's not going to work.

Let me explain why.

Are you trying to fill your life with achievement.

That's not going to do it either.

Here's why.

And so the book of Ecclesiastes is a really magnificent job of showing how none of the things that people pursue as

goods as false gods work.

And so the goal they've got is wrong.

And it presents for us in chapter 12 at the very end of the book it presents the sum of the matter fear God and keep his commandments.

That explains a little bit more about that in terms of the roles of teachers there.

But this idea of right relationship and right goal the Bible helps us to see the difference

between right relationship right goal versus wrong relationship and wrong goal.

And it uses the language of whorishness or or being profane as one side for wrong

relationship.

And it talks about right relationship in terms of of being holy being

you know sort of kept separate and uses the language of like a chaste

bride and and so those are the terms for right relationship especially with God.

And and so the church looks at that.

And if we if we are to study sort of this the Song of Solomon is first and foremost

about a man and a woman in marriage.

But that's used as an image of the relationship between Christ in the church God in Israel.

And so the idea of what does that look like this.

This idea of the pursuit of the first love with God.

And in the book of Revelation in the letters to the to the churches what we find is that

in the letters to the churches one of the churches is doing very well is told but they're they're abandoning

their first love and they're they're called to return to the works of first love.

And I would suggest that when you are in love with somebody you seek time to commune with them.

You speak time.

You seek time to spend time with them to get to know them more.

And the the activities of first love are seeking to have time to get to know and to build relationship.

And so we are called to spend time with God in worship in particular private worship secret worship.

Jesus talks about going to your closet to pray in secret.

And this idea of private worship is how you really build your relationship with God.

You delve into the word on your own.

You pray privately.

You cry out to God.

You sing praises to God.

And and and these and I would encourage you to sing the Psalms specifically it give us you know 171

Psalms in and those there's 100.

We can normally number them as 150 but but Psalm 19 is a 22 of them.

So we have these.

I would encourage you to sing these to God and you build relationship there.

These are the works of first love.

These are the works that private worship is how you nurture your own zeal and knowledge.

And and how you will then be able to go out rather than fearing men you will fear God.

And so that helps to build the reality of God.

So so priestly focus there.

The holiness is encouraged in that way.

So the study of the truth of God and the teaching of the truth of God in correcting error helps to build

up our own knowledge and help us to function well as prophets.

And holiness is encouraged in particular in worship.

And in these works of first love especially in secret worship.

And I would encourage everybody who's ahead of house to make sure to lead their family in family.

Worship is a way of building the holy affections of their household and taking those same ordinances of the word

and prayer and Psalms and sing together with your families.

And lastly again with righteousness we see this idea of applying the law.

And so the king seeks to provide and protect and he's doing justice.

And the law of God helps us to know that if we must meditate on the law of God someone talks about meditating not on the counsel of

the ungodly or of the sinner or of the scoffer.

But what do we meditate on day and night the law of God.

And as we study in the law if we study meditate on the law of God it shapes our our wisdom of choice and what we

should do.

And it makes it so that we are able as kings to make decisive choices in the

moment.

Because we are ready we have stored up in our hearts the word to be able to not only speak but to choose it and do it.

And that only that only works for somebody who first already believes the gospel if you don't know God.

If you don't know the gospel then you're the law is not going to sanctify you.

What's going to happen is it's going to further show you your guilt.

And so the studying of the law has the three purposes.

First showing us our need of salvation.

Second it binds and reduces sin.

And thirdly it is a lamp unto our feet and shows us the way that we should go.

And so that third use as a king is very valuable is to be a lamp unto our feet so that we can move like a highway.

The Proverbs talk about the righteous are on a highway whereas the the wicked are like

going through hedges of thorns.

You know you want to move through through life like on a highway.

Okay we'll study the law of God if you don't want to.

If you prefer to spend your entire life getting your skin caught in thorns.

Then you know just keep meandering along like a fool without any.

Light and just get caught in the thorn in the hedgerows.

And we have a question for you from Albrecht in

Benjamin Utah.

And Albrecht said you already addressed earlier on in the program some aberrant and

heretical understandings of the image of God from heretics.

But I was wondering if there are any aberrant views of the image of God that we should be aware of and

warned against that might be promoted by otherwise biblically faithful Christians

or.

Denominations.

Yeah so I think the image of God is something that a lot of people

a lot of people are unsure how to define it and I think one thing that's frustrating is you have people that are

solidly reformed and then they're they're hesitant on defining the image of God and if they're hesitant about it so I

really want to encourage people to to feel like they are confident in it.

Our reformed standards make it clear that this is the case that it is reason and that

it's knowledge holiness and righteousness.

But but even more than that you know Colossians

Colossians 310 for example says and you have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge

after the image of him that created him.

And then furthermore Ephesians 424 says and you put on the new man

which after God has created in righteousness and true holiness.

So those you know knowledge holiness and righteousness as the image of God that's just explicitly

stated right there in those texts.

And so I want to the main error I want to attack is the error that we haven't figured it out and I think

it's it's very plain in the scriptures and I think the reformed confessional standards have made it very plain and

so we need to not be skittish about this.

We need to be straightforward and clear about it.

And and so the other thing is you know Bart Karl Bart was certainly not

was certainly not Orthodox right.

He was neo -orthodox and neo orthodoxy is another word for not Orthodox and and so the

the idea that he was he was putting forward he put forward the idea of the body other people put that forward to

and and but he his view is sometimes popularly put forward.

You'll find people who are opposed to logic as the image of God or reason is the image of God in terms of

and then how that manifests in knowledge holiness and righteousness and they'll call it Gnosticism.

This is popular amongst a lot of people to call you know if you say saving faith is the knowledge of God or if you

say that man is made to know God or that we glorify God by knowing him and applying the

knowledge of him spreading the knowledge of him some people will talk about that as Gnosticism and that is not

Gnosticism.

Gnosticism is a heresy with some particular doctrines that sort of mixes a lot of platonic

ideas with the Bible normally has associated with it the idea that matter is eternal and modified.

But but even if you don't have that you typically have some sort of system of like graded spirits that are going from God down to

down to man or something like that.

But the the key thing that makes the differentiate sort of Gnosticism from Christianity as a label is

Gnosticism was sort of like Scientology in that it had secret knowledge the esoteric

knowledge that was sold for a fee.

So you go come to my sermon the sermon sort of a TED talk and the TED talk I'm trying to get you to want to buy my

book and if you buy the book and you go through the class and by the way there's you know a workbook and that costs whatever and if you get through that

then you can pay me another fee and then I might give you some secret you know knowledge in the next conversation and it's sort of this you know cult

manipulation thing to extract information to extract money out of you by selling secret knowledge so

that's not Gnosticism that the idea that the image of God is rationality is not Gnosticism.

And there's been this weird throwing out of that recently and one but one of the other benefits of the throwing around

the word Gnosticism that's occurred a lot recently is also sort of this idea of a lot of Christians don't really care about Dominion.

And that's what the kind of using Gnostic as a negative term has been used for recently is to say hey you need to care about Dominion.

You care about the body and the world and all that yes we do.

We need to apply the Word of God to everything and Christ is going to rule everything and so we need to

apply the word everywhere.

So that's sort of I think what people are trying to communicate when they use that word Gnostic in a modern sense in a lot of.

Ways.

Great and we have we have time for one more question before the break.

We have happy in crown West Virginia and

Pappy asks our emotions a part of the image of

God and I was wondering how that relates to the current divide amongst Reformed

Christians over the doctrine of impassibility.

Yeah that's a.

Great question.

So so as far as impassibility goes first of all I'm very well

I want to very clearly express that that God is without emotions.

God is no passions.

There's no parts there's no passions he has no body.

Okay so he has no emotion.

Why.

Because he doesn't change.

So when we talk about God having anger or wrath or him being grieved or whatever we're talking about unchanging

attitudes right God is is has anger towards wickedness and towards the wicked God has

wrath hatred towards the wicked towards unrighteousness he is grieved at wickedness

his love is a an attitude of favor that kind of stuff.

So these this language so God does not have emotions.

The image of God is not emotions.

So emotions are upheavals and and so here's what emotion is.

Emotion is an effect of the fast changing of the mind.

Okay so so emotion is it's it's a mixture it is when we talk about emotion what we're talking

about is the the swirling or the instability of the mind.

And we're also talking about sort of there are bodily effects.

So if you think about being angry okay when we talk about somebody getting really angry what we're saying is somebody

had you know somebody was fine they were cool not not angry whatever.

And then something happens they think is unjust or evil in front of them so especially towards themselves or someone

they really care about and and they get they they view that as evil and their

mind is changing fast and as a result they have certain bodily reactions like you know maybe their

face turns red and a little bit shaky and they've got like an adrenaline dump and so they've got some extra strength where they can go

and press in against this evil.

Okay so that's the anger the sadness you know.

So for example you've got this sort of this external change where the body shifts in terms of you might begin

to have teary eyes you might have a weakness of the body.

You you you are you are just you are without hope you're despondent.

And then as a result that happens fast your body changes.

So so let's let's let me let me lay out a little bit further how emotions work.

If there's a fast change of the mind that causes more emotion than slow

change.

Okay and in particular if you're your percept if your expectation changes quickly.

Secondly the other thing is if you're gonna have an emotional reaction there are things that you

value and there are things that you do not value.

The things that you value more are things where if you for example if I think I'm gonna you know

win a billion dollars and I didn't know that and then also they know it I might become really happy

because that's you know a billion dollars is a ton of money to get and I can think of all the good works and everything I can do with that and all the ways I can help other

people and all the luxuries I can enjoy and all the ways I can glorify God and all that stuff and I go wow that's amazing.

I might have a really fast change of dramatic thing of something I value and that was that

I go wow I'm really happy.

I might be I might be happy from that.

Then two seconds later you say just kidding and

actually and actually everything you own is about to be taken away.

And so my expectation goes from really high expectation to really negative expectation

really fast you're likely to get really powerful emotional reaction out of me because it's something

I care about and it's something that's happening fast and so that fast up and down

would maximize it.

Now a person who's a Christian who who values God above everything else is gonna be

able to a great maintain more stability in the midst of that.

Because even though you might go I got a bunch of money or no I'm losing all my money you're gonna go well God is more valuable and so

a person who worships money is gonna flip out both ways.

But a person who values God is the highest good is gonna keep their head about them and maintain their

equanimity to some extent in the midst of all that even though they might get happier and then get sadder you know based upon the

changes of news they're gonna have a different stability.

And so actually what happens is as we're renewed after the image of God the more rational we are the more

properly we have wisdom and holiness and righteousness.

The more our emotions are going to be in check and so what we're gonna find is we have a more stable joy and

we're gonna have less swings and so sanctification moves up our baseline

level of joy and reduces.

The swings that we go through.

Well we have to go to our final break and don't go away.

We're gonna be right back after these messages.

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Have you noticed the gap that exists.

Between the Sunday morning sermon and the Sunday school classroom or the small group study.

So often we experience great preaching from the pulpit.

But when it comes time to study God's Word in those smaller settings.

Well let's be honest it leaves a lot to be desired.

It seems like it is nearly impossible to find good curriculum out there today that is true to the Word of God and

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Hi there.

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If you want to have a curriculum that teaches your people how to study the Word of God I invite you go to our website

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May God.

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I'm Dr. Joseph

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At Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary every Christian who's serious about the deformed faith

and the Westminster standards should have and use the eight volume commentary on the theology and

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Please tell Dr. Morecraft and the Saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming Georgia that Dr. Joseph

Piper.

Of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sent you.

Hello my name is.

Anthony Uvino and I'm one of the pastors at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Quorum New York and also the host of the

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And finally if you're looking to worship in a reformed church that holds to the 1689 London Baptist Confession

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We do have Greenlee in Mary Alabama and Greenlee

asks you were saying earlier that God does not have emotions.

One thing that puzzles me about that is that Jesus Christ is the second person

of the Godhead.

He is God and yet he will forever since his incarnation be the God -man.

When he walked the earth he had emotions.

Does he still have emotions.

That's a great question.

And yes Lord.

Jesus Christ in his human nature does have emotions.

But we need to remember is that the the Lord Jesus Christ has two minds he has

a human mind and he has a divine mind and so there's not a mixing.

And I would really encourage you go back and listen to our our show on the incarnation

because the the idea we have to keep the reality that that Jesus is

God and he is man and man and God have contradictory attributes.

And so we have two minds that have these attributes one mind that has all the divine attributes and

one mind that has all the human attributes.

And so we have to realize that.

And then we realize that yes in a certain sense we could say there's there's a there's a

technical way in which we could find a way to make the statement true.

God has emotions.

We can talk about the emotions of God in the same way that we could say that God has blood because you

know acts 20 says that we were purchased by the blood of God.

Well God and his divine nature.

Christ is divine nature doesn't have blood but he has blood that was created in time.

And his blood from his human nature is is connected to his divine nature

legally so that it's the blood of God.

Now does that mean that blood is omnipresent.

No.

Does that mean that blood is you know all -knowing.

No.

Does that mean that that blood is all power.

No.

It's it's human blood.

But it's human blood that has the value of the blood of God.

Because of the hypostatic Union because of the connection of the human nature to the divine nature as

one legal person as one Christ and so we have to realize that Christ and his

divinity has no emotions and in his humanity he does.

Have emotions.

So yes.

Okay if you could pastor David summarize in two minutes or less what you most want etched in the

hearts and minds of our listeners about.

This topic I want everyone to know that we can know what the image of God is.

The image of God is not an image that you see with your eyes.

God is invisible we're told in the book of Romans.

And so we see the invisible attributes of the invisible God with our minds.

And that's what we when we have faith we are.

We are believing the truth about God we're knowing God.

And so the image of God is our rationality.

And if you're a rational mind you necessarily have thought content which when it's

properly formed as knowledge.

You necessarily have purposes or goals which when properly formed as holiness.

And you necessarily make choices.

And when those choices are properly formed they're called righteousness.

And so I want everybody to know that we can know what the image of God is.

And the scriptures reveal it to us as the light that lights the minds of all those who enter into the world.

That is the light of nature.

That is the image of God.

It is rationality which manifests itself in how we are renewed after the image of Christ in

knowledge holiness and righteousness.

Amen.

And if you want.

Further details on Puritan Reformed Church in Phoenix Arizona where my guest is pastor go to

Puritan phx .com Puritan phx .com.

For more details about the Armored Republic company that he where he is the CEO go

to ArmoredRepublic .com ArmoredRepublic .com.

Don't forget men in ministry.

If you're interested in attending my next iron sharpens iron radio free pastors luncheon on June

6th of 2024 featuring dr. Joel Beakey as the guest speaker send

me an email to register at chrisarnsen at gmail .com.

I want to thank you so much pastor Reese for being such an extraordinary guest as you always are.

I want everybody to remember for the rest of your lives Jesus Christ is a far greater Savior than you

are a sinner amen.