Gen 1:26-29
26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Ps 104:30; Heb 1:2; 11:3.]
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col 3:9,10; James 3:8,9.]
28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.
29 And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
AMP
26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Ps 104:30; Heb 1:2; 11:3.]
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col 3:9,10; James 3:8,9.]
28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.
29 And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
AMP
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00The
00:29sharing of my journey into the ancient faith of orthodoxy today is called the importance
00:37of understanding the difference between image, likeness, nature, and the essence of God.
00:46As I have been relearning some of the errors and misunderstandings of doctrines or dogmas
00:53of the ancient faith and fathers of the orthodox church as different from the Protestant,
00:59church teachings, I have had to reorient and align many basic teachings of their doctrines
01:07to birth and the continuity and progression of the orthodox church which began at Pentecost
01:1429 AD to this present day.
01:18As I have shared before, I am not yet a baptized member of the orthodox church but I am what
01:25is called a catechumen which means one who is studying the faith in preparation for baptism
01:31and chrismation.
01:33I am not a spokesman for the church but rather I am sharing my journey into the missing truths
01:39of this ancient faith which began again at Pentecost 29 AD.
01:44Learning about the timeline and beginning of the church and our early church fathers who were
01:51associated with Apostle Paul such as Peter and John and so on whom we read about in the
01:58King James Bible but many of the others are not mentioned.
02:03Just to mention a few who have contributed greatly to the church's history and doctrine are St.
02:10Justin Martyr who describes the liturgical worship of the church and also St.
02:17Bishop Ignatius who was consecrated in Antioch at the heart of the New Testament era.
02:24Other bishops included James, Polycarp, and Clement in 69 AD.
02:30I learned on my journey as well that the Catholic Church broke away in 1054 AD in what is called
02:39the Great Schism and out of her came many branches and churches of Protestantism.
02:45In what I have shared thus far in this simple outline or description of my surprise in learning
02:52the beginning of the church's history is certainly lacking especially of our early history but
02:59nevertheless I believe that many like myself have felt like something was greatly missing
03:06or lacking in their journey of faith too.
03:10In learning about the many differences of orthodoxy and Protestant doctrines it has taken me back to
03:18learn the basic understanding of simple terms such as I have titled in this sharing call today
03:25the importance of understanding the differences between the image, likeness, nature, and essence of God.
03:34Why does this or should this really matter at all in these key or prime words that define fundamental terms in the Bible?
03:45Well you see, what I have lacked in knowing in Protestant definitions of these important terms
03:51have great significance in understanding the truth of scripture because they are fundamental in
03:58relating to the foundation of the apostolic and holy church doctrine and truths which define our
04:06relationship with God and who he is and what we can know about him and even know about ourselves.
04:14For instance, when we look at the nature of God in biblical terms and terminology
04:20we find it means the sum of the qualities by individuals of the same type.
04:27So that means that the qualities which distinguish individuals of a type from another
04:33and make up the whole person.
04:35Now the Trinity, the Holy Trinity, is one divine nature in three persons.
04:42That is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
04:46And when we speak of humanity, we learn that it is one human nature in the image of God.
04:54Understand, although stained by sin, human nature is good having been created in the image of God.
05:01Through grace, the Spirit of God restores the nature of the believer to its true uncorrupted state
05:10so that he or she may grow in union with God.
05:162 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 declares,
05:21But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of God,
05:27are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
05:33just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
05:37And in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 16 and 17, we are told,
05:44Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh,
05:50even though we have known Christ according to the flesh,
05:54yet now we know him thus no longer.
05:58Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
06:02All things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new.
06:09You see, Apostle Paul did not know the historical Jesus,
06:14who as God, he voluntarily took on our mortality,
06:18lived on the earth, and was known according to the flesh.
06:23Nobody knows Jesus that way after his ascension,
06:27because his mortal flesh has been transformed into an immortal body.
06:34Even so now, our old bodies are transformed into a new creation in Jesus Christ.
06:41And this is because God created all things through Christ,
06:47and he will now transform and reunite all things,
06:51that is, material as well as spiritual,
06:54to himself through Christ his Son.
06:57Now, the image of God, according to what the Bible teaches,
07:03is that man was created in the image and likeness of God.
07:08Men and women reflect the divine image by their ability to reason and to choose freely.
07:15Through Christ, the image of God is renewed in fallen man,
07:21as believers are renewed and transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
07:27We read this in Romans chapter 8, verses 28 through 30, which says,
07:33And we know all things work together for good to those who love God,
07:39those who are called according to his purposes.
07:42We see that Scripture and man's experience
08:08both bear witness that all things work together for the good.
08:14Listen, listen,
08:16to those and for those who love God.
08:22So all things work together for good to those who love God.
08:28Now, we learn that setbacks and difficulties will always be there,
08:33but God turns them into, the Scripture says,
08:36light afflictions,
08:37because God has foreknowledge of all things.
08:41And I would like to mention that one of the things that I have been surprised to learn
08:45in differences from what I have known according to Protestantism
08:50is that, different from the Orthodox teaching,
08:54is that predestination is not to be understood
08:57as overpowering man's free response
09:01because man's free will is called a gift from God.
09:05Furthermore, the term predestination does not belong to individuals.
09:13Rather, this word,
09:14which can be translated into preordained,
09:18means that God has a specific calling for his people
09:21from before the beginning of the world.
09:25Ponder and think about that, Selah.
09:27You see, our loving Creator God does not will any evil to be done,
09:35nor does he force virtue or righteousness or righteous character on anyone.
09:40And let's understand that based on God's foreknowledge,
09:46God assures or predestines that those who will choose him,
09:51he predestines that those who will choose him,
09:55choose to love him,
09:57and will be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ,
10:02which means they will be glorified or reflect his glory
10:06as they are being conformed.
10:10As I was researching,
10:12I read a wonderful account of St. John Maximovich,
10:17who was an honorable bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia.
10:23St. John Makhlovich was born in 1896 in the Russian Empire,
10:29now known as the Ukraine,
10:32and he became known for his deep spiritual aesthetic lifestyle
10:37and dedication to serving the Orthodox Christian community.
10:42And regarding our subject to the likeness of God,
10:46John Makhlovich is quoted as teaching on this subject by saying,
10:52Upon creating the world, God said,
10:55Let us make man in our image after our likeness.
10:59The image of God is expressed in his reasoning abilities,
11:05his dominion over nature,
11:07in his power,
11:09in his ability to create.
11:12The likeness of God consists of his moral perfection,
11:16spiritual strivings in the possibility of attaining holiness.
11:21The image and likeness of God,
11:23according to which our prime ancestors were created,
11:26were fully reflected in them until the fall.
11:31Sin violated both one and the other,
11:34though they were not entirely lost in mankind.
11:39Man has retained reason and everything else that is in the image of God.
11:45But in order to develop them,
11:47one must exert great effort,
11:49which will only produce to a limited degree
11:52that which our ancestors received.
11:56Remaining in mankind is some degree of striving to be like God,
12:01though it falters beyond recognition at times.
12:05In order to return to mankind and his original proximity to God,
12:10the Son of God descended to the earth and became incarnate.
12:14He accepted upon himself all of man's nature.
12:19He took on the image of man without, however, mankind's sin.
12:24And he came to recreate the image of God,
12:28the beauty created in us.
12:30But if in the beginning God created man in his image and likeness,
12:36which had not existed before,
12:38in whose creation man himself did not participate,
12:42then for the recreation of the original image,
12:47man himself must participate.
12:50St. John continues saying,
12:53Man must strive towards perfection
12:55in order to receive it through the grace and assistance of God.
13:00The Lord, through his teachings,
13:02showed the path to perfection,
13:04demonstrated it through his example.
13:07This path is one of moral perfection,
13:10self-denial,
13:12and readiness to shed all sinfulness from oneself.
13:17Sin settled deep within man's nature,
13:20almost melding with it.
13:22Every person is born with the seed of sin.
13:26An escape from it requires struggle within oneself.
13:30And that is why the struggle is torturous,
13:33yet necessary in order to approach God.
13:36If any man will come after me,
13:39let him deny himself
13:41and take up his cross and follow me,
13:44Jesus said in Matthew chapter 16, verse 24.
13:49St. John continues,
13:52The cross that one must take up
13:54is the battle with one's failings,
13:57faults, and sins.
13:59Gradually freeing ourselves from them,
14:02man approaches God
14:03in whose image he was created.
14:05Man himself does not have enough strength for this,
14:09but the grace of God comes to his aid,
14:12granted by God through the church established by his Son.
14:16For this reason,
14:18he assumed human flesh
14:19in order to raise up once again his image in us.
14:24On Mount Tabor,
14:26Christ displayed the beauty and the glory of his divinity
14:29so that the apostles
14:31and through them the world would know
14:33in whose image man exists
14:36and towards which he must strive through spiritual ascent.
14:40It is according to the measure
14:41of purification of man from sin
14:44and his approach towards God
14:46that the glory of God is made more and more manifest.
14:49And that is why saints are called in Russian
14:54prepodomani,
14:56which this means
14:58those having a great likeness to God.
15:01And like a mirror,
15:02the glory of God
15:03is reflected in their soul,
15:06filling it with light.
15:08And St. John finishes by saying,
15:10When the earthly struggle comes to an end,
15:14the level of saintlessness
15:16the person achieved is then sealed.
15:19When the earthly struggle comes to an end,
15:22the level of saintliness
15:24the person has achieved is then sealed.
15:28Upon the onset of the eternal kingdom,
15:31all mankind will be resurrected with their souls,
15:34reuniting with their bodies,
15:36and then shall the righteous shine forth
15:39as the son in the kingdom of their father
15:42as Jesus Christ himself spoke
15:44with his own mouth
15:46in Matthew chapter 13, verse 43, saying,
15:51Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun
15:54in the kingdom of their father.
15:56He who has ears, let him hear.
15:59End of quote.
16:02I must say that I really appreciated
16:05and treasure the overview
16:07and the wisdom of this dear saint.
16:11Dear listener and followers,
16:13I have found in my Protestant gleaning
16:15and learning that the terms
16:17image and likeness of God
16:19are not defined nor separated
16:21because they teach
16:23that the Bible does not clearly
16:25indicate exactly
16:27what the clear difference is
16:28between the image and likeness of God
16:31and what it is in man.
16:33But when we learn
16:35and we look at these terms
16:37according to the Orthodox Church's teaching,
16:39we see a clear delineation
16:41between the two.
16:43The image of God
16:44in man is expressed
16:46in his reasoning abilities,
16:49his dominion over nature,
16:51in his power,
16:52and his ability to create.
16:55The likeness of God in man
16:57consists of his moral perfection,
17:00his spiritual strivings,
17:01and the possibility
17:03of attaining holiness.
17:06The image and likeness of God
17:08according to which
17:08our first parents were created
17:11and fully reflected
17:12in them until the fall.
17:15Sin violated both one and the other,
17:19though they were not entirely lost
17:21in mankind.
17:22The Eastern Orthodox Church
17:24teaches the belief
17:25that humans are created
17:27in the image and likeness of God,
17:29which means that they possess
17:31a nature that reflects
17:33God's attributes.
17:35People are called to strive
17:37for greater likeness to him,
17:40which would be identified
17:41by certain qualities
17:43such as goodness,
17:45wisdom, love, truth,
17:47unity, purity, joy,
17:50and simplicity,
17:52all of which can be known
17:54about God,
17:55but they do not fully describe
17:57his inner nature,
17:59which remains transcendent
18:01or unequaled
18:02or incomparable.
18:05This belief is fundamental
18:06to Orthodox theology
18:08with the image representing
18:10man's inherent
18:11spiritual capacity
18:13and the likeness representing
18:15the potential
18:16for deification
18:18or thesis
18:18through grace.
18:20We must understand,
18:22dear ones,
18:23the difference between
18:24the image and likeness
18:25of God
18:26because it is crucial
18:28in this way.
18:29It shapes the very believer's
18:31view of human nature,
18:33salvation,
18:34and spiritual growth.
18:36Image of God
18:37refers to the inherent qualities
18:39that all humans possess
18:41simply being created by God,
18:45and it includes rationality,
18:47free will,
18:49and moral responsibility.
18:51The image of God
18:52is indestructible
18:54and sin cannot erase it.
18:57In the likeness of God,
18:59this is something
19:00that must be cultivated
19:01through spiritual effort.
19:03While the image of God
19:05is given at creation,
19:06the likeness of God
19:08is achieved
19:08through synergy with God,
19:10which is the cooperation
19:12between humans' free will
19:14and God's grace,
19:16which is his divine energy
19:18or power
19:19at work in one's life.
19:22The goal
19:23of the Christian life
19:25is to grow in holiness
19:27and become more like God,
19:30and this is a process
19:31known as theosis
19:33or deification.
19:35Now, this distinction
19:37is important
19:38because it highlights
19:40that while all humans
19:42bear God's image,
19:44they must strive
19:46actively
19:47to restore his likeness
19:49through faith
19:50and virtue
19:51and intimate communion
19:53with him.
19:54And it also reinforces
19:56the orthodox view
19:58that salvation
19:59is not just about forgiveness,
20:03but it is about transformation,
20:05becoming more like God
20:06in love
20:07and holiness.
20:09Drawing from Metropolitan
20:11Hilarion Eliyev,
20:14who has authored
20:15more than 300 publications
20:17on dogmatic theology,
20:20patristics,
20:21and church history,
20:22and he shares
20:23regarding
20:24on our subject
20:25that some
20:26of the early fathers
20:28distinguished
20:29difference
20:30between image
20:31and likeness
20:32by identifying
20:33the image
20:34that is
20:36originally fixed
20:37by the creator
20:38and the likeness
20:39that
20:41which is
20:42to be attained
20:43through
20:44a life
20:45of virtue.
20:46The expression
20:47according to the image
20:49indicates
20:49that what is reasonable
20:51and endowed
20:52with free will,
20:53while the expression
20:54according to likeness
20:56denotes
20:57assimilation
20:58through virtue
20:59in as far
21:00as this is possible.
21:01He says
21:02we are all
21:03called upon
21:03to realize
21:05all of our
21:06creative abilities
21:07in telling the world
21:09in creativity,
21:10in virtue,
21:11in love,
21:12so that we can be
21:13assimilated
21:14to God.
21:15For as Gregory
21:16of Nicaea
21:17says,
21:18the limit
21:19of life
21:20of virtues
21:20is the
21:21assimilation
21:22of God.
21:24End of quote.
21:26Now just to mention
21:27that assimilation
21:28means being absorbed
21:29or conformed
21:30into the likeness
21:31of God.
21:32And the virtues
21:33of God
21:34are the righteous
21:35characteristics
21:36such as
21:36self-control,
21:38patience,
21:39humility,
21:40all of which
21:41are opposite
21:42of the vices
21:43or the passions
21:44of the flesh.
21:46Now looking
21:47a little closer
21:48between the two
21:49differences
21:50in these terms,
21:52we see that
21:53image refers
21:54to the
21:54inherent nature
21:56of humanity
21:57including reason,
21:59free will,
22:00and the capacity
22:01for love
22:01that distinguishes
22:03humans
22:03from other
22:04creatures.
22:06And the likeness
22:07refers to the
22:08process of
22:08becoming more
22:09like God
22:10through grace,
22:12specifically
22:12through participation
22:13in God's
22:15divine energies.
22:17This process
22:17again is called
22:19theosis
22:19or deification
22:21where humans
22:22strive to become
22:23united with God
22:24in love
22:25and spiritual
22:26perfection.
22:27The nature
22:28of God,
22:29according to the
22:30Orthodox Church,
22:31means the
22:32sum qualities
22:33shared by
22:34individuals
22:35of the same
22:36type.
22:37The qualities
22:37which distinguish
22:38individuals
22:39of a type
22:40from one another
22:41make up the
22:42person.
22:44The Holy Trinity
22:44is one divine
22:46nature in three
22:47persons.
22:48Humanity is
22:49one human nature
22:50in the image
22:52of God.
22:53Through grace,
22:53the Spirit
22:54of God
22:55restores the
22:56nature of the
22:57believer to
22:57its true
22:58uncorrupted
22:59state so
23:00that he or
23:01she may grow
23:02into union
23:03with God.
23:05And the
23:05essence of
23:07God,
23:07according to the
23:07Orthodox
23:08theology,
23:09distinguishes
23:10between God's
23:11essence,
23:12which in Greek
23:13is
23:13and God's
23:15energies,
23:16energia in
23:18Greek.
23:19And we
23:19learn that
23:20God's
23:21essence is
23:22unknowable
23:23and uncreated
23:24and is beyond
23:25understanding and
23:26comprehension of
23:28his creatures.
23:29God can be
23:30known by
23:31human beings
23:32through divine
23:33energies and
23:33operations of
23:35the Father,
23:35the Son,
23:36and the Holy
23:37Spirit.
23:38And God's
23:39energies are
23:40his active
23:41power and
23:42presence in
23:43the world,
23:43through which
23:44he reaches
23:45out to
23:46humanity and
23:47those who
23:48come to
23:48him are
23:49changed by
23:50his grace
23:51or divine
23:51energies at
23:52work in
23:53their lives.
23:54Dear
23:55listener and
23:56followers,
23:57the importance
23:58of understanding
23:58these terms
23:59we have
24:01belabored over
24:02in this sharing
24:03today are
24:05really speaking
24:06of the
24:06consequences or
24:08significance of
24:09our relationship
24:10with God.
24:11The Eastern
24:12Orthodox,
24:13understanding of
24:14humanity's
24:15relationship to
24:16God emphasizes
24:17that humans
24:19are not
24:20automatons but
24:21rather are
24:22called to live
24:23in communion
24:23with God.
24:25The goal is
24:27to reflect God's
24:28divine nature and
24:29become more and
24:31more united with
24:32him through
24:33grace.
24:34And again,
24:35this is called
24:36synergy with
24:37God.
24:37and we've
24:39heard the
24:39term theosis
24:40earlier in
24:41this sharing.
24:42And this term
24:43is the main
24:44concept of the
24:45Eastern Orthodox
24:46Church and
24:47refers to the
24:49process of
24:49becoming united
24:50with God
24:51partaking of
24:52his divine
24:53nature.
24:54And this,
24:55dear ones,
24:56is achieved
24:57through prayer,
24:58fasting,
25:00sacraments,
25:01and a life of
25:02love and
25:02obedience to
25:03God's will.
25:03I know that
25:06in the sharing
25:07of these few
25:07terms today may
25:09have seemed
25:10repetitive in
25:11many ways,
25:12but I am
25:13encouraged by
25:14how one of
25:15our early
25:15fathers named
25:16St. John
25:17Christosom,
25:18who lived in
25:18339 A.D.,
25:21said he
25:22encouraged
25:23repetition in
25:24preaching,
25:25believing that
25:26hearing the
25:27same truths
25:28multiplied times
25:30after times
25:31strengthened faith.
25:33May these
25:34truths help
25:35us all
25:36conform to
25:36the image
25:37and the
25:38likeness of
25:38God and
25:39his plan and
25:39his purpose
25:40for each one
25:41of us.
25:42And may God
25:42above all be
25:44glorified,
25:45and may we
25:46all through
25:46synergy,
25:48our cooperation
25:48with God,
25:50attain our
25:51final resting
25:52place in the
25:53kingdom of
25:54heaven, which
25:55is the ultimate
25:55fulfillment of
25:57divine love and
25:58the presence of
25:59God, where the
26:00righteous experience
26:01eternal joy
26:03and union
26:04with him
26:04forever.
26:05Amen.