Made After His Likeness

Made After His Likeness

By Apostle Felix

26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 
28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 1: 25 – 28

The creation of man was the pinnacle of God’s creation. Creation, such as vegetation, animals, birds, and fish, was the means to an end. Man was an end. God created this man to be an extension of Himself on the earth for rulership and dominion. Man was created to express the very nature and character of God. Rulership and dominion over God’s creation are expressions of God’s love in the earth. Unfortunately, man failed at his assignment and instead turned to what he was supposed to rule over for identity. He rejected life; instead, man settled for death. The command was not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,  lest he die.

16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

Genesis 2: 16, 17

But Adam and his wife, Eve, went ahead and ate from the tree they were not allowed to eat from. They chose the love of self above the love of God. Love was perverted, and man became self-centred. God intended man to rule the earth by His love. But since man became self-centred, the earth and the animal kingdom revolted against man.

17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 

Genesis 3: 17 – 19

God did not curse the earth, but informed man what happened to the earth because man had become self-centred. The curse upon the earth was a consequence of man’s rebellion, and not God’s retaliatory action against man’s sin. God does not react. God is not in a tit-for-tat business. God warns us of the consequences of our actions, before and after. He does not initiate such retributive consequences. Man’s actions do. It is the law of sowing and reaping.

7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6: 7 – 10

Adam sowed to his flesh and reaped corruption, so God should not be the one cursing the earth. It was man’s action that provoked the curse upon the earth. He sowed into the flesh, and the result was the curse. Walking in love then would ensure the blessing. We do not go about breaking curses and sowing money to break the curse. There is only one way to be free from the curse, which is to accept the Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Jesus is love. Adam rejected the life-giver, and the curse was activated, so accepting the life-giver will destroy the curse.

17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19  We love him, because he first loved us. 

1 John 4: 17 – 19

Jesus is the image of God, who is love. Accepting Jesus as your Lord imparts the nature of God, which is love, in you. It is that nature of love that drives away every form of fear in us. It is love nature of God in us that makes us be after His likeness. His love empowers us to act as God does. By His love, we love what God loves and hate what He hates. When we are in love, we will have zero fear in our lives.