By Pastor Alex Ruelo
You are saved. You are in your position because of the grace of God. Because of this study, the first lesson that will be imparted to you is about how God created man. It will be easier to understand why you need salvation and why you need God when you understand how He made you.
According to the theory of Evolution, man descended from the apes. When you think that, rest assured, your character will be that of an animal. But when you think you are created in the image and likeness of God, they you know that your character is better than that.
Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” The first thing that you need to understand is that there was somebody with God when He created man. He said let US make man. In the original text, the word God was translated in Hebrew as “Elohim,” which is a plural noun. Some might say they are the legions of angels around God. But there is a problem with that. In the Bible, angels are described as having 6 wings. God made man in His image. When God created you, He made you special. He loves you so much and you are important to Him. You have to understand this and keep it to heart. He did not make you in the image of animals or angels but in His own image and likeness.
In Genesis 1:1, it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”John 1:3 mentions that, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Man was created in three parts. Just the like the triune being present during creation, man is a triune being. In the Old Testament, you will not see the name of Jesus Christ. He was only introduced in the New Testament. Nothing would have been made without Him. 1 John 5:7-8 says, “For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” How did that happen? This doctrine is called the Trinity.
You need to remember that God is sovereign and you cannot comprehend the magnitude of His power. You were created in His image and likeness but you are, by no par, not like Him. You can only believe Him and have faith in Him and in His word. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Man is very intelligent by nature. But you have to accept the fact that you do not and will never know everything. Your knowledge is not enough and that should humble you because that is what you need God for. He made you perfect but you are not like him. Psalms 8:4-5 says, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.” God made man just a little lower than the angels and He loves them too much.
If God made you in His image and likeness, does that mean that you share the same characteristics as Him? God is omnipotent, all powerful, omnipresent, everywhere and omniscient, all knowing. Man is not.
God is a triune being. Matthew 28:19 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” They have their own identities even if they are one. In the Greek translation, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are defined in single definitive terms. Wayne Grudem once said, “The mystery of the Trinity humbles us before God and draws us to worship him without reservation.”
If you know everything, what do you need God for? If you try to understand the Trinity, you will lose your mind. But if you deny it, you will lose your soul. The only thing you can hold onto is the Word of God saying that there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God’s word is clearer than anything else under the sun.
If God is a triune being, man became a triune being too when God created him. Man has a spirit, soul and body. 1 Thessalonians5:23 says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The word ‘and’ separates and identifies these three distinct parts. The spirit is God’s consciousness. It is where man meets God. The soul is world consciousness. You are not just a body with a soul and spirit. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Bible says that when man sinned, he died. But it was his spirit that died, not his soul. John 10:10 says, “The enemy came to kill, steal and destroy; but I came so you may have life.” If you do not believe in Jesus Christ, then your spirit is most probably dead. John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” You are worshipping God online and you are worshipping Him physically wherever you are. But if you do not believe in God, then you are not actually worshipping because your spirit is dead. This is the reason why you have to understand why and how you were created. James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” The body will literally be dead if you do not have a spirit. Are you concerned about the things of God or only of the things of this world? Check your spirit.
The Spirit has three parts. The first one is communion, the one that communicates with God. John 3:3 says, “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Because of sin, the spirit is dead. You need to be reconnected to God so your spirit will live. Feed your spirit with the word of God and listen to His messages. That is how you keep your spirit alive.
The second one is intuition, your gut feel. Mark 2:8 says, “Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?” When you feel like something is going to happen, that is God talking to you. If you do not have this intuition, you might be disconnected with God in one way or another.
The last part of the spirit is conscience, that which tells you what is right and wrong. Romans 9:1 says, “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—” When God made man, he put a tree in the Garden of Eden. Some questions God’s motives in putting the tree there. If He did not do so, then man would not have eaten of its fruit. God simply wanted them to use their spirit.
Romans 2: 15-16 says, “They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.” When God sent Jesus Christ to the world, He became the Savior of all. When you know about His word and His promise of salvation, this will be weighed against you when you get to heaven. What do you know? That is why it is of utmost importance for the spirit to be alive. God is asking you to respond to His call. Keep your spirit alive.
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