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January 5 - March 27, 2024
Israel and the church were not separate but were unified in the person of Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is the true Israel of God, who reconstituted the people of God in himself.
So, the church, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, is the restored people of God, true Israel, because of their identification with him.
The apostles passionately argued that the church stands in continuity with the people of God in the Old Testament—from Adam to Israel. As such, the church is called to rule over the created order, mediate God’s glory to the nations, and embody God’s law in every aspect of life.
At the heart of dispensationalism is the separation between the church and ethnic Israel, that these are distinct people groups and that each functions within its own dispensation.
Much of my understanding of the people of God as possessing the divine image stems from G. K. Beale’s book The Temple and the Church’s Mission.
The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches us that humanity is imbued with astonishing qualities. Humanity is the crown of creation. Since we are made in the divine image, we have incredible significance and meaning.
Another reason why I wrote this brief project is to give God’s people confidence that they are part of the restored people of God—true Israel. This may seem like only an academic inquiry, but such is not the case.
Paul audaciously quotes and alludes to a host of Old Testament texts here—Leviticus 26, Ezekiel 37, Isaiah 52, Ezekiel 20, and 2 Samuel 7, to name a few.
Though the Corinthians are not ethnically part of Israel, they enjoy complete identification with Israel through their position in Christ, the embodiment of true Israel. The Corinthians must embrace their identity as true Israel and the true temple of God by not morally compromising. Christian living flows naturally from our identification as Israel.
humanity is fashioned to dwell in God’s presence and tasked with the responsibility to bring his glory to the ends of the earth.
Elsewhere in the Old Testament, the cosmos is compared to Israel’s temple: He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. (Psalm 78:69; cf. 1 Chronicles 28:2; Isaiah 66:1-2)
Creation follows a fixed calendar that calls to mind God’s purpose in creating all things. That is, the lights set the rhythm of the created order, so that all of creation may be oriented toward God and reminded to worship him.5
God resting after six days entails his climactic enthronement as King over the cosmos
Much like an individual constructing a large estate on a plot of land, where the owner desires to move in and manage the property, God desires to rule the created order and fill it with his resplendent presence. Quite simply, the universe is designed to house the veritable glory of God.
Though God dwells in all his fullness in the invisible heavens, his presence has partially descended in the Garden of Eden.
The prophet Ezekiel even calls Eden “the garden of God . . . the holy mount of God”
In the first three days, God creates realms (Genesis 1:3-13), and then he fills up each realm in days four to six with his creatures (Genesis 1:14-31). Each realm is governed by a particular ruler.
Remarkably, when God creates Adam and Eve, they are designed to “rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28). Humanity is therefore created to rule over the rulers of two of the three realms.
Fundamentally, being created in God’s image means that Adam and Eve represent him on the earth in all their thoughts and actions. It is the divine imprint of God in humanity that reflects his divine attributes and functions in the threefold office of king, priest, and prophet.
The line between Creator and creature is quite clear. As God’s image, Adam represents God on earth and is created to remain submissive to and wholly dependent on God.
Genesis 1:28 explicitly commands Adam and Eve to “subdue” and “rule over” creation. God fashioned them for a specific purpose, and they are required to fulfill it.
According to Genesis 1:28, Adam and Eve are to establish a community of faithful children who systematically appropriate God’s rule to the farthest corners of the earth.
Just as God brings order out of chaos in Genesis 1, Adam is responsible for bringing order out of chaos.
As we will see in the following chapter, Adam and Eve, upon encountering the serpent in Eden (the holy of holies!), should have immediately judged it and expelled it from God’s presence.
Adam and Eve are not only created to extend God’s rule, they are also fashioned to mediate God’s presence and to worship and serve before him. As priests, Adam and Eve are to minister in God’s garden sanctuary in Eden and expand God’s glory to the ends of the earth. Recall that Eden is the holy of holies, and
As many commentators point out,12 these two verbs, “work” and “watch over,” are found elsewhere in the Old Testament referring to priests ministering in the temple: “They [the Levites] shall guard [šmr] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard [šmr] over the people of Israel as they minister [ʿbd] at the tabernacle” (Numbers 3:8 ESV; cf. Numbers 8:26; 18:7).
A holy God can only dwell in a holy temple among a holy people.
The point of uncleanness in both scenarios is critical: God accepts only that which is pure, perfect, and ordered. But the issue of holiness is one notch above cleanness. Holiness is married to God’s glory. In a word, “To be clean means to be fit for the Presence of God, while to be holy means that one belongs to God.”
A prophet is an individual who hears God’s voice and speaks on behalf of God to his people.
meditate on it, and relate it to his wife. As Adam’s family grows, his prophetic role will inevitably increase, since more teaching will be required.
Even before the fall, God and humanity remained separated—God in heaven and Adam and Eve on the earth. By creating a cosmic temple, God reveals that he intends on dwelling with humanity in all his fullness.
Though perfectly created, the cosmic temple remains incomplete. Sin can infest the original creation. The cosmos and humanity, then, must be altered to house all of the glory of God. God’s aim is for humanity to spread this glorious presence over the entire earth, so that it may be transformed into the new heaven and earth.
We live in a culture that is hostile to the biblical definition of marriage, but Christians must not be vague or acquiesce.
God put an indelible mark on the first couple to rule on his behalf, mediate on and enjoy his presence, and live in accordance with his law, reminding one another of his truths. To be anything less is to be unhuman.
Adam and Eve’s refusal to follow God’s commands stemmed from their fundamental belief that their way was better. When God’s word is ignored, sin is inevitable. As
images will always be transformed into their object of worship.
The language is difficult here, but the verse appears to say that discord will emerge within the marriage relationship. The fall did not destroy Eve’s identity as queen, but it did affect how she will rule. Instead of ruling the created world together with her husband and preserving the internal structure of marriage, Eve will attempt to “rule” over her husband and wrest control from him.6
The term anti-image, used throughout this project, refers to an individual who is hostile to God and is the opposite of those who enjoy a restored image.
The anti-image still retains all three offices of being in the image of God, yet it uses the offices for its own selfish ambition. Here
A godly king, who is in the pristine, perfect image of God, will vanquish the serpent, the embodiment of the anti-image, at the very end of history. All those who trust in this redeemer will inherit his victory.
A key dimension of the gospel is that God satisfied his own demands in his Son’s work. We are simply unable to pull ourselves up by our own moral bootstraps. If we live apart from Christ, we are attempting to dress ourselves with fig leaves. Instead, we must trust in God, who works on our behalf and clothes us with the perfect righteousness of the last Adam.
They are now kings without a kingdom, priests without a temple, and prophets without the intimate voice of God.
“Murder is perhaps the ultimate usurpation of authority, because death is God’s judgment on fallen humans, and its timing should belong to him alone.”
In addition, we will find ourselves longing to make known the beauty of life as it once was in Paradise, the tragedy of its present marring, and the hope of our final redemption.
Every human is created in God’s image and possesses gifts and talents that reflect God’s infinite creative might.
The call of Abraham signals a new phase in God’s program in that the fulfillment of the divine commission of Genesis 1:28 is now gathering considerable steam. What began with a pair of individuals in Eden will now continue on in an entire nation in the Promised Land.
The promised struggle of Genesis 3:15, between the two images or seeds, runs throughout the whole of Genesis and especially here in the early chapters of Exodus.
Viewing the church as the collective body of Christ has tremendous application to our daily lives. If we grasp the significance of being in solidarity with one another, we realize the gravity of our behavior. Sin not only affects us in a personal manner but also radiates out within the body of Christ. Sin harms our hearts and the hearts of those around us. On the flip side, righteous living reinforces the solidarity we enjoy within the church.
As kings, Israel is to bring everything under subjection to the reign of God.
The Promised Land was, as Deuteronomy 7 explains, infested with idolatry. Since God is to dwell with Israel in the Promised Land, all forms of idolatry and rebellion must be expelled.
