Every Christian is familiar with the story of the creation of the heaven and the earth in the Bible, including the creation of man, who is created in the image of God (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. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them (Genesis 1:26-27)). But unfortunately it often happens, that this part in the Bible that man is created in the image of God, is used to justify and accept the character, nature and works of the flesh, which go against the words and the thato ya Modimo. But what about this? Is man created in the image of God or not?
The creation of man
Man is created in the image of God (El-Elohim). God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. When God breathed His breath of life into the nostrils of man, man became a living soul.
Man was perfectly created and had a spirit, moya le mmele. Man was clothed with the righteousness and glory of God and was not aware of his body and his nakedness, and therefore he wasn’t ashamed.
Adam was the son of God and was born of the Spirit of God. The spirit of man reigned over the soul and body. The soul and body were subjected to the spirit and therefore God’s nature reigned in man.
There was no evil and no uncleanness present in the creation of God. That’s why man walked in boldness with God.
While God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and while he slept, God took out of Adam’s body one of his ribs and closed up the flesh thereof and made a woman and gave the woman to Adam.
God brought the woman Himself to Adam and when Adam saw the woman, a rialo: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” The woman belonged to the man and together they were one flesh (Gen 2:21-25)
There was a unity and perfection. The creation was good, yes it was very good.
The fall of man
But the devil, who was casted out of heaven upon the earth, was prideful and wanted to be like God. He also wanted to have a son and be a father, just like God. He saw God walking with His son and was jealous. He wasn’t only jealous on God, that He had a son, but he was also jealous on the fact, that God had given man dominion over the earth and every living thing in the earth.
Ka hona, the devil made a plan, by which he would not only take God’s son away from Him and make the son of God his own, but also take over the dominion over the earth and every living creature, from man. If the son of God would listen to him, instead of God, and would act upon his words, than the son of God would automatically come under the devil’s authority. The devil would not only become his father, but he would also become ruler over the earth and over all living creatures, that have a soul, including man.
The devil didn’t approach the man and woman directly, but the devil approached and tempted the woman, through the serpent, and he tempted the man through the woman.
The devil tempted the woman by telling a partial truth, namely that if they would eat from the forbidden tree, that they would become as God. The devil didn’t speak about the part, that if they would eat from the forbidden tree, that they would surely die. Che, he didn’t mention that part.
The woman began to doubt the words of God and believed and obeyed the words of the serpent above the words of God, and Adam acted the same way as his wife and also believed the words of the woman above the words of God. Because of the fact, that the woman believed and obeyed the words of the serpent, above the words of God and the man also believed and obeyed the words of the woman, hodima mantswe a Modimo, they both placed the creation of God above the Creator.
Through the disobedience of man ho Modimo, the spirit of man died and man became separated from God. He fell from his position as son of God and lost his dominion, to rule over the earth and all there is within.
At that moment, when the man and the woman disobeyed the commandment of God and ate from the forbidden tree, they sinned and death entered. As a result, the spirit of man died and man came under the authority of death.
The devil obtained the dominion over the earth and all there is within, including man, whose spirit had died. The devil had become the father of fallen man. Bohle, who would be born in the flesh on the earth from the seed of man, would have his nature and character. The soul was no longer controlled by the spirit and God, but by the body and the devil.
The spirit of man died and man became separated from God
When the spirit of man died, man was separated from God and the flesh reigned. Man was no longer spiritual but carnal and sense-ruled. What happened in the spiritual realm became visible in the natural realm through the fact, that their eyes were opened and they became aware of their body and their nakedness. They had received a knowledge of good and evil and therefore they became aware of their nakedness, and became ashamed. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. E le hore, their nakedness was covered.
The man and woman had not only become ashamed of their nakedness, but when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden, in the coolness of the day, they became afraid and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. When God asked Adam, where he was, Adam answered that he was afraid because he was naked.
Although God knew all along, that they had eaten from the forbidden tree, He asked Adam, who had told him, that they were naked and if they had eaten from the forbidden tree. Adam didn’t took the blame and didn’t admit that he indeed ate from the forbidden tree and didn’t ask forgiveness. Che, the nature and character of the monnamoholo became visible, namely blaming someone else for your own actions and (mis)behavior. He didn’t take the blame upon himself and asked forgiveness, but he blamed his wife for his actions. The woman did the same thing and pointed the finger to the serpent.
The serpent became accursed by God and would go on his belly and eat dust from that day forward. God promised, that He would put enmity between him and the woman and between his seed (sinners) and her seed (Jesu), and that it (Jesu) would bruise his head and he would bruise his heel.
The woman was cursed by God, by greatly multiplying her sorrow and conception. From that day forward, she would bring forth children in sorrow. Her desire would be to her husband, and he would rule over her. This was not the case, before she sinned, when man and woman were one and although Adam was first formed, they were equal.
The man was being cursed by God, by cursing the ground for his sake. In sorrow he would eat of it all the days of his life. The earth would bring forth thorns and thistles and he would eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of his face he would eat bread, until he would return to the ground. Because he was formed from the dust of the ground and therefore he would return to dust.
After the fall Adam called his wife Eve, because she was the living of all living.
God took the aprons, which were made by man, and God clothed man with clothes of skin, which He made. This was the first atonement for the sins of man, which was made by God Himself.
Ka mora hoetla, God said that man had become one of Them, and had received knowledge of good and evil. Man was created after the image of God and possessed His spirit and eternal life. But because man had eaten the fruit of the tree of good and evil, man possessed the knowledge of good and evil. Although man possessed the knowledge of good and devil, the spirit of man had died.
The spiritual man was allowed to eat from the tree of life. Because God had not forbidden them to eat from this tree. But because man sinned and the spirit of man died, man became carnal and was no longer allowed to eat from the tree of life. Ka hona, God drove man out of the garden of Eden and at the east of the garden of Eden, the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, kept the way of the tree of life (Gen 3:1-24).
The conscience of man
The spirit of man had died, but the flesh, in which the devil reigned, was alive, and had the knowledge of good and evil. Man had received an awareness of the things, which were good and the things, which were evil. Ka hona, God didn’t have to give them commandments. We call the awareness of good and evil, the conscience of man. The conscience of man is present in the soul of man. Motho e mong le e mong, who is born on this earth is born with a conscious; the knowledge of good and evil and makes his own decision to do good or to do evil.
The result of fallen man and the difference between doing good and doing evil became immediately visible in the lives of Cain and Abel, who were born of the seed of man. Both Cain and Abel belonged to the generation of the old carnal man (motho ya weleng). Although they were carnal and walked after the flesh, they had an awareness of good and evil.
Cain was a tiller of the ground and brought an offering to the Lord God of the fruit of the ground. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and brought an offering to the Lord God of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. The Lord respected the offering of Abel, but not the offering of Cain. Therefore Cain became very angry (wroth) and his countenance fell. God saw that Cain was angry, and asked Cain, why he was angry (wroth) and why his countenance had fallen. God told him, that if he would do good, he would not give into his angriness and change his countenance. Because Cain had no right to be angry with Abel, because Abel was not responsible for his offering, which wasn’t accepted by God. Cain was responsible for his works, and not his brother. If he had made an offering according to the thato ya Modimo, then his offering would be accepted, just like Abel’s offering.
Therefore God said, that if he would do good he would not give into his angriness. But if Cain would give into his angriness and do evil, then the angriness would lead to sin. Sin was laying at the door, and to him would be his desire. But God said to Cain, that he should rule over sin. How could he rule over sin? By not giving in to his angriness.
But Cain didn’t listen and didn’t obey the words of God, but went his own way. He talked with Abel and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel and killed him.
Although God knew all along what had happened, He asked Cain, just like He did with Adam, where his brother was. But because evil reigned in the life of Cain, he lied to God and answered, that he didn’t know where he was. Because was he his brother’s keeper? But God asked him again, where his brother was and continued by saying, that the blood of his brother, cried unto Him from the ground. Therefore Cain was accursed from the earth, which had opened her mouth to receive his brother’s blood from his hand. When he would till the ground, it would not yield unto him her strength. Cain would become a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth.
Cain answered the Lord and said: “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Bonang, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”
But God answered him and said: “therefore whosoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden (Gen 4:1-16).
When Adam was 130 years old, he begat a son in his own likeness, after his image and called him Seth, which means substitute. Seth became a substitute for Abel and out of his seed, the Messiah would be born. After Seth, Adam begat more sons and daughters. When Adam was 930 years old, he died (Gen 5:1-3).
The old man is created in the image of Adam
Motho e mong le e mong, who is born from the seed of man (Adama) is born after the likeness and in the image of Adam and has a body and soul (nama). Since the spirit of man died, and man was no longer spiritual but carnal and sense ruled, God had to reveal Himself in the natural realm, among others via the senses of man. That’s how God revealed Himself throughout the Old Testament and the four gospels.
Since man was carnal and led by his sinful nature, we constantly read about the apostasy of man and the evil in man, which reigned on the earth. As a result of sin the flood came, but after the flood, the evil in man arose again and man continued to do evil instead of good. This all happened, because man was trapped in his sin nature, and his spirit was dead.
There were only a few, WHO loved God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, that they followed good and turned their back to evil. Most people loved doing evil and fulfilled the lusts and desires of their flesh.
When God redeemed His people from the power of Egypt, that kept them in bondage, their mind and life was so defiled by the customs, mekhoa, pagan rituals and works of Egypt, that although they had a conscious of good and evil, they had to renew their mind with the words of God, so that their mind would line up with the will of God and they could walk in His way.
Therefore God made His will known to His people, who were unspiritual, by given them His commands through Moses. Although sin (bobe) already existed before the law of Moses, sin was revealed by the law of Moses to the unspiritual carnal man (ROM 3:20).
God gave, just like He had done with Adam and with Cain, His commandments and it was up to His carnal people, if they loved God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and as a result keep God’s commandments or not. God had given man a free will, therefore every man could choose to obey Him and do good or to disobey Him and do evil (sebe).
The coming of the Messiah
The promise, which God had given to man, didn’t come to pass immediately, but the promise came to pass. Namely, ho tla ha Jesu Kreste; Mesia. Jesus would redeem man from the authority and dominion of the devil and would redeem man from the sinful nature, which is present in the flesh. Jesus came to reconcile man back to God, so that man would be spiritually reconnected with God and would be able to communicate and walk with God, just like before the fall of man.
Jesus was a Man, Who walked in the authority of God and spoke with authority. Jesu o ne a le joalo not a wishy washy, Who tolerated and approved everything. Che!
Jesus didn’t accept and allow the evil works of the devil, but He exposed the works of the devil.
Jesus exposed sin and confronted man with their sins. He exposed the nature of the devil, which is present in the monnamoholo and He exposed his evil works, by confronting and addressing the people.
Jesus didn’t mince words, because He represented the truth and life and not lies and death, like the devil and his sons.
Jesus even called some sons of the devil, hypocrites; actors of life, serpents, generations of vipers, graves which appear not, blind leaders of the blind, satan, a fox (i.e.. Mat 15:7-9, Mat 15:14, Mat 23:24-33, Lu 11:37-54, Lu 12:56, Lu 13:32). Jesus commanded man to sin no more. But it was up to man, whether (s)he obeyed the words of Jesus, which derived from God, or not.
The redemption and restoration of fallen man
Jesus was brought as a Lamb to the slaughter. Because of the sins and iniquities of fallen man, Jesus was bruised and wounded. Jesus was chastised on the whipping post and crucified, due to our disobedience towards God and our trespasses. Jesus carried all the sins and iniquities of the world and the punishment for sin, namely death. He legally entered Hades and conquered death, when He raised from the death (Isa 53)
Jesus was the Firstborn of the new creation; motho e motjha, who is created after the likeness and in the image of God. Jesus restored what the devil had destroyed.
When Jesus was taken up in heaven and presented His blood to God and took place on the mercy-seat, the next promise of God and Jesus could come; namely the coming of the Holy Spirit.
50 Days after Passover, when the disciples of Jesus were united in prayer in the upper room in Jerusalem, the promise of God came and they all received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, their spirit, who was death, was raised from the death and became alive, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, Who dwelled in them from that day forward.
The sons of God were born and their first work of the spirit was the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, His work of redemption and the restoration of fallen man.
The redemption of sin nature
The blood of animals could only temporary make atonement for the sins of fallen man. What the blood of animals could not do; redeem man from the evil sinful nature of man, which is present in the flesh, the blood of Jesus could. The sacrifice of Jesus and HIs blood didn’t only cover the sins of the old man and erased them, but redeemed the old man from the sinful nature, which produces sin and iniquity (bobe).
The new man is predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ
For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (ROM 8:29)
Jesus was the image of the invisible God (2 Co 4:4, Col 1:15). Jesu o boletse, that if anyone had seen Him, he had seen the Father (Jn 14:9). Bohle, who would believe in Him and become born again in the spirit, which means to die to the flesh (symbolically the kolobetso ya metsing) and the resurrection of the spirit from the death, through the baptism with the Holy Spirit, would become a popo e ncha; a new man.
The spirit of man, which was death through sin and under the authority of the death has been raised from the death by the power of the Holy Spirit and has been made alive. The new man has been freed from the sinful nature, which produces sins and iniquities, and has been reconciled with God through the resurrection of his spirit.
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all (Col 3:10-11)
The new man has a living spirit, moya le mmele, an
d is created after the image of God. The new man is no longer unspiritual, but has become spiritual and shall walk after the spirit and be led by the Word and the Spirit of God.
The new man shall put off the works of the old carnal man le put on the works of the new man. The new man shall renew his carnal mind, with the Word of God, so that his mind will be conformed after the spirit and the will of God.
The new man shall not only renew his mind with the words of God, but shall also obey the words of God and become a doer of the words of God.
The sons of God will become visible, because they will walk continuously after the Spirit in obedience to the Word and not after the flesh in obedience to the world. Their spirit is no longer dead, but is alive, and therefore their mind is no longer darkened and they no longer walk after the will of the devil, and the lusts of the flesh. They no longer walk after the will of the flesh, fulfilling the lusts and desires of the flesh and the mind, as the old carnal man walks (Eph 2:3)
But everyone, who is born of Him, shall listen to His words and obey His words. The new man shall preach the truth and expose and destroy the works of darkness, joalo ka Jesu. Instead of ordering the manner of life in the sphere of craftiness, nor adultering the word of God by an admixture of error (2 Kor 4:2).
The sons of God will become visible by the fruit they bear in their lives; the fruit of the Spirit.
Jesus discerned the spirits and recognized if people loved God above all, with all their heart, mind, strength and soul, by their works and their fruit. The new man, who walks after the spirit, shall just like Jesus discern the spirits and shall discern the sons of God from the sons of the devil, by the fruit they bear.
Created in the image of God or the devil?
Although man has originally made after the likeness and image of God, the lives of people and their works will prove, to whom they belong: God or the devil. As long as the spirit of man is death, man shall be sense ruled and shall walk after the flesh, being controlled by the god and prince of the power of the air; diabolose. As long as the spirit of man is death, man is death for God, but alive to the world. As a result man shall be heard, accepted, liked and loved by the world (1 Jo 3:1)
But the world hates the sons of God, because the Spirit of God, Who abides in them, reproves the world of sin. And the old carnal man, who walks after the flesh, doesn’t want to be confronted with their sins and doesn’t want to listen to the words of God, hore call to repentance, but the old carnal man wants to listen and walk after the will of the flesh, fulfilling the lusts and desires of the flesh, without feeling guilty.
Many works of the devil are being tolerated, approved and justified by Christians, including the evil nature of fallen man, which produces sins and iniquities.
Everything is being allowed and the works of the devil are being tolerated under the guise of the love le the grace of God, and… that man is made after the image of God.
Ho ya ka lefatshe, every person is born with a specific nature, character and orientation, that cannot be changed. Therefore man cannot help that they are born that way.
Because of the fact, that the church has become unspiritual and world-like and many Christians have become apostate from the truth of God’s Word, they believe and have adopted this statement.
They not only say, that they are born that way, but they make it even worse, by saying that God has created the person that way, and that the person is created in the image of God. Ka hona, the person may stay and live they way (s)he is. But this is again a partial truth, which the devil uses, and therefore a lie.
Yes, man is made after the image of God, but through sin and because of evil, which is present in the seed of man, man is born as a sinner, with a sinful nature.
That’s why Jesus had to come to earth, to deal with the sin problem of fallen man.
Jesus destroyed the works of the devil
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He came to redeem man from the sinful nature, which is present in the flesh and to reconcile man back to God, by the resurrection of the spirit of man from the death.
Bohle, who has sokoloha and claims to tsoaloa hape, but keep tolerating, accepting and even keep doing the works of the devil, doesn’t know God and doesn’t belong to Him, but still belongs to the devil. The person has not been redeemed from the flesh by the resurrection of the spirit from the death, but the person is still carnal and a slave to the flesh and lives under the authority of the death. These are not my words, but these are the words of God. Because it is written:
If you know that He is righteous, you know that every one that does righteousness is born of Him. Bonang, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Whosoever abides in Him sins not: whosoever sins hath not seen Him, neither known Him.
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. (1 Joh 2:29-3:10)
The love of God and loving your brother doesn’t mean allowing, tolerating and accepting sin (bobe), hobane sebe se isa lefung (ROM 6:16). If you really love your brother as yourself, you don’t want anything bad to happen to him, and you certainly don’t want your brother to be casted into the eternal lake of fire.
The old man has created a god in his image
Many Christians don’t change anymore in the image of God and don’t put on Jesus Christ. But they have made a god after their image in their mind, who is just like them. They have created a god, who approves, tolerates and justifies everything, including sin.
But if God didn’t mind sin, as so many people believe and preach, then Jesus didn’t have to come to this earth and die at the cross. The truth is that God doesn’t approve sin. He shall never approve the abominations of the generation of fallen man (the old carnal man), that go against His will.
God is very clear in His Word and hates sin and therefore He cannot have communion with sin. But the problem is that most Christians don’t study His Word and therefore they don’t know Him and they don’t know His will
The love of God is a righteous love and is not shown by tolerating, accepting and justifying sin, but by sending His Son Jesus Christ to this earth and deal with sin (bobe). Because of His love for man, God has given a way out for fallen man, to be redeemed from the sinful nature, which produces sin and leads to eternal death.
Motho e mong le e mong, who is born on this earth is born as a sinner, whom spirit is death. There is no one excluded! Leha ho le joalo, although every man is born as a sinner, they don’t have to stay a sinner. Because every sinner has the ability to become in Jesus Christ through regeneration a new creation, and live after the spirit in obedience to the Word and the Holy Spirit, and through sanctification grow up into the image of God and become and walk like Jesus. But it’s up to every person, eng (s)he decides to do.
‘E be letsoai la lefatše’
