Themes
Imago Dei • Creation • Why we exist • Our destiny • Trinity • Identity • Friendship with God • Human • Relationship • Adam • Jesus Christ • In Christ • Image of God
Our identity is not our pronouns. Our identity is not our profession, not our skills or abilities, nor our successes or failures. Our identity is not our ethnicity or our race. Our identity is not our disabilities or our mental health. Our identity is not our history. It is not our social status or our class. Our identity is not our online influence. Our identity is in Christ—restored humanity, image bearers in beautiful and exciting friendship with God.
Scripture reading
Hebrews 1:3 Colossians 1:15 Romans 8:29 2 Corinthians 3:18
This call to worship1 is about being created in God's image. It comes from several writings by the great apostle Paul and from that great sermon known as the Book of Hebrews.
God’s Son is the radiance of the glory of God. God’s Son is the exact imprint of God’s nature God’s Son upholds the universe by the word of His power. God’s beloved Son is the image of the invisible God. God’s beloved Son is the firstborn of all creation. For those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
Prayer
Creator God, You have created us in Your very own image. This is one of the most stunning, life-changing, awe-inspiring realities of Your creation. It tells us who we are, why we exist, and what we are destined for. We have been uniquely created to reflect You, our Triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, where Your Son is the true and full and perfect image of You, and it is in Him where we find our identity. And although it is fun and interesting to speculate on all our human functions and capacities that make us unique amongst creation, being created in Your image goes way beyond these things. It is about our very being as humans— it is about the deepest and most human thing that we are— which is our relationship, our partnership, our friendship with You. To be human is to be in relationship with You. Our image-bearing is not simply a created property or a generic human quality that separates us from other mammals. No! Your image —the image of God— was not first created or found in Adam. Your image is a reality fully revealed and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is Your exact representation. We are not each somehow independently like You. It is Jesus Christ who is Your true and full image. In Him, we see not only who You are but also what it truly means to be human. And what we see is not simply our rationality or our moral capacity. What we see is our relationship with You. He is in You, and You are in Him. And we are in Him, and He is in us. And so our relationship with You is fully restored in Christ. Jesus Christ is the One in whom humanity is fulfilled. And we are in Him. You are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are a relational being. And so we have been made for relationship and for communion and for love with You. We are not autonomous. We are persons-in-relationship— first with You, and then with one another. And so our fulfillment —our image bearing— as humans is in relationship with You. And so because we are in Christ, we are participating with Him in the very relationship of the Triune God. To be human is to be in a dynamic relationship with You— a relationship that is renewed and realized and fulfilled in our union with Jesus Christ. We are being transfomed into Your image, God, as we are being conformed to the image of Christ— as we are becoming more and more truly human in Christ— the perfect human, the perfect image of God. He stands in for us. And He unites us with You. He restores our true humanity, thus restoring our true relationship with You. Our image-bearing is not something we must work to achieve or perfect. His life is our life. His baptism is our baptism. His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. His ascension is our ascension. His identity as Your true image is our identity. Our identity is not our pronouns. Our identity is not our profession, not our skills or abilities, nor our successes or failures. Our identity is not our ethnicity or our race. Our identity is not our disabilities or our mental health. Our identity is not our history. It is not our social status or our class. Our identity is not our online influence. Our identity is in Christ— restored humanity, image bearers in beautiful and exciting friendship with You. In the name of Jesus Christ, who is the true Image of God, who assumed fallen humanity and restored it in himself, whose incarnation is the fulfillment of the image in which we were made, whose union with us is right now re-making us in the image of Christ, who is making all things new —including us— who is making us truly human again, Amen.
1
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians who gathered at Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on Sunday, February 9, 2025.