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in the night" (see Isa. 59: 10).
Stumbling along in a spiritually
darkened world, roan insults the im–
age of God in himself as a way of
life. Man kills. Man robs. He rapes
and pillages. Man treats human life
as if it were a cheap, expendable
commodity meaning nothing. Dicta–
tors dictate and the masses suffer.
Throughout man's history the world
has been plagued by its Hitlers and
its Stalins.
In the name of power, man tor–
tures, maims and bludgeons his fel–
Iowman in a continua! orgiastic
violation of human rights.
In the name of God man · prac–
tices racism. Bigotry and prejudice
seep through the human heart like a
deadly ju ice poisoning relationships
and causing untold suffering. The
bigots rise up in holy horror when
their racism is labeled for what it is.
"Nol guilty!" they exclaim. "Guilty
as charged!" counters God. Man is
guilty before God. Guilty of violat–
ing God's own image, of insulting it,
of blinding his eyes from seeing it in
others.
Male man suppresses female
man, who is equally the bearer of
God's image. Male chauvinism is as
old as the hills of Mesopotamia and
Palestine. Yet those who are most
guilty will justify their posture by
using the Bible: "Wives, obey your
husbands," said the apostle Paul.
Yes, he did say that. But he also
said, "Husbands,
/ove
your wives."
He did not say to suppress them,
squelch them and lreal them as sec–
ond-class citizens. Husbands and
wives are described in the Bible as
"heirs together
of the grace of life"
(I
Pe
t.
3: 7).
No Excuse
Barriers based on feelings of superi–
ori ty and inferiority should not exist
between members of the human
race. One race should nol feel infe–
rior to, or superior to, anolher. One
sex should not be made lo fee l infe–
rior to another. Nor should a per–
son's occupation, or lack of one,
cause him lo feel lower than sorne
other human being. Yes, physical
differences do exist belween races
and sexes. And people do live al
different levels of human achieve–
ment and economy. But aHof this is
within
the greater context of God's
26
image which has been impressed
upon the whole of the human race.
Man has no justification for in–
sulting the image of God in his fel–
lowman. As Paul said, "They are
without excuse...."
Man shou ld be able to see the
image of his Creator in the created
universe. He should be able to see it
in himself- the very apex of that
creation. Paul pointed this out to the
Romans: "Ever since the creation of
the world
his invisible nature,
namely, his eterna! power and deity,
has been clearly perceived in the
things that have been made. So they
are without excuse"
(Rom.
1:20).
Man stands indicled by the very
creation of which he is a part. God's
personality is everywhere!
It
is to be
seen in the magnificent design of the
universe. It can be seen in the vast
size and scope of the cosmos and in
the microcosms of the earth's eco–
systems. His power, His wisdom, His
incredible intelligence, His deity is
to be seen everywhere in His cre–
ation. But nowhere is the image of
God to be seen more clearly than in
man himself. Yet man has failed to
recognize bis own Father. Man has
failed to see wi thin himself a touch
of the divine. Man has been blinded
to the reality of his own intrinsic
worth and to the vastness of bis own
incredible potenlial.
A Reprobate Mlnd
And so God gave man up toa base
or " reprobate" mind (Rom. 1:28).
In this state man daily insults the
image of God which he bears. Man
becomes "fi lled with all manner of
wickedness, evil, covetousness, mal–
ice. Full of envy, murder, strife, de–
ceit, malignity, they are gossips,
slanderers, haters of God, insolent,
haughty, boastful, inventors of evil.
disobedient to parents, foolish,
faithless,
heartless, ruthless"
(Rom.
1:29-31).
Here is the sad picture of man cut
off from God. This is "secular man,"
man stripped of the knowledge of
who and whal he is. Here is a
graphic picture of humanistic man
unaware lhat he is "the offspring of
God."
Those upon whom the light of
God's glorious truth has shone have
an obligation to live up to their own
image-to the image of God
in
them-
selves- and
in
others. The knowledge
of who and what we are demands a
change of outlook.
lt
demands a re–
sponse to God. l t requires a shed–
ding of t he "old nature"- that
blinded mentalily in which we all
did that which comes naturally.
lt
requires a new outlook, a new re–
spect for the divine image in our–
selves and in others. Paul put it this
way: "Do not líe to one another,
seeing that you have put off the old
nature with its practices and have
put on the new nature, which is
being renewed in knowledge
after
the image of its creator.
Here [in the
body of Christ)
there cannot be
Greek and Jew,
circumcised and un–
circumcised, barbarían, Scythian,
slave, free man, but
Christ is al/, and
in ai!"(Col.
3:9- J
1).
In the knowledge that we are all
created in the express image of God,
the barriers fall like tenpins in a
bowling alley. The artificial barriers
that have divided man from man
throughout his whole history are
broken down in Christ (see Eph–
esians
2:
14). Man, in Christ, is
emancipated from his own igno–
rance. Man now begins to com–
prehend who and what he is, and
where he is going. Man begins to see
God, in Christ, in himself. Man
gains dignity and self-respect. Man
is in God and God is in man.
And when the white light of this
realizalion breaks through with full
import, behavior changes drasti–
cally. A new nature- the divine na–
ture (11 Pe ter 1:4)-begins lo assert
itself. Man is compelled, by virlue
of his knowledge, to treat his fellow–
man with love and dignity, recog–
nizing in him the image of God.
Bigotries dissolve like morning fog
before a rising sun. Hatreds disinte–
grate. Violence is transformed into
gentleness and concern.
The beauty of God 's image
breaks through like an exotic balm,
like a precious spiritual ointment,
soothing, cooling, healing the mind
of man. Man is transformed. His
mind is renewed. His self-image is
changed.
When fu lly understood 'for all of
their power and import, it is perhaps
true to say tha t the Bible contains
no greater words than those found
in Genesis 1:27: "So God created
man in his own image...."
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1977