Genesis 1:26 “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

In this verse, notice that it says LET US, and follows it with OUR IMAGE and OUR LIKENESS. Does that mean we are the spitting image of the creator? I hope not, I know for sure I am not the vision of perfection.

Genesis 1:1 says that God formed the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:says that the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

1 John:1-2 States that in the beginning was the Word…the Word was with God… the Word was God. Verse 2 He was in the beginning with God.

These verses state that the Father of all creation, the Word of God, was at the beginning of creation, and that the spirit of God moved over the face of the waters. Three in ONE. BEAUTIFUL.

We separately teach the three into one to make it easier to teach about the person of God. But this distracts from the unity that is God, so with that, I continue with the picture of the egg.

If I asked you what an egg is, you would say it is what we have for breakfast, but if I had never seen an egg, the answer would be it's got a hard shell and a clear substance called the surrounding, a yellow ball called the yoke.. You fry it, and it tastes great.

So my question is, when is an egg no longer an egg? Simple answer: when it's broken into its parts —the shell, the yoke, and the white, which was once an egg.

God cannot be divided; He is complete and yet functions as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three testify to the others. The Word testifies to the truthfulness of the Father. The Son died for our sins at the cross and rose again to everlasting life, and the Spirit of God is our Teacher who reveals all the mysteries of the Living God.

Can God be divided? NEVER! So when Jesus said that after the Day of Pentecost, He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and He would teach you all things. Again, can God be divided? NO. So God lives within the believers.

So how are we like God, in His Image? We are a three-part being created in the likeness of God. We have a body that shelters our Soul, which is who we are. Me, Lou, my total self as a person. All my good points and all the ugliness that I became over my lifetime, without the influence of God. We also have a soul. However, because the original sin was created by rebellion in our Father Adam and our Mother Eve, our soul was darkened with sin and separated from fellowship with the creator of all things. Now hear me on this: man became defective, in that his tripart existence is broken like the egg, which, when broken, is no longer an egg but three parts that were once united as an egg. Man's fellowship with God was broken because of sin. Adam walked with God in the cool of the evening. With salvation in Christ, the spirit of man is revived by the presence of God. Men and women who reject the gift of salvation that Christ has provided remain separated from the fellowship with God and enter eternity to be forever separated.

One last thing: the condition of the believer and that of those who are lost without Christ are very different. At salvation, it is promised that at our death, we will be transformed into our spiritual body. What that entails, I can not wait to see. Our revitalized spirit will be with us, and our soul and spiritual body will be complete as when man was first created.

The unbeliever will also be raised on the last day, and his soul, the essence of his life, will be united, but his spirit will not. It is recalled back to the creator. The Word of God is clear that the body of the unbeliever, with all that he once was, is destined for destruction for eternity. There is no changing that judgment after the breath of life leaves the body.

The following Verse is for clarification of what has been written above and demonstrates the enormous amount of love that comes from the Father.

Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 Remember Him before the silver cord (speaks of Gods offer of salvation) is broken and the golden bowl (salvation no longer offered) is crushed, the pitcher (water is the washing by the Word of God) by the well is shattered and the wheel (ability to reach salvation and knowledge is no longer accessible) at the cistern is crushed; 7: then the dust (body of man)will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit (man’s spirit)will return to God who gave it.

1-800-HEAVEN POWER TO BUILD

Romans:

11 And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as [d]pastors and teachers,

Have you ever thought about how the Lord will use you? We ask ourselves, “Will I ever be ready? I’m not a spiritual giant like those men and women who are on TV and Radio. They sound like they fully understand everything in God’s word. Can it ever be used by God so I can make a difference? Believe me, I myself have had those same thoughts many times over the last 50 years.

Those gifts mentioned above in Romans 4:11 were given to every Christian at their spiritual birth. How can I say that? Understand this: when Jesus said He would abide with us, He meant that He, the God of heaven, resides in us. We are His new creation, which He blessed with salvation at the cross. His truth is this: when He made His residence in us, all that is in Him is in us, His beloved. And for what purpose?

12 for the equipping of the [e]saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the [f]knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature [g]which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Again, I want to address your concerns and fears of being unfit for duty that floods your heart and mind. That thought is a smoke screen from Satan to dissuade you from stepping out in faith.

Please read carefully the next portion of an actual instance of a young Christian couple, spiritually young, only two years after salvation.

On a Saturday night in 1974, they received a call from friends living in Harbison Canyon, San Diego County. The call was frantic, and the husband was distraught and crying. He wanted the couple to hurry over to their house 14 miles away. The urgency moved the young couple to quickly jump in their car and make the trip to the canyon. Once they arrived, they waved in and sat. The friend picked up the phone and made a quick call, and five minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The neighbor entered with his wife and a little bundle in her arms. In the next five minutes, the couple blurted out their story. She had given birth to a little girl. However, the doctors said that the child is not expected to live more than a few days. What he said next nearly destroyed the couple. The child was not fully formed, and that was because of the extreme problems she was not going to live long. Her heart was backwards and upside down. She didn’t have ears, had undeveloped eyes, and several other difficulties that I will not reveal. Believe me, the situation was grim. The doctors asked them what they wanted to do. They chose to take her home, love her, and let her pass in their arms. And they did.

The couple asked if the mom and dad wanted them to pray for the child. Yes, that was a good idea; that's the only hope we have. So, with that said, they got a blanket, spread it out on the floor, got some vegetable oil, and set the child on it. They removed all the clothing, carefully and gently, because she was fragile. The young man anointed the baby on every part of her body that was a problem. They prayed fervently, tears streaming down their faces. A couple of hours later, they set off for home.

Sunday afternoon, after brunch, they got another urgent call. The couple from the canyon again asked if they would make the trip. Upon arriving, everyone was crying —not with sadness, but with joy. Confused, they asked what happened. The child's mother said that early that morning, she heard the child crying, and that was the very first time she had cried. Upon unwrapping her, she discovered that the child was whole and beautiful, a beautiful pink color. God had healed her completely.

After the excitement had settled, they were instructed to take the child back to the same doctor for a full examination. Also, to get the prior report and the new report to hold as evidence of God’s great love and attention to his children's prayers.

The miracle above is not a story; it really happened, and I know it as a living fact. That young couple, only two years old in the Lord, was my wife Conny and me.

Yes, God is all-powerful and always in control. Because he gave us gifts, let it be known that those gifts are put into motion by the Holy Spirit of promise that resides within us to do the work and fulfill the plan of God and He does that work through His vessels of perfection by His love. You are perfect because He is perfect. You are righteous because He is righteous. Everything in Christ is in you because He resides in you. When God looks at us, He sees Christ because you are in Christ.

I received a call 23 years after that prayer session, and I was told that the child, all grown up, healthy, and with three children of her own. What a blessing!

I love the following scripture because it reveals everything that I have written here today.

James 5:16 ….The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

It is not my righteousness that this scripture is talking about, but Christ's Righteousness that we are clothed in.