THE COSMIC CHRISTಮಾದರಿ

Who is this Son whom God loves? It was Jesus on whom, as we know from the gospels, the Spirit of God rested and of whom the voice of God declared ‘This is my Son whom I love’ (Matthew 3:17).

This beloved Son of God is the true representation, in human form, of God’s very being. God’s being is invisible. We cannot see him, though we can see much evidence of his presence. But Jesus, the Son, truly reveals to human eyes the being of God. (See also John 1:18 and Hebrews 1:3).

‘The image of God’ is a familiar phrase to readers of the Bible. Who was supposed to ‘image’ God? It was Adam and Eve who were the image of God in the creation account. They were tasked with representing God to the world and the world to God. They - and all humans after them - were supposed to be what Jesus the Son now turns out to be. He is, we might say, more truly human than anyone before or since, because he fulfils our calling to represent the heart of God to the world.

Also, Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. Once more, this was a role given to Adam - which he lost because he sinned – to be God’s royal heir, who exercises a princely role over creation. This is fulfilled in Jesus, who is obedient where Adam was not.

In other words: if we want to see what God is like, we now can look to Jesus, the Son. And if we want to see what human beings ought to be like, we can also look to him, since he fulfils the original calling of human beings. 

Prayer

Father, I praise you that you have revealed yourself to us in the person of Jesus, your true image; and that you’ve restored your relationship with humankind in him. Help me to be more like him, and so more like you. Amen.