"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." — Genesis 1:27
The Sentence That Defines You
Look up at the sky. The stars, the planets, the moon — God spoke them into being. Look around you. The trees, the rivers, the mountains, the animals — all of them, called into existence by the word of God.
But when God made you, He did not just speak. He stooped down. "Ang sariling kamay Niya ang humulma sa atin." He shaped a man from the dust of the ground like a potter shapes clay, and then leaned in close and breathed His own breath into him: "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).
Animals have spirit. So do we. But our spirit is different — it carries the very breath of God. That is what makes a human being a human being. We are not an upgrade to the animal kingdom. We are a separate creation, formed by God's own hands, animated by God's own breath, and stamped with one sentence that nothing in this world can ever undo: In our image. In our likeness.
Let Us Make Mankind
Notice how God says it: "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:26–27).
Let us. God did not say let me. He said let us — because the whole Trinity was present at our making. The Father planned it. Jesus, the eternal Word, spoke it. The Holy Spirit moved over the deep to do it. Three persons of one God, in conversation about a single creation: us.
And the design was not just relational. It was kingly. "So that they may rule." From the very beginning, humanity was made to have dominion — to reign over creation as God's image-bearers on earth. We were never meant to crawl. We were meant to govern.
But somewhere along the way, the dominion was lost. Adam and Eve listened to a different voice, ate from the wrong tree, and the image was bent. The fall did not erase God's design — but it did fracture it. And ever since, every human being has been walking around carrying a glory that is no longer working the way it was made to work. That is the ache underneath everything we feel.
Not a Physical Likeness
What does it actually mean that we are made in God's image?
It is tempting to read those words physically. But God is not bound by a body the way we are. "Meron Siyang mata, pero hindi katulad ng atin." He has eyes — but if His eyes were like ours, He could not see everything happening across the earth at once. He has ears — but if His ears were like ours, He could not hear millions of His children praying at the same time, every Sunday, in every language. The image is not physical.
The image is moral. "This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes" (Ecclesiastes 7:29). God designed us for righteousness. He made us to be good. Adam in the garden was given dominion over everything — name the animals, tend the land, enjoy the fruit — with one rule. One. And even with all that freedom, mankind went searching for the loophole.
That is still us. God gives us so much room to live well, and we go looking for schemes. Sometimes even in the law itself — finding the workaround, the technicality, the way to bend the rule and still call ourselves good. "Hinahanapan natin ng loophole." The image was designed for righteousness. We bent it toward scheming. And the gap between those two is the gap Jesus came to close.
Jesus Is the Image of the Father
This is why Jesus came. Not just to die — though He did — but to show us what God looks like, in a body, walking around in our world.
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:15–18).
When Philip stood before Jesus and asked, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us," Jesus said something that should still stop us in our tracks: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:8–9). All those years of walking together, watching Him heal, listening to Him teach, eating at the same table — and Philip still asked. Sometimes we are like Philip. We have walked with Jesus a long time and still have not seen what is right in front of us. To see Jesus is to see God. The same righteousness, the same mercy, the same patience, the same fierce love — Jesus carries the Father's image perfectly.
And Hebrews tells us that He carried it as a human being, in our shoes. "For we do not have a great high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin" (Hebrews 4:14–15). Every temptation we face — greed, lust, envy, jealousy, fear, anger — Jesus faced. And He did not break. He was insulted and did not retaliate. He was struck and did not strike back. He was nailed to a cross and asked the Father to forgive the very people driving in the nails. He proved that the image of God can be lived inside human skin.
Which means the question lands hard: And how about us, who were also made in His image? When people look at us — at the eyes of your brother, your sister, your seatmate this morning — do they see Jesus?
How Do We Live in the Image of God?
The Bible does not leave us guessing. Paul and Jesus give us four movements — four steps that take a broken image and make it new again.
1. Set Your Hearts and Minds on Things Above
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:1–4).
When you decided to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, something died. The old you — the one who lived only for this earth — was buried. The new you was raised with Christ. Your citizenship is no longer in this world. Peter addressed believers as foreigners and exiles in this world, because that is what we are now. Aliens. Citizens of heaven walking around in a country that is not our home.
But we forget. We get caught up in this life like it is the only one we have. "Masarap dito, gusto ko dito." And then a problem comes — a job we cannot find, a sickness we cannot beat, a worry we cannot shake — and the world feels like it is ending.
Sister Raquel went through this not long ago. She could not find work. And every Sunday, you could see it on her face — like the whole world had collapsed on her. "Parang gabi yung mukha niya." And then the call came on a Friday — the job she had been hoping for, exactly the one she wanted, was hers. After the news, we had to remind her gently: all that worry, all the times you got upset with the Lord, all the times you took it out on the people around you — useless. You could not see two years ahead. You could not see five years ahead. But God could.
That is what setting your mind on things above means. Take your eyes off the problem. Put them on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. When Jairus heard his daughter had died, Jesus turned to him and said, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Jairus believed. The girl rose. If he had taken his eyes off Jesus and put them on the news, the story ends differently.
The Apostle Paul learned the same secret. "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11–13). That is what a heavenly mindset produces. Not denial of the problem. Just a steady gaze on Someone bigger than the problem.
Don't waste your life worrying. Sayang ang panahon. Sayang ang stress mo. Set your heart on things above.
2. Put to Death Your Sinful Nature
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices" (Colossians 3:5–9).
Notice the two words that change everything: but now. "You used to walk in these ways" — past tense. That was who you were before Christ. But now you are different. Now you are part of God's kingdom.
Search the word sin on Google and you will get a long list — lust, greed, anger, lying. But the deepest definition is the one Google does not lead with: rebellion against God. When you became a Christian, you stepped into God's kingdom. He became your King. He is the Lord — "Landlord. Siya may-ari ng land." He owns it all, because all things were created through Him and for Him. So when we keep doing the things our King has told us not to do, we are not just slipping up. We are rebelling. We are saying, in action, I do not want to live under Your rule.
That is what makes greed serious. That is what makes anger serious. That is what makes the careless lie serious. Each one is a small rebellion against the King we said we would follow. "But now" — we are different. The old self has to go.
3. Be Renewed in the Image of Our Creator
"And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all" (Colossians 3:10–11).
Renewal happens through knowledge — specifically, the knowledge of God's Word. You cannot think like Jesus if you do not know the words of Jesus. You cannot act like Jesus if you do not know how Jesus acted. "Pag hindi mo alam ang Word, paano mababago yung pag-iisip mo?"
Paul says it plainly: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1–2).
We have so many Bibles in our homes now. There is no excuse. Open it. Read it. Let the words of Jesus shape the way you think, the way you speak, the way you respond when someone wrongs you. Because the old way says I cannot forgive that. The new way says neither can I, but Jesus can — and His mind is becoming mine.
This is the work of a lifetime. We will not be transformed in one Sunday. But every time we open the Word, every time we obey it, the image is being restored a little more. "He is renewing us, day by day, in the image of our Creator."
4. We Must Be Born Again
"Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.' 'How can someone be born when they are old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!' Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again'" (John 3:3–7).
The image is not repaired. The image is reborn. The old self does not get a renovation — it gets a funeral. And out of that grave, by the Spirit of God, a new creation rises.
That is what baptism is. "Pinatay mo na yung lumang ikaw, dilibing ka, pagkaahon mo sa baptism, by faith you receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit of God." You die. You are buried. You are raised. And the life you live now is no longer yours alone — "your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
But here is the warning. Sometimes we kill the old self, and then we keep visiting the grave. "Patay na siya, pero gusto kong bumalik sandali." The old habit. The old craving. The old way of speaking. "One for the road," we tell ourselves. "Two for the road. Where is the road?" And before we know it, we have dug up the corpse and brought it home.
That is why renewal is daily. The old skeletons do not stay buried unless we keep filling our minds with the Word of God.
The Image Restored
Paul gives us the closing word: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22–24).
Read that last line again. Created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. That is the image. That is who we were always meant to be. Not perfect. Not unbreakable. But righteous and holy in the way we walk, the way we speak, the way we love.
When Bro. Marc asked the congregation, "Where is the kingdom of God?" — the answer Jesus gave was startling: the kingdom of God is within you. We do not have to wait for heaven to start ruling and reigning the way God designed us to. The kingdom starts in our own hearts, in the small daily victories — controlling the tongue, walking in love, forgiving the offense, killing the old self one more time.
That is the image of God being restored, right here, right now, in you.
Challenge
This week, ask yourself one honest question: am I the same person at home that I am in church?
Because that is where the image is really tested. It is easy to look like Jesus on Sunday morning, surrounded by worship music and brothers and sisters. "Pagpasok mo dito, banal-banal." The hard part is keeping that same image when you walk through the door of your own house. "Pag-uwi mo sa bahay, sino ka?" That is where the people who know you best — your husband, your wife, your kids, your parents — find out who you really are.
This week, pick the place where the image is hardest for you to carry — and bring Jesus there first. Walk into the kitchen the way Jesus would walk in. Speak to your spouse the way Jesus would speak. Discipline your children the way Jesus would discipline. Forgive the relative who hurt you the way Jesus would forgive.
If we cannot bring the image of God home, we have not yet learned to wear it. May the Lord help us, by the power of His Holy Spirit, to walk like Jesus, talk like Jesus, and think like Jesus — not just here, but everywhere.
We were created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. May we, again, become who we were always meant to be.
