Jesus: The Image of God

Only Jesus can truly reveal the character of God to us. Our church cannot reveal God to us. Our parents cannot reveal God to us. Our schools cannot reveal God to us. They may be able to point us to God or give us ideas about God, but the only being in this universe that can really reveal who God is at His core—Jesus.

This is exactly what Jesus came to do to this sin-sick world: Reveal the true image of the love of God. That’s why the Scriptures tell us in Matthew 1:23: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

By coming to be among humanity, Jesus not only revealed the character of the Father to humanity but to the rest of the universe and the angelic beings. Jesus was the Word of God made audible. He was God dwelling in human flesh and living among human beings.

When God passed before Moses and declared His name to be merciful and gracious, patient and abundant in goodness and truth, this was Jesus revealing the heart and the purpose of God toward human beings in the universe. This is why Jesus told His disciples before He went to the cross that His life to this point has revealed God to them and that He would continue to do so. Then God’s love for Jesus will be in them, and Jesus will be in them.

It wasn’t just to human beings that Jesus was to reveal the character of God, but the question remained in the minds of the whole universe and even heavenly beings as to what God‘s true character was. Satan left that very real question in the mind of every being. Was God holding back, or was He truly giving every being the freedom to choose Him?

But it was through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that every being, both human and celestial, would find the true character of God willing to sacrifice His life to save the human race. It will be the self-sacrificing love of Jesus that will reveal the true character of God to the universe. We see God in Jesus.

Christ made this abundantly clear when He said in John 5:30: “I do nothing on myself. The living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father. I seek not my own glory, but the glory of Him that sent me.”

These words set forth the principle of the law of the universe of the cycle of giving and receiving. All of these things Christ received from the Father, but He took to give those things to us. So it is through Jesus that God gives life to all created beings. And through the Son, our praise and service return to the Father in a cycle of love.

Through Jesus, the cycle of goodness is complete, representing the character of the Great Giver and the law of life. If you’ve ever wondered what God is like … if you’ve ever feared God … if you’ve ever wondered what God‘s intentions are towards you … if you’ve ever asked if God is interested in the problems of your life, look at Jesus and see that God the Father loves you, and He sent His Son to show you who He really is.

It is in Jesus that you see the full image of God on display. God is love.

Pastor Anthony Nix

Anthony serves as the Pastor For Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church in Anderson, IN. A charismatic communicator with a message that motivates discipleships to Jesus, Anthony teaches on a variety of topics, emphasizing God’s unfailing love and His desire to be in relationship with His creation. He is a graduate of Southern Adventist University. Anthony and his wife Nayeli have three beautiful and loving children.