God made man in His image but man decidedly wanted to be God. Our God, Yahweh, being a jealous God exiled our great grandparents, Adam & Eve, for such a desire. Sin entered the world and everyone ever since has been born with a sin nature with no ability to please God. As image bearers, we failed. We were not reflecting Him in His glory (our responsibility as an image bearer). Paul in Romans 3:23 reminds us “all have fallen short of the glory of God”. So we were a people naturally under God’s just wrath for not keeping up to His standard.
But God reveals the mystery hidden for ages as Jesus came into the world to save such sinners. This was God’s plan even before creation! God made this marvelous plan of salvation to make His grace known for all eternity. Jesus Christ, the GodMan, walked as that perfect image of God on earth. He called everyone to repent and believe in Him as He introduced and invited people to the Kingdom of God. He lived the righteous life that God demanded upon all His image bearers. He lived the life that we did not live and eventually died the death that we should have died. Jesus was beaten, scourged, tortured in many other ways and killed. The created killed the Creator (at least they thought so). But Jesus rose in three days defeating sin, Satan and death. Today, all who- repent of their own efforts to be their own gods, repents of any effort they think earns some merit with the divine God- and believe in this perfect GodMan, Jesus Christ, and His finished Law-fulfilling work will become children of God. Such will be just in God’s eyes, reconciled to Him, forgiven and be restored as image bearers in walking Jesus’ path. Those who are saved by His grace become the body of Christ, whom God chose to make visible through the local church.