Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 4 | DOING JUSTICE AND LOVING MERCY: LET JUSTICE ROLL DOWN / 461

and justice, as well as a God of salvation, covenant, and justification. In addition, we saw in this lesson how the ground for doing justice and loving mercy among the poor in the city is the affirmation of the imago Dei in every boy, girl, woman, and man. Every person is worthy of care because they share in God’s unmatched, unique, and irreplaceable imago Dei . Review these and related concepts in their listing below. • A good working definition of the imago Dei (i.e., image of God) in Scripture is “The unique condition of all human beings that they are made like God and therefore are worthy of our respect, protection, and care.” • The affirmation of humankind being created in the image of God is a unique affirmation , no other creatures or angels are said to have been created in the image of God. • While the precise manner in which humankind is created in God’s image is not explicitly stated in Scripture, evidence exists to suggest that human beings share in corresponding traits of God’s own person, namely, our personality, our reason, our ability to choose, and our moral capacity. • The fact that humankind was made in the imago Dei suggests that all human beings share this image; all human beings, regardless of their individual or communal state, are therefore unique, precious, and priceless in and of themselves . • The biblical implications of the imago Dei in humankind transforms our understanding of human persons. They are created in God’s own image, crowned with glory and honor, are fearfully and wonderfully made, and are providentially nourished by God. As such, human beings have been made the objects of God’s unmerited, unconditional favor and grace, and he identifies with the struggles, needs, and burdens of even the most vulnerable human beings on earth. • Human beings, regardless of their background, can be so transformed and renewed as to become partakers of the divine nature through faith in Jesus Christ. While those who reject Christ do not share in this renewal of the image of God, they still share God’s likeness as human beings . • The ground for doing justice and loving mercy among the poor in the city is the affirmation of the imago Dei in every boy, girl, woman, and man. Every person is worthy of care because they share in God’s unmatched, unique, and irreplaceable imago Dei .

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