God's Understudy

In the world of theater, most of us are familiar with the understudy. This is the individual who is to learn a particular role and be prepared to step up and replace the main actor if necessary.

There is another definition of understudy, it is: one who is trained to do the work of another. To me, this concept goes well with the biblical idea of image and representation.

Representation: the action or fact of one person standing for another so as to have the rights and obligations of the person represented Miriam Webster On line Dictionary

Adam, as the image of God, was to act as His representative to creation. Adam was to stand in for God, if you will, in regards to the interaction with creation. Doing such, Adam was given the same basic rights as God.

For instance, God brought the animals to Adam for him to name them. In the biblical sense, naming was a demonstration of authority over something. So Adam was exercising a God given authority when he spoke the names of the animals. Which brings us to the next point: how did Adam demonstrate this authority from God? He spoke.

In the creation process, God exercised his power by speaking; “let there be” and it happened. As God’s representative (standing in with the same rights) Adam exercised his God given authority by acting just like God did – he spoke it.

In Gen 2:19 tell us “and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” The idea here is more than just what they were called, but it is a defining of them. In the original text, “the name there of” is one word and it speaks of being placed in a conspicuous position, a brand or putting something in its place. By speaking, Adam defined or established the identity of these animals; he was acting as God’s representative.

Being born again, we have been renewed after the image of the one who created us, Col 3:10, therefore our responsibility is the manifestation and the representation of the one who created us. We are to make Him real and have been authorized to act on His behalf in this world. This is the essence of apostolic authority: we have been sent by Jesus to operate by His authority to continue His purpose(Jn 17:18).

Paul tells us in 2 Cor 5:18-20, that we have been given the “ministry” & “word of reconciliation.” It is our privilege and responsibility to represent the Kingdom of heaven and affect the reconciliation of man to God. It is when we are actively involved in this purpose, we will see the power of the Kingdom revealed in our lives.

Our Job Description

Many people today are wondering what their life is all about. They are looking for something that gives them a purpose, a meaning, a reason to get up in the morning. This is very common among Christians: many are wondering what is their part in the kingdom of heaven.

In our previous post, we revealed that Adam's purpose was to be the representational image of God to creation. Unfortunately his disobedience disqualified him from that position. Thankfully, God had a plan to restore mankind.

Jesus Christ, as the last Adam, came as the visible image of an invisible God. However, he was more than an image, he was representational of the invisible God. In John 17:6 Jesus states; “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:” According to Vines, manifested is a verb that means; "to make visible, clear, manifest," Thayer's says it is making visible or known “what has been hidden or unknown, whether by words, or deeds” (emphasis added). A verb is an action word. Jesus came making an invisible God more than visible; he came to make him knowable by demonstration.

Just as the scripture shows us that the first and last Adams were each to be a representational image of an invisible God, so we who are born again are to be representational. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:10 that we “have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (emphasis added). We have been born again to a new nature, one that includes His representational image.

As His body, the church is to manifest Jesus Christ to this dark and confused world. However, we are not to just present an image of a good moral life, we have been authorized to conduct business as representatives of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We are to walk in His delegated authority as we demonstrate to this world what His kingdom will be like. By manifestation and representation, we reveal to this world there is something better. We reveal to them that there is a King and He is coming with His kingdom and His name is Jesus!

What a privilege, what an honor, what a responsibility. We are chosen to ACT as the representative of the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings! Praise God!

In His Image

A representative is "One that serves as a delegate or agent for another." – American Heritage Dictionary

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion…

This scripture gives us wonderful insight into God’s purpose for mankind. That Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. According to Vines, the word image means; "image or copy" of something in the sense of a replica. According to Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Likeness refers to the representational aspect of the image.

Adam was God’s image that he chose to reveal or manifest Himself to creation. Through Adam, an invisible God made himself visible. But more than a visible image, Adam purpose was to be a representational of God. As God’s likeness, he was to ACT as God’s representative thereby revealing the nature and characteristics of God by his actions.

This representational aspect of Adam’s purpose was not manifest when God gave him dominion. It was manifest when Adam obeyed God’s command and named the animals. God’s image and likeness was revealed to creation, not by Adams position, but by his obedient actions to the commands of God.

Being apostello or sent to operate in apostolic authority is to act as the Lords representative. It is manifesting an invisible God to this world.

till next time

martin