I welcome you to this platform. This is going to be a teaching series looking into Man, created in the image of God for God. As I will be addressing different issues on this I want to start by talking about man as an Intellectual Being, what does that mean? And for what purpose is that important? One of the ways to live a fulfilled life is to glorify God. Our in-depth knowledge of God shows how much we tend to gain or lose after all. To address this topic “Intellect” we will focus a little on the practical application so we can understand better. What do we mean when we refer to someone as being intellectually sound? Have you noticed that the world still looks out for solutions to problems and yet they keep having another at the expense of solving one, this means something is missing. However, it is no different story searching through the Scripture, one thing is missing, a piece that connects everything together is missing, not that it does not exist rather man ignores it completely but cannot be silenced. The world may try with fame pursuit, scientific discovery, and redefinition of terms all in the name of making people feel better about their sins and crimes that kill them from the inside out but that truth will always remain for a purpose and that is to liberate the men from the bondage and burden of sin. James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (As in the OT, wisdom is a God-given and God-centered understanding of the practical issues in life. without reproach. God knows that his people need to grow in wisdom, and he is willing to give it (ESV Study Bible) [however, they need it but went elsewhere for it.]) No wonder, all through the scripture there is a cry for wisdom, because to understand life we need it, to get through life, we need it, to be Spiritually inclined with God we need it, to live without reproach we need it. Wisdom the practical application of intellect speaks volumes in everything we do and how the world exists.
However, since the fall of man in Genesis 3 we have yielded more to the depravity of our souls and the desires of our hearts, James said our desires can only bring conflict and death (James 4). What we alluded to as wisdom today is governed by two being “God and ourselves.” The Biblical reference to wisdom sums it all up:
Proverbs 2v6
Ephesians 5v15-16
James 1v5
Colossians 4v5-6
Matthew 7v24
Proverbs 17v28
I would like us to consider how a man thinks he is wise. Are we truly wise? I would like to state that "the results produced" show the reliability of our source! In his apology for Philosophy, Plato says “What I know is that I know nothing” As humble as this statement may sound, expositing the context that warrants this statement raises more questions than answers, (as a matter of fact, in my observation, Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, do not give any solution to anything rather they live it in the puzzle for the questioner to figure out.) Plato, as we all know was a great Philosopher, who was one of the fathers of Western philosophy and civilization. Together with Socrates, Aristotle teaches about the different paradigms of Life as opposed to the order of their day, the part which includes the existence of God, Justice, philosophy, etc. Plato and his followers believe in all about the existence of the gods. He teaches the new generation a different approach to God, and this makes them (Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle) not allude their belief (or success) to the gods (even in the Greek world then) for a fact this statement (“what I know is that I know nothing”) was altered when Plato met with a guy that was to affirm his wisdom that transcend every other person around. Upon his question, he discovered that what people refer to as wisdom was actually sentiment and he concludes that “what I know is that I know nothing!” So, if one of the most intelligent men on earth can say he knows nothing then can we define the knowledge and how do we have an understanding of our context? St Augustine in his search for wisdom before his conversion had an encounter with some sect called Manichean, upon his evaluation he refers to their knowledge as vague because it’s devoid of Christ. Rene Descartes one of the fathers of logic (that later became Mathematics) said “I think therefore I am.” to Rene and his followers, anything he could not fathom did not exist and this gave birth to a lot of things that happened in the 19th century where everything must be scientifically proven if not it does not exist neither is it true, that same philosophy (practical application of Intellect which means love of wisdom in Greek) exist in those who deny the existence of God. The question is, have they fathom everything about the Universe not to talk of God the creator? Also, Darwin in his discovery alluded that man evolved from fish (evolution theory on creation), the question is, since he propounded that theory about 200 years ago, has any fish evolved to half human, half fish not to talk of becoming fully human? (apart from Mermaid… Yemeja LoL). Though some evangelical historian believes that though, Darwin never believed this theory himself the effect is as explosive today as it was then, he died of depression because this was blown out of proportion.
As I really wish to say Yeah, God is scientifically proven that He exists, I am sorry to say NO, HE can’t be proven because science cannot fathom God or everything about life, we know in part though. Let me ask, who knows where we are in the timeline of the world? We are in the age of reasoning. In an age where everything has to be proven but funny enough instead of the world turning to science for solutions, they, however, turn to religion for wisdom about life.
Having considered the wisdom of man, let us look a bit as well in history into the wisdom of God. Luther and the Reformers utilize their God-given wisdom in such a way that bring reformation to the church. If not all of us will be paying the Pope to receive forgiveness before God, without any assurance of salvation, can you imagine none of us without the Bible apart from what the Pope said? As the theme states, in The Image of God in Man, one of the attributes God shares with man is the intellect (instinct). Man was created to show forth the glory of God in the land of the living, to show forth means we need to understand and express this.
Intellect according to an online dictionary is “the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively, especially concerning abstract or academic matters.” Let us therefore consider this passage 1 Cor 8 verses 2-3 “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know, but if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” Does that say something to you? Briefly, we have considered some philosophers and the philosophy of this world. We have briefly looked into how intellect has been used (by the world) to deny the giver of that attribute. We found out that though they have an iota of truth in them as they were all created by God, they lack the basic truth because they are veiled to receive this understanding given to man through Christ Jesus. Through man’s instinct, technology was developed to make life easy, the world became a global village, movement became a lot easier, and killing became barbaric and forbidden unless it dimly fit in the eye of the law but life became a misery as man failed to comprehend who is the true giver of this intellect. You cannot know better than the maker/creator. The most developed nation in the world still struggles with the most deadly problem in the world. Though they claim to have the technology, they still find it impossible to create man (exactly the way he looks). Have we considered this term before, Democracy do you know that it is the political interpretation of Calvinism? Wisdom of God liberates from bondage, authoritarianism, military force, etc. (no more discussion on politics, I just site this as an example of where we think it's the least to have except God's wisdom, but we still find it there alive... Glory to God) Let us remember, to have intellect and use it to the glory of God must be through God Himself. We can see this as well in the life of Jesus Christ as he discussed with philosophers of his time, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” not because he is God incarnate but because He subjects the flesh to the wisdom of God (Luke 2v52 ESV).
Therefore, the Image of God in man through Intellect is the attribute God shares with man to have dominion over all things, and as Christians showing forth the glory of God both in Spirit and in daily living is complete in our total reliance on God (He owns it) not on ourselves as the worldly people do (because in our depravity we have nothing good in us but evil and our intellect is clouded by self-interest which is against God.) rather according to the statute of God. How do we know we are applying this intellect of ours in a way that glorifies God? The short answer is through understanding the will of God.
I will conclude with this Bible passage, James 3v17 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
Shalom!
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