Becoming Like Jesus (camp Meeting 25) by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Design of Creation and New Creation

Genesis 1:26–28

The word "God" in Genesis 1:26 is Elohim — plural. Not Eloha, which would indicate a single being. Elohim reveals that the God speaking here is a community. This is why John 1:1 is not an innovation — it is an expansion of what was already present in Genesis: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The story of creation is not only the story of original creation. It is the story of the new creation. Every element of Genesis 1 is God already preaching his gospel.

• Genesis 1:1 — In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew word for "and" in that sentence is vav — the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The symbol for vav is man. From the opening verse, God is declaring his purpose: heaven connected to earth through man.
• Genesis 1:2 — The earth was without form and void. The Hebrew word for "earth" there is aian — a word that also means Adam, or man, or dust. Even verse two is preaching: a human being without form, void, darkness on the face of his deep — until the Spirit moves.
• Genesis 1:3 — God said. God's speaking is God wording — and that Word is Jesus. Let there be light. This is how humanity became light of the world. Not light in ourselves — we are darkness — but there is a light shining in us: the light of his Christ.

Isaiah 66:1–2 — Heaven is God's throne, not his dwelling. God is looking for a house. Where is the place of his rest? He answers: to this man will I look — even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word. God's resting place is in the sons of men. He finds it in those who receive the finished work of Christ.

The Image — What It Means

Genesis 1:26 — Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.

That image is not form. The God of Genesis 1 did not have form. The first time God had a form was when the Word became flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:4 — The god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest they see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Colossians 1:15 — He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Hebrews 1:3 — Who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person.

The image in which man was made is Christ. The design of God for humanity was always to be Christlike.

Man was created in the image of God — but after the likeness is a different statement. Likeness describes a divine nature that cannot sin. It was intended to be communicated through fellowship. That is why God came in the cool of the day — to train his son to be like him. Sin interrupted what fellowship was meant to complete.

Humanity is not synonymous with sin. Adam was fully human before sin entered. We do not know if the fall happened two days or ten years after creation — time was not yet being counted to death. Adam was ageless until sin introduced decay. The idea of humanity is that it is a derivative nature: designed not to live independently, but to be connected to its source.

The Consequence of Independence

Jeremiah 17:5–6 — Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit parched places in the wilderness, a salt land which is not inhabited.

A salt land looks normal. The soil appears workable. But when you plant, nothing grows. A person can work hard, put in effort, and produce nothing — because their source has been cut off. God says even when good comes, they will not see it. Good will arrive and pass unrecognized, because their capacity to receive it has been dulled by self-reliance.

This is what happened to Israel in the wilderness. God was in their midst. The God of the temple came to the temple — and they did not see him, because they had come to find their identity, their livelihood, and their definition of self in the institution rather than in the God of the institution.

Pride, at its core, means independence from God. To route life toward success without God is to be in the most dangerous position a person can occupy — because the worst thing that can happen is to succeed in what God said not to do.

Faith is not just believing — it is wanting God's way. If God will not give it, it is not wanted. If it requires cutting corners, it is not the blessing. God's blessing adds no sorrow — not only to the person receiving, but also in how it arrived.

Two Ways Jesus Glorified God

1. He Manifested the Love of God

1 Corinthians 13:1–7

Paul makes an extraordinary claim: if he moves mountains, if he gives everything to the poor, if he speaks with the tongues of angels — and has not love — he is nothing. This establishes that there is a playing field where discernment operates that transcends signs and wonders. Love is the playing field where what is truly of God is revealed.

• Miracles, signs, and wonders can be performed by agents of darkness.
• But love cannot be expressed by the enemy. He has no capacity for it. He has no capacity for humility, no capacity for loyalty. He will always betray.

When love, humility, and loyalty begin to manifest consistently in a person's life, that person is walking in the supernatural.

Supernatural is not only casting out demons. It is also:

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• Superior knowledge — seeing what others miss: the water pots at the wedding, the angel's instruction to leave at night, the wisdom of Joseph in a foreign prison.
• Not doing the natural thing — being expected to retaliate and choosing to forgive, being expected to be offended and choosing to embrace.

The entitlement mentality that surrounds this passage is always: how people should love me. The challenge of the passage is the opposite: this is how I am being called to behave. "Husband, love your wife" is not a complaint to lodge; "wife, submit" is not an exemption from love. We default to the receiving end. The passage is aimed at the giving end.

2. He Submitted Totally to the Father's Will

John 5:19 — The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do; for whatever he does, the Son also does in like manner.

How far can God send you?

Jesus went as far as death on a cross. His final statement was not complaint. It was: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. In other words: I do not like this, but I trust you.

1 Peter 5:6–7 — Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.

When the hand of God is upon a person for exaltation, it does not always feel like favor. There is a season where others seem to receive what they never asked for, while the person under his hand asks and waits. That is the press. That is the wilderness. That is the forty days before the anointing of messiahship.

Forty days becomes forty years through one thing: refusing to humble oneself. Comparing. Complaining. The children of Israel had God in their midst and still did not enter — not because God changed his mind, but because they would not submit to the process.

God cannot lift what he cannot press.

Humility is not a personality trait. It is a decision. A proud person cannot even conceive of being humble — the thought does not arise. But a person who decides to walk in humility, who routes their life through simplicity, will be tested at the point of their decision. The test of humility is always in inconvenience, not convenience.

The Boy with the Bread

In John 6, when Jesus was about to feed the multitude, Peter went to a small boy and collected his five loaves and two fish. That boy could not have been sophisticated — sophistication would not have released the bread.

There is an innocence required to partner with God. There is a child-likeness — not naivety, but a willingness to give what you have into a situation beyond your comprehension. When the bread was multiplied and distributed, that boy had a front-row seat to a miracle he had partnered with. Five loaves fed five thousand. He had seen it happen with his own five.

There are things that cannot be entered because God is not being allowed in. There are breakthroughs that require releasing what is in hand to God first.

Facing Your Road

Comparison destroys. Everyone presenting a polished image is not actually thriving. The person whose life appears enviable may be at their lowest. What looks like a flight can be someone's last card. Following the appearance of others is a fool's game — and the tragedy is that fools lead others into foolishness.

Do what God is telling you to do. Face your road.

The charge of 2 Timothy 2:2 remains: the things that have been heard and confirmed among many witnesses — commit these to faithful people, who will be able to teach others also.

Father, we want to become like Jesus. Not just in appearance, not just in language, but in nature. Let love move from concept to character. Let submission move from reluctant to voluntary. We humble ourselves under your mighty hand. We trust your timing. We commit to the process of becoming. In Jesus' name.