As Africans, we value our community or village. We identify ourselves with our family, work, clan, or other people. If our status in the community changes, we may lose the approval of others. We may even feel that we have lost God’s approval. But our true eternal identity is in Christ and is not affected by our present social status.
How does the image of God change the way Philemon and the community treat Onesimus?
In his letter to Philemon, Paul is trying to fix a problem in the community. Onesimus is the slave of Philemon. But he ran away and then became a follower of Jesus. As Paul says, “He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother” (Philemon 1:16). The problem with Onesimus was not only Philemon’s. Since a church met in Philemon’s house, it involved the entire Christian community. So Paul writes his letter to that entire church as well as to Philemon (Philemon 1:1).
Paul often writes that we are created in God’s image and that it influences how we act as a community.
All of Us Bear His Image
Each of us is a unique person made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). When the Lord God created Adam and Eve, he made them uniquely different from animals. God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” Adam and Eve had minds that could think, reason, and make decisions. They had consciences, knowing right from wrong. They were social people who could relate to others in community with love. Like their Creator, they were creative, with the abilities to build, invent, innovate, compose, and make and appreciate beauty. Above all, they were drawn to their Father in heaven in worship and adoration.
Sin has no power to destroy God’s image in a person.
When Adam and Eve fell into sin by disobeying God, every part of their human nature changed. Their minds, emotions, and wills no longer focussed on God. Nor could they please God, for they had become sinners by nature.
Though the image of God in Adam and Eve was marred, it was not destroyed. Sin has no power to destroy God’s image in a person. When we are saved, Christ begins to restore the image of God in us. Through our reconciliation with the one who created us, we all can be remade into the likeness of Christ. This gives us the fullness of new life and the relationship with God for which he created us.
In Christ, God Is Renewing That Image
The apostle Paul talks about getting rid of sinful behaviour and being renewed in God’s image. “You have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Colossians 3:8-10).
The Holy Spirit changes us from our old self-centred ways to a new Christ-centred life.
To achieve the goal of becoming like Christ, believers have to realise that their old life of lying, anger, stealing, and bad language is dead (Ephesians 4:25-29). “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit changes us from our old self-centred ways to a new Christ-centred life.
Now, we are part of a new community. For God has adopted us into his family! The apostle Paul says, “Since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory” (Romans 8:17). To understand what it means to be part of God’s community, read some of our reasons to praise God in Ephesians 1:3-14.
If we know we are made in Christ’s image, our actions will begin to look like his. “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us” (Ephesians 5:2). “Now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Does Your Life Image God?
Paul tells Philemon that Onesimus the slave is now a brother of equal status who fully reflects God’s image. So, how does that change the way Philemon and the church community treat him? Paul asks that community—and us—to reflect God’s image again to Onesimus, to one another, to all creation, and back to God himself.
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