This Sunday we begin a series on biblical community by looking at Ephesians 2.14-22. There are all kinds of communities we can and should participate in. But there is no community more important than the local church. Christians must love and spend themselves for their local church. If we’re going to do that, we must understand the beauty and glory of what God has made us in Christ. In this text Paul gives three pictures that illustrate our identity as the Church: 1) God’s New Humanity, 2) God’s New Kingdom-Family, and 3) God’s New Temple.

In Genesis 2.1-3, God rests from his work of creation and by doing so, he sets an example and pattern for all people to follow. Here we learn that we must sanctify the sabbath, devoting a special day in our weeks for worship and to rest. If we’re going to do that, there are four important themes we need to understand concerning God’s rest: 1) The completion of the cosmic temple, 2) the coronation of the cosmic king, 3) the consecration of the sabbath day, and 4) the consummation of the sabbath rest.

We continue to meditate on Genesis 1.26-28. Last Sunday we considered what it meant to bear God’s image. Today we considered seven societal implications of being made in God’s image: 1) Man is creaturely, 2) Human-life is sacred, 3) Gender is a gift, 4) Family is foundational, 5) Sin is dehumanizing, 6) Sin is cosmic treason, and 7) the Church is essential.

In Genesis 1.26-28, we learn the that creator whom we image is trinitarian. In other words, He is the one true and living God who exists in a plurality of persons. We also consider three foundational truths about being created in God’s image: 1) we were created to uniquely represent God, 2) we were created uniquely relate to God, and 3) we were created to uniquely receive God’s law.