The Second
Commandment
Wors=
hipping
God in Spirit and Truth
Exodus 20:4-6<= o:p>
Do not make an id=
ol for
yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the e=
arth
below or in the waters under the earth.
5 You must not bow down to them or wors=
hip
them; for I, the
6 but showing
faithful love to a thousand [generations]
Isaiah 40:18
Who
will you compare God with?
What likeness wil=
l you
compare Him to?
introduction=
The First Commandment fobids idolo-try.
The Second fo= rbids ikono-latry. (Gk. eikon =3D image; or icon today)
The First Commandment deals with the object of worship= .
The Second de= als with the nature or mode of worship.
The First Commandment tells us who must be worshipped.=
The Second te= lls us how He must be worshipped.
The First Commandment forbids all false gods.
The Second fo= rbids all false worship.
The Second Commandment forbids the use of anything that is supposed to be a representation of the true God or any other gods as an aid to or medium of worship.
Deuteronomy 4:15 indicates that t= his is the meaning of the second
commandment:
&nbs=
p; For you saw no form in the day Yahweh =
spoke
to you at Horeb.
To make an image of God would be to exchange:
The infinite for the finite
The spiritual for the material
The incomprehensible for the comprehensible
The spiritual for the sensual
&nbs= p; The Creator for the created
The design of= this commandment is to draw us away from carnal conceptions of God and to prevent His worship being profaned by superstitious rites.
The commandme= nt positively points to the importance of teaching the unadulterated truth= of God’s being, character and nature.
Sculpture and
painting are not condemned by this commandment.
But making of images or figures as objects of religious reverence and worship is absolutely forbidden.
Worship of
sculptures, crucifixes, and other images and objects is absolutely a perver=
sion
of worship and is detestable to God!
Why Are =
Images
Are Forbidden?
1. =
Images
Affect Our Concept of God
Idolatry denigrates the character of God.
It distorts the conception= of God.
Reduced to human descripti= on, God’s true and ultimate power is made to seem limited, and his motives humanly frivolous and changeable.
They are forbidden because=
God wants to protect our concept or
understanding of what He is in His being, nature and character.
God’s reason for wanting to protect our conception of Him is a loving reason:
There is great blessing in knowing and understanding God.
God is spirit John 4:24
Because He is spirit no visible representation can accurately refle=
ct
his spiritual nature.
Therefore, this commandment forbids any representation of God or of= a false god that would corrupt man’s understanding of what God is genuinely like in His nature and character.
THE IMAGE OF GOD CAN BE A FALSE MENTAL IMAGE
<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>Ø Of a God who is unforgiving and punishing li= ke a mean and angry parent
<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>Ø Of a God who is over-bearing and cruel like a tyrant
<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>Ø Of a God who is wimpish= and unengaged like a senile grandfather
<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>Ø Of a God who is serves and services our needs and desire like a genii
Ø Of a God who is aloof, uncaring and unreliab= le like a corporate manager
After = all the first sin was committed when Satan put a false image of God into the mind of Eve. He told her that = God really didn’t care about her – that = God wanted to hold back something good from her: to be like gods knowing good and e= vil.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 speaks to this problem:
since the weapons of our =
warfare
are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raise=
d up
against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience=
of
Christ.
2. Images
Affect Our Worship of God
They are forbidden because= it is not possible to genuinely worsh= ip God by using images – He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.
God wants us to genuinely connect to Him – to have person= al and intimate fellowship with Him, and images get in the way of this really happening!
God is spirit
And those who worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and truth.
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; - John 4:24
True worship must occur in the deepest part of the human heart R=
11;
in man’s spirit because it corresponds to God as spirit.
Spirit cannot connect with a
material object;
it can
only connect with spirit!
True worship is engaging God’s truth with more than the mind, by engaging it in the deepest recesses of the human heart or spirit.
3.<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> Images Affect Our Doctrinal Beliefs
All truth is based on and = centered on the nature and character of God: what God is like.
Our understanding or theology of God affects virtually all other
doctrines or aspects of theology.
Examples:
Soteriology, the
doctrine of salvation:
= ; God is holy and must punish sin – i.e. His Son on the Cross!
God is love and was compelled by His love to seek reconciliation with sinners.
God is just, and mu= st forgive our sins because they were paid for by His Son!
&=
nbsp; Harmartiology,
the doctrine of sin:
&nbs= p; God is holy and by contrast man is sinful.
&nbs= p; God is holy, and thus His commands are holy.
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; For man to sin is for man to violate the holiness of God.
Esch= atalogy, the doctrine of last things or prophetic end-<= o:p>
&n=
bsp; times
&nbs=
p; God
is faithful – He will never cast off His people,
&nbs= p; His gifts and callings on His people are irrevocable.
&nbs=
p; He
will yet fulfill His purposes for and promises to
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; He will also fulfill His purposes & promises for the Church.
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; God is just and will judge the world temporally & eternally.
4.<=
span
style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> Images Affect Our Spiritual & Moral
Development
2 Corinthians 3:18
We all, with unveiled faces, are refle=
cting Or =
the glory of the Lord and are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory.
What we conceive God to be like is cr=
ucial.
We become like what we worship.
They are forbidden because= they not only corrupt a person’s understanding of God but also affects our moral thinking.
In his classi=
c book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. <=
span
class=3DSpellE>Tozer writes:
Without doubt, the mightiest thought t=
he
mind can entertain is the thought of God.
We tend by a secret law of the soul=
to
move toward our mental image of God.
A right conception of God is basic not=
only
to systematic theology
but to practical Christian liv=
ing as
well.
There is scarcely an error in doctrine=
or a
failure in applying Christian ethics
that cannot be traced finally t=
o imperfect and ignoble thoughts abou=
t God.
The
essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are
unworthy of Him
- A.=
W. Tozer
The Knowledge of the Holy
Why Is a Stern Warning Given=
?
&=
nbsp; (with this Commandment)
The Warning and Encouragement
This Warning = and Encouragement are attached to the first two commandments as they affect one’s relationship with God and either God’s blessings or judgm= ents on one’s life.
It would appe=
ar that
idolatry has far-reaching consequences.
Apparently it affects the individual’s relations= hip with God and brings His judgment upon him. The human race is a living organ= ism, in which not only sin and wickedness are transmitted, but evil as the curse= of sin and the punishment of wickedness. Therefore, it tends to infect the chi= ldren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great, great grandchildren (K & D) of the idolater, bringing loss of relationship to God and God̵= 7;s judgment on them. The descend= ents “fill up the sins of their fathers” so that they suffer punishm= ent both for their own and their forefather’s misdeeds.
There are mor=
al consequences
to idolatry. Read Romans chapter 1!!!
In 2003 the S=
upreme
Court of the
Just look at =
nations
where it is practiced:
Idolatry is a=
lmost
always accompanied by demonic activity.
However, ther= e is no fate in the divine government of the world, no irresistible necessity in the continuous results of good and evil; but there reigns in the world a righteous and gracious God, who not only restrains the course of His penal judgments, as soon as the sinner harkens to the voice of God, but who also forgives the sin and iniquity of those who love Him and shows abundant merc= y, healing and blessing to them.
Although God’s judgment is great and severe, His mercy is 500 times greater and can reach generations that go far past four generations – meaning our descendents for centuries to come.
Faithfulness =
to God
holds great potential reward for our descendents!!!
If you come f=
rom a
family that has a long and strong Christian heritage, thank God with all yo=
ur
heart.
But if you co=
me from
a family of irreligious and ungodly lifestyle,
this pattern can be broken by you by
God’s grace!
The closest t=
hing to
an accurate image of God is man – especially man apart from sin and in
moral perfection – Jesus Christ!
But because G=
od
cannot be adequately represented, other than by Jesus Christ himself, God h=
as
revealed to us through His Word what He is like in a number of ways:
Through His interactions with mankind and individuals
By descriptive names for Himself
By His sovereign work of ordering history
By His redemptive plan for the salvation of mankind
&nbs=
p; By
His covenant relationship with
Then How Are We To Worship G=
od?
1. We encounter God in His Word.
=
=
(2 Cor 3:18
cf. Jas 1:22-25)
2.
We encounter God in prayer. =
<=
/span>(Matt. 6:6)
3.
We encounter God in singing of =
Him.
=
(
4.
We encounter God in worshipful
giving. &n=
bsp; (Matt.
6:1-4)
5.
We encounter God in praising Hi=
m.
=
(Heb.
13:15)
6.
We encounter God in receiving
exhortation.
7. We e=
ncounter
God in fasting. &n=
bsp; =
; (Matt.
6:16-18)