KGP Principle 1: God’s Perspective

Posted on by albany.alexander@cru.org

Principle 1: God's perspective

God loves you and created you in His image. He wants you to know Him personally so that you may experience the love and freedom He offers.
 
Principle 1 can be broken down into three main truths:
  1. God’s love
  2. God’s image bearers
  3. God’s plan

1. God's love

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Main Point | You may have grown up in church have been told your whole life that God loves you. But God’s love for you isn’t just some truth floating out there in the universe, nor is it only measured by the good you experience. God’s love is tangible—a specific action that came at an immense cost. 
 
God’s love can be measured in one word: sacrifice. 
 
Jesus loves you enough to have died for you so that you can live free from the consequences of sin.  

Pause and reflect

Do you think someone would offer one of their children to die in order to save you or me?
 
Obviously, the answer is no. You and I have done things in life that have consequences. We call that “sin.” And for ages in cultures all over the world, the only way people could be freed from the penalties of sin was for something to die in their place. 
 
We no longer have to make sacrifices to pay for our penalties. God stepped in and offered Jesus once and for all to pay our penalties. That’s what it means when we say that Jesus came to “save us.” God loved us as his creation enough that He gave up Jesus, His only Son, to restore the relationship with us.
 

thoughts

Dig deeper by responding to the questions below. Write them down in a journal or the notes section on your phone. 

  • Who is one person in your life who loves you unconditionally?
  • How has that person proven his or her love to you? 
  • Do you think “sacrifice” is a good way to describe this person’s love? 
  • How has God shown or has proven His love to you? 

2. God’s Image Bearers

You and I were made in God’s image. What does that mean, and what’s the significance of being made in the image of God? 

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27

Main Point | God’s image is reflected in people—in men and women of all ethnicities and cultures. This gives all people incredible value and worth. 
 
God created you and loves you—not in spite of your skin color or culture, but because you are exactly as He created you. Even though global injustices, racial divides, and prejudices exist inside and outside the church, it doesn’t change the fact that God’s images is reflected in you…

pause and reflect

What’s the purpose of a photo? 
 
A photo shows us what something or someone looks like. It is not the original person or place, but gives us a glimpse of what the places or the people are like.
 
Similarly, we are not God, but God has created us to be a picture of Himself in the world. This gives us great purpose and responsibility. 
 
How does being made in God’s image give you value and significance? 
 
The answer to this question provides meaning to our very humanity. It answers the question, “Who am I?” 
 
You and I are not simply what we do (an athlete, a student, a musician, a businessman, a teacher, etc.)
 
We are God’s image bearers. It speaks to God’s love and value of us that He would make us in His own image and allow us to reflect His character to the world around us.
 
Have you ever struggled to believe that you are created by God and a reflection of who He is? Why? 

3. God's plan

Even though you and I don’t always “look like God,” God has a plan. 

Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. John 17:3

Main Point | Often, when someone is asked what God’s plan for their life is, that person thinks about where they’ll be, say, in five years in terms of their career, relationship status, etc. 
 
While it is true that God cares about your life, those future plans are not relevant to this discussion. God has a plan for you that impacts you today. God desires to know you personally—both now and for eternity.

Pause and reflect

According to John 17:3, how is eternity defined? 
 
According to John 17:3, eternal life is knowing God and knowing His Son, Jesus.
How can we know God? We can know God by getting to know Jesus *Christ, who died for us. Our getting to know God for the rest of our life starts when we enter into a relationship with Jesus. 
 
*Christ comes from a Greek word that means “the anointed one,” or “the chosen one.” The Hebrew word meaning the same thing is Mashiach, or, as we know it, Messiah. The Old Testament predicted that God would send a chosen one—the Messiah—to save His people. Early on, people thought the Messiah would be a political leader, which is why Herod had all the baby boys killed when he learned of Jesus’ birth (Matthew 2). However, Jesus Christ’s role was a spiritual one, not a political one. 
 
Summary | God’s love is tangible and sacrificial. If anyone ever asks, “How do you know God loves you?” you can respond by saying that He sent Jesus to die as payment for our sins.