Worship and Idols | Making Gods of Men
Since Genesis 3, the sins of mankind have all stemmed from the same issues; pride and idolatry. Adam and Eve doubted God, and in so doing they elevated their own thinking and own reasoning above the perfect law of God. The question posed by the serpent of “did God really say…” still reverberates in our flesh today as we shape our worship in the image of idols as we distort our worship to anything other than God. Mankind fell by doubting the goodness of God and seeking to exchange the glory of God for their own intellectual prowess. We doubted the sufficiency of God and sought to become our own standard by which we determined existence and meaning.
When we attempt to make God out of man, God becomes whatever we desire and interpret Him to be. Except, we don’t make gods, we make idols. We submit to God but cannot dictate His being anymore than we can dictate the reality of our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and significant others. Idolatry occurs when we attempt to mold the person of God like clay into anything other than His true and authentic self.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Romans 1:21-25, ESV)
Paul clearly states that this type of behavior is nothing short of foolishness. Only in arrogance can mankind believe that their own thoughts regarding who God is and what He is about carry any weight when compared to an authentic and real God. When we seek to make mankind into God, the idol will always fall short of the eternal expectations and abilities that God produces. Mankind cannot act as sufficient God. God, however, bearing flesh, serves as the ultimate form of humanity, standing in our place on our behalf. The attempt to turn man into gods stems from a form of idolatry that turns God’s gracious gift of God made man upside down. It attempts to paint a picture of perfection and righteousness being achievable in any manner other than God. Yet, this form of idolatry only leads to a perversion of the created order in which mankind abandons the things that are good for them to embrace a lifestyle of the flesh and sin apart from God. When man attempts to become God or elevates another to the level of God, there will only be disappointment and failure.
Making Man Into God
Mankind often seeks to idolize a person by elevating their status beyond its rightful place in the created order. We see celebrities, politicians, the popular, and the powerful all become the object of our idolization. They become our pursuit to become more like them, thinking they can do no wrong. We look to our spouses and significant others to complete us and make us whole as everything we are revolves around that person to define our identity and our reality. While saying these things might sound cute or romantic, in truth, they describe a deeply rooted issue with attempting to make mankind as the ultimate god in our lives. Yet, no experience as a human, no achievement we can obtain, and no individual person can provide the cosmic purpose that our soul longs for apart from Jesus Christ.
Mankind makes terrible God. We sin. We are flawed. We cease to live up to the righteous requirements of the law. Every person sins, separating themselves from the person of God since Adam’s sin in the Garden of evil. When presented with the perfection that can only come in God, we rejected perfection for the flawed and jaded image, marred by the effects of sin. The desires of our flesh are the exact thing that disqualify us from making good kings. We crave sin and things contrary to the ways of God. “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12, ESV). In truth, mankind is fully incapable of fulfilling the things that God provides. Man does not forgive sins or afford a person salvation in the same manner that God does. Chasing after a person in the same manner in which we elevate a person to the standing of god will only be met with disappointment as we will be let down by man’s inability to do and be the things that only God can provide. We cannot burden another with the responsibility of needing to provide us with meaning, security, or salvation but must be willing to submit our idols to the hands of the one true God who rules victorious over all creation.
God Made Man
The name “Immanuel” means God is with us. It embodies the true solution of our separation from God while maintaining His sovereign rule over all creation. Only Jesus Christ, God made flesh can meet the righteous requirements of the law set down at the creation of the world. Furthermore, only Jesus Christ possesses within Himself the divine nature that can also presume to extend grace to His people. Jesus proves the nature of justice and grace simultaneously in Himself to uphold and sustain all the created order. While it would be good for a further explanation of the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, space would limit us to simply say that only Jesus is fully sufficient for each. The humanity of Jesus Christ understands the temptation of mankind and sheds the necessary blood for the payment of sins. The divinity of Christ sustains our salvation, defeating even death itself and rising from the grave to testify to the Father on our behalf.
Where we failed to serve as sufficient gods for the world, Jesus Christ, the God made flesh has become the ultimate expression of mankind. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16, ESV). In our weakness, the strength of God shined through demonstrating the necessity for God to bear flesh for our sake. The temptation to make idols out of man can only be rectified by submitting to the God who became man. While we may never be able to rise to the level of God on our own accord, out of an abundance of grace and love for His people, God took on flesh, to serve as a propitiation of the sins of mankind. In Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, do we find the only man able to rescue humanity from our broken and sinful state. The humanity and divinity of provide the perfect blend of being qualified to both shed blood for sin and provide salvation for all who submit to His Kingship and Lordship.
Mankind makes terrible gods, but God makes the perfect man. He provides the example for a failed humanity while redeeming their very existence. We worship God by submitting to Him with all that we are while rejecting the idolatry of the flesh that elevates anything above perfect God who bore flesh.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
