James 3:9

"With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God";"bless" -to speak well of, praise, extol. "John Bunyan tells us of Talkative: 'He is. saint abroad and. devil at home'. Many. man speaks with perfect courtesy to strangers and even preaches love and gentleness, and yet snaps with ungracious and impatient anger and irritability at his own family at home. It has not been unknown for. man to speak with piety on the Sunday, and to curse. squad of workmen on the Monday…It has not been unknown for. woman to speak with sweet graciousness at. religious meeting, and then to go outside to murder someone's reputation with. malicious and. gossiping tongue" (Barclay p. 105)."we curse men" -"It is grossly inconsistent to pronounce blessings and praise upon God and then curse those who are patterned after His likeness" (Kent p. 123). "God despises inconsistency, and nowhere is our inconsistency more readily seen than in the use of our tongues. Some of the most graciously uttered prayers, some of the most skillfully delivered sermons have been spoken by people who later used their words to destroy someone" (Draper p. 104)."who have been made in the likeness of God" -The Greek here echoes the exact wording of Genesis 1:26 in the Greek Old Testament.

Points To Note:

1. Adam and Eve were not the first and the last to be created in the likeness of God (Genesis 5:1; Genesis 9:6). 2. Even after the fall, this likeness was still present or still possible (1 Corinthians 11:7). 3. This is one of the reasons we are not to mistreat our fellowman, for every man and woman is created in the likeness of God (Proverbs 14:31 "He who reproaches the poor reproaches his Maker"). Carefully note that James did not believe in the doctrine of total depravity. Despite his or her sins, even the sinner still retains the image of God. This is one reason why killing. man is far different than killing an animal. We know that we don't resemble God in. physical sense (compare John 4:24 with Luke 24:39). Hence, this must be an inward image. God is an eternal spirit, and we are composed of. created spirit (Zechariah 2:1). This image would include such attributes as reason, conscience, knowledge, the power of dominion, the ability to understand and apply moral and spiritual truths, and the ability to pattern ourselves after the character of God (1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Peter 1:14). 4. But it is only through the gospel message and our obedience to it that we can fully manifest the image of God and live up to what God intended for mankind to be (Ephesians 4:23; Colossians 3:10).