Session 1 – Healthy Identity
Big Idea:
To remind believers that being made in the image of God is the foundational concept for
understanding our significance and purpose in life. Our worth is connected to and
determined by our Creator, and being made in the image of God helps us to understand our
inherent dignity and value.
Text:
Genesis 1:26-28 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over
the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and
over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply
and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that
moves on the earth.”
Preparing for the Lesson Ahead:
– Read and be familiar with the following texts in preparation for the lesson.
o Genesis 1-3
o Psalm 8
– Think of appropriate answers to the following questions to prepare for the
lesson.
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Q: What are some ways or sources from which people derive their purpose or
value?
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Q: What do you see as your purpose? Do you feel like you are fulfilling that
purpose? Why or why not?
–
Q: From what do you derive value in your life? What do you do that makes you
feel valuable?
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Q: What does it mean to be a human being?
Getting in the Word:
1) The image of God is central to who we are.
– Read Genesis 1:26-30
– Q: Who or what is said to be made in the image and likeness of God? Does
anything else in creation have this distinction?
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Q: What does it mean to be made in the image of God?
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The following are prominent views on being made in the image of God.
Resemblance
o This view focuses on a clear exegesis of the Hebrew words for “image” and
“likeness” (listed below). This view states that it is our similarities to God—our
reason, relationships, and will—are what constitute the “image” of God.
–
Representative
o This viewpoint focuses on the second line of Genesis 1:26, “and let them have
dominion.” This view states that the specific words “image” and “likeness” cannot be
separated from the context in which they are being used. The context of the image of
God is its purpose, which is to have dominion.
–
Relational
o This viewpoint focuses on how man is fully man when in relationship with God and
other human beings.
–
Q: What view seems to be the most Biblical/correct view?
2) Survey of Biblical Texts on the Image of God
– Read the following biblical texts that speak of image and likeness. This can be divided
into three categories: (1) those that speak of mankind in God’s image, (2) those that
speak of Christ as the perfect image of God, and (3) those that speak of believers being
molded into the image of God.
–
The first group that speaks of mankind being made in God’s image includes Genesis 5:1,
9:6, and James 3:9.
–
The second group of texts that speak of Christ as the image of God includes Colossians
1:15, 2 Corinthians 3:18, and 4:4.
–
The third group of texts that speak of believers being molded into the image of God
includes Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24, Romans 8:29, and 1 Corinthians 15:49.
3) Hebrew Word Studies
– Image
o In Genesis 1:26-30, the Hebrew word for “image” is the word “tselem,” meaning “a
visual representation” or “idol.” An idol is a localized, visible representation of the
divine.
–
Q: What do you think it means to be a “visual representation?”
–
Likeness
o In Genesis 1:27 the word “likeness” is the Hebrew word “demuth,” meaning “a
resemblance or model.”
–
Q: Based upon these verses, how do we resemble God?
–
Dominion
o In Genesis 1:27 the word “dominion” is the Hebrew word “wuyirudu,” which could
be translated “to rule, reign, and/or have dominion.”
–
Q: What does Genesis 1-3 say of our dominion over creation?
4) Conclusions on the Image of God
– We must conclude that the resemblance view, with the wider and narrower distinctions,
is most valid and a viewpoint that allows us to make the most sense of the many Biblical
texts.
– Being made in the image of God is a calling to imitate him.
– Read Genesis 1:26-30 and Genesis 5:1-3
– Q: After creating mankind, God commissions man to a specific mission. What is
that mission
–
Q: Does anyone like to work? What can we conclude about work being
commanded before the fall?
–
Q: Would you describe the calling to image God as individual or generational?
5) Connection to Christ
– Similar to the Genesis creation account, in which being made in the image of God is a
call to imitate God, salvation in Christ calls us to active communion with and imitation
of Christ.
Ephesians 5:1-2 – Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk
in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and
sacrifice to God.
–
Q: What, then, does it mean when someone says that they want to glorify God in
everything they do?
Takeaways:
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How can our calling as images of God and imitators of Christ be central in your life this
week?
Since Christ is the perfect image and likeness of God, what character traits of Christ can
you model and reflect this week?
Are there areas in which you need to repent this week in your imitation of Christ?
In what ways can you connect your work to God’s work in the world?
“To be fully human is not to be autonomous but to be in communion with God.”
Memory Verse:
Ephesians 5:1-2 – Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Session 2 – Healthy Leadership: A Biblical Husband
Big Idea:
To remind men that their task as a husband is to follow Christ, learn to walk as He walked,
and lead and nurture their wives in a way that represents Christ’s love and devotion for His
church.
Text:
Ephesians 5:23-32 – For the husband is the head of the wife even as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now
as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything
to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed
her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the
church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands
should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves
himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes
it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his
wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I
am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Preparing for the Lesson Ahead:
– Read and be familiar with the following texts in preparation for the lesson.
o Ephesians 5
– Think of appropriate answers to the following questions to prepare for the
lesson.
 Q: What does it mean to be a husband?
 Q: What are some of the expectations and preconceived notions that accompany
being a husband, in today’s culture specifically?
 Q: Which of these expectations or preconceived notions have led to such a high
divorce rate (40-50% among first marriages)? Or perhaps, what else has led to
such a high divorce rate?
 Q: Leadership and submission is often seen as a negative thing in today’s culture,
but why do you think it is necessary for biblical marriages?
 Q: What are some qualities of a Christian husband?
Getting In the Word:
1) Headship Over the Wife:
Ephesians 5:23-24 – For the husband is the head of the wife even as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now
as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything
to their husbands.
 Q: How does Paul define the headship of the man over his wife? What comparison
is made?
 Q: How did Christ lead?
 Q: This idea of submission, however unpopular it may be, is biblical. What does
true submission look like?
 Q: God has blessed us with this great relationship that we can use to glorify God.
How then can we glorify God in our marriages?
 Q: How can we put into practice Paul’s example of leading our spouse like “Christ
is head of the church”?
 Q: What are some things in your marriage that go against this idea of Christ-like
leadership? Apply this to everyday life; what would that look like?
 Q: What would your wife say about your leadership style? Would she say it is
Christ-like?
2) Love for the Wife:
Ephesians 5:25-29 – Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having
cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might
present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way
husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his
wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.

Q: We see that leadership in the marriage is patterned after Christ’s leadership of
the church. Loving is done the same way, as seen in verse 25 specifically. How did
Christ show His love for us?
 Q: How do we practically emulate this love that Christ has for us and apply it to
our marriage?
 Q: Paul expands on the idea of sanctifying our wives. What does it really mean?
 Q: What does that look like, and how do we do it?
 Q: What does this role of sanctification of the wife entail, in broader terms?
 Q: Keeping in mind this love and its resultant sanctification, are you guilty of not
doing this? Do you provide for your wife’s needs as quickly as you do for your
own needs?
 Q: How does a man’s self-sacrificing love for his wife show that he cares for
himself, as well?
3) Unity Between Man and Wife:
Ephesians 5:29-32 - For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes
and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members
of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold
fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is
profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
 Q: How can a husband promote unity with his wife?
 Q: If unity has been broken, what can one do to restore it?
 Q: How can one be sure to put his relationship with Christ above his relationship
with his wife? What would your wife say is above your relationship with her?
 Q: What are some things a man may do to glorify Christ in his relationship with
his wife?
 Q: Is your life being changed into the image of Christ? Are you making progress?
Does your marriage/wife testify to this?
Takeaways:
 Be conformed to the image of Christ.
 Recognize that marriage is symbolic of Christ and the church, with the husband being
representative of Christ. Therefore, man must love and cherish his wife like Christ did
for the church.
 Man’s task as a husband is to follow Christ, learn to walk as He walked, and lead and
nurture his wife in a way that represents Christ’s love and devotion for His church.
Memory Verse:
Ephesians 3:14-21 - For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that
according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened
with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded
in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ
that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of
God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we
ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in
the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and
ever. Amen.