Introduction
You are a special person. You are special because God created you. Your value comes from God. You are special because God says you are valuable to Him. He genuinely cares about you and what happens to you. Let’s open God’s Word and take a closer look at 4 truths:
God Created You
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day. Genesis 1:1-5 CSB
- God created the universe out of nothingness.
- The beginning of all things seen and unseen starts with God.
- God created the heavens and the earth.
- Before God spoke, the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
- Then God said. And there was. And God saw that it was good.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. Hebrews 11:3 CSB
God also created you and me. Through His wisdom and creative power He designed and formed and created each one of us.
13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you. Psalm 139:13-18 CSB
Through God’s infinite wisdom and capacity and creative power, He designed and created you and me. Why?
7 “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:7 NIV
For His glory.
The God-given dignity each one of us has is shown by a person’s God-given uniqueness, authority, and purpose.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28 CSB
From these verses we see that God uniquely created humankind in His image. By God’s unfathomable creative power, might, ability, and wisdom, each and every one of you is a unique expression of the image of God, according to His likeness.
But God has more than just being His creation. He gave humankind the ability and power to reproduce (to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth).
God also gave humankind authority to subdue and rule over everything that God created on the earth. Do you like being part of God’s humankind? Why or why not? Given what we have looked at so far, how do you respond to God as your Creator?
11“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Revelation 4:11 LSB
And there is something else.
10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:10-12 NIV
God is Present and Knows You
1 LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD. 5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. 7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, 10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night” — 12 even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you. Psalm 139:1-12 CSB
In Psalm 139, is there a time when God is not present and does not know you?
Grace means there is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and nothing I can do to make God love me less. It means that I, even I who deserve the opposite, am invited to take my place at the table in God’s family. —Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?
As David realized that God knew him completely and that God is present everywhere, he responded to God with these verses at the end of Psalm 139.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24 CSB
God’s interest in you and knowledge of you as revealed by Jesus is extremely detailed, and shows how He values you. (Matthew 10:29-31)
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 LSB
God Loves You
God’s greatest demonstration of His love is Jesus.
9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:9-12 NIV
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11 NIV
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18 NIV
How can a person respond to God’s offer of eternal life?
Jesus offers Himself as God’s doorway into the life that is truly life. Confidence in Him leads us today, as in other times, to become His apprentices in eternal living. “Those who come through Me will be safe,” He said. “They will go in and out and find all they need. I have come into their world that they may have life, and life to the limit.” —Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy
In John 10:9-16, Jesus uses metaphorical language by comparing His love and concern to the love and concern of a shepherd.
9 “I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.” John 10:9-16 CSB
According to this passage, what are some of the ways Jesus cares for us?
Do you feel worthy to receive God’s love? Is receiving love easy for you? Why or why not?
Do you think God requires you to be worthy of love or feel worthy of love before He loves you?
God Adopted You Into His Family
In Matthew 6:9, Jesus said:
9“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.” Matthew 6:9 CSB
How do you feel about addressing God as Our Father?
Is it true that God is everyone’s Father? Why or why not? (John 8:42-44)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:42-44 CSB
How can someone be born into God’s family? (John 1:12-13)
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13 NIV
The importance of the assurance of faith lies in the fact that, childlike, I cannot possibly love or serve God if I do not know whether He loves and acknowledges me as His child. —Andrew Murray, The New Life
Romans 8:15-17 says what some of the blessings of being adopted as a true child of God are. Which one touches you the most?
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:15-17 LSB
It is important for you as a follower of Jesus to be assured that God is your Father and that you have eternal life. Although emotions are important in any relationship, they can change for many reasons. So our assurance of being in God’s family must ultimately depend on the word of God, Who is trustworthy and keeps His promises.
The verses below have helped many people gain this assurance. Consider memorizing one of them to strengthen your assurance.
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 NIV
13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 NIV
24“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24 NIV
20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me. Revelation 3:20 (AMP)
Points to Remember
- God created you for His own purpose and His glory. He gave you dignity by shaping you after His own likeness.
- God considers you to be of great value. Our ever-present Father takes personal interest in knowing you completely.
- He loves you so intensely that He sent His Son to die for you on the cross. This demonstration of His love shows He wants to give you an eternal and abundant life.
- When God gave you this life in Jesus Christ, you were spiritually born into God’s family. He is your Father. You are His child. He cares for you!
God notices you. The fact is He can’t take his eyes off of you. However badly you think of yourself, God is in love with you. Some of us even fear that someday we’ll do something so bad that He won’t notice us anymore. Well, let me tell you. God loves you completely… and in the love of God there are no degrees, there is only love. —Rich Mullins
Things to Ponder
- What is your earthly father like? Do you like him? Explain.
- What is our perfect heavenly Father like? How much do you like Him?
- How do you think your feelings about your earthly father have affected how you feel about your heavenly Father?