A Newsletter of weekly meditations on Biblical Theology and curated resources from The Carson Center

July 8, 2026

“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” (Genesis 1:26–27)

“and [you] have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:10, 16)

Read 1 Kings 16; Colossians 3; Ezekiel 46; Psalm 102

How can we increasingly reflect the image of God in which we have begun to be created as new creations in Christ? Colossians 3:10 and 3:16 will tell us. Colossians 3:10 alludes to Genesis 1:26–27: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image.’ . . . God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” Paul’s point in Colossians 3:10 is that believers have begun to be identified with the new creation in Christ. This is then best understood as a typological use of the Old Testament, in that the original creation of the “image of God” pointed to the latter-day “image” of Christ. Believers who are united to Christ also bear this image.

The original purpose of creation in God’s image–ruling and subduing, and being fruitful and multiplying (Gen. 1:26–28)–finds its fulfillment in Christ and then his people. Christ finished his Adamic work and believers have subsequently entered into the sphere of the new creation through Christ. The phrase “renewed in a knowledge” in Colossians 3:10 may echo the narrative of Genesis, where “knowledge” was at the heart of the fall: “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Gen. 2:17). Thus “knowledge” in 3:10 is not merely intellectual but also moral that entails one’s actions.

Being “renewed in a knowledge after the image” of God will be the remedy for the Colossian believers against being deceived “with plausible arguments” (2:4) and not being held hostage “by . . . empty deceit” (2:8) in the way Adam and Eve had been through the serpent’s deceptive speech.

My wife had recently received a women’s magazine and it was on the table, so I thumbed through it. I came to a “perfume sampler” in the middle of the magazine, where part of the page was folded over and was stuck together by a sample of the perfume being advertised. I unstuck the folded page and stuck my nose in the perfume. For the remainder of the evening I continued to smell the scent of that perfume because the perfume stayed on my face.

It is like that with Scripture. When we come to God’s word, we stick our spiritual faces into God’s word, his perfume (which is sweet as honey), and throughout the day we may not be directly focusing on God’s word, but when a situation presents itself where there is a decision to sin or not to sin, we will be reminded not to sin because the aroma of God’s word is still with us. So, even though we may not have a scripture verse directly in our minds throughout the day, the aroma of his word still wafts around us, and we are reminded to follow him and not to follow the ways of the world. – G.K. Beale

Reflect: Do we come to God’s word every day, so that it will be on our mind throughout the day?

“What is 1 Enoch and Why Does Jude Quote It?” by Matthew Harmon

When we turn the page from the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament, we often fail to realize that a single page turn hides about a 400-year period. A lot happened during those centuries, including the writing and compiling of literature that reflected on the events and promises found in the Old Testament.

A whole body of literature, often referred to as Second Temple Jewish literature, arose that helped form the larger theological culture of the Jewish people into which Jesus was born. These writings provide an important background for understanding what different Jewish groups believed during the New Testament period.

One of the more significant Jewish writings from this period is what we refer to today as 1 Enoch. It’s actually a compilation of five independent works written between the fourth century BC and the first century AD. The central character is Enoch, who never died; instead, “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24).

Because of his mysterious departure from earth, Enoch became a legendary figure in ancient Jewish tradition. Over time, a rich body of literature grew up around him. The book of 1 Enoch centers on the heavenly visions Enoch experienced when he was taken into heaven. Angelic beings (referred to as “Watchers”) reveal future events within God’s plan for human history and, in particular, his people.

What makes 1 Enoch especially interesting is that the epistle of Jude quotes from it. In a section describing false teachers, Jude writes:

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’” (Jude 1:14–15; italicized words are from 1 Enoch)

At first glance, it can be unsettling that Jude quotes from a Jewish text that isn’t in the Old Testament. But a closer look at 1 Enoch and how the biblical authors use nonbiblical writings builds our confidence in Scripture and provides a glimpse into the world of the biblical authors.