Created to Be and Live Like Him...

I once attended a Bible Study class where the following question was asked, “Is God glorified through manmade creatures?” What the teacher meant was creatures such as the Mount Rushmore, the Egyptian Pyramid, etc. The general agreement in that Bible Study was that God wasn’t glorified in those things because God did not make them by Himself. That dazzled me; although, I did not speak up. I preferred to listen to everyone’s thoughts, and besides, I wasn’t as confident in the Word as I am now. But I remember thinking that that is definitely not right. I believe God is glorified through the magnificent works of man. I believe God is proud of His creatures for the works we do. I mean, how wouldn’t He be? He made us in His image – to be like Him. Genesis 2:7 says He breathe into us. That is, we have God in us. If we can’t do great things, then we aren’t acting like our Father. I believe man’s amazing creatures point directly to God. 

Think of it this way: We can carve faces in rocks; and with limited technology, fix blocks together to build a world’s masterpiece; make a paradise out of a desert in Dubai; and erect structures on the moon, etc. If man (saints and sinners) can do all these and more, imagine what God our Master Creator can do. Contrary to the opinion of my co-Bible students that evening, I believe all man’s beautiful creations point back to the awesomeness of God. And if the natural man can do all these, imagine what the spiritual man, who has God living in him, can do. 

Understanding that we are indeed the image of the All-sovereign God should take every believer from the level of “cannot” to that of “can-do-all-things”. 

You can live a holy life. Why? Because you were created to be like God who is ever holy. You are His reflection and the more you behold Him (through the Word), the more you resemble and act like Him – 2^nd Corinthians 3:18. 

You can do all things. Why? Because there is nothing impossible with God – Luke 1:37. When Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission trip in Luke 9:1-2, he told them to share the word and “heal” people. He didn’t tell them to ask God to heal the sick. He told them to go and heal the sick – because we were made in the image of God. 

Right before Jesus ascended, He said, “All authority has been given unto me…” (Matthew 28:18-19). Then He continued and said what that authority should help Him do… Oh, did I say “help Him”? Sorry, I meant “help us” do. So Jesus was given authority, but He didn’t need that authority anymore. He was ascending to heaven and He didn’t need it in heaven, He gave it to us (Luke 10:19) to – teach all nations, baptize people, heal the sick, cast out devils, to trample upon snakes and scorpions, etc. (Mark 16:17-18). Being made in God’s image implies that there is nothing that you cannot do. 

Being made in God’s image also means that we are His representatives – His ambassadors (2Cor.5:20). God gave all He has to us (Jesus), so we are all He now has on this earth. We are His hands and feet. We can speak on His behalf (as He leads). We can live like Him to the extent that people think we are Him. The disciples in Acts 4:13 displayed so much knowledge and confidence that people just knew that they must’ve been with Jesus – there was no other reasonable explanation. The day I met Kunle, I just knew He was a believer. I needed no introductions. Mind you, we all wore the same things that day, NYSC uniform/khakis; so it wasn’t his dressing. He just had a Jesus glow radiating from Him. I guess He had looked so much into that glass and was being changed greatly into God’s glorious image beyond his spirit, but now in character. 

Understanding that we were made in God’s image should take us from the level of the ordinary to that of the extraordinary. Ye are gods. Psalm 82:6. You can decree. You can possess. You have dominion. You can do all things – ALL things. If nothing is impossible with God, nothing is impossible with you. 

And let me tell you a secret: the reason why the devil hates man so much is because we were created in God’s image and He was not. He was an angel of God before his fall. Angels are spirits and are very powerful, but they were not created in the image of God. Imagine how horrible Lucifer would have felt because of that? (Anyway, we’ll learn more about this adversary next time on this series). 

From now on, I challenge us all walk in the light of this fact – that we were created in the image of God. So, there should be no more limitations and no more intimidation from the devil. We are gods.