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A man or a woman will never rise above their self-image.
The image that you have of yourself will cause you to succeed or fail in life.
The image you have of yourself will carry you to the hight of success or plunge you into the depths of defeat. It’s not who you are, it’s who you believe you are.
As Christians, it is vital that we see ourselves as God sees us. Some believers struggle with their own image, and fail, for they do not see themselves as God sees them.
The Bible says that even though a man is an heir, he is no different than a servant as long as he remains a child and doesn’t recognise who he is. (GALATIANS 4: 1 ).
We must grow up spiritually and recognise who we are, and who is our Father.
Many believers have a wrong image of themselves. They are living in the past, bound by some negative things
others have said about them. Perhaps there have been difficulties in their life that have scarred them emotionally. Because of this, they have not realised who they are in God.
In Genesis 1: 26-28, we read how God created man in His own image and likeness. The word “likeness” refers to God’s nature - in essence, all that He is.
When Adam sinned, spiritual death crushed the glory God had originally deposited. For years it lay dormant until Jesus came to provide the way for spiritual rebirth so that
the image of God could once again be revealed. ( ROMANS 8: 29 ).
Your restoration into God’s image begins at salvation- that’s where the process starts. The Bible declares in I CORINTHIANS 15: 49 - “And as we have borne the
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”
The image of Adam was in you because of sin. But after salvation, God began to restore His image and
likeness in you. And all you must do is cooperate with God and believe what His Word says about you.
Here are seven ways to cooperate with the divine process of renewal and restoration:
1. You are renewed through the Word of God:
In Old Testament times, God commanded that a basin called a “Laver” be placed outside the door to the Tabernacle. The laver was made of reflective material so that each
time someone washed in it they saw themselves. The laver is symbolic of the Word of God. As we look into God’s Word and let it cleanse us, we are changed so that the image of God can be reflected
through our lives. II CORINTHIANS 3: 18 -
“But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changedinto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Each time you read the Bible, it becomes a spiritual looking glass where God reveals Himself to you as well
as revealing your own spiritual condition. As you act upon the Word, you are progressively changing into that same image.
2. You are renewed by putting on the new man: As you put off behaviours and attitudes of the old man, your spirit man is renewed into the image and likeness of
God: COLOSSIANS 3: 10 declares: “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him that created him.”
3. You are renewed by the knowledge of God:
Colossians 3: 10 tells us that we are renewed in knowledge after God. Your spirit man is continually renewed as you gain more knowledge about God. In II Peter 1: 3
“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”
Here we learn that everything you need in this life comes through knowing God. He is the source. He is the focus. As you come to know Him, you will realise that His image and likeness dwell within you - the essence of His divine nature.
4. You are renewed by confessing the Word of God:
Confession works only if the Word of God is bubbling out of your soul. Many people have a problem with confession because they are trying to confess from the outside in But
even when spiritual babies have God’s Word bubbling in them, that Word halts the enemy in his track: PSALM 8: 1 -2 declares: “O LORD our Lord, haw excellent is Your Name in all the earth! Who has
set Your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and sucklings has You ordained strength because of Your enemies, that You mighty still the enemy and the avenger.”
When you confess who God is and who you are in Christ Jesus, it stills the avenger.
5. You are renewed when you realise who you are in God:
You are chosen, blessed by God, Holy and without blame. In EPHESIANS 1: 1-4 -
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He has chosen us in
Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and without blame before Him in love.”
6. You are renewed as you are established in what you are taught:
Do you want to be so established in who you are in God so that no problem gets you down, nor storm blows you away? Then get rooted and established in the things you are
taught: COLOSSIANS 2: 6-7 declares: “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him, rooted and build up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught,
abounding in it with thanksgiving.”
7. You are renewed when you act upon the Word of God:
The Word promises that God is able to do above all that you ask for or think. Ephesians 3: 20 and that God’s Word is constantly at work in you. I Thessalonians 2:13. But for
these promises to become a reality, you must act upon the God’s Word.
Confess with your mouth these faith declarations and see yourself as God sees:
* I am not sick, for the Lord heals all my diseases (PSALM 103: 3).
* I am not bound, for the Son of God has made me free (JOHN 8: 36).
* I am not defeated, because I am more than a conqueror (ROMANS 8: 37).
* I am not lacking, for no good thing will He withhold from me (PSALM 84:11)
* I am not afraid of plagues, for no plague shall come near me (PSALM 91:10).
* I am not running from the devil, I am resisting him (JAMES 4: 7).
* I am not losing the battle, because the Lord is fighting my battles and He is on my side all the time (EXODUS 14: 14).
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