I AM IMAGO DEI – THE IMAGE OF GOD

“Imago Dei” is a Latin term that translates to “The Image of God” in English.

The term “Image of God” refers to the metaphysical representation unique to humans, symbolizing the symbolic link between God and humanity. Its origin lies in Genesis 1:27, where it is stated, “God created man in his own image…”

This biblical reference does not suggest that God possesses a human form; rather, it emphasizes that humans bear the image of God in their moral, spiritual, and intellectual essence. In this sense, humans mirror God’s divine nature through their capacity to exhibit distinct qualities. These qualities, including rational understanding, creative freedom, the ability for self-realization; and the potential for self-transcendence distinguish humans from all other living beings.

Let’s take a look at the Days of Creation. When God wanted to create the vegetation (plants and vegetables), He spoke to the land. When God wanted to create the Light, He spoke to the Heavens. When God wanted to create aquatic creatures (fishes, tortoises, squids, sea lions et al) and marine life (coral reefs), He spoke to the water. When God wanted to create animals, He spoke to the ground (Gen 1;27) but when He wanted to create Man He spoke to Himself! Human beings are created with unique abilities because we have our source from The Creator Himself, it is no wonder why The angels will say: What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him. (Psalm 8:4).

When God was creating man he was creating a replica of Him; physically, spiritually, and intellectually. One of the greatest understandings that we humans can come to or discover is that we are the “Image of God”. It is no wonder the scripture says “Ye are god” (Psalm 82:6a). It is a lack of this knowledge or understanding that makes us live below our reality and true identity. And I feel the greatest battle the world is facing for such a time as this is an Identity Crisis.

Identity refers to the distinguishing characteristics, beliefs, qualities, and expressions that define an individual, or the understanding that encompasses the sense of who someone is, both as an individual and as part of a larger community or culture. – Adeyemi Adedamola.

Identity is shaped by various factors such as personal experiences, cultural background, social interactions, values, beliefs, and affiliations. It can include aspects like gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, and social roles. One’s identity plays a crucial role in shaping self-perception, relationships with others, and how individuals relate to the world around them.

Society might have given us another identity that we are not; the family we are around might have given us another identity that we are not; the movies we watch, songs we listen to, and books we read might have given us the wrong sense of identity; the relationships and educational background we had while growing up might have given us the wrong sense of identity. And if we describe ourselves with this wrong sense of identity we are living a life of Identity Crisis. Whatever sense of identity that makes us live below the Identity of God is a wrong sense of identity; we are becoming conscious of what we are not.

It was a lack of identity consciousness that made Adam and Eve eat the wrong fruit which led to the fall of humanity. The devil came to give them the wrong sense of identity which they accepted (Gen 3:1-6). It is the same way some of us leave our true Identity and start accepting the wrong one. Immediately they did it, they lost consciousness of who they were.

Genesis 3:7-11

[7]And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

[8]And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

[9]And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

[10]And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

[11]And he said, Who told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou should not eat?

The same question God asked Adam and Eve is what I want to ask us, it is an Identity question. Who told you that you are not beautiful? Who told you that you have low self-esteem, who told you that you can not be a success? Who told you that you will be poor? Who told you that you can’t be creative? Who told you that you are not the light of the world? Who told you that you are the least in your tribe? Who told you that you won’t make it in life? Who told you that you can’t manifest? Who says you are ugly? Who says you have no potential? Who says you are not the salt of the earth? Etc. Definitely not God! It is the devil! We spend more than listening and living in an illusion of the wrong Identity than who we are which is the IMAGE of God!

I am the IMAGE of God! I am IMAGO DEI! I am who God says I am, what He says I am! I am one with God! I am made in the Image of God! Is God creative? So am I! Is God beautiful and radiating? So am I! Is God suffering from low self-esteem? Not at all! So I can’t have low self-esteem also. Is God full of Potential? So am I also! A dog can never give birth to a goat! So also I can’t be anything less than my Source! Why? The Scripture says in 1 John 4:17b “As he is, so are we in this world”…

According to the law of Focus, which says, “Whatever you listen and see every day puts your life on Auto-Pilot”. If we want to live above life circumstances and win the everyday war the world is throwing at us, we need to be conscious of our true identity – which is that we are made in the everyday replica of God!

You are a god! If God can not live below the standard of Who He Is, so also I can’t! I hope you know that the best way to find God and see God is to carry a mirror and look into it, and the person you see in the mirror, which is you, is God! What I’m trying to say in essence is that the best way to describe or see God is to see you! Why? Because you are one with him!

I AM IMAGO DEI! I AM THE IMAGE OF GOD.