Kenneth Copeland — The Image of God in You, Part 1Posted by admin on October 7th, 2009
So you want to make some changes in
your life. Maybe lose some weight. Or get
your finances in shape. You’re geared up,
excited, ready to shake those habits that have
been haunting you and step into God’s best.
You make some resolutions. Turn over a
new leaf….
Then, all too often, something strange
begins to happen. Your determination wanes.
And, as your new leaf grows, it begins to look
alarmingly similar to your old leaf!
Suddenly, you’re back where you started.
Nothing has changed and you begin to doubt
that it ever will.
That’s happened to all of us more times than
we’d like to admit. But, if you’re a born-again
child of Almighty God, it doesn’t have to happen
to you again. God has given you the principle
and the power to make permanent changes in
your life and circumstances.
Once you learn how, not only can you
turn over a new leaf—you can grow a whole
new tree!
But first you have to understand an
important principle—a principle that’s been
in action since the beginning. It’s the principle
of the “inner image.”
God Himself gives us the first lesson
about it in Genesis 1. There we can see Him
using the principle of the inner image to
create the earth.
God didn’t just come upon Creation by
accident and say, “Well, what do you know!
There’s light!” No, He first had a desired end
result (an inner idea, or image, of what He
wanted to create) and then said, “Light be!”
and light was.
God didn’t have any problems making
the changes He wanted to make, did He?
He took the principle of the inner image,
added faith and the power of His words, and
instantly, darkness was changed to light.
“But Brother Copeland,” you say, “that was
God. Surely you don’t expect me to try to act like
God!” I most certainly do. Ephesians 5:1 says,
“Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and
follow His example], as well-beloved children
[imitate their father]” (The Amplified Bible).
If we’re going to imitate our Father, we’re
going to have to put the principle of the
inner image to work, too.
Let me warn you about something though.
Don’t waste your time sitting around trying
to dream up a positive inner image on your
own. That’s nothing more than positive
thinking—and while it’s better than negative
thinking (or not thinking at all), it will
eventually fall flat.
You need to use the Word of God as the basis
for your inner image and the words you speak
because it is filled with God’s power. And if
you mix that Word with faith and speak it out,
it will change your life and circumstances.
Think again about Creation. God wanted
light. So He said, “Let there be light” (Genesis
1:3). The words He spoke were directly related
to His inner image. He used His words to get
that image from the inside to the outside.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries