Like God

It is the overwhelming desire of humanity to be like God, to the extent that we try to be God in many ways. The period of Enlightenment is a great example of, not only humanity’s desire to be like God, but our belief that we can and will be like Him. The Tower of Babel is another example of humanity’s attempts at equality with God, but is it truly possible let alone permissible?

Genesis 1:26-28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

We are raised with the idea that were created in God’s image and to some extent meant to rule like Him on earth, given authority over every created thing. Yet being made in God’s image does not necessarily mean that we can be like God, let alone be His equal. Even Jesus, the Son of God, who was equal with God did not consider that something to strive for.

Philippians 2:5-7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

This proves the point that humanity is not equal with God, but is on a significantly lower level. And while we are made in God’s image there are many ways in which we could never be like God: we are not infinite, self existing or sustaining (much as we try to be), unchanging, all-powerful, all-knowing or everywhere at once always, just to name a few. That is what makes God God and us not. If we could be like Him, equal to Him, we wouldn’t need Him (and I believe that is why so much of humanity tries so hard to be God.)

Yet there are other ways in which we can, and should, be like God. Granted we will never be perfectly like God even in those areas until we reach heaven, but they are attributes we should strive for.

Ephesians 4:24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Colossians 3:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

Ephesians 5:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children

In this sense, we are not striving for equality with God, nor for any motivation associated with perfection, but to be like Christ, to imitate Him and prove that we are His. That is what “Christian” originally meant: like Christ. We need to live up to the name we call ourselves. It is a goal we should seek not to promote ourselves, but to glorify Him.

For the next several weeks, we will study the different ways in which we actually can be like God and how to do that. Be sure to subscribe to my blog or like my facebook page so that you get every post when it comes out!

(for more on the ways we cannot be like God, see the book "None Like Him" by Jen Wilkin)