Genesis Clearly Teaches that the Days Were Not 24 Hours

Introduction

"The day-age (progressive) creation account is non-literal and contradicts the clear teaching of Genesis." I hear or see this complaint quite often, although the statement is incorrect regarding both accusations. I take all of the biblical creation accounts literally. Nothing is symbolic. The Hebrew word yom1 has three literal meanings - a 12-hour period of time (sunrise to sunset), a 24-hour period of time from sunset to sunset (the Hebrew day), and an indefinite period of time. The day-age interpretation of Genesis does not require the use of symbolism to explain the creation account.

The proper interpretation - from Genesis

A simple way to determine if the days are 12 hours, 24 hours or an indefinite period of time is to examine each of the days and see what the Bible says about the time it took for those days to happen. We will examine each day and see if Genesis indicates which interpretation is correct. In this page, we will consider the text of Genesis only and not rely upon any scientific information, about which we can not be absolutely sure of its accuracy.

12-hour days?

Let's look at the first definition of yom - the 12-hour period (from sunrise to sunset). A very casual glance at the text shows that yom could not be referring to daylight only. On the first day, Genesis 1:5 states that there was both daylight and night.2 We can eliminate the "daylight" definition of yom as being consistent with the Genesis text. The days of Genesis must have been longer than 12 hours.

24-hours days - Day 1

Next, let's examine the Genesis days to see if they fit the 24-hour interpretation. Many things happen n the first day. God created the entire universe, including the earth. God also began the period of daylight and night on the earth. Although science tells us that these events took much more than 24 hours, there is nothing in the biblical text that would clearly indicate that the day could not be 24 hours long.3 The 24-hour interpretation passes the test for the first day.

24-hours days - Day 2

On the second day, God separated the waters above the earth from those on the surface of the earth.4 Since there is no timetable listed for this period of time, it could be 24 hours in length. The 24-hour interpretation passes the test for the second day.

24-hours days - Day 3

On the third day, God formed the land out of the seas. There is no time frame given for the formation of the land and seas. Some time after the land was formed, God created the plants:

Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so. (Genesis 1:11)

And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12)

The text clearly states that the earth "sprouted" the plants (the Hebrew word deshe, usually refers to grasses). The Hebrew word dasha indicates that the plants grew from either seeds or small seedlings in order to have "sprouted." In addition, these plants produced seeds. The Hebrew word here is zera, which is most often translated "descendants." This makes matters very difficult for the 24-hour interpretation. Not only do the plants sprout and grow to maturity, but produce seed or descendants. There are no plants capable of doing this within a 24-hour period of time. Things actually get worse for this interpretation. Genesis 1:12 clearly states that God allowed the earth to bring forth trees that bore fruit. The process by which the earth brings forth trees to the point of bearing fruit takes several years, at minimum. God did not create the trees already bearing fruit. The text states clearly that He allowed the earth to accomplish the process of fruit bearing through natural means. Because the process of the third day requires a minimum period of time of more than  24 hours, the Genesis text for the third day clearly falsifies the interpretation that the days of Genesis one are 24-hour periods of time.

24-hours days - Day 6

Day 6 is also a problem for the 24-hour interpretation. During this day, God planted a garden in Eden, and caused the garden to sprout and grow. Then God brought all the birds, cattle and wild animals to Adam to name. God put Adam to sleep, took a part of him and formed Eve (Genesis 2:21-22). Adam's response to Eve's creation was "at last," indicating that he thought the day was very long indeed. 

Conclusion 

We are left with only one interpretation for the days of Genesis one. The literal, clearly indicated, meaning of yom for Genesis one must be an unspecified, long period of time. This is why I believe that the day-age Genesis one interpretation is the only biblically sound interpretation for the creation of the world and life on it.

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Even His Brothers Did Not Believe

The gospel of John is designed to create faith in Jesus, and yet John also tells us of those who did not have faith in Jesus… In John 1:11 we read of those who lacked faith from among His own people… “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” 

In John 6:66 we read of those who lacked faith from among His disciples, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” 

For a time, even Jesus own brothers (cousins) Who are James, Joses, Simon and Judas (The Judas that we are familiar with who betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is a different man than the brother of Jesus, who is also named Judas) did not believe, they had grown up with the very son of God living under the same roof:

 John 7:5 says, “For not even his brothers believed in Him.” 


Perhaps the brothers of Jesus were blinded by familiarity. It is often said, “Familiarity breeds contempt” This hindered many who knew Jesus from childhood…

In Mark 3:21 the Bible says, “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

The unbelief of Jesus brothers was foretold in Psalms 69:8, “I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.” 

They eventually did come to believe in Jesus. Acts 1:14 says, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”

Why did Jesus’ brothers not believe in Him from the very beginning...? Had they not seen the miracles? Did they not know Him as well as anyone else? 

Some of his brothers would have been old enough to remember their older brother Jesus, at the age of 12, going to the Temple and teaching the religious leaders (Luke 2:39-52).

They were also likely invited guests at the same wedding when Jesus performed his first miracle of turning water into wine (John 2:1-11).

Some of them would likely have been present, or at least would have been aware of when their older brother turned the tables in the temple, and how this act carried with it the bold messianic statement that the temple was ‘my father’s house’.

They would also have known that Jesus healed an official’s son (John 4:46-54), healed the man on the sabbath at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-17), fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (John 6:1-14) and walked on water (John 6:16-21).

In John’s gospel, all of these events took place before John’s statement that, ‘…not even his brothers believed in him.” 

Matthew 13:54-57 says, “… and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.”

The problem of unbelief was also a problem common among prophets. The same passage in Mathew goes on to say, “But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” Mathew 13:57 

Perhaps they were blinded by envy. Large crowds had been following Jesus everywhere making it difficult for His family to speak to Him at times. 

Matthew 12:46 says “While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” 

Jealousy can be a powerful.

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Genesis Clearly Teaches that the Days Were Not 24 Hours

Introduction

"The day-age (progressive) creation account is non-literal and contradicts the clear teaching of Genesis." I hear or see this complaint quite often, although the statement is incorrect regarding both accusations. I take all of the biblical creation accounts literally. Nothing is symbolic. The Hebrew word yom1 has three literal meanings - a 12-hour period of time (sunrise to sunset), a 24-hour period of time from sunset to sunset (the Hebrew day), and an indefinite period of time. The day-age interpretation of Genesis does not require the use of symbolism to explain the creation account.

The proper interpretation - from Genesis

A simple way to determine if the days are 12 hours, 24 hours or an indefinite period of time is to examine each of the days and see what the Bible says about the time it took for those days to happen. We will examine each day and see if Genesis indicates which interpretation is correct. In this page, we will consider the text of Genesis only and not rely upon any scientific information, about which we can not be absolutely sure of its accuracy.

12-hour days?

Let's look at the first definition of yom - the 12-hour period (from sunrise to sunset). A very casual glance at the text shows that yom could not be referring to daylight only. On the first day, Genesis 1:5 states that there was both daylight and night.2 We can eliminate the "daylight" definition of yom as being consistent with the Genesis text. The days of Genesis must have been longer than 12 hours.

24-hours days - Day 1

Next, let's examine the Genesis days to see if they fit the 24-hour interpretation. Many things happen n the first day. God created the entire universe, including the earth. God also began the period of daylight and night on the earth. Although science tells us that these events took much more than 24 hours, there is nothing in the biblical text that would clearly indicate that the day could not be 24 hours long.3 The 24-hour interpretation passes the test for the first day.

24-hours days - Day 2

On the second day, God separated the waters above the earth from those on the surface of the earth.4 Since there is no timetable listed for this period of time, it could be 24 hours in length. The 24-hour interpretation passes the test for the second day.

24-hours days - Day 3

On the third day, God formed the land out of the seas. There is no time frame given for the formation of the land and seas. Some time after the land was formed, God created the plants:

Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so. (Genesis 1:11)

And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12)

The text clearly states that the earth "sprouted" the plants (the Hebrew word deshe, usually refers to grasses). The Hebrew word dasha indicates that the plants grew from either seeds or small seedlings in order to have "sprouted." In addition, these plants produced seeds. The Hebrew word here is zera, which is most often translated "descendants." This makes matters very difficult for the 24-hour interpretation. Not only do the plants sprout and grow to maturity, but produce seed or descendants. There are no plants capable of doing this within a 24-hour period of time. Things actually get worse for this interpretation. Genesis 1:12 clearly states that God allowed the earth to bring forth trees that bore fruit. The process by which the earth brings forth trees to the point of bearing fruit takes several years, at minimum. God did not create the trees already bearing fruit. The text states clearly that He allowed the earth to accomplish the process of fruit bearing through natural means. Because the process of the third day requires a minimum period of time of more than  24 hours, the Genesis text for the third day clearly falsifies the interpretation that the days of Genesis one are 24-hour periods of time.

24-hours days - Day 6

Day 6 is also a problem for the 24-hour interpretation. During this day, God planted a garden in Eden, and caused the garden to sprout and grow. Then God brought all the birds, cattle and wild animals to Adam to name. God put Adam to sleep, took a part of him and formed Eve (Genesis 2:21-22). Adam's response to Eve's creation was "at last," indicating that he thought the day was very long indeed. 

Conclusion 

We are left with only one interpretation for the days of Genesis one. The literal, clearly indicated, meaning of yom for Genesis one must be an unspecified, long period of time. This is why I believe that the day-age Genesis one interpretation is the only biblically sound interpretation for the creation of the world and life on it.

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Be Reconciled to God

Precious one ... how important is it to you to get to know God?  Above all else, God wants you and I to get to know Him.  Yet there is a barrier that keeps that from happening.  That barrier is called sin.  Yet God loves us so much that in His mercy, He provided a way for our sin barrier to be removed.  What was that way? 


Maybe you have heard this before, or maybe it’s the first time you have ever heard it:  Jesus Christ died for your sins so all your sins can be forgiven - so that no barrier now has to remain between you and God.

Have you ever heard this:  God Himself died for your sins so they can all be forgiven - so the barrier of sin between you and Him can be removed?

The New Testament Bible clearly states that literally, God Himself, was the one who purposely took the punishment on the Cross for the sins of every human being,  so that they can be forgiven of all their sins, and they can have confident assurance that if they will believe this to be true -- fact -- they can be fully reconciled back to God in good standing, and can have full assurance that they not only are totally acceptable to God now … but have complete confidence that upon dying, they will immediately be in the presence of God for eternity, receiving His joy forevermore. 

Simply stated, when you ask God to save you from your sins, and trust that He has (and He truly wants you to believe that He has, but the devil doesn’t!), you immediately are spiritually “reconciled back to God” in good standing.  It requires nothing else!  You don’t have to try to be “good enough” to ask Him, because there is nothing so bad you may have done that He won’t forgive.  We are not lying to you.

However … sooner the better … you need to understand how you became spiritually separated from God in the first place.  Here is what the New Testament Bible communicates:

Every person born on this planet is spiritually separated from God at birth, because of the sinful disobedience of the first two created people, Adam and Eve. All offspring of Adam and Eve was born with (inherited) this same disobedient nature to God, separating us spiritually from Him.   It is our sin (and our sinfully rebellious nature) we inherited at birth that separates us from a holy God. 

That's why Jesus tells us in John 3:5 that: "We must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God."  We need to be spiritual reunited with God, because our sins – our sinful nature – God cannot tolerate and will not allow in His presence ...and furthermore, must judge it.  An all-righteous Judge must give punishment for wrongdoing against Him and others. 

Is there any way then, we can be saved from being punished in hell for eternity for our sins?
Do you want to hear some incredibly Good News?  God the Father judged all our sins on the Cross!  God the Father dumped His anger and wrath against our sins on Jesus Christ (who was fully God before He came to earth as a human being, and was fully God when He resurrected and went back to heaven) so that we can now be forgiven of our sins!  Past sins we committed – sins we might commit tomorrow or next week or next year or next decade, if we live that long, are ... and will all ...be forgiven.  Have you ever heard of such wonderful news?!  

Let’s say it a little different way to try to help you understand what God did for humanity – for you.  God Himself took full punishment for all your sins upon Himself on the Cross so that you could be fully forgiven for them, and have total, complete confidence that you will not be judged by God and sent to hell for those sins!   If we believe this, and are willing to die believing it … we have been immediately and fully reconciled back to God in good standing, and with that comes our full right to believe that God totally accepts us just the way we are upon our asking the heavenly Father to forgive us for our sins.  When we ask Him to forgive us for our sins – He promises that He does forgive us of them … and it’s as though we never sinned in His eyes!  Simply incredible, isn’t it?!

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  -- 1 John 1:8-9

But remember … you have an enemy who does not want you believing this incredible truth.  His name is Satan. 

(An important side note before continuing: God does in fact accept us just as we are when we confess our sins to Him and ask His forgiveness … but He loves us too much to let us stay “just the way we are” as we continue in our personal relationship with Him in the days ahead.  He forgives our sin ... but He also has expectations that we will strive to stop committing those same sins in the future, because they will only do more harm to us than any eternal good).

Here is God’s promise to everyone of us from the Bible what we have sought to communicate about being "reconciled back to God" up until now:

Scripture assures us in Romans 5:8-11 of this fact -- (Words in brackets are ours to help people understand):

"But God (the Father) demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners (spiritually disobedient in our nature to Him because of our arrogant pride and rebellion - selfishness - self-will - self-centeredness - self-preoccupation - and our lust for recognition, power, money and pursuit of pleasure without any boundaries or constraints), Christ died for us.

"Much more then, having been justified by His blood (shed on the cross), we shall be saved from wrath (eternal punishment in hell at the Judgment Day, out of the presence of God and eternal joy ... forever) through Him (Jesus Christ -- The Son of God.  This happens just to be two of His names).

"For if when we were enemies (separated from God because God cannot and will not bless our sin; and with our sins assuring us that upon Judgment Day, we will be judged and sentenced to hell for eternity for them) we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (if we put our trust in Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins, because He gave His life for this very purpose).
"And not only that, but we also rejoice in God (the Father) through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation (the MEANS in which we can become acceptable and intimate with God the Father this very moment in time).

Scripture also assures us in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 that we not only can be reunited in good standing with God NOW . . . we can also find purpose in helping others to know that they TOO can be used of God to help others spiritually separated from God to be reunited with Him in good standing as well:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new (spiritual) creation; old things(our sin that kept us separated from God, and/or our attempts to be pleasing to God by "earning our way to heaven" and by "somehow trying to be good enough") have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

"Now all things are of God (The Father), who has reconciled us to Himselfthrough Jesus Christ, and has given us (saved - spiritually reborn - Christians)the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

"Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

"For He (The Father) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin forus, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus Christ)."  


So, precious one, if you would like to be spiritually reconciled to God this very moment, all you have to do is ask Him. You can do it in your own words, or you can repeat this simple prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you right now in the name of Jesus Christ ... asking that you save me from my sins ... so I can get to know you - so I can be friends with you. 

God, I admit and confess that You paid the price for me to be able to be made right (be reconciled in good standing) with You . . . by dying that painful death on the cross and shedding Your innocent blood for me.  When You were hanging there dying, You had me in mind.  You died for me!  So now, Lord Jesus, I accept You as the one and only sacrifice that God the Father will ever find acceptable to pay full ransom payment for my sins, so that I can be reunited in good standing back to HIM, for the purpose of getting to know You, and to be qualified to be one of your closest friends.
Heavenly Father, I ask forgiveness for all my sins, and I receive your forgiveness.  I ask you and thank You now for the help of the Holy Spirit [third person of the Eternal Godhead] to help me on this new spiritual journey of intimacy with You, so that I can be pleasing to You from this moment forward in every way You desire.  I willingly and willfully give You my life now, to do with it as you please.  I am Yours!  I belong to you FOREVER!  Use me to bring You glory from this moment forward and forever, however you want to do that!   Show me from this moment on what I need to do to become one of your closest, most intimate friends.
In Jesus' name I ask it, and believe it to be so!  Amen.

---

Dear one, if you have just made this decision to trust God to save you from your sins through the Lord Jesus Christ and mean it, there are a few things we would like to encourage you to do now that you are reconciled back to God in good standing:

1) Tell another Christian about your decision. It's the most important decision you have ever made!  We would also love to hear of your decision and share with you in this joyous occasion.

2) Obtain a Bible as soon as possible. Trust God to provide you with an easy to read New Testament Bible. God speaks to us in different ways, but the primary way He speaks to us is through the Holy Scriptures. To hear God speak to you, lead you, and instruct you, you need to read the words He has written to you.  (I realize, depending where you are right now, obtaining a Bible may be a bit difficult.  So - you can have confidence that He will communicate to you in the days ahead, as is needed, even without a Bible.  God is not limited in His ability to communicate to us, wherever we happen to be).

3) Trust God and actively seek Him to lead you to a group of Christian believerswho you can grow with and be encouraged by. The devil is now going to assault you with his harassment, because he has just lost you from his grip. You will need help from other mature Christians who can encourage and pray with you from time to time or until you are strong enough to stand in prayer against the enemy on your own. Please, be wise and do NOT isolate yourself from other Christians.

4) Be wise in who you make spiritual relationships with. The devil has all kinds of spiritually misinformed and arrogant, know-it-all Christians (questionably "Christian", it would seem at times) to use to try to hinder your new relationship with God, and even counterfeit "Christians" on this planet (Scripture calls them "wolves in sheep's clothing"). The Holy Spirit will give you peace about who you should fellowship with, and who you should not. Follow your "heart" and not your emotions or fallible human logic.   God tells you in scripture to be wise as a serpent, yet gentle as a dove.  There is so much spiritual deception floating around this planet and it operates the most effectively when the label "Christian" or "Godly" or "Spiritually enlightened" or "supernatural revelation and/or divine visitation" is attached to it.  You may not know a whole lot about what I'm talking about now, but I can assure you, you will in time, if you hang around here on earth for any length of time.  Demonic deception has one ultimate purpose: to somehow try to shipwreck your faith and effectiveness in Jesus Christ, and/or to get you to believe it so you can pass along it's spiritual poison to others.  

A demonic "religious spirit" (which often includes a "controlling spirit") covers this earth and operates at "peak efficiency" in many churches as well as in nice, cozy home settings where "religious people" often meet.  The Bible calls this simply the working of the Anti-Christ spirit.  It is difficult to spot often-times ... until it slowly begins to chip away at every tiny piece of joy and peace you may have.  It best functions with a Bible in one hand so-to-speak and a FREE cross in the other for you to wear that injects secret tiny poisonous darts into your soul and spirit, if you innocently wear it around your neck.  A dimension of the anti-Christ spirit may well even be residing in your spouse or other family members or friends, and you haven't a clue, until it seeks to devour your faith and confidence and joy in God.  It is the same "spirit" that operated through the Pharisees and the Sadducees ... the very ones who hung Jesus on the Cross.  It will seek to "spiritually hang you too" ... to try to get you so discouraged and even angry with God to the point that you will want to quit trusting Jesus Christ for anything ... let alone staying engaged in helping advance His kingdom in the lives of others.   It doesn't want to hang you to spiritual death in a moment of time (unless it can persuade you to commit suicide).  Ideally, it wants to put you in a pot of cold water like you would a frog and let the water heat up so slowly so that you don't even realize you're dying, but having a nice, hot, relaxing bath ... until you slowly cook to death!  It doesn't like to get exposed, so it operates as subtly as possible.  It appears as very "religious,"always remember that. 


You may have never heard this, but Christianity was never meant to be "religious."  It was and is meant to be "a relationship" -- a personal relationship with the living God.  "Religion" will not impart to you spiritual life.  It will only in the end impart to you spiritual death, in one way or another.

The demonic anti-Christ spirit will also try to get you to mix Old Testament teachings that never were to be applied to New Testament Christianity.  Be extremely cautious of "teachers" who are not teaching you the critical importance of understanding Law and Grace.  Mixing Law and Grace is one of Satan's most lethal yet subtle and effective strategies to confuse what you are to believe ... to walk in maximized freedom and joy in your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Learn everything you can about waging effective spiritual warfare as quickly as you can.  You're going to need all of the Armor of God -- learning how to affectively use it as soon as possible, to keep any degree of joy and peace.  Satan and his demonic hordes may not have liked you all that much before committing your life to Christ, but now that you have ... you are their most hated enemy, other than God and His holy angels and other true believers in Christ.  You will remain their hated enemy as long as Satan and his helpers are allowed to continue to operate on this planet, and the Bible assures us they will until Jesus Christ comes back again for all the world to see ... yielding one big, bad sword that is more lethal than all the nuclear warheads of the world combined!

5) Commit yourself to spending time each day talking with God in prayer.  Above all else, prayer is the means God has given us to develop our personal relationship - our personal friendship with Him.  He is the one who saved you from being punished for eternity for your sins, and He is the One you will NOW spend eternity with. To become intimate with Him, you will need to begin talking with Him on an intimate basis. Prayer is our direct link to God.  Treasure this privilege from the very beginning, and never let ANYTHING stop you from maintaining priceless on-going communication with Him.  Satan will do everything in his power to frustrate your prayer life (intimate communion - intimate communication) from this moment forward.  He has a lot of strategies to do that.  If you let Satan "devour" your prayer life ... your peace and joy will also die with it.  Don't ever let the devil trick you into that, please!

And finally . . . CONGRATULATIONS! Welcome home, child of God!

How Jesus "defeated" Satan on the Cross

MYTH #1: “In eternity past, God and Satan engaged in a great battle. Today, the cosmic struggle still rages between them.”

This particular myth contradicts one of the most well-established, fundamental truths about God that is revealed in Scripture—the truth that He is all-powerful, oromnipotent, to use the theological term. From cover to cover the Bible affirms God’s omnipotence.

On page one of the Bible we learn that God created everything. He spoke the universe into existence. How much power did that require? Whatever amount was necessary, God had it!

Has God’s power diminished since then, now that He has grown so much older? No, Jesus told us that all things are possible with God (See: Matt. 19:26). Jeremiah affirmed that there is nothing too difficult for Him (see Jer. 32:17). No person or force can stop Him from fulfilling His plans (see 2 Chron. 20:6; Job 41:10; 42:2). Through Jeremiah God asks, “For who is like Me....And who then...can stand against Me?” (Jer. 50:44). The answer is no one, not even Satan.

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Spirit said, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired” (Is. 40:28). Paul wrote that God is able to do“exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20).

If God is truly all-powerful as the above-mentioned scriptures affirm, then to say that God and Satan were - or are - in a battle is to imply that He is not all-powerful. If God lost even a single round, was slightly overcome by Satan even to a small degree, or had to struggle against him for even a short time, then He is not all-powerful as He declares Himself to be.

Christ’s Commentary on Satan’s Power

Jesus once said something concerning Satan’s fall from heaven that will help us understand how much power Satan has in comparison to our omnipotent God:
And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:17-18).

When Jesus sent out seventy of His disciples to preach and heal, they returned exuberantly to report that even the demons were subject to them in His name. They should not have been so surprised, however. Jesus informed them that in His pre-incarnate state, He had witnessed a very revealing demonstration of the Father’s supreme power over Satan: When the all-powerful God decreed Satan’s expulsion from heaven, Satan could not resist. Jesus chose the metaphor, like lightning, to emphasize the speed with which Satan fell. He fell, not like molasses, but like lightning. He didn’t fall like a leaf from a tree or a rock from a cliff. Oh no. Satan was in heaven one second, and in the next—BOOM!—he was gone!

If God can so quickly and easily expel Satan himself, it should have been no surprise that His commissioned servants could also quickly and easily expel demons.

Previously, those disciples possessed great respect for the horrible power that demons exercised over their victims, but now they had witnessed a far greater power, causing their joyful amazement. How some of us need this same revelation. Too many Christians have a great respect for the power of the devil and have not yet grasped that God’s power is far, far, far greater. God is the Creator, and Satan is only a creation.Satan is no match for God. There is no comparison between God’s power and Satan’s power. Satan cannot even struggle against God’s great power, as Jesus so aptly put it.

The War That Never Was

As strange as it may seem to some of our ears, we need to understand that God and Satan are not, have never been, and never will be in a battle. Yes, they do have differing agendas, and perhaps it could be cautiously said that they are in opposition. But when two parties are in opposition to one another, and one is immensely more powerful than the other, their conflicts are not considered battles. Could an earthworm fight with an elephant? An earthworm might make a very feeble attempt to oppose an elephant, but their contention could hardly be described as a fight.

Satan, like that earthworm, made a feeble attempt to oppose One who was immensely more powerful. His opposition was quickly dealt with, and he was expelled from heaven “like lightning.” There was no battle—there was only an expulsion.

If God is all-powerful, then Satan doesn’t have a ghost of a chance at slightly hindering God from doing what He wants to do. And if God does permit Satan to do something, ultimately it is only to accomplish His own divine will. This truth will become abundantly clear as we continue to examine the Scriptures in later chapters.

Obviously, God permitted Satan to make a choice regarding obedience or disobedience, which is what we call free will. But the only reason Satan possessed the authority to make a choice was because God gave him that authority.

The Future Binding of Satan

God’s supreme authority over Satan was not only demonstrated in eternity past, but will also be demonstrated in the future. We read in Revelation that one solitary angel will bind Satan and incarcerate him for a thousand years:

And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. (Rev. 20:1-3)

This future incident could not be considered a battle between God and Satan any more than Satan’s original expulsion from heaven could be considered a battle between God and Satan. This unnamed angel will simply lay hold of Satan and put him out of operation for a thousand years. There is no mention of any skirmish.

Notice also that Satan will not have the power to break out of his prison and will only be released when it suits God’s purposes (See: Rev. 20:7-9).

God could easily bind Satan right now if He desired. To say that He could not is to say that He is not more powerful than Satan.

Then why doesn’t God put a stop to Satan right now? Simply because it doesn’t suit His purposes at this time. There are reasons why God permits Satan to function upon the earth, reasons which we will explore in later chapters.

What About the Future “War in Heaven”?

If it is true that God and Satan are not, have never been, and never will be in a battle, then why do we read in the book of Revelation of a future war in heaven that involves Satan? That’s a good question, and one that can be easily answered. Let’s first read about that future heavenly war in Revelation 12:7-9:
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Rev. 12:7-9)

If you will read the verses which immediately precede and follow those quoted above, you will see that this incident of which John wrote is not a description of Satan’s original expulsion from heaven, when he “fell like lightning.” Rather, it is a description of a future expulsion.  Other scriptures indicate that Satan, even since his original expulsion, may still have some limited access to God’s heaven (See: Job 1:6; 2:1; Zech. 3:1-2, Luke 22:31; Rev. 12:10).

Notice that this war will be between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels. God Himself is not mentioned as being involved in the battle. If He were, the conflict could hardly be described as a war, because God, being all-powerful, could easily squelch any opposition in a flash of time as He has already proven.

Angels, including Michael, are not all-powerful, and thus their conflict with Satan and his angels can be described as a war because there will be some actual conflict for a portion of time. Still, they, being more powerful, will overcome Satan and his hordes.

Why would God not become personally involved in this particular battle, leaving it to His angels? I have no idea. Certainly God, being all-knowing, knew that His angels could win the war, and so perhaps He figured there was no need for Him to be involved personally. And I suppose that if God did everything Himself, the angels would have nothing to do!

I have no doubt that God could have easily and quickly allowed Satan to annihilate the wicked Canaanites in the days of Joshua, but He chose to give the Israelites the task. What God could have done effortlessly in seconds He required them to do, expending great efforts over a period of months. Perhaps this was more pleasing to God as it required faith on the part of the Israelites. Perhaps that is the reason He will not be personally involved in that future war in heaven. The Bible, however, does not tell us.

Just because there is going to be a war someday in heaven between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels is no reason for us to think that God is not all-powerful—any more than Israel’s battles in Canaan are reason for us to think that God is not all-powerful. Remember, God’s angels are not all-powerful—God is.

Was Not Satan Defeated by Jesus on the Cross?

In regard to this first myth of God and Satan’s reputed battles, I would like to conclude this chapter by considering the commonly-used statement: Jesus defeated Satan on the cross.

In years past, I had often stated that Jesus defeated Satan on the cross until I realized that what I was saying was not entirely biblical. Scripture never actually states that Jesus defeated Satan on the cross.Am I, perhaps, splitting theological hairs? No, there is good reason to be so particular. When we say that Jesus defeated Satan, we make it sound as if Jesus and Satan were in a battle, which implies that God is not all-powerful and that Satan was not already under the complete authority of God. That is why I no longer say that Jesus defeated Satan on the Cross. There are more biblical ways of describing what happened to Satan when Jesus gave His life on Calvary.

Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us: “Since then the children [that’s us, the children of God]share in flesh and blood [that is, we have physical bodies], He Himself [Jesus]likewise also partook of the same [a physical body], that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”(emphasis added).

Note that Jesus, through His death, rendered Satan powerless. To what extent did He render Satan powerless? Obviously, Satan is not completely powerless, or else the apostle John would never have written that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19, emphasis added). Neither would James and Peter have told us to resist the devil, because if Satan had no power, there would be nothing for us to resist (see James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9). Nor would Paul have written, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Rom. 16:20)

If you overheard me say to someone, “I’m powerless,” you probably wouldn’t conclude I meant that I was incapable of doing anything. You would assume that I meant I was powerless to change a certain situation, or that I had lost some jurisdiction over something I had previously controlled. If you had heard the context of my comment, you would probably know exactly what I meant. That is why it is so important to read verses of the Bible within their context, otherwise, we can wrongly interpret what God is trying to communicate to us.

We’ve already determined from other scriptures that Satan was not rendered totally powerless or inoperable by Jesus’ death. Thus we need to know in what area or to what extent Satan was rendered powerless. Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us. It says that through His death, Jesus rendered “powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (emphasis added). Satan was rendered powerless in regard to “the power of death.” What, exactly, does that mean?

This question is answered by looking at what other parts of the New Testament have to say about death.

Three Kinds of Death

Scripture makes reference to three kinds of death: spiritual death, physical death, and the second death.

The second death (or eternal death) is referred to in Revelation 2:22; 20:6,14; 21:8, and is described as the time when unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire.

Physical death occurs when a person’s spirit departs from his body, and his body then ceases to function.

Scripture teaches that we are tri-partite in nature: spirit, soul, and body (See: 1 Thes. 5:23). Our body is our physical person, the flesh and bones and blood. Oursoul is often considered to be our emotions, intellect and will. Our spirit is referred to in Scripture as “the inward man” (2 Cor. 4:16), or “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Pet. 3:4). In both cases, the spirit is called a “man.” The spirit is a person who is made of spiritual material, rather than physical material, just like angels, for example. The spirit has been described by some as the “real you.” Your spirit is eternal.

With this in mind we can better understand the third kind of death of which the Bible speaks—spiritual death.

Being spiritually dead describes the condition of a human spirit which has not been born again by the Holy Spirit. A spiritually dead person has a spirit that is alienated from God, a spirit that possesses a sinful nature, a spirit that is, to some degree, joined to Satan. Ephesians 2:1-3 paints for us a picture of the spiritually dead person:

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Paul said the Ephesians Christians were dead in their trespasses and sins. Obviously he was not referring to physical death because he was writing to physically alive people. Therefore, he must have been saying that they were dead, spiritually speaking.

What killed them, spiritually? It was their “trespasses and sins.” Remember God told Adam that in the day he disobeyed, he would die (see Gen. 2:17). God was not speaking of physical death, but spiritual death, because Adam did not die physically on the day he ate the forbidden fruit. Rather, he died spiritually that day, and did not die physically until hundreds of years later.

Paul continued by saying that the Ephesians, as spiritually dead people, had walked in (or practiced) those trespasses and sins, following the “course of the world” (that is, doing what everyone else was doing) and following “the prince of the power of the air.”

Who is “the prince of the power of the air”? He is Satan, who rules his dark domain as commander-in-chief over other evil spirits who inhabit the atmosphere. Those evil spirits are listed by various ranks in a later chapter of Ephesians (See: Eph. 6:12).

Paul said that dark prince is a “spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” The expression, “sons of disobedience,” is just another description for all unbelievers which emphasizes that their nature is sinful. Paul later said that they “were by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, emphasis added). Additionally, he said that Satan was working in them.

The Devil for a Dad

Whether unsaved people realize it or not, they are following Satan and are his subjects in the kingdom of darkness. They have his evil, selfish nature residing in their spiritually dead spirits. Satan is actually their spiritual lord and father. That is why Jesus once said to some unsaved religious leaders: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (John 8:44).

This is the bleak picture of the person who has not been born again! He is walking through life spiritually dead, full of Satan’s nature, heading for an inevitable physical death which he greatly fears; and, whether he realizes it or not, he will one day experience the worst death of all, eternal death, as he is cast into the lake of fire to suffer there forever.

It is extremely important that we understand that spiritual, physical, and eternal death are all manifestations of God’s wrath upon sin, and that Satan has a part in all of it. Satan has been permitted by God to rule over the kingdom of darkness and over all those who “love the darkness” (John 3:19). In effect, God said to Satan, “You may hold in captivity through your power those who are not submitted to Me.” Satan became a subordinate instrument of God’s wrath upon Rebellion (and as a consequence human rebels) . Because all have sinned, all are under Satan’s power, filled with his nature in their spirits and held captive to do his will (see 2 Tim. 2:26).

The Ransom for Our Captivity

We can thank God, however, that He had mercy upon humanity, and because of His mercy, no one has to remain in that pitiful condition! Because Jesus’ substitutionary death satisfied the claims of divine justice, all those who believe in Christ can escape from spiritual death and Satan’s captivity because they are no longer under God’s wrath. When we put our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes into our spirit and eradicates Satan’s nature from it, causing our spirit to be born again (see John 3:1-16) and allowing us to become partakers of God’s divine nature (See: 2 Pet. 1:4).

Now back to our original question. When the writer of Hebrews stated that Jesus, through His death, rendered “powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” he meant that the power of spiritual death, which Satan holds over every unsaved person, has been broken over all those who are “in Christ.” We are made spiritually alive because of Christ; He has paid the penalty for our sins.

Moreover, because we are no longer spiritually dead and under Satan’s dominion, we no longer have to fear physical death, since we know what awaits us—a glorious inheritance in heaven. Some of us may even escape physical death—if we are alive when Jesus returns (See: 1 Cor. 15:51).

Finally, because of Jesus, we have been delivered from suffering the second death, being cast into the lake of fire.

Did Jesus defeat (In other words, destroy) the devil on the cross?  No, He did not, because there was no battle between Jesus and Satan. Jesus did, however, render Satan powerless in regard to Satan’s power over spiritual death, by which he holds unsaved people captive in sin. Satan still holds the power of spiritual death over unsaved people, but as far as those who are in Christ are concerned, Satan is powerless over them. This is why in Revelation 12:11, we read, “And they [the believers] overcame him [Satan] because of the blood of the Lamb.” It was because Jesus shed His blood on the cross that we have overcome Satan.

The Disarming of the Powers

This also helps us understand Paul’s statement about the “disarming of rulers and authorities” found in Colossians 2:13-15:

And when you were [spiritually] dead in your transgressions...He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him (emphasis added).

Paul uses obvious metaphorical language in this passage. In the first part, he compares our guilt to a “certificate of debt.” What we could not pay was paid for us by Christ, who took our sin-debt to the cross. There our account was paid in full.

In the second part, just as ancient kings stripped their defeated foes of their weapons and triumphantly paraded them through their city streets, so Christ’s death was a triumph over “rulers and authorities,” the lower ranks of demons who rule over rebellious humans, holding them captive.
Could we not say, based upon this passage, that Christ defeated Satan? Perhaps, but with some qualification. We must keep in mind that, in this passage, Paul was writing metaphorically. And every metaphor, whether written or spoken, has a point where the similarities turn to dissimilarities.

For example, if a husband says to his wife, “Your eyes are like pools,” He means that her eyes are deep, dark, blue, and inviting. But He means nothing more, because those are the only similarities between his wife’s eyes and pools of water. He does not mean that fish swim in her eyes, or that they freeze over in the winter, or that ducks might want to land on them. Every metaphor is like that. It reaches a point where, if pushed beyond the intended similarities, would darken understanding rather then enlighten it, as metaphors are supposed to do. (This very thing is often done by people trying to find some significance in every minor detail of Jesus’ parables, when Jesus was usually only trying to make one major point.)

In interpreting Paul’s metaphors in Colossians 2:13-15, we must be equally cautious. Obviously, there wasn’t an actual “certificate of debt” that had all our sins written on it that was nailed to the cross. That is, however, symbolic of what Jesus accomplished.

Similarly, the demons who ruled over unsaved humanity were not literally disarmed of their swords and shields and paraded publicly through the streets by Jesus. The language Paul uses is symbolic of what Jesus accomplished for us. We were held captive by those evil spirits. By dying for our sins, however, Jesus released us from our captivity. Jesus didn’t literally fight against those evil spirits and they were not at war with Him. They, by God’s righteous permission, held us in their power all of our lives. Their “armaments,” as it were, were pointed, not at Christ, but at us. Jesus, however, “disarmed” them. They can’t keep us captive any longer.

Let us not think that there was some age-long fight between Jesus and Satan’s evil spirits, and finally, Jesus won the battle on the cross. If we are going to say that Jesus defeated the devil, let us be certain we understand that He defeated the devil for us, and not for Himself. He didn’t need to overcome the devil for Himself.

In my front yard I once chased away a small dog who was terrifying my baby daughter. I might say I defeated that little dog, but I hope you understand that dog was never any threat to me, only to my daughter. It was the same with Jesus and Satan. Jesus chased away a dog from us that never bothered Him at all.

How did He chase away that Satan-dog? He did it by bearing our sins, thus releasing us from our guilt before God, thus delivering us from God’s wrath, and thus the evil spirits whom God righteously permits to enslave human rebels no longer had any right to enslave us. Praise God for that!

Myth #2: “In eternity past, God and Satan engaged in a great battle. Today, the cosmic struggle still rages between them.”

No, we can thank God that in eternity past Satan was expelled from heaven without a fight. God will someday, through one powerful angel, bind Satan and render him inoperable for a thousand years. In the meantime, Satan’s power in holding people captive through spiritual death has been broken over all those who are in Christ. Satan is no longer our spiritual father and lord. God Himself is not, never has been, and never will be in a battle with Satan. God is all-powerful.
 

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Precious Testimonies Staff Note:  We must be extremely cautious in the conclusions we come to by reading this writing.  We humans ARE in a battle for our very souls!  Though Christians are not to fear Satan ... they aren't to be ignorant of his evil devices either.  God would not have given Christians spiritual weapons to use as is recorded in Ephesians 6:10-18 if they weren't needed.  Always remember that!

Also let us never lose awarenes of this awesome truth.  It was by God's LOVE for lost souls that He broke the power of spiritual death that Satan had over humanity.  It is by God's LOVE for redeemed lost souls who hunger after truth and righteousness that He will shower His kindness on ... for all eternity. 

God Does Not Expect Us to be Perfect

Why do we feel that God wants and expects perfection? He created us to need help in order to live "rightly" and He knows that we can't ever acheive perfection. We read about all kinds of rules and instructions in the Bible that are to be followed and obeyed. He gave us that law so that we may see that we can never make it work. We need help. We need Him. He wants us to always be aware that apart from Him, we can't make it. There is no way to be right without Him. That's why He gave us Jesus. He wants us to be right, in Him, not in our own perfection. He is committed to working with imperfect messy people!

We sometimes feel that if we just lean in a little closer to the rules, get past hurts healed, memorize Scripture, pray longer...we will be perfect. It's like the greyhounds who chase the rabbit, always getting closer and closer, but never quite making it.

God will never touch us in a way where we don't need Him anymore! His touch cleans us like a shower. We'll smell pretty good for a while, but don't be fooled...the stink comes back. That's how He likes it...us always having to come to Him for help and cleansing.

It's like an airplane. We can fly if we get on the thing that flies. We will crash and burn if we try to fly without it. We participate in faith by getting on the One who is flying. God is after His perfection expressed in us...not our perfection! He doesn't give perfection to us, He is perfection in us. It's the same with joy and peace and every other gift. He doesn't give us joy, He is joy in us!

God doesn't dwell on our imperfections. He's not freaked out by them. He was freaked out by sin, but He dealt with that in Jesus! Be friends with God. He's not mad at us, even when we mess up. Run to Him because He's made a way for us. What God is after is our trust in Him to be those things in us that are good and right. God's strength is made perfect when we are weak. Paul boasts in his weaknesses. He did not cover them up. When we learn how to do this, to expose our weaknesses instead of covering them, we will "board the plane that rises above the crud."

Think about the trust fall. Almost everyone has been a part of an exercise where you are supposed to trust the person behind you enought to fall and know that they will catch you. When we are falling backwards, there is something in us that wants to save ourselves. He wants us to see that we can't do it, and we must trust Him to catch us when we fall into sin.

God hates sin because it deceives us. Sin makes us think that God is mad at us. Sin makes us forget our role in the story. We become completely distracted by our sin, then by our feelings of inadequacy from committing the sin. Soon, we begin to believe that it is useless, futile to try to live the life that God has called us to live.

Watch a toddler. When they feel small or insecure or just want love, they lift their arms up for their parents. They want to be brought up to where the parent is. That is where they feel safe and whole and perfect! Raise you arms up to your Father and be perfect in Him!!

Perfectionism and Christianity

It seems that today, perfectionism is instilled in us at an earlier and earlier age. The pressure to succeed in all that we do – to perform well at sports, to make good grades, to get into the best college, to succeed at our jobs, to care for our aging parents or our busy children – All of these pressures attempt to mold us into perfect human beings – perfect children, perfect parents, perfect students, perfect athletes, perfect employers or employees. And the glossy magazines only make it worse. We’re also supposed to conform to those models with perfect skin, hair, clothes, and bodies. And when we don’t succeed, when we don’t reach that mark. We condemn ourselves to our rooms, or punish ourselves with self-degradation, with low self-esteem, bad body images, or with guilt that gnaws at our very beings, that gnaws away at our hearts. More than once, I have been driven to tears from having been less than perfect. It’s isolating and harmful for both ourselves and our relationships with one another and, I would argue, with God. It’s a competitive spirit that focuses only on oneself. Tough words by which to live our lives.

So How do we reconcile Jesus’ command for perfection with our own broken, sinful, and extremely imperfect nature?. There are two important things to note about this and the way it addresses perfectionism. The first is the second half of Jesus’ command. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” As your heavenly Father is perfect.

When I read the Bible, I am consistently asking myself about what I learn about God. And mostly, I what I learn is that God is perfect in grace, mercy, and love. So when we read, in this passage, that we are to be perfect as God is perfect, and we substitute what we know about God’s nature, we can come to the conclusion that being perfect has something to do with love…and not necessarily with being flawless. And then, if you dig a little deeper and look at those commands that lead up to this final one, you’ll notice that they’re all about loving and caring for and living with one another, even our enemies. If we are to be like God, then we are to love one another.

The second thing we need to take a look at in this passage is that word “perfect.” In day-to-day conversation, it of course means flawless and without error, but Jesus uses it in a slightly different way. When Jesus says, “Be perfect,” Jesus doesn’t mean be flawless. He doesn’t even mean obey each and every one of those legalistic commandments. When Jesus says, “Be perfect,” he means be complete, mature, whole, and with a sense of purpose.

Being perfect, here, doesn’t mean living without error; it means living your life the way God intended you to live it; living your life in love toward God and toward one another, the way God intended you to live, just as God loves and lives toward you.

To strive to be perfect in God’s eyes doesn’t mean worrying about making a mistake, It doesn’t mean condemning ourselves to our rooms, or punishing ourselves with self-degradation and low self-esteem. It does mean, though, extending our hearts, our minds, our arms, and our whole lives in love toward one another. Because that’s what God did and does for us on the cross. We are beloved children of God simply because it is God’s nature to love us. And God is perfect in love.

But aren’t there things that get in the way of living as God intends us to live? Of loving each another the way God wants us to? Of living perfectly, as our heavenly Father is perfect? The answer is, of course, “Yes.” So what I want you to do now is to take a minute and think about what might be preventing you from living out your life in perfect love toward God and toward one another. What gets in the way of being the person God created and intends you to be? Maybe it’s a fear, a resentment, a grudge. Or it could be a memory, a hurt, a broken relationship. These are often the things that gnaw at your heart, the things that keep you up at night, the things that cause you to react before you take the time to reflect. It might even be your own tendency toward the worldly sense of perfection, the perfectionism that causes you to beat up on yourself. Whatever they are, I would encourage you to hand them over to God. Because perfection in God’s eyes means living in love, and these are the things that prevent us from doing so.

Hand these concerns over to God – in confession, in prayer, in a journal, in loving conversations with people you trust. Be open to God’s perfect love flowing in and through your whole being.

So the next time you’re tempted to condemn yourself to your room for having not been perfect, realize that God has made you and loves you just the way you are. Realize that you are already prefect in God’s eyes. And then work on grasping it — claiming that perfection – that perfect love – for yourself. It is difficult, but we are called to see and grasp God’s love for us, and then live it out in perfect love toward one another. That is being perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Self Worth and Self Image

Is having a positive self image important?

Yes, a positive self image is important as long as we’re basing that conclusion on the right things. Our image is not based on what others think of us, how others treat us, or how good or bad we think we are. Self image is based on how God sees us.

Who Are You to GOD?

• You are valuable to God (Luke 12:24).
• You are dearly loved (Isaiah 54:10). You are so loved by God that He sent His only Son to earth to die for you on the cross for our sin (John 3:16).
• You were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That is beauty!
• You are forgivable (Isaiah 43:25).
• You need Christ’s strength (Philippians 4:13).
• You have a purpose (Romans 8:29)
• God cares about you (1 Peter 5:7)

Understanding self image is important because the way we feel about ourselves affects the way we project ourselves to others. Relationships and daily interactions are influenced by the way we view ourselves. People who have a positive self image make others feel more at ease and relaxed. They can take constructive criticism and are not easily threatened by conflict. These are assets to a successful relationship.

A positive self worth makes us more productive. People with a healthy self image set goals and work hard at achieving them. They take responsibility for their actions and see themselves as contributors in every aspect of their life. People with a positive self image are pro-active. 


Self-Worth and Depreciation
Self-worth is frequently based on our feelings of worth in terms of our skills, achievements, status, financial resources, or physical attributes. This kind of self-esteem or self-worth often cultivates an independent and arrogant attitude. When we find ourselves not measuring up to society’s criteria for worth, we suffer serious consequences. Our self-worth depreciates dramatically. The illusion of being successful and admired gives way to disillusionment as our possessions and achievements that once nourished our souls fail to satisfy our appetites. Every individual experiences basic needs -- hunger, thirst, fatigue, etc. We are conditioned to satisfy these needs by getting something -- food, drink, or rest. Mistakenly we conclude that by getting, we will achieve an acceptable self-worth/esteem. 

Nothing depreciates self-worth faster than regret, anger, or fear. For four years, Kelly worked in sales. If she achieved her monthly quota and bonuses, her self-worth soared with her supervisor’s praise. Like a barometer, her self-worth plummeted as she received criticism during non-productive cycles. 

One day Kelly marched into work, carrying a large box. One by one she placed pictures of her family and cards from friends as positive reminders. She renewed her self-worth by considering ways she could give something personal to each client or co-worker -- a word of encouragement, a sympathetic ear, or a prayer for their circumstances. “In the beginning, I felt like such a failure when not getting sales that I practiced self-depreciation. But after I dedicated myself to giving not getting, I had an unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment. It was as if I was losing the ability to worry!” 

There is a great example of this in the Bible. The apostle Paul “learned the secret of living in every situation” (Philippians 4:11-13). Self-esteem is an attitude of respect for and contentment with oneself based on the recognition of one’s abilities and acceptance of one’s limitations.

Self-Worth and Inflation
It is impossible for you to conjure up self-worth/esteem yourself. That feeling of happiness in acquiring something is a poor substitute for the true joy of contributing. The pursuit of perfection and approval drives us steadily farther from peace and self-confidence. If we focus our attention on our worldly resources, we will inflate ourselves with pride. Jesus reminds His apostles of true worthiness. “. . . The servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is supposed to do. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty’” (Luke 17:10). A healthy self-worth is the result of remarkable life-change and understanding who we are in God's eyes. 

Change happens to all of us. We will experience physical and mental growth, personal experiences, and changing social situations that will affect our identity. Identity is a person’s sense of placement in the world -- that which tethers us to our self-worth. Our identity can easily be over-inflated when our self-worth is miscalculated. It is healthy to remember, as we mature and circumstances change, that we are not bound by how other people evaluate us. “ . . . We turned our backs on him [Jesus] and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised and we did not care” (Isaiah 53:3). As the Son of God, Jesus’ self-worth was never inflated or depreciated by circumstances or those around Him. No amount of praise (inflation) or condemnation (depreciation) could alter His self-worth (Philippians 2:5-11). How then are we to achieve a life-sustaining self-worth?

Self-Worth and the Exchange Rate
Real self-worth is entirely internal. It’s realizing the true source of your usefulness and value. Imagine presenting an object which you consider commonplace, even obsolete to an interested buyer. Upon careful examination, the buyer offers to purchase the item for an exaggerated price. I once “unloaded” my grandmother’s ponderous baby grand piano (at a fair price) only to discover at a later date that there were only 30 pianos, with gold-gilded strings, in existence! “For God bought you with a high price . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:20). Our self-esteem needs to be based on the honor God gives us (Psalms 8:3-5). We are a priceless treasure, the object of His infinite love (Romans 8:38-39). God’s exchange rate for our imperfect lives makes our self-worth incalculable (John 3:16)!