Hebrews 11:3 ( NKJV )
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible
We have spent some time this week on this scripture. I believe it is a key to successfully walking by faith and not by sight. We have learned that this is a description of the process of creation. The worlds were created when God framed His inner image of what the physical universe would be like with words and then released those words by faith. When words of faith that flow from what God sees touch the physical realm, what God sees comes to pass. If God saw a house in His heart and released the word “house” by faith, a house would appear before us. That is the process that created what we see.
When God created man and gave him dominion over the earth, he expected man to exercise that dominion by the same process. He gave man the same ability to frame his inner image with words and release them that God has. No other being on the planet has this ability. When man’s inner image is energized by God’s inner image, man can also speak creative words that will bring change to his world. This change is in two areas. It first occurs in his own personal, inward life, and then in his circumstances and the world around him. Yesterday I closed with this thought. It is not our inner image that has creative power it is God’s.
There is much talk today about a healthy self image. If we do not have one it will hinder us in most areas of life. The problem with thinking of this as a self image is that nothing good comes from self. What we need is a healthy inner image. This would include how we see ourselves but would not be self centered. A truly healthy inner image is God centered and Word of God centered not self centered.
In addition to seeing ourselves in a healthy way, developing a Word of God centered inner image is what gives us access to the creative power we have been speaking of. When my inner image lines up with and is fueled by God’s inner image I can frame that image with words, release them by faith and I will see changes in my life and circumstances. If I just frame my own inner image with words and release them, some good things may actually happen, but for the most part I will be reinforcing the status quo.
How can my inner image become dominated by God’s inner image. We have actually talked about this process in this space, but not in this context. If we want to have an inner image that produces creative results we must be dominated by the written Word of God. Is 55:8-11 tells us that Gods ways and thoughts are higher than ours. This would be a problem if this section of scripture did not continue on, but it does. He says that because His thoughts and ways are higher than ours he sent His word.
God’s word has the power to change our inner image. In Romans 12:1-3 Paul said we could be transformed by the renewing of our mind. There is only one thing God has given us that affects the mind directly and that’s the word of God. Peter also has something interesting to say about this.
2 Peter 1:2-4 ( NKJV )
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 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, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Notice that the power source of this whole section is “great and precious promises” with which we can partake “of the divine nature. Through the Word of God we can partake of the nature of God, the nature that created the whole physical universe. How? By using those promises to change our inner image to God’s inner image.
The bible is a book of images. It is how God thinks on any subject. The bible has been given by God the ability to impart that image to us.
Hebrews 4:12 ( NKJV )
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Look at how this lines up with what we are saying. The word is alive with God’s creative power and it has the ability to affect the thoughts and intents of our hearts. Wow!
There is so much we could say about inner images. We all have them and they have been formed by our life experience. Some people have inner images formed by abuse or poverty or some other traumatic life events. Some have them formed by sin or other choices made that affect how we see things. Some may have good and healthy inner images formed by healthy family life and a decent lifestyle. Most of us have a combination of all these things. Our inner image is filled with both good things and bad. Either way what our inner image is not filled with is the creative power of God.
When we choose to take the Word of God and build our inner image around that, we are filling our lives with the creative potential God intended for us to have. Anything else is less than what God desires for us. We must choose to do this. We must become aggressive in our approach to the Word of God. We must risk being extreme if we want to see the creative power of God flowing in our lives.
What is you inner image based upon? What has it been producing? You can get a pretty good idea by listening to what you are continually saying. The words you are using to frame your inner image are an accurate gage of what that image is. I am not talking about the words you say when you are trying to be spiritual. I am talking about the unguarded words.
Begin to change your inner image today. Fill your mind and heart with the word of God. Let it take over you thinking, your inner image. Frame that image with words of faith and you will see a change begin in your life.
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