God’s Image

Every individual, I believe, is placed on Earth to flourish and glorify God. In His original design, God created Adam and Eve in perfect health, without any physical, emotional, or mental deficiencies. We were created whole. However, humanity’s disobedience introduced sin and, with it, all forms of dysfunction. This included mental and physical illnesses, as well as evils like jealousy, envy, hate, fear, worry, anxiety, shame, and guilt. These negative aspects entered our world when humanity aligned with Satan.

Satan cannot create. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, evil is not something Satan created; it is simply the absence of good. When Adam and Eve aligned with Satan, they essentially moved out of alignment with God, entering a new partnership. This moment introduced darkness. Imagine switching off a light in a room: darkness immediately fills the space, not because it was created, but because the light was removed. Similarly, the darkness we observe in the world today is a consequence of moving away from God and closer to Satan.

Before Satan’s interference, God created us in His image, providing a beautiful home free from illness, lack, and worries.

The Human Design: Body, Soul, and Spirit

Let’s examine the human design as described in Genesis 1:26-31. God created Adam and Eve in His image, granting them dominion over the Earth, instructing them to rule, eat, and be fruitful. I believe that humanity was equipped with all the necessary tools to fulfill this assignment.

God endowed each person with a body, soul, and spirit.

• The Body: This is our physical self, enabling interaction with the physical world. Since we were created to have dominion in a physical realm, a physical body was essential. Our body, comprising visible parts and organs, also allows the soul to experience the world through the five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. The brain interprets the data from these senses, activating the mind of the Soul.
• The Soul: The soul houses the mind and the heart. The mind is responsible for thought, memory, analysis, and rationalization, while the heart governs feelings, intuition, and holds personal values and belief systems. This is the origin of an individual’s character and personality.
• The Spirit: This is the part of us capable of accessing the divine. It seeks a relationship with God and enables us to hear from Him. It is also the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. While it’s possible to live with a dormant or inactive spirit, such a life is often problematic.

God’s Desire for Wholeness and the Enemy’s Attack

God desires that every part of our being be not only functional but healthy. He desires for us to have healthy bodies, souls, and spirits. Medical doctors focus on the physical body, psychologists on the soul (mind and heart), and spiritual teachers aim to awaken our spirits for a deeper experience of God.

Therefore, a healthy person possesses a healthy physical body, a healthy soul (mind and heart), and a healthy spirit (a strong relationship with God). However, the enemy strives to hinder the effective functioning of every part of us. By weakening us, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to fulfill our earthly assignments. The enemy seeks to prevent us from reflecting God’s image, weakening our minds, souls, physical bodies, and especially our spirits’ capacity to commune with God. I believe that for the enemy to achieve his goal which is to make us fail at our assignment, he has to ensure that our spirits are ineffective. Blocking our capacity to have intimacy with God was and is still his primary strategy.

God created us to rule, enjoy, and be fruitful, all while maintaining a close and intimate relationship with Him. Hardships were not part of God’s original plan; they were introduced through disobedience.

Jesus: The Path to Restoration

Jesus came as a solution to the predicament we created for ourselves. Since we were originally designed for an abundant life, He came to restore us to those original settings. He re-empowered us to accomplish our intended purpose, which begins with awakening the spirit to renew our relationship with God.

It’s no surprise therefore that Jesus’ ministry largely focused on healing. He healed people’s bodies and souls, and awakened their spirits. Through his death, he created a possibility and a way to have a relationship with God. The path that was long hindered was restored through his sacrifice. Through Jesus, we are promised eternal life (life after death), but that was not his only mission. Jesus desired to restore our bodies, souls and spirits through healing. In Jesus, we find physical healing, soul healing (through restoring our minds and hearts) and awakened spirits, by introducing the Spirit of God into our Spirits to enable us to have constant communion with God.

When the Spirit of God is allowed to work in our lives, he begins to restore us to our original design. This enables us to better fulfill our earthly assignments.

In conclusion, we are made in God’s image, possessing a spirit, a body, and a soul that encompasses a mind and a heart. This holistic design reflects the image of God. It is our responsibility to nurture, protect, and value every aspect of our being. All the best as each one of us embarks on our own personal healing!.