“Act Like God” - Apostle EZEKIEL KWADWO BOADU (PhD)

According to the Bible, acting like God does not mean trying to usurp His divine power, omniscience, or sovereignty, which was the root of the original temptation in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Instead, it means imitating God’s moral character and love as His children and image-bearers. 1. What It Means to Be Like God (The Imitation) Believers are called to reflect God's communicable (moral) attributes in everyday life: • Holiness: Being set apart from sin and living in purity (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15–16). • Love and Self-Sacrifice: Walking in sacrificial love just as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:1; John 13:34). • Kindness and Forgiveness: Being tender-hearted and forgiving others freely, mirroring God's grace (Ephesians 4:32). • Justice and Mercy: Loving justice, hating oppression, and showing compassion to the vulnerable like orphans, widows, and the poor (Isaiah 61:8; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 68:5–6). 2. The Boundaries: What Humans Are Not Called to Be While humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), there is a clear distinction between Creator and creation: • No Omniscience or Moral Autonomy: Humans do not possess the ability to define ultimate good and evil on their own terms. • No Divine Sovereignty or Savior Status: People cannot control the universe or save souls by their own power; salvation belongs to God alone by grace through Jesus Christ. • No Pomp or False Oaths: Trying to act as if you hold cosmic authority—such as swearing grandiose oaths—is discouraged as overstepping human limitation (Matthew 5:33–37). 3. How Transformation Happens The Bible teaches that human beings cannot manufacture godlikeness through sheer willpower alone. Instead, it is an inside-out transformation: • The New Self: Believers "put on the new self" created in true righteousness and holiness through the work of Christ (Ephesians 4:24). • Conformed to His Image: Through faith, believers are progressively conformed to the image of Jesus Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).