Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children….. Ephesians 5:1
We are to be imitators of God. Mimic Him. Imitate the pattern He has set. The amplified version says to imitate Him as well-beloved children imitate their fathers. The Message Bible says watch what God does, and then you do it. Like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.
I love that this verse starts with BE… just BE an imitator. You don’t have to work at it. You don’t have to practice it. You just have to BE. BE who you are IN CHRIST. You were made in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 2:7 says that He breathed life into man and he became a living being. In the Targum (the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament), the Jewish sages have translated “living being” as “speaking spirit.” He made us a speaking spirit….. made in His image….. to create our world through our words, just like Him.
Romans 4:17 says God calls those things that are not into existence…. He calls them – He calls aloud, utters in a loud voice, He calls them by name. Mark 11:22-23 shows us that God’s faith “speaks.” Job 22:28 says “you shall decree a thing and it shall be established.” And of course, one of my favorites is 2 Cor 4:13 But having the same spirit of faith according to that having been written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we also believe and therefore speak.
God is a speaker! He spoke everything we see around us into existence. Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. This is the faith chapter! It says faith understands…. it understands that the worlds were framed by the word of God. The word of God is the rhema word. The spoken word. Faith understands that the spoken word contains power to frame the worlds…. to accomplish or bring to pass what is spoken.
The word in Hebrew is dabar and is more than just the spoken word, it’s an act… something carried out or completed. Dabar is not just sounds… it’s words that have within them the energy or power to accomplish what is said. God said “Let there be light. And there was light” “We lay hands on the sick and say be healed. And they are healed.” We are speaking spirits just like our Daddy! The words we speak carry within them the power to accomplish what was spoken.
Isaiah 38:7b says “…… that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;” In Hebrew it says Yahweh will do this. Yahweh is the Covenant Name. It is the unspoken name in Hebrew. Instead of Yahweh, ancient Jews and conservative modern ones say Ha’Shem… The Name! This Name was so sacred that they would not speak it nor would they write it in full (they left out the vowels: YHWH). YAHWEH was the Holy One of Israel. In Hebrew it is spelled Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey, which means Behold (Hey) the Nails (Vav), Behold (Hey) the Hands (Yod). Yahweh is Yeshua…. He is Jesus!
Then it says in Isaiah 38:7b, Yahweh (Jesus) will do that. What will Yahweh do? The rest of the verse tells us, this thing that is spoken (dabar). But right between “Yahweh will do” and “this thing that is spoken” is the untranslatable Hebrew word “et.” In modern Hebrew grammar it is a direct object marker, pointing out the subject of the sentence. But I believe that it is actually direct object marker pointing to Jesus. Alef tav in Hebrew is alef – the beginning letter of the alphabet and tav – the last letter of the alphabet. Jesus said He is the Alpha Omega… the beginning and the end in Greek. In Hebrew He would be the Alef Tav. It also means power of the Cross or power of the covenant. This little word “et” is scattered all throughout the Old Testament in various places. It’s an identity marker. A road sign if you will, alerting you to a New Covenant truth in the verse…. alerting you to God’s heartbeat. It is an object marker, so to speak, directing you to the Object – Jesus!
John 14:13a says And whatever you might ask in My name, this I will do. Whatever you ask… whatever you call for. It also means whatever you understand. Remember Hebrews 11:3 says “faith understands that the worlds were framed by God’s spoken word.” Faith in us (His faith) understands that we are made in His image and likeness, and in Christ our worlds are framed by our spoken words. They have the power to accomplish what we say!
Let’s read Isaiah 38:7b in light of John 14:13 and include the alef tav marking. Yahweh will do this thing that is spoken (by us) IN CHRIST. We are in Christ and what we speak has power! We are speaking spirits just like our Daddy.
Prov 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of our tongue. One meaning of power is border. I like that… it’s within the “borders” of our tongue.. our words, what we say! One of the synonyms of border is hem. Hem yourself in with the IT IS FINISHED!!
A border is an edge or boundary of something. So begin speaking and framing your world with this as your border…… IT IS FINISHED!
I am healed!
I am righteous!
I am holy!
I am loved!
I am complete!
I am as He is in this world!
I am prosperous!
I am delivered!
I am FREE!
I am whole in every area of life – spiritual, physical, mental, social and financial!
There is nothing missing and nothing broken in my life!
I am favored, I have favor and I continually walk in favor!
I have ALL things that pertain to life and godliness!
I am more than a conqueror!
I have the FULLNESS of the Godhead in me!
I am anointed and know all things!
I am love!
I am good!
I am IN CHRIST!
I am co-crucified, co-buried, co-resurrected and co-ascended with Christ!
I am co-seated with Christ in heavenly places!
I reign in this life through the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace!
I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ!
~ Robin
It Is Finished 