Eph 958-9 12/18/88

DOCTRINE OF THE HERO SELF-IMAGE AND ITS SOLUTION

A. Introduction.

1. Quote from Jerry Glanville, coach of the Houston Oilers: “At certain times, we all try to present ourselves as something we are not.”

2. The trouble with Christians is that they take themselves too seriously.

3. The fragmentation of subjective arrogance is divided into two categories.

a. Subjective preoccupation with self is made up of two concepts.

(1) Unrealistic expectation.

(a) The state of frustration and unhappiness in which the believer blames others for not being treated or loved the way he wants to be treated or loved.

(b) Unrealistic expectation never takes responsibility for one’s own decisions, but blames others for one’s own self-fragmentation.

(2) Unrealistic self-image.

(a) The unrealistic self-image creates a hero or role model of self through arrogance, specifically the fragmentation of subjective arrogance.

(b) When a person develops this hero image they are unteachable. They cling to this image of self and in their own mind justify self, so that reprimand does them no good.

© The unrealistic image or hero image never recognizes its limitations. You cannot look into the mirror of the Word of God and see yourself as you really are, so that you cannot evaluate yourself objectively.

(d) By looking into the mirror of arrogance, an image is created that is false. But by looking into the mirror of the word of God the hero image is destroyed, and the believer under enforced and genuine humility can execute the protocol plan of God; he is teachable.

b. Subjective preoccupation with others.

(1) Role model arrogance. You create a hero image in others. Unrealistic evaluation of others.

(2) The feet of clay syndrome.

(3) Iconoclastic arrogance.

B. Unrealistic Self-Image.

1. Unrealistic self-image creates a hero or a false image of self from subjective arrogance. Unrealistic self-image creates a role model out of self as long as the arrogance of subjective fragmentation continues.

2. This pseudo self-respect or pseudo self-esteem becomes the basis for disorientation in life in three categories.

a. Disorientation in relationship to God.

b. Disorientation in relationship to self.

c. Disorientation in relationship to others.

3. The tenacity in clinging to the self-image created by arrogance means that the believer is flawed with the following results.

a. He does not grow up as a person: childish for life.

b. He does not grow up as a believer.

c. He is totally unteachable and cannot learn Bible doctrine.

d. He does not learn from legitimate reprimand or doctrine.

e. As a part of unrealistic expectation he is divorced from reality and never takes responsibility for his own decisions. He never examines his own motives or decisions, but in childishness always blames others for his self-fragmentation.

4. It is inevitable that when the believer in arrogance creates a hero image or a hero role model out of himself, that that self-image will all too often construct a counterpart which will overflow to others in role model arrogance or subjective preoccupation with others.

5. In other words, role model arrogance creates an unrealistic hero image or an idol of someone else. When you discover their feet of clay, their flaws, you react and seek to destroy the very image you created.

6. Since iconoclastic arrogance is so fragile regarding others, it follows that the unrealistic hero self-image will be just as vulnerable.

7. Two things can be devastating in the creation of a hero self-image.

a. You can often discover your own feet of clay. Therefore, you become disillusioned about yourself if you remain arrogant and retain the image. Since your self-esteem is false and not true, you become disillusioned, distraught, mentally disturbed, and distracted from the execution of the protocol plan of God.

b. Someone else can bring you face to face with your feet of clay, to which you will either react or respond.

(1) If you react, and persist in clinging to your hero image, you will have a tragic flaw for life and permanently divorce yourself from reality. This tragic flaw will result in everything from mental illness to Christian degeneracy, resulting in divine discipline.

(2) If you respond, you will turn to Bible doctrine which will remove the cobwebs of unreality in your life, eventually producing an invisible hero and mature believer, a product of the grace of God.

8. Unrealistic self-image results in unrealistic expectation and some form of mental illness. When you disappoint yourself, you begin to destroy yourself. This is one of the causes for suicide and other disasters.

9. When you have a hero image of yourself, you expect everyone around you to recognize that image, and to treat you with love, respect, adoration, and admiration. But when you have an unrealistic self-image, usually you’re a pain in the neck to others.

10. The fragmentation of subjective arrogance produces a tremendous number of spiritually self-inflicted wounds, divided into two categories.

a. Subjective preoccupation with self.

b. Subjective preoccupation with others.

11. Subjective preoccupation with self is the tragic flaw of arrogance divorcing the believer from reality. This is done in two ways.

a. Through an unrealistic self-image created from arrogance.

b. Through unrealistic expectation created from subjective arrogance.

12. Subjective preoccupation with self produces a sequence of arrogant functions. These accompany the progressive decline into Christian degeneracy: implode, explode, revert.

13. Subjective preoccupation with others produces a inconsistent modus operandi in human relationships: role model arrogance (unrealistic evaluation of others resulting in excessive admiration and the creation of an idol out of another person; the feet of clay syndrome, in which arrogant preoccupation with others discovers real or imagined failure in others to which you react; and the reaction which is called iconoclastic arrogance, the attempt to destroy the idol you have created from your own arrogance.

14. The same arrogance which preserves the hero image of self under unrealistic expectation destroys a hero image of someone else.

a. People who set up these hero images in others, first have a self-image of unreality.

b. Having a self-image of unreality, once they begin to destroy others through iconoclastic arrogance, eventually they will destroy themselves if they cling to their hero self-image after discovering their own feet of clay.

c. Many believers have an unrealistic self-image of spiritual greatness, which will destroy them when they discover their feet of clay.

15. The greatest inconsistency occurs when arrogance in the process of destroying the hero image of another, retains tenaciously his own hero image. This forces the conclusion that people in arrogance create images of self or others and never know what to do with these idols. Therefore, in arrogance they have no solutions.

a. Arrogance destroys what arrogance creates.

b. Arrogance never takes responsibility for the decisions of arrogance.

16. When you in arrogance create a self-image, this is contradictory to the plan of God and purpose of God for the Church Age.

a. If you coddle this self-image in arrogance, you will never learn anything.

b. If you react when you are legitimately rebuked, you will cling to your self-image and become psychotic or neurotic.

c. You try to create an image of yourself rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to create a true image of you through the perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine.

C. The Hero Self-Image versus Becoming Imitators of God, Eph 5:1.

1. Eph 5:1 presents two concepts.

a. The solution to the problem of the fragmentation of subjective arrogance. There is a solution to this desperate problem of creating a false image of yourself, of seeing yourself in the mirror of arrogance rather than seeing yourself in the mirror of the Word of God.

b. Becoming imitators of God is a solution for believers only.

2. Eph 5:1, “Therefore, become imitators of your God as beloved children.”

a. Eph 4:17-32, a negative paragraph. The inference is that, now that you’ve seen the negative, Christian degeneracy and fragmentation, let’s look at the positive.

b. Spiritual self-image uses pious, “holy” phrases such as “God willing.” The words are alright, but they come from believers who built a phony image of themselves. And the children of these believers see that they are phonies in moral degeneracy.

c. You don’t have to compensate for what you think are your inferior attributes by building up a false image of yourself. Your sanity does not depend upon building false images of yourself. Your sanity depends upon perception, metabolization, and application of doctrine.

d. Paul said “you are what you are.” He said it right because he had no images. “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” Grace makes the difference; grace overrules everything else, provided you permit it to do so. But arrogance and grace are mutually exclusive.

e. The arrogant always create a hero image for self, related to the current popular trends. This explains the popularity of drugs today.

f. The present active imperative of GINOMAI means to become something you were not before.

(1) The tendential present indicates an action mandated by God, but not taking place at the moment.

(2) The believer in Christian degeneracy produces the action of the verb. The active voice indicates the believer must become something which he is not at the present time, because he has created some spiritual image of himself.

(3) The imperative mood is a command, in which God makes a direct positive demand on the will and life of the believer involved in some phase of degeneracy.

g. The predicate nominative plural from MIMETES means “imitators.” The noun implies there is a true role model for Christians. However, that role model is not self in some hero image or others.

h. The role model is found in the genitive of relationship from the definite article TOU, used as a possessive pronoun “your,” and the noun THEOS, translated “your God.” “Your God” is a reference to our Lord Jesus Christ as the alpha and omega of Rev 1:8. Jesus Christ is both God and true humanity in one person forever.

3. Our role model is not the deity of Christ. We cannot imitate God; that’s blasphemy and impossible. We don’t have eternity, infinity, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, etc. But we can imitate the true humanity of Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union during His incarnation on earth, during which time He resided in the prototype divine dynasphere under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

4. In becoming an imitator of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, we fulfill the tenth problem solving device, occupation with Christ.

5. This verse is a command to grow in grace.

6. Note that we are not to imitate other believers or other persons whom we admire. Nor are we to create a hero image or self-image that hinders becoming imitators of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

7. Being a member of the royal family of God, you have something far greater than any image of self you can create in arrogance.

D. The Results of a Hero Image.

1. You will continue to sin and develop a life of misery in reversionism.

2. There will be an iconoclastic attack on your image, which will cause you to react, arousing all the arrogance of your Christian degeneracy.

3. In reaction you will fragment your life and then blame it on others and continue to be miserable.

4. You are constantly trying to change others to conform to your own unrealistic expectation and hero image. You want others to line up with the false standards created by your arrogant subjective preoccupation with self.

5. You cannot change yourself as long as you cherish your hero self- image. You will resent others who try to help you and resist any doctrinal teaching.

6. The hero self-image motivates inordinate ambition and inordinate competition. The hero self-image is tantamount to competition with God.

7. The monster of imagination from which you have created the unreality will accelerate the apostasy which moves you to one of two categories of Christian degeneracy. Your hero role model, the self-image you have created from unrealistic expectation, will destroy you. You will self-destruct.

8. Your inflated self-image means failure to execute the protocol plan of God through distractions of fragmentation.

E. The Solution to the Hero Self-Image.

1. The true role model is our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Our Lord, as our role model, motivates execution of the protocol plan of God.

3. We are to become imitators of our God “as beloved children.”

a. In Mt 3:17 and 2 Pet 1:17 Jesus Christ is called, “the Beloved.” A title of our Lord during the time He resided in the prototype divine dynasphere.

b. Because of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and resultant positional sanctification we are members of the royal family of God, a new spiritual species, and considered “beloved.”

c. This title for believers is found in 2 Cor 7:1; Heb 6:9; 2 Pet 3:1,8,14,17; 1 Jn 3:1-2, 4:1,7,11.

d. Jesus Christ as God cannot be imitated. But as true humanity He can be imitated through residence, function, and momentum inside the operational type divine dynasphere.

4. Imitating our God is the execution of the protocol plan of God. Inside the divine dynasphere we imitate the humanity of Christ in two ways:

a. The filling of the Holy Spirit.

b. The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.

5. Imitating our God is also taught in Gal 4:19, “...until Christ is formed in you.” Compare 2 Cor 3:3.

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