What does the Bible say about self-image?

Another matter for our attentive contemplation is that all believers are "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Christ is the Beloved of God, who has been raised from the dead and exalted to God's right hand, and "in Christ" every believer is just as perfectly accepted and beloved as He Himself is before God. Let us take time to think deeply of His exaltation and our acceptance in Him. Yet let us refuse utterly the common teaching today of "self-love," self-esteem," and "self-worth." This is merely confidence in the flesh. "In the flesh" man is worthless: "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8). But "in Christ" you are of great value to God, for this is a position of absolute perfection.

Another matter for our attentive contemplation is that all believers are “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Christ is the Beloved of God, who has been raised from the dead and exalted to God's right hand, and “in Christ” every believer is as perfectly accepted and beloved as He Himself is before God. Let us take time to think deeply of His exaltation and our acceptance in Him. Yet let us refuse utterly the common teaching today of “self-love”, “self-esteem”, and “self-worth”. This is merely confidence in the flesh. “In the flesh” man is worthless: “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). But “in Christ” you are of great value to God, for this is a position of absolute perfection.

Behind this lies the old error that my value depends on what others think of me. I could mention without hesitation a number of unmarried brothers and sisters whose faith and service is of great value for the saints. And while it is certainly good to mention our appreciation of this to those Christians, this is again on the level of how I value other believers. We do not become valuable by what we do (even if it is to marry), but are valuable because God has created us and we are precious in His eyes (see Ps. 139:12–16).

The atonement makes everything of God and nothing of us. This surely, every believer will admit, is as it should be. Apart from Christ and His work on my behalf, I am nothing, but regarded on the ground of it my blessing is illimitable. Why should I ever regard myself then in any other connection? My privilege is to think of myself as God thinks of me; to this, in my life, the Spirit seeks to transform me, and every other way of looking at myself savours of the "plague," which God must mete out, sooner or later, to all that is not of Christ.

Now whether we can regard ourselves through grace as on the one ground of Paul and John, to which I have referred, or must rather regard ourselves as poor failing saints, feeble as to the full and right understanding or manner of life based upon our immense privileges and blessings, God never considers us as either the one or the other apart from the atonement. Then the only right way in which we should regard ourselves, is surely the way in which God regards us! Are we failing? To remember this will cheer and correct us. Are we, through grace, going on with hearts that do not condemn us? It will humble us yet the more to see nothing in us to glory in. If God regards us in all the value of the atonement, and in all the value of Him who accomplished it - and God estimates - and He only could estimate the perfection of it - it is in this that we stand. What a relief for us ever so to regard ourselves.

Oh! that it might be more so with us. Do we look at the people of God with the eyes of God? To men, the Israelites were poor slaves, brick-makers, to Moses they were the people of God. We want to see them as Balaam did in the vision of the Almighty, to look at them in connection with Christ and the purpose of God in Him. Are our hearts lighted up with the thought that all that God has purposed will surely come out in His people, made good by power divine? All is Yea and Amen in Christ to God's glory by them, and all depending on the redemption wrought by Him in the cross and resurrection of Christ What poor creatures we are in ourselves! But how does God look at us? If He looked at us according to what we actually are, what would He see? But He looks at us as believers in His dear Son. He sees all our guilt and sin, all our unloveliness met in the cross, and in His mind we are connected with the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. If we thus looked at the people of God we should not be insensible to what is contrary to God's calling in them or ourselves, but we would like to live and die with them and for them.

Your unworthiness, if you think of yourself, could not be more absolute than it is, but Christ who bore your load of sins upon the tree, and who is now raised from the dead, is your righteousness, your acceptance, your beauty in the sight of God, and the highest angel in heaven is not so well clad as are you, nor so fit to be in the presence of God as you are in Christ.

Your unworthiness, if you think of yourself, could not be more absolute than it is, but Christ who bore your load of sins upon the tree, and who is now raised from the dead, is your righteousness, your acceptance, your beauty in the sight of God, and the highest angel in heaven is not so well clad as are you, nor so fit to be in the presence of God as you are in Christ.

Are you in Christ? Do you believe in His name? Have you given Him the confidence of your heart? If so, you have "eternal life" — you are "a new creature" — "old things are passed away." God does not see a single shred of the old thing remaining for you. "All things are become new, and all things are of God." You may say you do not feel that old things are all passed away. We reply, God says they are, and it is your happy privilege to believe what He says, and "reckon" yourself to be what He declares you are. God speaks according to that which is true of you in Christ. He does not see you in the flesh, but in Christ. There is absolutely nothing before the eye of God but Christ: and the very weakest believer is viewed as part of Christ, just as your hand is a part of your body. You have no existence before God apart from Christ — no life — no righteousness — no holiness — no wisdom — no power. Apart from Him, you have nothing, and can be nothing. In Him you have all and are all; you are thoroughly identified with Christ. Marvellous fact! Profound mystery! Most glorious truth! It is not a question of attainment or of progress. It is the settled and absolute standing of the feeblest member of the Church of God. True, there are various measures of intelligence, experience, and devotedness; but there is only one life, one standing, one position before God, and that is Christ. There is no such thing as a higher or lower Christian life. Christ is the believer's life, and you cannot speak of a higher or a lower Christ. We can understand the higher stages of Christian life; but there is no spiritual intelligence in speaking of a higher Christian life.

If you were to put all the good works of every believer all together, do you suppose that would give a title to go on the cloud of glory with Christ into the Father's house? No; it is not their worthiness, but His, and He bestows it on His people, saying, "If you come to the Father in my name you will be heartily welcome." Why does God always smile upon me? Because He sees me in Christ, and loves me as He loves Christ. Are we really welcomed there? It is because we belong to such a Master; and as it is for no goodness of ours, the feeblest little one is as welcome as the oldest apostle, because of coming in the name of Christ.