( Gen. 2:7 ; Phil. 3:8 ) God formed man out of the dust of the ground. By God's breath, man received consciousness, a capacity to think, and an awareness of his environment and surroundings. Man's very being depends solely upon God. Man without God is nothing.

( Gen. 1:26-28 ) God created mankind, Adam and Eve, as one entity. Mankind is mated to God and through the imaging process to be the revelators of God's love to the world. God blessed them, and endued them with power to be prosperous in all areas of living. All that was required was for man to voluntarily stay mated and submitted to God's authority - His word.

( Eph. 5:21 ) Both husband and wife, as separate entities, are subject to the Lord first, then to one another. By this act of obedience, recognizing God as Creator and Sustainer, they would merge into one flesh. The concept of marriage applies to the body of Christ as His bride being merged into one by obedience - individually and collectively.

( Gen. 3:1-6 ) Man tested to choose to be dependent upon God or to be independent - to become their own gods. The desire that was put into them to please God, now turned to lust to please themselves. Becoming gods they looked to themselves for resources to handle life, to find within themselves wisdom, strength, and ability to understand and control life in all its manifestations. By this choice, as they changed from self-loving-others to self-loving-self, fear became their constant companion.

( Gen. 3:7-10 ) Reverential fear and awe of God and His magnificence changed to fear of punishment and a concern for the survival of the self. All man had to do was look to God, obey His word, and God would take care of everything else. Separated from God man has to look to himself for security, God no longer there to provide. Man now looks horizontally to find acceptance and approval by performing and impressing others how great he is, by controlling others, by seeking power over others: by wealth, by position. Man is always seeking to find the meaning of life within himself when the meaning of life can only be found by manifesting the glory of God in his behavior.

( Luke 9:23-24 ) By and through the Cross of Christ, we are enabled to resume the original relationship with God before the fall. By the cross, we are freed from the self-loving-self and become the self-loving-others, expressing the glory of God in our behavior to others.

( Eph. 4:22-24 ) We are all conditioned by life's experiences. We are the sum of all that we encountered in life. Our culture, our environs, our circumstances in life have impacted our lives and has affected our reactions. Thus, our coping mechanisms are sensitized to cover and protect the self in competition with others. The answer to this worldly, fleshly self is to study our union with Jesus Christ, and this by the daily putting-off of the corrupted self and the putting-on of the new self by the renewing of the mind.

( Gal. 5:16-26 ; Prov. 28:13 ; Jer. 17:9 ; Rom. 6:12-13 ) You will face constant temptations to self centeredness that lead to thoughts, speech, and actions that are devastating to the body of Christ and your own walk with the Lord. Those sins that characterized your life apart from Christ must be confessed and repented of if you are to mature as a child of God.

( Eph. 1:3-14 ; Matt. 7:12 ) Man's problems is that he pays too much attention to himself, not too little. We already know how we want others to treat us. Thus, we are commanded to treat others the same way with the focus on the other and not self. God has given to us all we need or want. There is nothing we should seek for ourselves but to exercise who and what we are in Christ Jesus.

( Rom. 8:14-17 ; 1 Cor. 1:26-31 ; Matt. 5:16 ) A proper view of self comes from an understanding of who you are in Christ: that God is actively involved in your life, that He has chosen you to be a testimony of His power to the world, and that He gives you a purpose for living by conforming you to the image of His Son.

( Gen. 4:7 ; John 14:21 ; John 15:10-11 ; 2 Cor. 4:7-10 ; 2 Cor. 4:16-17 ; Matt. 6:33 ) Your contentment in all circumstances of life is dependent on your obedient responses to God in your thoughts, speech, and actions. By obeying the Lord in your daily walk, this demonstrates the Lordship of God over your life. The sense of value, of worthiness, of self-esteem comes by first seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness.

( Rom. 6:3-4 ; Rom 6:13-14 ; Col. 3:5-11 ; 1 Pet. 2:11-12 ) Envy, jealousy, covetousness, and greed reveal a self-focus that questions God's work and provision in your life. These sins must be put-off out of your commitment to live for Jesus Christ.

( 2 Tim. 3:2-7 ; 2 Pet. 2:1-3 ) In latter days, we will be lovers of self, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Being a hearer only, you will be deluded.

( Col. 1:10 ; 1 John 3:8 ; Phil. 2:12-13 ) Daily walking in Christ, committing our will to please God, being fruitful, increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened in His power, these changes in lifestyle give evidence that we are a child of God. As such, the potential of Christ resides within you always ready to be a blessing, destroying the works of the devil, and to reign in life through righteousness.

Reference: Chapter 9, [5][BCF1]; [23][Smith1].

Attachment - Continual Self-Evaluation

( Matt. 7:5 ; Eph. 4:29 ; Matt. 5:16 ) In biblically evaluating your thoughts, words, or actions in any situation, answer the following questions. You should memorize both the questions and the references verses.

Reference: Page 130, [5][BCF1].