In His Image: 10 Ways God Calls Us to Reflect His Character

by Jen Wilkin

After first teaching women to go deeper in their study of the Bible in Women of the Word, and then unpacking why our limits are a good thing in light of God’s limitlessness in None Like Him, best-selling author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin helps readers see what God's will is for his people: that they reflect the image of their Creator. In His Image explores 10 attributes of God that Christians are called to reflect—they are to be holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, patient, truthful, and wise. This book allows readers to discover freedom and purpose in becoming all that God made them to be.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living, Theology, Christianity, Christian Non Fiction

5 pages, Audiobook

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Jen Wilkin is a speaker, writer, and teacher of women’s Bible studies. During her thirteen years of teaching, she has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. Jen and her family are members of the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. She is the author of Women of the Word.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my non-fiction for the month of May. It was so good. I have loved everything Jen Wilkin has written and I can't recommend her enough

[Zachary Davin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There should be no reason why this book is marketed exclusively toward women. Would have never picked this up if it wasn’t for my wife and all our women friends telling me how it encouraged their walk with God. Succinct and clear, worth reading if just for the chapter on God is Wise.

[Stefanie Sugia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What good is it for me to choose the right home or spouse if I'm still eaten up with covetousness? What does it profit me to make the right choice if I'm still the wrong person? A lost person can make 'good choices'. But only a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit can make a good choice for the purpose of glorifying God."

In His Image tries to help those who are always questioning about what is God's will in their life. The author states that instead of asking "What should I do next?", we need to start asking "Who should I be?". This book will help us learn to transform our lives into who we should have been according to God's will. First and foremost, there's a difference between God's incommunicable and communicable attributes. Incommunicable attributes are those that belong to God alone, such as: omnipresence, omniscience, etc. In this book, Jen Wilkin focused on describing 10 of God's communicable attributes that we can exhibit through our lives: that God is holy, loving, good, just, merciful, gracious, faithful, patient, truthful, and wise.

"God is holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, truthful, patient, and wise. When we talk about being 'Conformed to the image of Christ,' this is the list we are describing. It is this list I intend to explore, ten attributes that show us how to reflect who God is as Christ did."

I absolutely love this book because it has certainly made me reflect upon my life, pondered about whether my life has reflect God's character or not. I personally think the author was able to interpret God's character in a relatable way, using examples from our daily life and also her experiences, while at the same time quoting the Bible for references. Even though this is quite a short book to read, I find myself reading it a slower pace so that I'll be able to take it all in. I especially love the fact that each chapter ends with a reflection page filled with Bible verses to meditate on, some questions for us to answer and reflect upon, and also a prayer prompt. These pages will help us in remembering what we have understand and guide us in finding practical ways to reflect God's characters in our lives.

"The Word of God gives us discernment into what is arguably the area we need it most: the thoughts and intentions of our own hearts."

"Worldly wisdom trusts in earthly possessions. Godly wisdom trusts in treasures in heaven.
Worldly wisdom boasts. Godly wisdom is slow to speak.
Worldly wisdom says trials will crush you. Godly wisdom says trials will mature you."

One of my most favorite chapters in this book is the one about Wisdom. In this chapter, the author describes Godly wisdom and uses the example of Solomon from the Old Testament. And then she makes the comparison between wisdom and knowledge. This part really opened my mind because there are many times when I asked God to tell me what to do, and Jen Wilkin categorizes that as asking for knowledge instead of asking for wisdom. She uses a very good and relatable parable to illustrates the difference. Rather than constantly asking for knowledge, wisdom is having an internal framework for making decisions that will be able to discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect.

Another chapter that I really like is Patience. I certainly know for sure that God is most patient, because He's been constantly patient with me through my failures. In this chapter, the author encourages us to be patient as God is patient—which obviously is not an easy thing to do. Impatience is closely related to an easily kindled, unrighteous anger, thus we need to be able to prevent ourselves from losing patience. This chapter encourages us that every time we are about to lose our patience, we need to remind ourselves of God's perfect patience and follow His example.

"When we grow frustrated with a friend or family member who persists in sin, we can remember that Christ bears patiently with us. When we begin to think that a circumstance is stretching longer than we can take, we can remember the patience of Christ to wait on the Father’s timing in all things. When we are weighed down by suffering, we can remember that in Christ’s greatest moment of suffering he set his face like flint and even prayed for the forgiveness of his adversaries. And when we feel discouraged with ourselves for continuing to give in to sin, we can remind ourselves—and I can’t believe I’m saying this—to be patient, because God isn’t finished with us yet."

After reading this book, I'm really interested to read Jen Wilkin's previous book: None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different from Us , which talks about God's incommunicable characters. I really enjoyed her writing in this one, so I think I'll be able to love her previous work as well. In His Image is definitely a book that I would want to reread again some time in the future, to remind and help me reflect upon my life as time goes by. I highly recommend this book because it has encouraged me a lot to strive to be transformed into the likeness of God.

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2018/0...

[Cara Putman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. Highly recommend!

[Christina DeVane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only problem with this book is it’s too short!! It goes through some main attributes of God then challenges us how we are to be in His image. Great questions at the end of each chapter. Would love to go through this in a group setting.

[Susy C. *MotherLambReads* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying her Bible Studies. They are easy and short listens. These are books I would love to get the physical copy of to have as a resource and guide. So many applicable truths.

In this book we see how we are supposed to be bearers of God's image. So many times we ask for wisdom, ask what His will is. For us to be like Him, we must understand who He is:

What He asks of us to be:
holy, loving, good, just, merciful, gracious, faithful, patient, truthful, and wise.

The application questions at the end of each chapter bring it home.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second time reading this book and I am so happy I brought this book with me to college. I absolutely love Jen Wilkin's writing. I have grown and I have learned so much from this book over the last few months. God definitely had me pick up this book for this specific time in my life. I highly recommend reading this book!!

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Full of practical, Bible-based instruction and encouragement. She always has such a great way of driving her points home. I love all of the scripture she uses! Since I listened to it I want to go back and reread with a highlighter in hand.

[Lindsey Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed many of Jen Wilkin's bible studies and thoroughly enjoyed this book. Wilkin writes about the attributes of God in a way that is clear for the every day reader, shows how Jesus Christ perfectly embodied this attribute, and how we ought to embody this attribute as well (imperfectly of course). I read this book on my own, but it would also work well for a study group with scripture passages for meditation and discussion questions in each chapter. I would recommend this book to anyone!

[Bethany Ennor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me and the ladies finished another Jen Wilkins book! In His Image focuses on describing 10 of God's communicable attributes that Christians can exhibit through their lives.

I loved her approach to answering those who continually ask what God's will is for their life… Rather than giving some nice self-helping tips to make you ‘hear God’s voice more clearly’, she states that instead of asking "What should I do next?", we need to start asking "Who should I be?" The answer - be like Jesus Christ who reflects God perfectly in Human form (if you grew up in church you know the answer is always Jesus). But really, He is the image we are called to reflect in our lives!! This book has been a great reminder that God is more concerned with the decision-maker than he is with the decision itself. Sanctification is a process that starts inside and then begins to work its way out into our decisions and attitudes.

This is a quality book and I highly recommend giving this a read but for me, doing this as a group study made it even more valuable. It is full of good theology, and the verses and questions at the end of each chapter leave no room for one to be able to cut corners in their own character. Grateful for Jen's ministry and grateful for the conversations had over this book.

[Rebecca Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3rd lap around this one and it’s been such a gift this season. I’m reminded consistently through these words that’s it’s so much more “who to be” as opposed to “what to do.” Encouraged to be Holy as He is Holy, He is perfect in His expression of His nature towards us which makes Him perfectly trustworthy

Shoutout Rooted and RCB 💖💖 lysm

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jen Wilkin does it again. One of my favorite Christians to follow because she doesn’t make things fluffy and encourages women to use their minds. This book is practical, gospel-centered, and incredibly applicable.

[Xan Sibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me but it’s one I want to read yearly. I love how Jen speaks truth so poignantly, yet concisely. So good.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A better question for the Christian wanting to know God's will for his/her life, is not what should I do but who should I be?

We are bombarded with what should we do. From our anxieties and fears to our hopes and dreams, we can get our hearts and minds in tizzy when it comes to knowing what God's will is for our life. Knowing God's will comes to not what we can do but who we are. Our example is of Christ on who we can be.

Jen Wilkin is one of my favorite teachers in bible study. She directs her readers to the root of the problem and redirects them to the solution. It does seem like pie in the sky to say Jesus is the solution, but it is more than just saying it, it is directing our hearts to Jesus. We cannot focus our actions without dealing with our hearts. If we are dealing with anger, we must deal with the root of our anger. If we are dealing with addiction, we must deal with the root of addiction. Not dealing with the root, will always lead us in circles and in despair.

The 10 Ways God Calls Us is a call to God's attributions. Starting with his holiness It is from his holiness that all of his attribution are rooted in. His faithfulness his rooted in holiness. Wilkin gives scriptural definitions of God's attributions and how we can emulate them. It is vital that we know his word to know him.

I was reminded of what agape love really means. It is unconditional because it is not met with a need. We can love with an agape love when we do not have the expectations of others meeting our needs. We can love freely. I can love my children but they do not meet my need of food, clothes and intimacy. We do need those to survive, however, it is important to see what the root of love really is. Is it a love based on need or meeting the needs of others. That is what makes love so complex. Loving others and God is part of the will of God and for our joy.

There is so much in this study and I highly recommend Jen Wilkin in general. She is solid bible teacher. She teaches with compassion and truth.

A Special Thank You to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Amber Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book! I was fortunate enough to read this slowly with a high school student and it proved to be encouraging, convicting, insightful, and challenging. The main premise of the book is that we would become more like Christ not just to be a better person but to better reflect Christ and live in his will. Each chapter covered a different topic (holiness, love, goodness, justice, mercy, grace, faith, patience, truth, wisdom) and was supplemented by tons of scripture and discussion questions.

“Becoming better people is the process of reflecting with increasing clarity and fidelity the very face of God. God’s will for our lives is that we be restored to mint condition. God’s will for our lives is that we become living proof. Everything we say or do will either illuminate or o secure the character of God. Sanctification is the process of joyfully growing luminous.” (p 153)

I highly recommend.

[Avery Heaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

veritas womens study read!
i really like this book! the chapters on truthfulness and wisdom were so so so good. i wish i could read books like this forever that just point you to Christ and show you how to be like Him and be applicable and i could go on and on. i pray that i can show undying love towards God and strive to be like Him in all of these ways. at this point its just like why even consider the sinful options of this world when you know the Lord desires you to dwell in Him and His word and to reflect the perfect One. super encouraged by this book and super encouraged by my bible study table through these past 7 weeks. man how sweet it is to have a church that cares about discipleship and connecting you with community.

[Ashley Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I’ll return to often. I finished it feeling deeply encouraged and refreshed as simple yet profound truths settled deeper into my heart. Using it as a discipleship tool was impactful. Jen addresses the question we all wrestle with: “What is my purpose?” Her answer is clear—our purpose is to reflect the image of our Maker by embodying His communicable attributes.

[Kristen Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid and approachable tool for thinking about sanctification. Room for improvement in the depth of some topics, particularly justice. But overall challenging and always pointing me back to Scripture.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a thousand years to read. Not because it's poor quality or badly written, but it just droned on. Lots of good tidbits, wisdom and insights but just a bit dense for me and was not motivated to pick it up

[Binsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second book by Jen Wilkins. Love what she writes . Sound theology . Not just for women but equally profitable to men too.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: If you’ve ever said, “I just want to know God’s will for my life,” this book is for you.

Premise/plot: In His Image isn't your typical what-is-God's-will-for-my-life 'self-help' book. I'm tempted to put in the exclamation: far from it! Wilkin writes:
God is always more concerned with the decision-maker than he is with the decision itself... For the believer wanting to know God’s will for her life, the first question to pose is not “What should I do?” but “Who should I be?” The Bible plainly answers the question “Who should I be?” with “Be like Jesus Christ, who perfectly images God in human form.”
We were created in the image of God, and we are called to reflect that image. Wilkin has selected ten characteristics of God that we are called--commanded--to reflect in our lives.

God is holy. We are called to be holy. God is love. We are called to love. God is good. We are called to be good. God is just. We are called to be just--to love justice, to hate injustice. God is merciful. We are called to show mercy. God is gracious. We are called to be gracious. God is faithful. We are called to be faithful. God is patient. We are called to be patient. God is truthful. In fact he is the way, the TRUTH, and the life. We are called to be truthful as well. We are to love truth--treasure it--and hate lies. We are to remember who is incapable of lying and who is the father of lies. God is wise. We are called to be wise. We are called to live with discernment.

The first chapter is of the utmost importance. She writes, "the Bible wants our first thought about God to be that he is holy." She warns, "If we emphasize any of his attributes above or apart from his holiness, we fashion him after our own imagining or for our own ends."

Holiness permeates the entire Christian profession. It lies at the very center of the gospel. We are not merely saved from depravity; we are saved to holiness. Conversion entails consecration. Growing in holiness means growing in our hatred of sin. But reflecting the character of God involves more than just casting off the garment of our old ways. It entails putting on the garment of our new inheritance. Growing in holiness means growing into being loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, truthful, patient, and wise.

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. It's a GREAT book on the character of God. It's a great book on how to live the Christian life. Or if you want to get fancy--it is a great book about sanctification.

This book may appear to be just for women--especially for women. It is a book EVERY believer would benefit from reading. This book wisely keeps the Word of God front and center.

Sin can cause us to love a version of God that is not accurate. This is the basic definition of idolatry, a disordered love. Ironically, one of the most common forms our idolatry takes is the disordered love of the love of God. The overemphasis of God’s love is even evident in non-Christians. They may know very little of the Bible, yet many know and are quick to quote the truism that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The statement “My God is a God of love” often has as its subtext the idea that his love precludes him ever acting in wrath or justice, or in any way that does not fit our human conceptions of love.

The Bible is our great Ebenezer, a memorial stone to the faithfulness of God, carefully recorded and preserved for his children. When we grow forgetful of God, or when we question whether God has forgotten us, we can turn there to gaze on his steadfast love to all generations. Unlike generations before us, we have unprecedented access to this priceless reminder. Bibles by the billions, literally. And every copy, from the dog-eared to the disregarded, is whispering, “Remember.” Remember the God who remembers you. Believers whose Bibles are worn have known their need of its message. To them, reading its pages is not just a dutiful practice but a delightful privilege. They know that between its covers a glorious truth is repeated for their great benefit: God is worthy of our trust. When we spend time in the Bible, our lives begin to bear witness to its faithful message. We ourselves become stones of remembrance for those around us, giving faithful testimony that God is worthy of our trust, no matter what.

To be human is to do battle daily with impatience. And battle it we must, because of the close connection between impatience and anger. In my experience, these two states are usually separated by about a nanosecond.

We simply cannot get away from the patience of God portrayed in the Bible. God is patient with his children with regard to their sin. He is patient to bear with us as we progress along the path of sanctification, forgiving our sins again and again. He is patient to work out our deliverance in good time. He is patient to await a harvest, and patient to bring in the sheaves in the fullness of time. Our God is “not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

God is truth. He is its origin and its determiner. What he defines as true is eternally true, unchangingly true. Because he is truth, all of his actions reveal truth and all of his words declare it. As the fullness of truth itself, God is incapable of lying, though sometimes our limited perception may cause us to doubt that this is the case. Satan knows this, and tempts us just as he tempted Eve. He suggests that if we sin, we will not surely die, as God has said. Like Eve, we cross the line into sin, only to find ourselves still breathing in and out—not dead—and we mistakenly assume that the Serpent is the bearer of truth.

We need our gathering times to remind us that the truth we are staking our lives on is a truth we share with every believer in our congregation. Moreover, it is a truth we share with every believer who has ever lived. It is an ancient truth that suffers no loss of integrity with the passage of time. In fact, the longer it endures, the more its witness is confirmed.

It is not personal truths we need, but rather shared truth preserved and passed down from one believing generation to the next, personalized to us in our current day. That shared truth is available within the pages of God’s Word to me and to all who believe.

We can’t discern what’s false if we don’t train our eyes on what is true. The best weapon we have for discerning true teaching from false teaching and sin from righteousness is “the sword of the spirit, the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17). The Word of God is a weapon, forged to combat forgery. We must know how to handle the Bible rightly, and we must know it as comprehensibly as possible in our lifetime. If spiritual warfare is the purview of the Father of Lies, we must arm ourselves with truth. Truth is a book, and that book is a weapon.

[Jupiter (God’s Version ✝️) · Rating 4 out of 5]

its 4 am bro im not writing a full review. but it was good i liked it.

[Maggie]

Read with SCF girls! A really amazing book for starting conversations and pushing new friendships to be a little deeper.

[Becky Van Daniker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one I would highly recommend. Full review coming soon.

[Crystal]

Difficult to rate this one. Great book....until the last chapter. I am floored that an author who has written a book about holiness and choosing good over evil, would pair C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling together as authors to be regarded as writing characters who embody wise children. Where do books about witchcraft fit in to the holiness of God or the believer choosing good over evil? Witchcraft is quite the opposite and is indeed evil, and J.K. Rowling openly opposes Christian values, and has no place being honored in a Christian book. Unfortunately, I feel like the authors position on this makes her lose credibility and I will pass on reading anything else from her in the future.

[Leah Stangl · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10
Everything Jen Wilkin writes is worth your time! She’s so Biblically knowledgeable and I’m pushed intellectually and spiritually every time!

This book is such a good perspective shift 🧡

Would I recommend? 100% yes!

[ladydusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was just slightly less than None Like Him. It was still very good, just not quite. A good followup. Maybe more space between would've helped. Sometimes reading an author's works back-to-back like this isn't as strong.

If you are considering your work as conforming yourself to the image of Christ, this book is a good one on the road.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this just as much as I loved Wilkin's None Like Him.

This book is chock-full of things to highlight, truths from the Bible about God's character and how we are called to be like him, since we are created "in His image." This book is full of good theology, not generalizations that can allow us to cut corners in our own character. And Wilkin doesn't mince words; while this book is not a heavy read, every word matters (I think that's good writing, but also good editing!)

Highly recommended to anyone with a desire to grow spiritually and be authentically more like Jesus.

[Amanda Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exploration of God’s communicable virtues, a deep look at sanctification and what it is supposed to look like on a practical everyday level. Jen Wilkin’s voice is challenging and encouraging with an occasional dose of subtle humor. Highly recommended, and I look forward to the companion book, None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, Biblical truths and a lot of good thoughts in here, but not a lot of it was brand new for me. I did really appreciate her analogy of a mint condition coin at the end and it provided new insight into Jesus telling the Pharisees to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's." I also thought she did a really great job with the reflection questions at the end of each chapter. Often I find those so worthless, but these were thought provoking and helped to drive home the ideas of each chapter.