You are not divine.

I was working for a publishing company when I started hearing the term “spiritual, not religious.” It’s catchy, and it became one of the titles of the books we published that academically discussed the generational shift away from institutionalized religion to individualized spirituality. This piqued my interest as someone invested in the life and health of the church and how God truly designed us to function as individual believers in community with others.

I started listening to some different podcasts and really engaging in online groups and conversations from different perspectives and systems of belief—deconstruction, deconversion from Christianity, conversion from Christianity to Catholicism, etc. I came across a theme that has bothered me, and still does, today.

Christians and non-believers alike are communicating this idea that “you have divinity within you” or “you are divine.” It’s a part of the cultural movement to embrace who you are, love yourself, and look no further than you and your own desires to find meaning in this world. (Yes, there are lots of theological issues with that.)

I do have a bit more understanding for people with secular ideologies that are not truly founded in our biblical understanding of life, God, people, goodness, and hope. But that doesn’t mean they can get away with lying to us.

I came across this quote that is remarkably concerning, ESPECIALLY because it’s not from a Christian author or book.

“You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.”1

It literally feels like this author is talking about God himself, because who else could hold those attributes? Unfortunately, he was not. He was asserting that humanity is innately divine as we are, and that we are Creators (capital C, mind you), a Deity! Straight up calling humans some sort of god.

That’s a nice thought at first, but if you really start to believe that humans are little gods in denim, then they are some f**ked-up deities that I don’t think any of us would want to serve, honor, or even respect (pardon my French, but I am in France as I write this…).

How does this seep into Christianity, though?

With the deconstruction movement, there came a lot of reworking of spirituality. A lot of people became spiritually homeless (and therefore hopeless) because no matter how much you want to run from faith, we are spiritual creatures who all put our faith in something or someone at the end of the day.

So the belief and shared mentality started becoming focused on the idea of imago dei—being created in the image of God—and believing that that meant God resided within you, within all of us, no matter where we fell on the religious spectrum. So we need to clarify this.

Everyone is made in the image of God.
Not everyone receives the salvation of Jesus.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit (God himself) does not indwell everyone.

Being made in the image of God and having God within you are two very different matters. One is innate, and the other is received, allowing your life and inner self (mind, body, spirit) to be transformed by the Spirit of God.

Since everyone is created in the likeness of God, everyone has the opportunity to choose to know God and let him change their lives, but not everyone chooses God.

Maybe you’ve heard the term “divine spark” at one point or another? I know I have, and it turns out some Christians turn to this idea as a way to explain that imago dei must mean we are divine or carry divinity within us and therefore God’s presence is constantly with us.2

But when we read about and study how the Spirit indwells his people, it has nothing to do with their distinguishing feature of being made in the image of God (as everyone is).

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14

It has everything to do with their choice to receive the good news about Jesus and turn their lives toward his calling. Then, and only then, does divinity dwell within us.

Important note: we are never divine ourselves; there is only one God.

Then we come to how Christians utilize this in a way that seems so innocent but is actually shaping a different faith. Check out this Instagram reel, for instance. I don’t know these girls, and I imagine they have great intentions, but what’s being communicated here is antithetical to how discipleship works and what the Bible teaches.

1. Your power doesn’t come from within. It comes from God.

2. You do not become divine on your own, or even from trusting God. He is divine, and he alone is divinity.

3. Yes, God does give us wisdom—that’s the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13)—but understanding that wisdom requires work on our part to search the Scriptures, seek advice from trusted community, and ensure we’re following the Spirit’s leading, not our own.

   1. You absolutely SHOULD question it. Question yourself. Don’t be fooled into thinking that confidence in yourself is the same as confidence in Christ. We should “lean not on our own understandings” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God’s presence does give us power. There are countless verses about what the Holy Spirit dwelling within us offers us—salvation, adoption, guidance, truth, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, unique giftings such as preaching, prophecy, discernment, and shepherding, to name a few.3

There is power wrapped up in these things, and God does use us as his vessel to help others, but we do not harness some divine power within ourselves that we would not need to “question” or consult God and our trusted community with. He guides us and equips us WITH him, not apart from him.

Additionally, going back to how secular culture defines it, we need to be clear that God’s presence dwells specifically with those who put their faith and trust in him, not just with anyone who was made in the image of God (which is everyone).

This spiritual-but-not-religious theme has infiltrated much of Christianity, and certainly much of secular circles too, making people believe that their self is the highest version of purpose, identity, and goodness. That’s certainly not true in any way, shape or form if you have chosen to follow Jesus, and it’s still not true even if you don’t know God. Pretending will only get you so far.

Honestly, this mentality leaves you far too burdened without the trust in God to release that pressure. Don’t do that to yourself.

Let go of any falsehood that you are divine, because then you’ll start to see the freedom and lightness that God is divine; you are not.

God is trustworthy and good even when you are not, and his power is made perfect in your weakness, through you, not because of you or in you without him. That’s good news for any weary soul today.