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THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
We saw in Chapter 10 that God’s purpose for creating man was to create a family in which He could place His Spirit. God is Life and the Creator of life. Because He is Life, it is His nature and disposition to create life.
It was God’s plan and purpose for mankind to be conformed into the “image of Christ.” However, many reject the plan and purpose of God for their lives. In Christ we have the power to become the “sons and daughters of God” through the power of the Blood of Jesus which He shed at Calvary.
Many people misinterpret the meaning of “biblical predestination.” Biblical predestination has nothing to do with choosing certain individuals to inherit the promises of God. The Bible says that God does not want anyone to perish, but for all to repent of their sins. (2 Peter 3:9).
The concept of Biblical predestination alludes to the Church as a whole rather than the predestination of certain individuals. It is the destiny of the Church to be “conformed into the image of Christ.” God’s plan and purpose for the Church was for the Church to be Christ-like and bring many souls into His family through the propagation of the Gospel. God created man in His own image so we would conform to His “divine image.”
When we are FILLED with the “divine nature” Christ will be the central focus of our lives and our very existence. When we become changed into His image by being filled with His fullness, we will become Christ- like.
Christ was the “seed” which came to Earth to create a new family for God through the sacrifice of His Life on Calvary. We become sons and daughters of God created in the image of Christ though the Blood of Jesus.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Matthew, ch. 5, vs. 3-6.
Jesus giving His discourse on the Sermon on the Mount brought forth new revolutionary ideas to the people of Israel. There were many others from Jerusalem and the surrounding areas who came to hear Jesus that day. Although “His doctrines” were hardly revolutionary in nature, they were not common doctrines which the people were accustomed to hearing from the religious leaders of that day.
Jesus was considered to be a radical and an extremist among the Scribes and Pharisees in that day because His doctrines failed to line up with what they had been teaching the people. The teachings of Jesus brought a new expression and interpretation of religious thoughts which were contrary to most of the things the Pharisees were teaching.
Jesus did not consider Himself to be a radical but a reformer. He came to Earth to “restore” mankind to their former position in the Kingdom of God. He came to “seek and save those which were lost” so they could be transformed into His image. Jesus had not started a new religion, but in essence had come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. His message was not a message about religious ideology, but about “truth and life.”
To the religious leaders of the day Jesus was considered to be a countercultural revolutionary. Jesus came to change the disposition of the hearts and souls of men and women so they could be free from the burden of sin and religious traditions.
The “beatitudes” may have been revolutionary new ideas to the people, but they were not new to Jesus. The “beatitudes” which Jesus was teaching the people to possess were His own “attitudes.” Jesus was teaching the people about the “divine nature” and how godly men and women were supposed to live and function in the Kingdom of God.
God is looking for extremists today. He is looking for people who are radical and extreme in their desire to follow Christ wherever He may lead them. God is looking for those who have a “holy fire shut up in their bones” who desire to share that fire with others. He is looking for people who are willing without hesitation to take the “power of the gospel” to a lost and dying world.
For too long the Church has languished and deteriorated into a Church without power. Many churches today portray a form of godliness, but the power which is supposed to be the essence of the Church is nowhere to be seen. Without the “divine nature of Christ,” we are not a true church but a conglomeration of people with their own thoughts and ideas of what church is supposed to be like.
A powerless church is a church without Christ. It is a church where the Holy Spirit cannot be found. A church without power is a church where men and women rely on dead religious works to get them to heaven. They deny the power of God because they are not interested in picking up their cross daily to follow Christ. They deny the power of God because they are more interested in social issues than they are in serving God and keeping His commandments.
The call to radical Christianity is the call to be sold out to Christ and the cause of Christ. As Christians our focus for today should not be Heaven, but to establish the Kingdom of God here on Earth. Jesus told us to pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). As Christians we have received eternal life which promises us a home in Heaven when we die. Our main focus should not be on Heaven, but proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom while we are here on earth.
Jesus, by nature, was/is the express image of God. He came to “die on the cross” to set people free from their sins and impart a new nature within them. That nature was the express image of God. IN THE BEGINNING God created man is His image. We were created to be sons and daughters of God bearing His physical and spiritual likeness. God created mankind to be inhabited by the His Spirit.
Jesus came to set people free by imparting His “divine nature” to them. He died on a cross at Calvary so the treasures found in His “divine nature” could be imparted to us. Christ died on Calvary so the carnal motives and attitudes of the uncircumcised heart could be exchanged for the same divine motives and attitudes which inhabit and govern “His divine nature.”
God created mankind to be inhabited by His Spirit. Those whom the Holy Spirit does not inhabit do not possess eternal life. As Christians we have been created in the “image of Christ” so we can be Christ- like and perform the works He did. Being created in the “likeness of Christ,” we should be fulfilling His commandment to walk in love. Unfortunately, many Christians are walking in the flesh and failing to obey the commandment to “walk in love.”
If we are not walking in love, we will be easily deceived into fulfilling the “lusts of the flesh.” The Bible says, “To walk in His ways and to love and serve the Lord with all your heart and all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes He has given us for OUR good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
Because we are created in the “image of Christ,” we become more than conquerors through the “power of His Blood.” Being created in the “image of Christ,” we have the power to “become the sons and daughters of God.” Because we are created in the “image of Christ,” we have the propensity to become FILLED with of His “love, grace, and mercy.” Being created in the “image of Christ,” we have the power and ability to fulfill His “plan and purpose for our lives.” The “divine purpose” for being created in “His image” is so we can become partakers of His “divine nature.”