Because we are ambassadors of God’s kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20) and representatives of the King of Kings, God’s will for us in Christ Jesus is that we would be accurate revelations of His nature at this exact point in history. It produces a visible transformation in us now - an exceedingly important part of God’s redemptive plan. We see, then, that the gospel doesn’t just save us from our past sins, or even preserve us for a future glory. These disciples’ highest ambition is to be just like their Master - the exact representation of God’s nature. He patiently performs His creative work in us without judgment or condemnation, but with loving craftsmanship, proudly re-creating His image in each disciple of Jesus. Because we are vessels created to bear the image of God, the Creator himself has now resumed the work of shaping us into His image - from the inside out. Here is the astounding glory of the gospel. How can we possibly do this? By allowing God’s indwelling Spirit to produce in us the heart characteristics of Jesus:īut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22, 23). God’s grace goes on to fill us with the Spirit of God to empower us to actually live as Jesus lived (1 Corinthians 6:19). God’s grace gives us more than Jesus’ holy status, however. In God’s eyes, we are clothed in Jesus’ success, and our failures are wiped from the record books at the cross. The good news that makes the gospel so good is that what we failed to do, Jesus grants to us as a gift. He carried the image of God in flesh and blood, in time and space, in the way Adam and Eve (and each of us) failed to do. One way we can understand the gospel is to recognize that Jesus lived the life we were created to live. This verse could be understood as saying we have failed the purpose we were created for: to bear the image of God. The horror of human history is that we all have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). ![]() So we are clearly instructed to “be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15, 16), or as Jesus put it, “be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). To bear the image of God is to embody His holiness. So what was so remarkable about Jesus that distinguished Him as God’s uniquely perfect image bearer? His character, His nature, His sinlessness (Hebrews 4:15). If we had seen Him, Isaiah tells us, there would have been nothing about Him physically that would stand out to us (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus wasn’t significantly different from any of us in His form or appearance. ![]() It says that His image means more than having a certain body structure. What does Hebrews reveal about the meaning of being created in the image of God? The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the “exact representation of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3). ![]() God’s plan for the people of the gospel is that they would be transformed by the gospel into the very image of God, as we were created to be (Genesis 1:26, 27). Image bearersĪs people who have put our hope and trust in the good news of Jesus Christ, we, too, are in the process of becoming an image. It would be placed next to our signatures in the guest book. We were told to hold it carefully by the corners until we could hand it to the guest book host.Īs my wife and I stood in line, we watched the plain paper gradually transform into an image, grainy and faint at first, but finally resolving into a clear picture of us. From the bottom of the camera came a white square of shiny paper. God’s handiwork was the primary decoration, and He did a fabulous job!Īs we waited to sign the guest book, we were directed to another line where our photo was taken with a Polaroid camera (yes, they still exist). The sky, water, and trees provided a gorgeous backdrop. My wife and I recently attended a wedding on the bank of a lake overshadowed by steep mountain slopes.
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