Are you becoming more Christ-like? That is a tough question to answer. Last week we looked at this goal, this purpose that God has for you-to become more Christ-like. We looked at three passages that use a form of the word transform, or in the greek –morphis. Paul, in Romans 8:29, makes a powerful and challenging statement –Those God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Jesus), that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
God has a goal, a purpose, that we would conform to the image of His son –that we would become like the One He loves best –Jesus Christ. This word, actually summorphos, means to take on the shape of, to be like. That a child of God who has given his life to God by faith through Jesus would become more like Jesus. Like him in actions, thoughts, heart, attitude –that when people look at us, see what we do, they see more and more of Jesus. So gain, are you becoming more Christ-like?
Like me, you probably struggle with this. I get up in the morning and see Allan, not much Christ-likeness. I stumble and fall, and often feel far short of this goal, this purpose that God has set up long beforehand, for me to be like. I often feel like the child who sees his dad or bigger brother do something and I long to do it as well, yet I just can’t –I am not strong enough, tall enough, dexterous enough. I can remember as a child trying to help my dad build a fence. He gave me a hammer and a nail and showed me where to pound it in. I tried and tried but could not get the hammer hitting the nail right, and when I did it took forever plus the numerous times it bent over! I became frustrated, angry, despondent and even wanted to give up. But my dad was there to encourage me, show me again –even hold my hand with the hammer and the other with the nail.
And that is our heavenly Father. He knows we are still maturing, he knows we have much to learn –that is why he gives us His Holy Spirit to help us, to hold our hands and guide us.
Let me read for you something you are familiar with but let it sink into your hearts and minds and give you great encouragement. John 14:16-21, then 26-27.
The question I asked was, are you becoming more Christ-like –not are you Christ-like. It is a process, a maturing and growing process that we need to be striving in. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, comes and guides us, helps us to grow and mature. The question is are you becoming more Christ-like? Are you morphing into Jesus?
Growing, maturing is to be a natural part of our Christina experience –it is to be the normal thing. Just a child grow physically so are we to grow –to become more Christ-like. That is what God prepared ahead for us to do. To use Paul’s own word, we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ.
We are saved and by God’s grace and plan, predestined to be in the image, the likeness of His son! This great God, creator of the universe has a purpose, a plan for us. Billy Graham, perhaps one of the most influential evangelists in the world in this last century, has a little tract which begins, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”
His plan? First in His love to draw us to Himself –to provide for us a way of restoring, renewing our relationship with Him. Do you believe? Do you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God come to doe for your sins, to bring you from a broken to a whole relationship with Him –from death to life, from dark to like, for despair to hope, from separation to restoration?
It is not until we are in this renewed relationship with Him that we begin to see His purpose for us realized. Then He begins this marvelous wonderful process of maturing us, conforming us to the image of His son Jesus. As a Christian, as a child of God, as one who has found life in Christ and trust Him, are you becoming more like Him?
That is God’s purpose in you, in us! To morphes into Christ-likeness. Let me read again two passages we looked at last week Romans 8:29 and then 12:1-2.
So what does this Christ-likeness begin to look like? Let us look at a few Bible passages that I hope will give us one of the most clear pictures of how this takes shape in our lives.
We look again at this passage in Romans 12:1. Our spiritual act of worship we read in the NIV or service in the KJ. Why this different translation? The word literally means service in the worship of God. In the OT it is the word “abad” in the NT the word “Latreuo.” In the NT it is always used in connection to service in a religious sense. It is the work of a priest for God or in the temple (cf. Hebrews 9:14). I Peter 2:5 gives us a clearer picture of this. (read) and then verse 9.
Our service, our worship is directed to the house of God, for God, for His family, his temple. As we are transformed and renewed –becoming more and more the image of His Son, we take on this service, this worship, in honor of the one who saved us and loves us and gave his son for us. This holy and supreme God who has predestined us to become like his Son Jesus. We honor and work, we serve we worship this God through our actions, our service to Him. Paul begins to give us some more practical guidance in this later in chapter 12 (verses 8, ff.)
The second verse I would like to have us look at is in Philippians 2:1-11. A familiar passage which so clearly states our attitude should be like Christ –our demeanor, our seeking to worship to serve. These first 4 verses tie in with what we just read in Romans 8:1-4 but now Paul adds something important. Your attitude, your approach to all this, you transforming heart and mind should be the same as Christ! What was his attitude? Here, we read, Jesus took on the attitude, the nature of a servant. As we are conformed to His image we take on his attitude, his approach to things. This is an attitude of service.
The word here different than the latreuo used earlier but is familiar to us –servant –diakoni where we get the word deacon from. The deacon, this servant, was a household servant –his service, his work was for the household, the family of the master. This has some incredible implications for us as followers of Jesus. We are saved to be conformed to the image of Christ, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to be more Christlike and to take on his attitude –that of a servant –a household diakoni.
We can get so busy doing the things of life that we fail to be busy doing the things of God –particularly serving the family, the body of Christ! Again we go back to Romans 12:1-2. This verse 2 we looked at last week, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world –we are letting the patterns, the pressures of the world tell us what is important –this pressing in on our minds, our hearts, shaping us that things of this life, this world are important, more important than the things of God, than building supporting, encouraging, serving the body of Christ –this body that is being in a large sense, shaped as the body of Christ, His church, his people, and yes, his temple!
Our transformation is to be more and more like Christ (romans 12:2, his mind, his attitude, his servanthood. Doing Good works for His glory, his people, his family which leads me to our third passage in Ephesians 2:8-10. This really brings it home for me.
God has chosen us to be formed into the image of His son Jesus and he has prepared good works for us to do –prepared in advance! This word works is one which John in His Gospel ties to the unique activity of Jesus –eg. My Father is always at work and I too am working [his work]. (5:17) Paul ties this work with positive deeds, missions, ministry and service. Paul also uses this word later in Ephesians 4 where God’s people are to do works of service so that the whole body of Christ (there again is the idea of the diakoni serving the body, the church). Verses 12-13, 15-16.
See the tie back with Romans 8:29? God calls us and predestines us to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus and we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works –which God prepared in advance for us to do!
One of the ways we can judge for ourselves is, are we doing good works? What are good works? Paul expands this later in Ephesians 4 where he says we are to do works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up! (4:12).
Largely, in the NT, when we are called to do good works, the writers of the NT place it in the context of the body of Christ. Yes we are to care for the poor, minister to the sick and do good works in order that others may praise God and come to Him, but largely when Paul especially speaks of our doing service or good works he is referring to our works that build up the body of Christ. Even here in Ephesians 2 where we read that we are created in Christ to do good works, the context is in regards to the fellowship, the body of Christ. Just a few verse down Paul talks about our citizenship, our unity, one body, that we are no longer foreigners or strangers but members of God’s household being built up together to become a dwelling place in which God lives by the Spirit.
The scriptures refer to our doing good works or service several times. There are 4 key passages that talk about this body life –I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4 and I Peter 4. Two we have looked at –Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. The one in I Corinthains 12 speaks of the various body parts working together, needing each other, supporting each other. I encourage you to read that section closely. This fourth one, I would like to look at briefly. I Peter 4:7-11.
The writer, Peter, gives us several key things that we should carefully take note of. But for this morning let’s focus on this idea of service. The return of Christ should have us in a state of readiness –that we are doing his work in readiness for his return –which can happen any time. Peter uses the word twice here in verse 10 , use you gifts to serve others, and then verse 11 serve with the strength God provides.
Note here this strength is God working in and through us, going back to the morphes idea, as it is through Christ that he works in us.
The ultimate purpose is the glory of God, He is the power at work in us. He seeks to transform us and use us –to work in us and through us those works that he prepared in advance for us to do! What a high calling, what a high privilege, what a high honor!
This wonderful creator of the universe has re-breathed life into us through His Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus, taking great value in us to love us and empower us for works that he has prepared in advance for us.
I want that verse, verse 10 to sit there for a second –in light of His choosing us, in light of his purpose for us to become like his son, in light of his preparing us for good works, “Each one of us should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
Reflect. There may be some questions: what are my gifts, what can I be doing, what should I be doing? I invite you to prayerfully be asking God these things. I would be happy more than happy to meet with you and talk about this with you. Maybe there are some barriers you feel are in the way –time, business, age –young and old, maybe lack of training or knowledge. Are these just excuses? Or do you need to re-adjust something to come in line with what God has directed. Are you serving? If so, great! Continue to grow in service. If not, why not? This is something you need to wrestle with God about, not me or the nominating committee, or the Sunday School super intendant. Ultimately you will stand before the throne of God to answer.
And when he returns –WHEN he returns he will ask us what we have done! We will be held to account we read and have to give an answer –we, the followers of Jesus, the ones he has been working to transform into the image of His son the ones he has gifted, empowered, commanded to serve, to work to build up the body, we will be standing before the judgment seat of Christ himself and asked, what have you done with what I gave you?
I offer you these words of challenge and power –For those God foreknew he predestined to be conformed into the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among the brothers. For by grace we have been saved through faith, and it is not yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.
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