Being Conformed to the Image of Christ

Rom 12:2 tells us to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we may prove what the will of God is…  Romans 8:29 tells us that God wants us to be conformed in the image and likeness of His Son. When you consider Romans 8:29, it is awe inspiring to even contemplate being like Jesus! We are merely human, He is divine… how can we possibly rise to His level?

As a result, we often declare that we are the Joshua generation, or the Caleb “Give me that mountain’ people, we can identify with David or Gideon; we are willing to be the Ruths, the Deborahs, and the Hannahs. These seem do-able, but none of these people had the abiding Holy Spirit living on the inside of them.  I have not heard many people say they want to walk in the same power as Jesus or even Paul. They may want to, but it is scary to say.  God did not say that He wanted us to be conformed to any of those amazing people. God said He wants us to be just like Jesus!

There are many doctrinal statements of why Jesus came to the earth. The most frequently referenced scriptures are John 3:16 and Luke 19:1-10.  In John we read that God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. In Luke, the scripture says that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, not those who are lost.  Seeking lost people was not a complete assignment.  More than mankind was lost; dominion and authority which was given to mankind was lost when Adam transgressed. Jesus came to get back all that the enemy had stolen, including mankind.

I believe Jesus came as a man with the ability to take back from satan what Adam forfeited and which resulted in the fall.  Jesus came a man, and limited Himself to the abilities of a man, but a man filled with and directed by the Holy Spirit. He could not just take back, He had to win back what Adam lost. He is the template of who and what we are in Him. He set the example of a Spirit-led life.

Hebrews tell us that Jesus was tempted in all points even as we are. Heb 5:15 We are in a battle against the world, the flesh and the devil and we can see all of those temptations take place in Jesus’ life. He was tempted with the same temptations as we, but without sin. Scripture tells us that He learned much by His sufferings and Heb 5:7 tells us that He in the days of His flesh, having offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One being able to save Him from death, and having been heard because of reverent submission, (Berean Literal Bible)

We are to go for the same powerful connection with the Holy Spirit, recognizing that the obstacles we face are light afflictions. So, my brothers and sisters, based on what we were asked to do, do we want to be a Joshua, or a Gideon, a Deborah or Ruth, or do we want to go through the process and be conformed to the image of God’s Son?