Created to be God’s Likeness

Inspired by Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life"

 
The World is Watching You
Whether we like it or not, the minute we proclaim our faith in Jesus, the world begins to watch us and judge us. They want to see if we are really different, and many of them are hoping that we will fail right in front of them so they can rationalize their own resistance to the Gospel. How many of you have heard someone tell you that they think all Christians are hypocrites and could never believe in God if Christians are the truest example of belief on our planet. What a sad statement! All of us are called to represent our Lord in the best possible way. You remember what C.S. Lewis said. People usually don’t become Christians because they either don’t know anyone who is a Christian or because they DO know someone who is a Christian! But God wants us to be different than we were before we knew Him. In fact, God created us to with this desire in mind! 

 
Like Father Like Son
Every dad who has ever had a son, has desired for that son to be like him. Even if that was not our goal as dads, it sure seems to come true. Sons often end up being just like their dads. That was true for me as well. The more my dad loves me, the more likely he is to want me to be like him. The more I love my dad, the more likely I am to want to be like him!

  
Ephesians 4:22-24
in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

 
God created you to be LIKE HIM! You were created to be like God!

 
You Were Created to be Like God
Now we have to be clear here about what God means when he tells us that he was created to be like Him. He is NOT saying that we were created to BE God’s. That may sound silly, but this kind of thinking is at the root of a lot of heresy. Joseph Smith founded the Mormon cult on the false teaching that God was once a man who became God through Good Works, and he also taught that all of us would become God’s, ruling over our own worlds! Be careful with this kind of heresy, because it has nothing to do with the mind or heart of God. It is absolutely non-Biblical. It is also the oldest temptation and trick of Satan. Do you remember what the serpent said to Eve in the Garden to get her to eat the forbidden fruit?

 
Genesis 3:5
"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

When God tells us that he created us to be like him, He has something specific in mind. Scripture tells us that the truest image of God ever to walk the face of this planet was God Himself, in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. Look at how Jesus is described in Scripture:

 
2 Corinthians 4:3-5
In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Colossians 1:15
And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.

 
Jesus Himself told us that he came to have a complete and abundant life:

 
John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”

 
And wouldn’t it be great if we could have a life just like Jesus. If we are to be like God, and Jesus is our truest role model, Then shouldn’t we simply try to imitate his life. Many people look at this verse and assume that the “full” (or “abundant” in some translations) life is a life that is all joy all the time. But this is not the life that Jesus lived. Jesus lived a life that was filled with peaks AND valleys! He had great times and sad times. Times filled with joy and times filled with hardship! If we are to have a life like his, we are going to need to accept the fact that God is going to use every aspect of life, both the good and the bad, to change and transform us into his image.

Comfort or Character?
See God is more concerned with our character than he is with our comfort. We’ve talked about this before, and it is an important truth that we need to get our hands around! And we are only going to develop the character and nature of God if we are willing to SURRENDER to him! So let’s begin with the understanding that we were designed by God to be LIKE him. We were created to be God’s “likeness”

 
A man was seated on a park bench when a little boy of about five sat down beside him and started winding what appeared to be a most prized possession--a watch. "My, what a pretty watch," remarked the man. "Does it tell you the time?" "No sir," replied the boy; "you gotta look at it."

 
God's Truth is everywhere, but you must look for it and at it to see it. So let’s get really practical and talk about how we can become more like Jesus, and therefore, more like God. What does it take to become “Christlike”?

Transformed by Truth
God wants us to be transformed, and He uses two tools to accomplish this in our lives. Only two. If you can get your hands around these two tools, you will eventually become more and more like Him, whether you realize it or not. First, God wants us to be transformed by TRUTH. What do I mean by that? Well, when I say truth, I am really talking about TEACHING! The teaching of Jesus and the teaching of God the Father, as seen in scripture. Look at what Jesus told his disciples just before he ascended to Heaven:

 
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

 
Jesus tells the disciples, and all of us, to go and make disciples of the entire world. The Greek word here that is used for ‘disciples’ is “matheeteúsate” and is the same word that is used for TEACHING! It means ‘to teach’! God is not satisfied with our attempts to share the Gospel with people. He wants us to teach them how to be like HIM! Let’s look at Ephesians 4:20

 
Ephesians 4:20
But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

 
God wants to teach us to be like him, and that’s only going to happen if we surrender to him and to the fact that he wants to teach us the truth through His Word.

Imitation or Inhabitation?
You have to realize that we can try as had as we like and we will never become like Christ on our own power, simply by trying as hard as we can to imitate Jesus. Some people think that this is how you become Christlike, through imitation. But it’s not actually completely true. If you want to become Christlike, it’s really more a matter of INHABITATION. Let’s take a closer look at Ephesians 4:20. The scripture tells us that “…you lay aside the old self …” And this is where many people get the idea that a transformed life is simply the result of our own effort. It is true that we have a role to play in our transformation. We do have to CONTRIBUTE, ACT FIRST, and TRUST. But this will not make it possible to be like Christ. In fact, Jesus told us that we can do nothing without him and that is absolutely true. The second part of the verse reveals the source of the power that will make it possible to become Christlike. “…and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind …” We have to recognize that it is the Spirit of God that will act in our lives to accomplish true transformation. We simply have to COOPERATE, OBEY and SURRENDER to the gentle tug of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We have to accept the truth of Scripture and stop fighting God!

Finally, we have to remember that our Goal here is simple: “…and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth …”We are trying to please God by becoming everything that we were created to be. We are called to RESPOND to the incredible kindness of God by MODELing a life that is worthy of God, and Dedicating ourselves to His Teaching!!!! And we simply cannot be dedicated to the teaching of God unless we are in love with His Word. Jesus knew that some of us would have “ears to hear” the Word of God, and some would not. It’s sad but true. For some, the truth of scripture would fall to the side of the road and never take seed in our hearts. That’s why Jesus told us the Parable of the Sower:

 
Matthew 13:1-9
On that day Jesus went out of the house, and was sitting by the sea. And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. "And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. "And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. "And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. "He who has ears, let him hear."

 
Some of us simply reject the Word of God altogether. Satan prevents it from entering our hearts at all. Other’s accept the truth at first but let the world’s distractions get in the way and eventually move on. Others hear God’s Word, work through their doubts and fears, and come to eventually realize that all truth can be found in the pages of scripture.

Billy Graham
There was once a young man who doubted the truth of scripture. I mean he had real doubts. He eventually realized that he needed to settle the issue and he sought God on it. He kneeled down under a full moon and asked God to help him with his doubts about the truth of the Bible and what it teaches about God and about life. He decided to commit himself to God on that night, to trust the Bible as complete truth and see if God would make the issue clear for him. God responded to his complete surrender and honored Billy Graham with a life like few others. Graham’s initial doubts were answered by God over the decades, and God used Billy Graham in incredible ways! Now how dedicated are you to God’s Word? Have you surrendered yourself to it like Billy Graham did? Or are you still spending way to much time on all the distractions of life?

God is calling you to live a life that is surrendered to God’s Word. Like we said earlier, God uses every situation of your life to transform you into the likeness of God, and this includes the all the good and all the bad situations as well. Every experience is used by God to develop and transform us. Spurgeon tells us that, "Often our trials act as a thorn-hedge to keep us in the good pasture, but our prosperity is a gap through which we go astray."

Transformed By Trouble
God will transform us over time using the truth found in His Word, but he will also transform us using the troubles that pop up in our lives. This is the second way God transforms us. All of us face troubles and stresses and attacks of one nature or another. Sometimes it feels like these stresses will break us, and if we are living a life that is not connected to God, it is likely that they will. But all of us have known someone who seems to be impervious to the pressures and concerns of life. No matter what happens, they seem to be able to calmly and wisely live above the fray. This should be true of us as well. As Christians we should know that everything is under the control of God, and God may simply be using the difficult times to shape and develop us in patience and character until we are more like him. Look at what God tells us in scripture:

 
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren

 
Remember, Rejoice, Refuse
If it is true that God is always working for our GOOD, even in the troubled times and tough situations, how should we react in the face of these difficulties? I want you to remember three “R”’s, and take a look at someone who was able to do this in her own life. First it’s important for us to REMEMBER that God’s plan for us is good, even when it seems like life is tough.

 
Joni Erickson Tada was just a teenager when she suffered a diving accident that broke her back and turned her into a paraplegic. She literally could not even use her hands or arms or legs. Her life seemed like it was over, and if it were you or I, we might have believed the same thing. But Joni already had a faith in God and was active in church. She had important people around her who were able to direct her to Romans 8:28 and other verses like this that tell us that God does have a BIG plan for our lives, even if it is not the plan we had hoped for.

So Joni was able to seek out the things that she still could do, even with her injuries, and she was able to REJOICE over these things and than God for them. She began to teach herself how to paint, using her teeth to hold the brush. She became quite good and people started to seek out her paintings. Over time she also started to talk about her faith and write books. These were still things that she could do, and each day, as she sought God for direction in her life, she began to understand that these were the activities that God had wanted her to do all along. God had designed and planned her life to be an example and encouragement for others.

She still faced many hardships, as you might imagine. Everyday is still difficult for her. But along the way, she did not fail to see God’s hand in her life, and she REFUSED to give up in the difficult times. Now, years and years later, Joni is an incredibly sought after conference speaker, has written over 30 important Christian books, holds four honorary degrees and has been married for over 20 years. Joni Erickson Tada was slowly shaped into the image of Christ by a truth and trouble.

 
God encourages us constantly to continue to make every effort to grow in our faith through searching the word and seeking God in times of trouble:

 
Philippians 2:12-13
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

 
Joshua Crossing the Jordan
Understand that there will be many times when God will ask you to step out first, in ‘fear and trembling’, even when you don’t understand what God is trying to do in your life, with the promise that God is there, and loves you desperately and will guide your future as he has promised. When you hear God’s voice, calling you to do something right but perhaps a bit uncomfortable, you must act first with the promise that God will protect and guide you. Something similar happened to Joshua as he was leading the Israelites. The entire nation came to the Jordan River and knew that God was calling them to cross over to encounter a new life that He had promised them. But the river was wide and deep and fast and it seemed impossible to cross. God spoke to Joshua and promised Joshua that He would stop the raging river water upstream so they could cross. He simply told Joshua to step into the river and it would dry up so they could all cross. Joshua had to approach the river’s edge while that water was still raging. He was called to step out FIRST, and then God would dry up the river. Like Joshua, we are often called to step out first, with the promise that God will respond. We are called to action, taking a role in our own transformation as we are shaped by truth and trouble. God is calling us to seek God’s plan when times are really tough

You may not even buy the basic starting principle that God would consider you important enough to guide and shape into his image. You may be thinking that you are too insignificant, or even more importantly, you might be thinking that you simply aren’t worthy. You know your heart, and you may be concerned that you’ve already done something that would exclude you from the family of God or from His desire to make you like His Son. You might think that there is no way God can do anything with you when you’ve already cheated, had sex out of marriage, played around, tried drugs, etc. You need to know that God loves you as His Child and works through all kinds of people, changing them and using them to accomplish His Plan.

 
Quite a few years ago, Governor Neff of the State of Texas received an invitation to speak at one of the penitentiaries in that state. He spoke to the assembled prisoners, and afterward said that he would be around for a while to listen to anything any of the convicts might wish to tell him. He would take as much time as they wanted, and anything they would tell him would be kept in confidence. The convicts began to come, one at a time. One after another told him a story of how they had been unjustly sentenced, were innocent, and wished to get out. Finally one man came through who said to him, "Governor Neff, I do not want to take much of your time. I only want to say that I really did what they convicted me of. But I have been here a number of years. I believe I have paid my debt to society, and that, if I were to be released, I would be able to live an upright life and show myself worthy of your mercy." This was the man whom Governor Neff pardoned. 

 
God Can Shape You Too
God is willing to pardon and re-shape those of us who will come to him and surrender ourselves to Him. There are several interesting women in the History of Israel for example, who had shady pasts and were still used and shaped by God.

 
Ruth was a widow and moved to live with her mother-in-law. She was not even Jewish and she broke the law by marrying a Jewish Man.

Tamar is a character from the Old Testament who seduced her father-in-law in order to get pregnant!

Bathsheba committed adultery with David and this ultimately lead to the murder of her husband!

Rahab, who helped hide the Jewish scouts as they spied on the city of Jericho, was, in fact, a prostitute! 

 
All four of these women did far more than you have ever done to offend God, yet they are mentioned in a significant genealogy in scripture. They are the ancestors of Jesus Christ! The great, great, great, great grandmothers! Lawbreakers, adulteresses, prostitutes, seductresses! All shaped over time, used by God, and made acceptable in his sight through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross! If they can have this relationship with God, you certainly can as well! God wants you to glorify Him and is focused on your transformation. Now it’s simply up to you to commit to a life directed and shaped by God’s will and God’s Word. It’s my prayer that you will do that today!