From the beginning God had a plan for us, a plan to make us more like Him (Genesis 1:26). To be made in God’s image is a great honour, none of His other creations were made in His image.
Like God we are spiritual beings, our bodies may die but our souls are immortal. Like Him we can think, reason and problem-solve; we can give and receive love like Him. He has given us a moral consciousness so like Him we can discern right from wrong which makes us accountable to Him.
Every person possesses part of God’s image, but sin has damaged it, so God sent Jesus to restore the full image. Jesus is the full image and likeness of God (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3).
KEY VERSE
“At the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT
God wants us to bear His image and become more like Christ. He wants us to be godly which means taking on His values, attitudes and character. He wants us to grow and become spiritually mature.
It is the Spirit through the process of sanctification that makes us more like Christ.
Sanctification occurs when we make choices. When we choose to do the right thing and trust that the Spirit will give us his power, love, faith and wisdom to follow through that is how sanctification happens.
“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 CSB
WE MUST COOPERATE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK
Spiritual growth requires effort. We can’t just sit around waiting for it to happen. God waits for us to act first we must move despite our feelings and fears because it is obedience that unlocks God’s power. The Spirit releases his power the moment we take a step of faith. This is how we cooperate with the Spirit and how our character develops.
We face three responsibilities when we choose to become like Christ:
- We must choose to let go of our old ways of acting.
- We must change the way we think.
- We must put on the character of Christ by developing new Godly habits.
“Take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” Ephesians 4:22-24 CSB
GOD USES HIS WORD, PEOPLE AND CIRCUMSTANCES TO MOLD US
God’s Word provides the truth we need to grow. People provide the support and the circumstances provide the environment we need to practice Christlikeness.
If we study and apply God’s Word, regularly meet with believers and learn to trust God in any situation we become more like Jesus.
We cannot grow to become like Christ in isolation because true spiritual maturity is learning to love like Jesus. Also, God prefers to work through people because it encourages fellowship. He wants us to grow together.
BECOMING LIKE CHRIST IS A LONG PROCESS
Sanctification takes time, the process will only be complete when we die or when Jesus returns. It is a life-long journey of development.
In this life all that matters is loving God and fulfilling the purposes He gave us, God cares that we are obedient to Him and do things in a Christlike manner (1 Corinthians 10:31). God cares more about our character than our works because it is our character that is eternal. Who we are intrinsically doesn’t change and once we die what we do on earth will not matter.
Our priority is to love God, love people and fulfil His purposes and with each day strive to become more like Jesus.
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognise what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:2 MSG
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Wholeheartedly Faithul 
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