Part 2: BECOME LIKE JESUS

FAITH | TEACHING | FELLOWSHIP | HABITS

The second goal of the Christian life is to become like Jesus. Just as first- century disciples sought to become like their rabbi, disciples of Jesus earnestly desire to become like their Lord.

But Jesus is more than a mere teacher or ethical role model. Jesus fully embodied what human beings are intended to be like according to God’s design. God created humans in his own image—for a special relationship with God and a unique role: to rule over creation as his representatives. 1 Yet the first humans fractured their relationship with God and forfeited their role when they sinned against God. Instead of trusting God and submitting to his authority, they rejected and rebelled against God. Following their pattern, we, along with the rest of humanity, have sinned against God and fallen short of the glory of God. 2 However, Jesus never sinned. Jesus perfectly trusted and submitted to God—even to the point of death. 3 Jesus is the perfect image of God that we failed to be. 4 Jesus shows us how humanity was originally intended to relate to God and fulfill our role as his representatives. Therefore, to become like Jesus is to become truly human.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO BE TRULY HUMAN LIKE JESUS?
The answer found in Matthew 22:36-40 is love.

MATTHEW 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus lived according to his own teaching, loving God above everything else. He never elevated a created thing above the Creator. He loved God with every part of his being. Jesus loved others as himself. He always did for others as he would have them do to him. 5

To be like Jesus means to have love for God and others as God intended. This is the truly human way to live.

HOW DO WE BECOME TRULY HUMAN LIKE JESUS?

It's one thing to understand the goal of loving God and others like Jesus did. It’s quite another thing to actually live this way. Many Christians struggle with the feeling that they’re not growing to be more like Jesus. It can be discouraging and defeating to feel like no matter how much you want to change, you continue to fail at loving God and others.

In these times, we need to remember that the power to grow in the Christian life comes not from us but from God. Becoming more like Jesus happens through a process of transformation by the Holy Spirit.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:17-18

17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of all believers, forming them more and more into the image of Jesus. Therefore, if a Christian is not growing in Christlikeness, the problem is not the work of the Spirit but the cooperation of the Christian. The critical question then for every disciple is: how can I open myself up to the work of the Spirit in my life?

Let’s look at four means of spiritual formation that the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into the image of Jesus: 6 faith, teaching, fellowship, and habits.

The Spirit’s work in our lives is most effective when we make use of all four means of spiritual formation. Faith is foundational and must always be present to see any growth.

Consider what is lacking when only two of the three other means of formation are emphasized.

When all of these aspects are present in our lives, we are in the best position for the Spirit’s transformative work.

All of us are being formed into the image of something. What we believe, the people we surround ourselves with, and the habits we practice are forming us either into the image of Jesus or into the image of something else.

In the next four steps, we will consider how we can best position ourselves to receive the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Genesis 1:22, 28

2 Romans 3:23

3 Philippians 2:8, 1 Peter 2:23

4 Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3

5 Matthew 7:12

6 This is an adaptation of James Bryan Smith’s “triangle of transformation.”