Imitators of God / Remember Jesus

Articles

Kevin Heaton
09/24/23 - The Zephyrhills Beacon

Imitators of God

(by Kevin Heaton)

In Romans 3:23, Paul tells us that when we sin we "fall short of the glory of God." One way to look at that is to say this: when we sin, we fail to be like God. We fail to emulate His nature and character. In the beginning man was created perfect like God. But man failed to follow in God's image and therefore fell short of His glory.

We are in need of changing our sinful selves back into God's image. When we become a Christian, we make a commitment to God that we are going to get rid of our old selves and live the rest of our lives in His image. Consider the following:

Ephesians 4:22-24 - "put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Colossians 3:9-10 - "you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator."

Seeing then that we are to put off our old selves and be renewed in the image and likeness of our Creator, Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:1 that we are to be "imitators of God, as beloved children." In what ways are we to be imitating God and living in His likeness? Here are a few to start with: We are to IMITATE...

God's LOVE - John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:7-12; Ephesians 5:2
God's MERCY - Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
God's HOLINESS - 1 Peter 1:14-19; Hebrews 12:10, 14
God's COMFORT - 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 1 Corinthians 12:25-26
God's FELLOWSHIP - Romans 15:1-7
God's UNITY - Ephesians 4:1-6; John 17:14
Jesus' OBEDIENCE - John 15:10
Jesus' SERVITUDE - John 13:15

When people see us, do they see us imitating God in these ways?

Paul says in Romans 12:1-2 - "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

If we imitate God in this life, then we will "imitate" God in eternity - "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the Man of Heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:49) & "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3). To GOD be the glory!

Remember Jesus

(by Kevin Heaton)

On a day like Friday (2 days ago), Jesus was nailed to the cross about 9:00am. On Friday, Jesus hung on that cross from 9:00am until 3:00pm. 6 HOURS He hung on the cross. For 6 hours He bore our sins on the tree. Remember what kind of day that was nearly 2,000 years ago. Does it mean anything to you? If not, look longer at the cross and see what Jesus did for you. To Jesus be glory and praise!

Remember that on a day like yesterday (Saturday), nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus was in Hades (realm of the dead) and His body lay in a tomb because He died for me and you. His disciples were in mourning. The wicked men who killed Him were rejoicing. But wait until we get to today. Just wait.

But on a Sunday like today, early in the morning, there was an empty tomb. Why is that significant? Because the body of Jesus of Nazareth used to occupy it. How is that possible? Look for yourself:

Matthew 28:1-10

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”