WHY CHRISTLIKE – A STUDY

All references are from NKJV unless specified otherwise.

Q. Why it is needful for me to become Christ like?
A. Genesis 1:27 tells us, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him…”

My origin has been in the image of God. I have to be restored back to His image – I have to become like Christ Experientially.
This is the very reason God sent His only begotten Son – that I would be restored to the original image – His image.
Romans 8:29 tell us, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

As the verse describes – God foreknew me –
He has known my coming to existence before the foundations of the earth.
He has chosen me & predestined me to be Christ like before the foundations of this earth. (Rom 8:29 & Eph 1:4).

Q. Who is Jesus – whose image is in Jesus?
A. Yes, we all know Jesus is the Son of God. But Hebrews 1:3 tell us a very beautiful description about the Lord Jesus Christ, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…”

Jesus Christ has in Him the image of the Father. To understand it more clearly Jesus express the image of the Father as a Person. If you & I need to know God we need to know Him as a person. Yes – God is a PERSON – Hallelujah! He feels what we feel,

He has pains,

He has sorrows,

He has joys,

He gets hurt when I sin & deny Him,

He is love & desires to love.

As a person He is expressed in Jesus. He has chosen you & me to be just like Jesus; which in turn means to be just like the PERSON God is – represented on this earth.
When anyone sees me – they see Jesus operating in my skin – in turn they see the person of the Father in me.

Prayer – Lord help me to believe this truth, that I am predestined to be Christlike. Let people see Jesus in me – let your person be expressed in me & through me. In Jesus name – Amen.

Now that I have got the information in my mind that God desires me to be Christlike. I have received this information from the Word of God which is the truth.

Q. What should be my next step to become Christlike?
A. The next step is that I have to BELIEVE whatever God has written about me in His Word.
I need to believe that indeed God desires me to be Christlike.
It is the desire of the Heavenly Father that His Son is seen in me experientially, that the world may know that I am His Witness. (Acts 1:8).

Believe – God has mentioned in His Word that unbelief is sin. (John 16:9)
Whenever I deliberately choose to not believe in the Word of God. I declare two things.
1. I declare God you say, “your Word is true – but I think you are lying.”
2. I say, “You may have written this in Your Word but I don’t think You have the ability to bring it to pass.”

When I do this either ways I hurt the PERSON, God.
But
When I choose to Believe I declare – Lord you are Holy & I believe what You have written in Your Holy Word is true for me & I am sure you will bring to pass in my life. I believe that You have already finished this work before the foundation of the earth.
When I believe His Word – I choose to Worship Him. I declare His worth & I choose to Honor Him.

I need to believe now that God has predestined me to be Christlike. All the scriptures mentioned in the Bible are for my Christ likeness. This World will see Jesus walking – talking – touching lives through me.

Q. After I BELIEVE what should be the next step for me to start the journey of Christ likeness?
A. I need to ask the Lord to TEACH me to be Christlike from His Word.

TEACH: For me to grow & excel in anything the secret is that I should be taught the subject very clearly & nicely. In order that my foundations are correct & I am not building on a faulty foundation. (Psalm 11:3 - If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?)

Q. Whose help should I take for correct Teaching?
A. To be taught correctly I need to ask God Himself to teach me His heart – which is His Word. The Bible tells us in John 16:13 says, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

Holy Spirit needs to be my guide & my Teacher. He has written the Word and only by His help I will learn the things which I need to learn to be Christlike in my life, which in turn will help me to EQUIP OTHERS to be Christlike.
Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

The GREEK Word for LED is ‘AGO’ which means, “to bear, bring, carry, lead,”
Holy Spirit bears us – brings us to the truth – carries us to our destiny – Leads us into the depths of Christ. We need to be totally dependent on the Holy Spirit for being taught into Christ likeness. Holy Spirit teaches whatever He hears from Jesus. That is the practical way of learning. When we are taught by the Holy Spirit there is no doubt of being cheated. He is the Spirit of Truth. He will lead us into our destiny.

PRAYER – Loving Holy Spirit be my teacher in the journey of Christ likeness. I have no one else apart from you who will teach me all truth. I put my trust in you. I believe I am predestined to be Christlike. From today You are my leader, my guide, my teacher. In Jesus name – Amen!

Yes – It is my FATHERS DESIRE that I be Christlike. I submit to His desire.

Note: If you are not aimed at Christ likeness then you have already missed the mark.

Blessings,
Pastor Mohit Tarachand