Well, I invite you to take your Bibles to begin with and turn to the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, and real easy this morning, the very first chapter as well, Genesis chapter one. As we want to return to the subject of the image of God after a four week delay or a break. We've had two parts so far in this little mini-series on the image of God, and so this morning is going to be part three. And this is a very important subject in the Word of God, though there aren't a lot of verses that use the expression image of God, or image. There are perhaps a dozen or so, roughly. But they are very important in framing the purposes of God for all of us. In fact, I think if we get a hold of this truth that we were made in the image of God and what that means, it can be truly transforming. But before we look at Christ's image and the characteristics of it this morning, which is our focus, let me just play for you a brief advertisement from a few decades ago that some of you might remember. It reminds us of the importance of image. Do you remember that guy? World famous tennis player, right? What's his name? Andre Agassi. The Rebel. And what was the slogan for that advertising campaign? Image is everything. Well, you know, as far as the world is concerned, they would agree with that. Image is everything. But what does image mean to us? And is it really everything? You see, as far as the world is concerned, there is a God of this world system, small g, who is seeking to transform the world or conform it into his image and likeness. Romans 12 too teaches that. And we know from a previous study as well, according to Revelation 13, that one day in the future tribulation period, there will be a false prophet who will require everyone in the world to worship an image of the beast, namely the Antichrist. Because Satan himself knows what God knows. And that is that we become like the thing we worship. And there is an image war going on in our world today. Satan knows that, and God knows that. That's why we saw in a previous study from Psalm 115, verse 4, as well as verse 8, when it comes to idolatry, the Bible says their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Those who make them are like them, so is everyone who trusts in them. So, depending on who you trust or what your faith is in, you will become like that thing. Just like the title of this book I've read in the last year, we become what we worship. Now, I would change that to become like what we worship, because we don't become Jesus Christ. We don't become God, literally. But this author makes a very poignant statement on page 16. He says, what people revere, they resemble, either for ruin in the case of Satan, or for restoration in the case of Jesus Christ. And we have seen so far in our study that God wants to take every born-again child of His and have them grow up into the likeness of Jesus Christ, to be transformed to be like Him. 2 Corinthians 3.18, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. And this morning for our study, we're going to go to another key image of God passage found in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 10, which says that we have put on the new self, who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him. There we have one of those very important image references in the New Testament. where we are created in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ and we are being transformed more and more to be like him. But what does it mean to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ? Is this something external or physical? No, I believe it's rather internal. It's a matter of character as we're going to see, as God wants our inner man to be renewed day by day, to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, He wants to produce in and through us, by the Spirit of God, the very characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we're going to see in Colossians 3, verses 10 through 15. We will see these 10 characteristics, at least these, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another, being forgiving of one another, loving one another, peaceful and thankful. And certainly more attributes or characteristics could be added. But those are the ones specifically mentioned in the next main passage we're going to get to towards the end of our study this morning. But before we go to Colossians chapter 3, let's just take some time to review what we've covered in our two previous studies, since it was a month ago, regarding this biblical concept of the image of God. I had you turn to Genesis chapter 1. because I'd like to read together that key passage where it says we were made in God's image. Starting in chapter 1 in verse 26. It says, on the sixth day of creation now, everything else has been created, now God creates mankind. First Adam, then Eve, on the same day. Verse 26, then God said, let us make man in our image, according to our Likeness. And the hour, the plural pronoun there, is in reference to the triune Godhead. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons in the one being who is God. In our image and likeness, he says, verse 26, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the ground. So we have a reference in verse 26 to image and likeness. An image, the Hebrew word is Salem, speaks of the object or thing reflected. It's the picture of God himself. So there's God up in heaven, here's man on earth. When God looks down at man, he sees a reflection of himself. Not that we are God. but that we are to reflect certain things about God. And the quality of being able to reflect those things is likeness. A different Hebrew word in verse 26 called demut, and it emphasizes the resemblance between us and God, as those who bear or reflect that image. And as we're going to see, we are not an exact representation of God, but we are to mirror Him or reflect Him. You could even use the word image as a verb and not just a noun. That we should image God as those who are like Him. But this raises the question, what does it mean to be made in the image of God? Well, first of all, it means, at least from the context here, that we are created in some unique way above the rest of the creation. That's the context of Genesis 1, 26 to 28. And as we go on and we read scripture, we see that man is given an advanced intellect versus the rest of the creatures. Given emotion and a capacity for volition, to choose right from wrong, the will of God versus evil and so forth. And so these three elements form the substance of the image of God in us. The other thing that we see is that we were created with these mind, emotion, and will to have a relationship with God and with one another. That's why the image of God is not merely something substantive, intellect, emotion, and will, but it is also something relational. Now, do animals have intellect? Do they have emotion? Do they have will? To some degree, they do. And those of you who have a dog at home or a cat, you know that very well. Sometimes your dog can reason to a degree. It has a mind of its own sometimes. You can train it. It has emotions. It's happy. It can be sad, et cetera. It can be fearful, et cetera. And it has a will. So it has those elements. But does it have those elements to the degree you do? To be able to understand what you're thinking, what you and your wife are talking about, or when you and your wife are communing with God and having devotions, does Fido understand what's going on in your heart and mind? Not at all. He doesn't have a clue. Why? Because you've been created with a capacity and at a level that is very different from the animal realm. But God also designed us with the capacity to relate, first of all, to him. We were designed to reflect him, but also to relate to him, and to one another. And this is something, too, that I think goes beyond the animal realm or kingdom. We have a depth of relationship that no other creatures have, including the primates and the dolphins. Right? As very intellectual creatures, or the swine, if you want to include them, as far as intelligent animals go. We also have been given a moral component to the image of God, that we can choose what is the will of God, and choose good versus evil and so forth in a way that the animal kingdom doesn't have the capacity to do. They don't understand moral reasoning. Now the angels do to some extent, of course, because they were given a will at least initially, and then they chose, and now their wills seem to be fixed into two camps. So they had volition. They were able to choose. They could even relate to some degree. And they had some substance, right? They have an intellect and so forth. But what they don't have, as we'll see, is the ability to relate on a level that we have been given as human beings. Nor have they inherently been given the functional aspect that mankind have been given as vice regents of God to rule planet Earth and to exercise dominion over it, which is right here in the context. That is a fourth aspect of being made in the image of God. Now we know that Satan usurped that, and his demons are principalities and powers of the air, but we know that that wasn't God's original intent, and that Jesus Christ is coming back, Revelation chapter 5 says, as the worthy one to take back planet Earth and restore the rightful rule of man over the Earth. from the fallen angelic realm. So I believe all four of these elements are a composite of the image of God. Even though scripture never explicitly says to us, this is what the image of God is, we can infer these things from how these various passages are used in scripture. Now one clarification as well, the image of God is not necessarily something physical. Because God is a spirit. John 4.24 says, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. And being spirit, the image of God is not to look like six foot two, 200 pounds, and even be a man, right? Now why do I say that? Because both man and woman are made in the image of God. And if the image of God is something physical, let me ask you a question. Is it male or female? Well, it's neither, right? Because it's not primarily something physical. Now, even those who have died, who are separated physically in their soul and spirit from their body awaiting resurrection, they are not, they are no longer not the image of God. They still are the image of God, even though they're waiting for their resurrection. So, I think it's logical to deduce from scripture that the outward man is perishing, but the inward man, where the image of God really is reflected, is to be renewed day by day. And the image of God is like the Holy Spirit with our bodies as a temple. It indwells us, our bodies give the capacity to express these various things, our function as dominion, having dominion over the earth, to relate to one another and such, but it's not primarily something physical, just like the Holy Spirit uses our bodies. And so, just a clarification regarding what the image of God is, and what it isn't. And we know that Adam and Eve here were created in the image of God. But what happened? With their volition, they chose, by chapter three, to follow what Satan said, and disobey God, and thus, sin entered the human race. And mankind has fallen into sin, every one of us. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, He was the only exception. And what follows with sin? The Bible says, death. Death is the result. And as a result, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Though I believe that they were most likely born again, regenerated spiritually, there was a consequence. And we know that sin has passed on from them to every one of their descendants, except the Lord Jesus, who was virgin conceived and born. As Romans 5.12 says, Therefore, just as through one man, namely Adam, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. And does this mean that literally even the unsaved today are in the image of God? Yes, I believe it does. James 3 verse 9 tells us this, that with it, namely the tongue, we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men. And the word for men is the general term, anthropoi, from which we get anthropology. men who have been made in the similitude or likeness of God. So both the saved and the lost on planet earth, every human being, whether young, in the womb, whether elderly, facing a fatal diagnosis perhaps, or dying of old age, everyone in between, good looking, Ugly. Doesn't matter who they are. All are made in the image of God. And that means that we have likeness and value to God. Now, it is true that being sinners, that image has been marred. And I use the example of this last time of the Sphinx in Egypt. We can all recognize what this is, even though it's been defaced, right? Marred over time through the elements of wind, water, and erosion and such. But the image of God can still be seen even in fallen man, though it's been marred. We say that the image of God in all of mankind is defaced by sin but not erased by sin. I think that's a good way to put it. So what does it mean to reflect the image of God? Well, I use this analogy of a flashlight. with the sun. Just like the sun in a mirror here on planet Earth, you can angle it towards the sun and you can reflect its rays. The mirror itself has no inherent glory, but it can reflect the source of all glory, as you see even the lights being reflected around the room here. If I were to take the glory of God, let's say, as this flashlight, shine it into this mirror, then the beam would be reflected back to the source. And that's what we have with our capacity being made in the image of God, that we are light reflectors in essence. The attributes of God shine upon us or are shared with us, some of them, and those shared attributes, we are then to reflect back to him. And I always like to ask this math question, if God is already infinitely glorious in all his attributes, how can we glorify someone who's already infinitely glorious? We can't add to him anything. One plus infinity is still infinity. Well, what we can do is become like him more and more so as to reflect his character back to him. That's how God is glorified. In fact, that's biblical. Jeremiah chapter 9 verses 23 and 24 say, Thus says the Lord, let not a wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me. And what about me? That I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, his attributes on the earth. For in these things I delight, says the Lord. So as we reflect those attributes about him, we are glorifying him. Now, it is true that we are also, as marred image bearers, like not merely a mirror, but a broken mirror. And I'm not going to break this one here now, like I did previously. I already incurred seven years of bad luck, not going to take seven more. But this hammer is like sin in its entrance to the human race. When I tap this, the mirror shattered. Can God's glory still be reflected on this broken mirror? Yes, it can. But the image that it projects is a distorted image. And that's why what God wants to do in each of our lives as fallen sinners, broken, is He wants to restore us to the image of Christ so that we can then accurately reflect Him in His character. And that's why we need a standard. We need one who can restore us. One who can jump into the pool of humanity, become like one of us, reconcile us to God, redeem us, reign, and so forth. And that is the Son of God, who became the Son of Man. Now, it's very interesting that the Son of God did not become an angel to redeem the angels, but He came a human being And what does that tell us about the status that we have as humans in comparison to the angels? You have something the angels don't have, dear believer, an inherent quality that elevates you and that the second person of the Trinity took on in himself as he became incarnate and a human being. fully God and fully man. This tells us that we have a tremendous privilege and responsibility as image bearers and that we should be transformed into the very likeness of Jesus Christ. As Colossians 1, an earlier chapter than chapter 3, which we'll look at towards the end of our study this morning, chapter 1, verse 15 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. You want to see what God the Father is like? Study the life of Jesus. By the way, isn't it interesting that of all the characters in the entire Bible, all 66 books, Who gets four books to describe Him from various angles and facets? Jesus Christ, four Gospels. That's unique. Why? Because He is to be the object of our focus and our worship and our faith. And He wants to transform us into His likeness. And the angels don't have this. Now who are the angels? Have they not been given great Ability? Certainly they have. In fact, in some ways, we're less than the angels. As Hebrews 2, 6 and 7 says, What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. Well, I thought we were above the angels being made in the image of God. Well, we're lower than the angels in this sense, that they excel in strength even beyond us, Psalm 103, verse 20. And when it comes to intelligence, they seem to have a greater intelligence than we have in some areas, as 2 Samuel 14, 20 says. But we also know that their assignment is to minister to us. We have not been assigned to minister to them. Hebrews 1 verse 14, are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation? And so God says, angels, here's your role. I'm not going to provide redemption for you like I have for humanity. And your role is going to be to serve mankind. Why? Because though temporarily I've put you under or put you over humanity in terms of strength and wisdom and so forth, I'm gonna elevate mankind back to his intended purpose through my son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we will judge angels, the Bible says, actually, one day. That's why the angels look at us and they marvel, because we have something they don't have. 1 Peter 1 verse 12, it was revealed to them, namely the Old Testament prophets, that they were not serving themselves, but you, you New Testament believers, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. And by the way, 1 Peter 1.10, just a couple of verses before this, spoke of the salvation that would come to us and the grace that would come to us. Why do the angels long to look into these things? Because it hasn't been shared with them. Grace has not been extended to them like it has to us. Angels have not experienced this, nor do they seem to have been created with the capacity to demonstrate this to others with Christ-like attributes and characteristics as God's image-bearers like we have. We, I believe, have a unique relational capacity for Christ-likeness that the angels don't have. Now, as we think of the salvation that was mentioned in this passage here, We are taught in scripture that there are three tenses to salvation. If you look at all the uses of the word salvation, it's very clear that we are saved past, present, and future. Saved in the past from the penalty of our sin, which is hell, or separation from God forever. That happens the moment we are justified or declared righteous or regenerated, born again. It's a point in time, it's not a process. It occurs when we place our faith in Jesus Christ and His death for our sins on the cross, believing He paid for it in full. and trusting Him who rose from the dead, that through that work on our behalf, we would receive the gift of eternal life. And so we're born again at a point in time, regenerated, that continues out in eternity, because we have eternal life from that point on. But in the meantime, before we physically die or get raptured and go to heaven, God wants to transform us in our Christian life. We call this theologically sanctification, or being set apart unto God. And technically, this would be practical sanctification, because that word sanctification is actually used of all three tenses. There is a sense in which at the new birth, you were set aside to God, set apart for Him, positionally sanctified. Now you are being practically or progressively sanctified, set apart from the power of sin. And one day you'll be set apart from the very presence of sin. So sanctification, just like salvation, is in three tenses. But this is a process of time, as we'll see this morning. And the goal or objective is that we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ, transformed into His image. And one day we will be set apart completely from sin unto the Lord at glory. We will have no sin nature anymore, nor a capacity to sin, but rather to reflect God in His glory. that will be confirmation. And so, you could take the image of God, which I put on your handout here, and overlay it with the three tenses of salvation, and it's in essence teaching the very same thing. We become a new creation in Christ at the moment of regeneration or justification. When it comes to practical sanctification in our life, the Lord wants to transform us and not leave us right where we were when we were born again. And one day, 1 Corinthians 15, 49 says he's going to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, his son. But for all this wonderful process to take place, It has to have a starting point. One has to be born again and be a new creation in Christ. And if you're here today and you've never been born again, this is where it all starts. You must become a new creation. through regeneration. 2 Corinthians 5.17 says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, that's a positional concept, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. You now have the capacity if you're born again for this new spiritual life because God has placed his life within you. But you see what religion does and what the world wants to do is change the outside. And religion is always trying to reform someone, rather than regenerate. So that if we can change the external appearance, or behavior, and make you look like a Christian, and act like a Christian, then through your good works, you will be, you will have a better chance of going to heaven, they say. To earn heaven. And according to the Bible, our good works do not save us and cannot save us. It must be Jesus Christ's work in that alone. And we must be born again. First of all, by recognizing that we're spiritually dead and lost. That was a hang-up for me. Growing up religious, I just thought, well, I'm already on the right path, I just need to work harder. But you know, the book of Romans starts by saying that all are under sin, whether they are immoral, Romans chapter one, or moral, the beginning of chapter two, or a third lane, religious like the Jews were, Romans end of chapter two. All those are the broad road that leads to destruction Jesus warned about in Matthew chapter seven, namely hell or eternal separation. You see, what death is, according to the Bible, is not non-existence, it's separation. Like when the soul and spirit depart from the physical body, there's a separation that occurs. The soul and spirit and the body continue to exist, though the body dissolves in the ground. and one day there's gonna be a reuniting of those. The same is true when it comes to spiritual death. As the Bible says, we're all born dead in trespasses and sins, separated from God, a holy God. And many people think, well, you know, I can bridge the chasm. I can jump the gap. I can get my good works to outweigh my bad. And though the chasm of sin may be great, I think my works are greater. And I've heard people say, even on their deathbeds, there's nothing I've done in my life that is so bad that I don't think I could have compensated or outdone it by my good works. And that is trying to get your good works to outweigh your bad. That is like trying to jump from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other. God and His infinite holiness, us and our sin, that bridge cannot be chasmed by us as mere men, regardless of the efforts involved on our part. Good works, religion, morality, coming to church, trying to live a good life, whatever it may be. Repenting of our sins, walking an aisle at an altar, call or crusade over and over again. Inviting Jesus to come into your heart because didn't feel like it took the time before, so I gotta keep praying that prayer and inviting him in. Those are Protestant kinds of works. It doesn't matter what kind of works, baptism, communion. I walked a communion aisle for many years to receive another installment of grace, but I was no more sure I had eternal life. Why? Because it all depended on my work. And that's why the Bible says Jesus Christ bridged that chasm, and it's only His work, His finished work. And only those who put their faith in what He did for them, in dying for their sins and rising again, will receive eternal life. As John 3.16 says, the gospel in a nutshell, for God so loved the world. He doesn't hate the world. He doesn't want to destroy the world. He created it. He loves it. He sent His Son for the world, John 3.16. For he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. You know, I spoke with someone recently, or communicated with them, and they said, well, for years I didn't understand that you could have assurance of eternal life. In fact, 46 years, she said, she grew up in a Baptist church, hearing about Jesus' death on the cross, But she confided in another coworker at the church, and she was involved in various ministries, feeding 100 people a week on Monday nights through their charity program. She just said, I don't know I'm even saved. Do you? And the other lady said, I don't either. And you know what gave her assurance? She said, I went right back to John 3.16, and I read it over and over, and I realized it's just believing. And it promises me eternal life if I believe. It's just that simple. It's not a matter of getting my good to outweigh my bad. In fact, that's why Jesus had to die. And when one puts their faith in Jesus as their sin substitute who rose from the dead, and that work and that payment alone, believing that it paid for our death in full, his death on the cross, paid that debt, and his resurrection from the grave. That person then who trusts in Christ's work alone receives the gift of eternal life. And it is a gift, it's not a reward. And when that happens, a person can know for sure they're saved forever, because it no longer depends on their work and their effort and their pattern or their walk, but it depends on Christ's work, which is finished and perfect. And when that happens, they're born again, they get eternal life. And they become a new creation in Christ. Now it's very important to see in this passage, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, that it's not talking about our walk. Because many times I've heard this verse used to say, oh, look how my life changed once I got saved. I no longer use drugs. I quit sleeping around. I quit stealing from my employer or whatever. And all those things are obviously wrong. But oftentimes, this passage is invoked and cited as proof that if you're born again, your life is gonna change and your walk and direction will change. Really? Well, your destiny will change, that's for sure. But let me ask you, if this is referring to a person's walk, You know, old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. So have you stopped sinning completely now that you're a Christian and supposedly on your way to heaven? Well, not completely. Hold on. The verse says all things. If this was referring to your walk, how could you ever know if you're a new creation in Christ? Unless every area of your life has changed. You still prideful? Well, no. The only way this can be true is because of what it says at the beginning of the verse. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, a positional concept, they're born again. They have new life. They're regenerated. They're like a little child that's born into a family. We don't expect that child to walk like an adult can walk. It's going to take a process of time and growth, right? And many falls along the way. And the same is true with a new child of God in the family of God. That's what this passage is saying. There's a new destiny, heaven, a new potential, and a new relationship with the Lord. And last time we saw that this is the basis, this new creation concept is the basis for the transformation the Lord wants to do in each of our lives in our Christian life. And a key verse was 2 Corinthians 3.18. So by way of review, we see that the people of this transformation in this verse are we all, every believer, with unveiled face. And when somebody comes to Christ and sees Him in the Gospel, 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, they have an unveiled face. They behold Him and His finished work for who He is. That's the we all. It's namely believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in the context. And only believers have the capacity then for a relationship with the Lord of transformation into his likeness. That's why it's so essential that you don't take what I'm saying today about the Christian life and add it, if you're unsaved here today, to your work's way of thinking already, saying, oh, if I could just become Christ-like in my character, then my odds of going to heaven and getting eternal life will be even better. No scrap that. You're not even at the starting line yet. You haven't passed go, if you were playing the game of Monopoly. You gotta be born again first. And from there, God can then work with you, but not until you're born again. Once dead in trespasses and sins, now you have new life. So these are the people of this transformation described in this verse. What is the process of this transformation? Well, on our part, It involves beholding Him as in a mirror, beholding the glory of the Lord. And we see in the Word of God the Lord Jesus Christ as the object of our faith. And how do we behold? By a walk of faith. 2 Corinthians 5-7, same section roughly in Corinthians chapters 3, 4, and 5. 2 Corinthians 5-7 says, for we walk by faith and not by sight. as we behold the Lord Jesus Christ, where? In the Word of God. We're going to see in Scripture this morning that God wants to renew our minds. And the way Christ has reflected back to us is through His Word. Romans 12.2, 1 Corinthians 13.12, and James 1.23-25. And we can be like Mary at the feet of the Lord Jesus, learning from Him. And as we abide in Him, we will be transformed to be like Him as He abides in us and can change us and bear the spiritual fruit that He produces in and through us. So He's the one that we focus on. Now, 2 Corinthians 3.18 also goes on to describe the product or result of this process. It says, we are being transformed. And that word for transformed is metamorphomai. Say that fast five times. You can see the root there. It's metamorphosis, right? That's where we get our English phrase, or word. It speaks of a change. It takes time. It's a process. This is a matter of spiritual growth. It's not instantaneous. It's not the infant born in the hospital nursery, and then he walks home and puts on mom and dad's clothing, you know, because he's now walking like an adult. This is going to take time. It's an internal process resulting in external change. But it starts on the inside as God sees the heart. And by the way, this is something done to us not by us. We don't change ourselves. He changes us. That's why 2 Corinthians 3.18 says we are being transformed. It's his supernatural work in our lives. We have to understand that and accept that. The other thing we see here, a fourth truth from 2 Corinthians 3.18 is the picture or pattern of this transformation. We're being transformed into whose image? The same image, in the context, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Colossians 3.10 says, the image is Jesus Christ. And we're going to see the attributes or characteristics of that image, Jesus Christ. You see, He's the standard to which we're all being changed. It's not brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so. It's not your pastor. It's not some great Christian, though there may be characteristics we want to have in our lives from their lives as well, but the standard is really Jesus Christ, and he needs to be the object and focus of every one of our Christian lives. He is the mold that we are being transformed into as believers. Now we also see a fifth truth from 2 Corinthians 3.18, and that is the progression of this transformation. It says we're being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. And in the context of 2 Corinthians 3, it was from Moses and the law into grace and the spirit and the dispensation of the spirit and grace. But I think it's also true, based on 2 Corinthians 4, though the outward man is perishing, the inward man can be renewed day by day, working for us a form or exceeding an eternal weight of glory, that the glory he also has in mind is our spiritual growth into Christlikeness that will have eternal effects as well. That we be able to shine for him in glory. And so from glory to glory. And by the way, as you read the Gospels, how was the glory of Jesus Christ manifested or demonstrated? Was it just on that Mount of Transfiguration where he appeared with Moses and Elijah, and a few of the disciples saw this burst of brilliant light brighter than the sun? Well, that definitely was a manifestation of glory. We're not denying that, the Shekinah glory of God. But what about all the times where He was rejected by men, and He continued to commit Himself to him who judges justly. When He didn't revile, when He walked truthfully and humbly, when He spoke with love, even though He was hated, when He forgave people who deserved to be condemned. What about all those things? That was a manifestation of His glory, too. That's why John, in his gospel, in chapter one, says of Jesus Christ that he was the word who became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. Was John only thinking of the resurrection or the mount of transfiguration? No, I think he was thinking of the life of the Lord Jesus he observed. How we can all learn from what the world may not perceive as glory, but we do. How was the character of Jesus Christ demonstrated? Through his words, through his deeds, through who he was. Full of grace and full of truth. So as we grow to become more like him, we can then reflect his attributes and characteristics and so glorify him. in His character. A sixth truth that we see or saw from 2 Corinthians 3.18 is the power to accomplish this transformation. The end of the verse says, from glory to glory, how? Just as by the Spirit of the Lord. The power to accomplish this transformation must be something truly supernatural. Not something inherently within us, but something done to us by the Spirit of the Lord. And we are told in the New Testament, in various passages, that we have a volition to exercise in this whole process, but it must be the power of the Spirit of God that transforms us. Galatians 5, 16 says, this I say then, walk in or by means of the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. By the way, that verse isn't reversed, how it's often interpreted today, that if I just clamp down on my flesh and say no to sin, the result will be I'll be walking in the spirit. No, you've gotta walk in the spirit so as not to fulfill those things of the flesh. We need to be spiritual to obey, not vice versa. And Ephesians 5.18 says, In contrast to drunkenness, which is a wasted life, dissipation, we should be filled with the Spirit. And this is something that can be true of every believer who's permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but we ought to be Spirit-filled all the time to have spiritual victory. Now, how does all this fit with the image of God? Well, let me relate it to the definition of the Christian life that our former senior pastor here at Duluth Bible Church, Dennis Roxer, came up with, this excellent definition of the Christian life and what it's to be. He said, the authentic Christian life is designed to be a daily, personal, vertical fellowship with God. Notice the vertical first, not the human, horizontal. It's relating to God, not outward, external to others first. Vertical fellowship with God based on your identification with Jesus Christ, motivated primarily by his love and provided totally by his grace and power, which is enjoyed through repeated responses of faith as one diligently seeks the Lord, resulting in spiritual growth into what? What's the end of all this? Into Christ likeness. and faithful obedience to God's will, and fruitful service to others in love, all to what end? That God be glorified. And this brings us to Colossians, in case you're wondering if we would ever get there. And just to speed things up, I didn't give you much to fill in as far as blanks on your handout today. You can just follow along on the back page of your handout today, the text of Colossians 3. We wanna focus on verses 10 through 15, but to get there, let's establish the context. So you can turn to Colossians 3 in your Bibles, or you can just look at the back page of your handout. And as you do, let me ask you a question. Are you a fashion-conscious believer here this morning? By that, I'm asking, what kind of clothes did you put on today? Now, thankfully, you're all clothed. I know it's cold out, so that helps. But you all put on clothes today. Were you conscientious about what you put on? Well, obviously, we all are to some degree. But let me ask you, are you as conscientious about your spiritual clothing as you are about your physical clothing? And I say that because as a new creation in Christ, we can put on Jesus Christ and his characteristics like we put on our clothes every day. In fact, have you noticed how some people's clothing is closely associated with their identity? If you saw one of the several people who work for the post office come into our church, as they sometimes do when they get off their shift, and they've got their navy blue pants on with the red, white, and blue stripes down the side, and they've got a light blue shirt on, maybe a patch, you know that they work for the post office, right? That's their uniform. If you saw A Minnesota Twins player show up for a game at the Target Center wearing a Milwaukee Brewers uniform. That might raise a few eyebrows in the locker room for the Minnesota Twins, right? You know, even priests and Mormon missionaries and Hare Krishnas and Buddhist monks all have their distinctive dress that identifies them as such. Well, when it comes to us as believers in Jesus Christ, we should have a distinctive dress as well, so to speak. Our adornment should be Christ-likeness. And so what we're going to read about in Colossians 3 is distilled in a nutshell in Romans 13, 14, which says, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. And we'll see in Colossians 3 that there is a positive aspect putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a negative aspect putting off the deeds of the sinful nature. But all this is based on our position or identity in Jesus Christ. So Colossians 3, 1-4 gives us that. It says in verses 1-4, if then you were raised with Christ, if, and it's assumed to be true, you have been. All who are believers in Jesus Christ have been raised with Christ, co-resurrected. Seek those things which are above. Where? Where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above and not on things on the earth. Why? For you died, i.e. with Christ, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Do you see from verses one through four, dear believer, that your whole life is wrapped up with Jesus Christ? You've died with Christ. You've been buried with Christ. You've risen with Christ. You're seated with Christ. When Christ comes again, you'll come with him. We saw that Wednesday night in Revelation 19. We'll come with him on white horses. He's the overcomer. We're overcomers through faith in him. We follow right on his train. We're all wrapped up in Christ. And therefore, if Christ is above the things of this earth, that's where our focus should be. That's where we should seek and set our minds, the Bible says. But again, all this is predicated upon our shift in position. We were once an atom before we were saved. For in Adam all die, the Bible says, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But when we placed our faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God took us and placed us at that very moment of faith into Jesus Christ, where we've been identified. In Colossians 3, 1 through 4 is a description of our new ID, so to speak. So we're no longer in Adam, where we were not accepted by God. Now being in Christ, God now sees us in His Son. And we have the righteousness of Christ and the various attributes of Christ positionally as well. Now that doesn't mean that our walk has practically changed. We may have sin in our life. We may be doing better some days than others. But know this, that it's all based on a foundation in which, in terms of our standing before God, or our union with Christ, or our position in Christ, all of that is perfect and unchanging. It's the same for all believers, whether a brand new babe in Christ, or one who's been saved for decades. Whereas our condition, or state, or communion with the Lord, that can change from day to day. So how does God see you if you're in Christ? Positionally, he says, you have the perfect righteousness of Christ. Now, practically, you may not be. You may be going up and down in your walk with the Lord, but rest assured, you will not be condemned because you're already accepted in the beloved one. He sees you as co-crucified, co-buried, co-risen, co-ascended, and co-returning with his son. That's our identification in Christ. And that's why last week, Pastor Kurt taught on Galatians 2.20, one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but who lives in me? But Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, this physical body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So as we think of Colossians 3.1, If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. The things that are above are in reference to Jesus Christ. Likewise, in verse two, when it says to set your mind on things above, the things above are in reference to Jesus Christ again. And by the way, who is the object of our faith? Just as it was at new birth, so it should be during our time of transformation and growth in Christ as well. Colossians 2.6 says, as you therefore receive Christ, Jesus the Lord, how did you receive him? By faith. So walk ye in him by faith. With him as your object for spiritual growth. That's our position in Christ, verses one through four. Now he goes on in verses five through seven, and he says, therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth. And here he personifies certain sin patterns of our sin nature. He's not literally saying chop off your arm, cut off your leg. He's not saying that. But he personifies these areas of sin. By the way, the only way that we can put to death our members, according to Romans 8.13, is through the Holy Spirit of God. These members of sin. Fornication, which speaks of any illicit sexual activity outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage. One woman for one lifetime is God's pattern and design. Uncleanness, that speaks of sexual impurity. Passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. What characterizes the unsaved as sons? They're disobedient. That's their pattern. In which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them, but where are you now as a believer? You're in Christ. Now imagine for a moment that you have a job that's pretty dirty. Let's say you are a septic tank cleaner here in Duluth. You drive around the honey bee truck or whatever they drive. Have you seen that? And you come home stinky and dirty and your wife says, you better take those clothes off before you get in the house, buddy. So you got a changing room, you know, you take your shower, you sit down to eat, you have some family time in the living room, and then you go out to the changing room and you put on those stinky clothes again and you come back in the house. What would your wife say to you? Those clothes are not appropriate for where you now live. Leave them back there. And you know when you get saved as a new man in Christ, you're washed of all your sins, you're justified, positionally, judicially forgiven forever, you have a new identity in Christ, the Lord is saying, don't go grab your stinky old clothes and put them back on. They don't fit with your new identity. And the world has a certain mold or identity that it wants to squeeze us into. An image, so to speak, that exalts the four Bs, right? As we've seen. And in essence, each one of these is very self-focused. And that's always the root of sin in our life. We have a sin nature that wants to put me first, rather than glorify our Savior with whom we've been identified. And so, he says, therefore, verses five through seven, in light of our position in Christ, we should no longer live in these sin patterns that characterize us before we were saved. He goes on, verse eight, and says, but now you yourselves are to put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another. By the way, speaking the truth is characteristic of who? Jesus Christ. Wasn't Jesus Christ the way, the truth, and the life? How do we glorify God in our speech? By speaking the truth, just as he is truth as one of his attributes. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds. And again here, he's contrasting the old creation versus the new. Who we were in Adam, spiritually dead in the flesh, in the kingdom of darkness, we've been transferred to the kingdom of his dear son, to now walk in the spirit because we're spiritually alive and regenerated now. Now what is the old man in this passage in Colossians 3? Is that synonymous with the sin nature? Have we already put off the sin nature? I don't believe it's referring to that. The old man and the old sin nature are not the same. In fact, the old man has been crucified. We've died to the old man. He's dead and gone. And now we are to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin or the sin nature that resides within us. Here's what William R. Newell and Harry Ironside said. Newell says, the old man, our old man, this is our old selves as we were in and from Adam. We must not confuse the old man with the flesh or sin nature. When we are told, for instance, in Colossians, that we have put off the old man, we know that we are being addressed as new creatures in Christ, and that the old man represents all we naturally were, desires, lusts, ambitions, hopes, judgments, looked at as a whole federally. We used to be that. Now we have put that off. The moment you were born again, the old man was gone. That's why Ironside says, my old man is not merely my old sin nature. It's who I was in Adam. before I was saved, because in Christ, I'm a new man. And you see, you had a sin nature when you were an old man. You still have a sin nature that's attached and using your flesh while we have this body pre-resurrection. But in Christ, we're a new man, constitutionally speaking, and we get a new nature that desires the things of God, the will of God, Romans 7. The problem is if we don't learn to walk by means of the Spirit, We won't have the power that the new man desires, Romans 7, and we will walk in frustration and futility. In fact, that was Paul in Romans 7. He had a sin nature and a new nature, and he said, all the good that I want to do, I don't do. Why? Because it's sin that dwells in me that has the upper hand. He didn't get to, he didn't remember Romans 6, and he didn't get to walking in the spirit, Romans 8. and the sin nature has bent either towards license or legalism. Both are manifestations of the flesh. But we have put off our old man, who we were in Adam, and we have put on the new man, who we are in Christ. This was done the moment we were saved. Who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Renewed in knowledge. And this knowledge again comes through seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in the word of God, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are being renewed. And what is the goal or pattern again? It is to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the image of him who created him. This renewal comes from the Word of God as we behold our Savior in it by faith. And as a result, we're changed in his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. Though our destiny and identity change instantly the moment we get saved, this transformation into Christ likeness takes place as we learn the Word of God and apply it to our lives by faith and allow the Spirit of God to work in us. So what is this image like? Well, Since I've already spoken for an hour, and I'm just getting to verse 10, I think instead of rushing through these things, let's hold on to that and savor it. You can read about it in verses 10 through 15, but I think this is where we'll go for part four of our study next week. We'll see the attributes and characteristics of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the work you're doing in our lives as believers. It is truly something spectacular and magnificent. It's based all on your grace. We don't deserve it or earn it, and it is to your glory. And thank you that you have given us such a wonderful calling and high calling in this life. I pray that this truth would just deeply impact us as believers to see that we have tremendous purpose and reason to live here on this earth and that Christ truly would be reflected and glorified in each of our lives by your spirit and by your grace. We pray to this end now and ask these things in his precious name. Amen.