Conformed to Christ’s Image

Conformed to Christ’s Image

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.

Romans 8:29

We want to be like our heroes. If we are sports fans, or music fans, or fans of crafts and trades, we have our heroes. They set for us standards which we strive to imitate. For us, whom God has saved by Free and Sovereign Grace, our Hero of Heroes is Christ Himself. No one else is so gracious, so kind, so loving, so pure, so strong, so wise, so wonderful as is Christ. We see our feeble attempts at holiness and despair of the bare progress of growth in grace, much less the full fruition of it. When Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the ‘Order of Salvation,’ from which our text arises today, He indicated that the end purpose of predestination is for these predestinated ones to be conformed to ‘the Image of his Son.’ Here is another blessing and benefit of adoption into the Family of God. We bear the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a key element of sanctification. God renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ.  This is a great encouragement for us who seek after Christlikeness. This gives us courage to seek after holiness. This makes the quest for true spirituality something more than an unobtainable dream. God, Who foreknew and predestinated us, did so in order to conform us to the Image of His Son. Our prospects are bright indeed.

Our Gracious and Sovereign God,
we rejoice that You perform all things after the counsel of Your Own Will.
We praise You that You will conform us, completely,
unto the Image of Christ and we shall be satisfied when we awake with His Likeness.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning