When we See Him, We shall be like Him

Paul has spoken about who they were before. He has also told them who they are in Christ. They had died with Christ. They have been raised with Christ. Christ is their life. And they are waiting for Him to return. They are a new creation, a renewing creation. They are declared holy and loved by God. We love the doctrine of Justification (Declared righteous). We also love the doctrine of Glorification. In between Justification and Glorification is the doctrine of Sanctification (putting to death our sin). This has to be the focus of our lives till we close our eyes for the last time. This is war against our evil desires and sin. And we have to put on, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, to bear with one another to forgive each other, put on love, and peace). 1 Thes 4:3, 1Pet1:16, Eph 1:4, Rom 8:29.  |||||TO IMAGE CHRIST: God’s wonderful plan for us is our sanctification. To change us into the image of Christ. Often the way He does it is through suffering and persecution. 2Cor 1:8,9. The virtue list that Paul provides is a picture of how we may mirror Jesus. - Compassionate hearts (being touched by plight of others, empathetic, wanting to help one another in suffering; It is not worldly compassion that will compromise the truth. True compassion is wise and is able to know someone’s real needs) | - Kindness (to look for what is good in others, even when others are not kind in return Luke 6:22, having a sweet disposition towards those around us, truly caring for what is best for others, instead of being consumed by what is good for us, and counting others more important than ourselves. Prov 21:21, Phil 2:3. |- Humility (having a lowliness of mind, and not being puffed up, being like the tax collector in Luke 18:13---and not with worldly ‘humility’ like the pharisee in Luke 18:11-12, which is actually pride, to say we deserve nothing, to know we only deserve God’s wrath, to say, ‘Who am I, I am nothing,’ to truly understand our unworthiness and thus being humbled to the dust. To be truly humble we have to know who He is and who we are ) | - Meekness (we often think meekness is gentleness, but this can get mistaken for weakness. It is gentleness with strength, to be willing to absorb an offense rather than give offense. It is also submission, and is therefore power that is under control) | - Patience (putting anger away as against the worldly way of keeping anger close by), to bear with one another to forgive each other, to put on love, and peace  ||||||TO PUT ON CHRIST: All these characteristics are ‘heart’ matters. These attitudes do not come from a vacuum. They come from relationship with Jesus, and as we relate to other Christians. To live like this is a challenge and it is costly. In Verse 13, Paul gives us two examples of how we may put on Christ: - Bear with one another- We may think that we have rights, but we must know that just as we are ‘under construction,’ our brothers and sisters around us are also ‘under construction.’ | - Forgive one another- This is how we bear with one another. As the Lord has forgiven us. There are times when we will sin against each other. When we become Christians we are “positionally” holy. But till the end, we have to desire to become holy in our lives. With the help of the Spirit of God living in our hearts. |||||TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST: While we need to introspect and see our hearts, in this passage, we can also see the hope in Paul’s words, that in all this, Christ is our example. Look to Christ. How do we get from where we are to where we need to be? By looking to Christ. For every virtue in the list, He is the perfect example.- Compassionate hearts – in coming down from heaven to die, when we were yet sinners. |- Kindness - in forgiving us, not because of what we have done but by His mercy. |- Humility –Though He was God, He came like a servant and went to the cross. |- Meekness –When men reviled Him did not revile in return 1 Pet 2:23 |- Patience – Think of how patient Christ is to save us and continues to bear with us, always loving us and interceding for us. |Christ is our example. But, not only is He our example, He is our Saviour, who has redeemed us, brought us in relationship with Him, and regenerated us. As we look to Christ, we are being transformed from one degree of maturity to another, moving towards the greatest communion with Christ, when one day we will look to Him in our glorification. Christ has begun a work in us to make us like Him, and one day He will complete that work, and when we close our eyes for the last time, He will glorify us and make us like Him.