“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”
Ephesians 4:13-15
Our calling as followers of Christ is to grow up into the image of Christ. Sanctification is the process by which God shapes us to be more and more like Jesus. This is “the good” toward which all things work together.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 3And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Romans 8:28-30
First we must understand that the goal is nothing short of perfection. To be like Jesus is to be absolutely holy, righteous and good. This is our destiny – being “glorified,” – when all of our remaining sin will be purged away and we will be like Him when we see Him face to face. For now, we must look to Jesus to see the standard he sets.
Then we will see our own reality and how far we fall short of His glory. This will make us both more humble and more worshipful. And it will prepare us for the third step: believing and applying the Gospel. The good news is that at every point that we fall short, Jesus’ finished work applies to help us grow.
Check out these previous posts:
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