I absolutely love the Word. This is one of my favorite verses:
"As He is,
so am I in this world"
1 John 4:17b
As a Christian, I am the living likeness of Christ.
He is alive in heaven. I am His likeness on the earth.
He is the Son of God. I am a child of God, created in His image.
He is victorious which makes me victorious.
He is an overcomer which makes me an overcomer.
He has all authority in heaven and earth. He gave me His authority. Luke 10:19
The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me.
This list could go on and on. Because He was anointed, teacher, healer, deliverer, ...., in Him, by Him and for His glory so am I.
Before we get all puffed up, to really be in His likeness, we need to pay heed to the verses before and after this verse:
"... the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and He in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in the world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this is the commandment that we have from Him, That he who loves God love his brother also" (1 John 4:14-21).
LOVE
It's love and the perfecting of love within me that causes me to be as He is.
"By this everyone will know
that you are my disciples,
if you love one another"
John 13:35.
"As the Father sent me,
so send I you"
John 20:21
He was sent by the Father on a mission of love (John 3:16).
He was sent to seek and save the lost by laying down His life for them (Luke 19:10).
"As He is, so am I in this world" (1 John 4:17b).
As the work of love is perfected in my life, His mission becomes my mission.
His passion becomes my passion.
To be in His likeness is not to be equal with Him. He is the Great I Am. We are far from equal. But as we behold Him, Holy Spirit transforms us, changing us by increments into His image.
"So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image" (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT).
Think about Jacob's flock and how they became what they focused on (Genesis 30:25-43).
I'm overwhelmed as I consider the work of His love. The Father's love made away for me to know Jesus. His love drew me into a love relationship with Jesus, causing me to worship Him and gaze adoringly at Him. Holy Spirit then transforms me into His image. I can take no credit for who I am. All the glory belongs to the Great I AM!
"As He is, so am I in this world."
I am:
God is love (1 John 4:8).
Jesus said, I am the light of the world (John 8:12).
Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
To read more blogs by Debbie Welty, go to https://www.debbiewelty-blog.com/blog
To visit Debbie's website, go to https://www.debbiewelty-blog.com/
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