Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Yeshua [Jesus] asked him. The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9; ISV) We are not without a perfect pattern of God’s character. Yeshua HaMashiach [Jesus Christ], as a human being, so perfectly represented what God is like that he told his disciples, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Paul describes Yeshua as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Col 1:15). He describes true Believers as those who have “put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Col 3:9-10). God wants to change the spiritual nature of mankind. As Mashiach is “the image of the invisible God,” so does God the Father want to reshape our character into Mashiach’s image. The time is coming when God will transform those who have become like Him in heart and mind from a physical to a spiritual existence. Paul described to the church in Corinth how this will happen: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:50-53). That is how God will complete the marvelous transformation of human beings becoming like Him. John described the same ultimate transformation when he wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2). Being like God is our destiny—provided we surrender our lives to Him in obedience to His commandments. From the latter part of the Second Commandment: “For I, Yehovah [the LORD] your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6), it is obvious that God holds us accountable for our words and deeds. Bowing before an idol to pay homage to one’s own image of God may appear to be an act of great devotion if one is ignorant of God’s great purpose for human beings. But God expects those who worship Him in truth and understanding to demonstrate their love for Him by keeping His commandments from the heart, not by going through useless rites in front of some object. Yeshua made this clear when He said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). We are not to worship God with images and meaningless rituals. Yeshua explained that “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (verse 23). Knowledge and understanding of the truth of God are essential for developing the holy, righteous character He desires to create in us. That means that we have to learn and grow (2 Pet 3:18). We read in Proverbs 2:1-5, “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of Yehovah, and find the knowledge of God.” Once we gain an understanding of God’s revelation, He holds us accountable for what we know. We must apply this revealed knowledge in our lives. Only those who do what they learn they ought to do are true worshippers of God (Rom 2:13; Jam 1:22-25). The apostle John was clear: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). Obeying God is worshipping Him by emulating Him, by thinking and living as He would. It is becoming like Him internally. We allow Him to spiritually fashion us into His likeness. We honor and praise Him by the way we live.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 06:11:36 +0000
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