TRANSFORMED INTO HIS LIKENESS Philippians 3:20-21

November 23, 2008 Providence TRANSFORMED INTO HIS LIKENESS Philippians 3:20-21 INTRODUCTION: Have you ever lost something of great value? Sometimes you get it back and other times you don t. I once had a set of Bose headphones and somewhere between Africa and the USA they disappeared. I never recovered them! But early in our marriage, Cathy and I returned from a trip with our little boys, got them bathed and ready for bed and then she noticed it her diamond from her engagement ring was gone! When it fell out, where it fell out, there was no way to know. We had very little money so we could not replace it so we did what we could (put in a cubic zirconia look-alike) and mourned the loss of that treasure. A couple of years later, we were visiting her sister and husband in Charlotte in their new home. After getting the kids unpacked in their guest room, Cathy s sister stepped on something in the carpet it was Cathy s diamond! How did it get there? The best we can guess is that it had been caught in the lining of the luggage and fell out when we unpacked the kids clothes! Amazing story of a recovery of something of great value! Last Sunday, we spent some time talking about the creation of the human race, how we were created in the image of God, according to His likeness. But we lost all of that when Adam sinned and there is only way for something that infinitely valuable to be recovered. THESIS: Through the grace of Jesus Christ, God has provided a way for each of us to recover the life He created us to live in His image and for His glory. I. THE HEIGHT FROM WHICH WE HAVE FALLEN Genesis 1:26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; --God created us as unique in all of creation to demonstrate His nature His purity and moral integrity His place of dominion and authority to enjoy the pleasures of His glory and beauty His wisdom and power His holiness and perfection. --But all of that was given up for the appeal to not just be like Him, but to be equal to Him. --For that defiance and rebellion, death and destruction entered not just the human experience but the whole of creation which now longs for a recovery that only God can orchestrate. II. THE RECOVERY FOR WHICH CHRIST DIED --Seeing that sin entered the world through the one, Adam, the image of God was lost in all people but not forever in those who by faith in Jesus Christ now enjoy the treasured remedy for their fallenness. Romans 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. --The devastation of losing life and the image of God in one act of defiance is so overwhelming that only the death of Jesus Christ would do to make our recovery possible in His name and by His power. III. THE LIKENESS INTO WHICH WE ARE TRANSFORMED

--In order to gain a better understanding of what the image of God in us was supposed to be like, the New Testament explains what we are going to be like when Jesus Christ transforms us into His image when He redeems us and gives us new life in His name. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. A. AN IMMEDIATE CHANGE --When we put of faith in Jesus Christ, there is an immediate change. Colossians 1:13-14 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. --That life-changing transfer from death to life occurs the moment we give our lives to Christ and He changes us forever. --Out of all that was lost of our likeness to the Lord, Jesus Christ will make an immediate change in our lives in a number of ways. 1. Made Alive --One of the most tragic consequences of our fall from God was that now we all are spiritually dead and have no life in us that can relate in any way to the Living God. 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. Colossians 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 2. Made New --If you have ever wondered why some people are in tune with spiritual concerns and others have no interest, no connection, no reference point, it is because we are dead to such things until God works in us through Christ to make us alive. --Having lost the image of God, our old nature consists of decidedly unattractive, unhealthy, unwholesome characteristics which are the antithesis of all that God created us to be. --Therefore, by coming to Christ, we can expect that that old nature will be replaced by something entirely new, something missing in human nature since the fall. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him --All of us have longed for a second chance at some point in our lives, and in Christ we have been given the ultimate second chance, a chance for Him to put off the old and put on the new! 3. Made Righteous --So we put on the new self and are made new, and that newness consists of characteristics that were intended to reflect God s image in us.

--So in Christ, we are made righteous once again, just as we were created to be at the beginning. Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. --We were created that way, lost it, and now as new creatures in Christ, we are given His righteousness our lives are SET RIGHT, established on what is not just good, but the best. 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. --So we put on the new life in Christ and He makes His righteousness become ours so that as the Father sees us, He does not see what we used to be, but He sees the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 4. Made Holy --The image of God in us at creation set us apart as pure, holy, undefiled, unstained by anything evil. --The defiling impact of our fall into sin caused us to become unholy and our lives filled with impurity no longer SET APART to live distinctively for the glory of God. Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. --Again, the original design was for us to reflect the holy nature of our Creator as we were created in and for holiness. --Now it is possible to come once again to a life of holiness through Christ to be like Christ. 5. Made True 1 Peter 1:15-16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. --One of the most damaging aspects of the loss of God s image is our inability to embrace truth and live by it. --Most of our lives we live according to carefully crafted lies which shape our thinking and our behavior in ways that are often cruel and harsh. ILLUS. Even those of us who never saw the movie have heard the line by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men: You can t handle the truth! In fact, we have gotten so used to living with what is not true, we are not sure we would know what to do if we suddenly found ourselves with the capacity to recognize it and build our lives on it. Examples: That we can do enough good to earn God s forgiveness and favor that people are essentially good that protecting our rights is more important than practicing what is right that our worth and acceptance are based on our performance, not our personhood and so on.

--So once we recover what we lost and the image of God begins to be restored in us, two very important changes take place: a. In What We Know John 8:32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. --Our eyes begin to awaken to the truth of life as God designed it, complete with a vision of how wondrously He has created all things to reflect His glory and His attention to every detail, from the largest to the smallest elements of creation, from the biggest issues among the nations to the smallest worries in our hearts. --When we discover the truth about God, life begins to make sense in a way that it cannot apart from Him. b. In How We Think --Not only does what we get to know generate a new level of enthusiasm and excitement about life with the Lord, we also are given a new way of thinking. --Paul reminds us that apart from a changed life, we cannot think properly and consider truth with a genuine appreciation. 1 Corinthians 2:14, 16b The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned But we have the mind of Christ. --Therefore, in Christ we recover the ability to think godly thoughts and assess all things in their proper relationships to what is always true. Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. --Our thinking is made true, just the way God meant it to be when we were created in His image! 6. Made Glorious --We once were accurate reflections of God s glory when we bore His image, but now through the grace of Christ and His power to transform us, we can be conformed to His glory again. Philippians 3:21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. --All things were created for His glory and as Christ restores us to His image in us, we are going to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory into his likeness with everincreasing glory (NIV) from one degree of glory to another (ESV) --The next time you feel sorry for yourself and feel inclined to complain about all that you do not have by way of natural talent, attractiveness, intelligence or whatever consider that God has made you glorious in His eyes, and that ultimately is all that matters! 7. Made Powerful

--Do you ever feel powerless to change anything, to do anything important or signficant, even to succeed in the most basic elements of living in obedience to the Lord? --God assures us that apart from Him, your assessment is accurate, but that in Him all things are possible you are powerful in Christ to do anything He expects of you! Philippians 3:21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. --The exertion of the power that He has to make all things news includes the power to enable and equip you to recapture the wonder life was intended to hold for you. --He provides the ability to accomplish everything that matters in this life because the power of Christ dwells in you you have the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in you. Luke 24:49 And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. --So it is our privilege to be transformed from impotent, powerless creatures who only rarely have the strength to do what God desires and what would showcase His image in us transformed to powerful men and women who not only believe every word of the gospel as true but we have the power now to demonstrate God s glory in all things we do. --The immediate impact of the power of Jesus Christ at work in those who believe in Him is that all things that were lost are now being recovered, bit by bit, from glory to glory. Colossians 1:9-11 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, --Dear friends, that is what we want for you! B. AN ULTIMATE CHANGE 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. u Made Like Him, Complete and Mature in Christ --At the end of time, we will be made complete like Him, mature in Christ. --No, we will not gain deity! That is not what it means to bear His image and be made in His likeness. --But our hearts will be like His our minds will be shaped in the image of His even our bodies will be glorious like the resurrected and glorified body of Jesus Christ. CONCLUSION: The ultimate question we each must ask ourselves is this do we want to recover what was lost? Do we want to be restored to what God intended when He created us? In each of us there is a longing for something more an element that will satisfy our sense that something is missing in our lives. Blaise Pascal (17 th Century French mathematician, philosopher and physicist) described that something in this way: There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.

God wants to fill that vacuum and restore all that was lost of His image in us. The only way to do that is to have our relationship with Him restored, to recover what was lost when sin destroyed that relationship. Today if you want to experience His forgiveness and receive His free gift of eternal life, His way is to put your trust and hope in Jesus Christ. If you do, would you pray with me? Admit that you need Him Confess your sin to Him and commit to turn away from it Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and give you His gracious gift of eternal life Thank Him for His mercy in giving you a second chance and the opportunity to live a new life in Christ If you have done that, please join the others around you in taking a moment to fill out the tear-out portion of your bulletin and check on there that you received Christ as Savior this morning or that you want to do so but would like some help in understanding more about it. The rest of you who know Christ already, let me tell you something encouraging! Last week over 380 slips were turned in with the names of people you want to know Christ, people for whom you requested prayer. If you have other names you want to include, please join those around you in filling that information in on the other side of that tear-out slip. While the worship team sings, would you take a moment to do that? November 23, 2008 Providence Baptist Church David Horner 2008 Sermon outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication. They may be used for preaching and teaching purposes, but may not be published or sold.