Consider This Thought:
Imagine a dog that insists it is a cat for reasons of its own. It mimics feline grace and independence, even purring in its clumsy way. This charade works well enough in the backyard, fooling the occasional curious onlooker. But one day, the dog encounters a lion. In the presence of true majesty, the pretense falls apart.
Agent:“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” — (Genesis 1:26, emphasis mine NASB95)
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Goal:“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God.” — (2 Corinthians 5:17–18a, DLC)
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Action:“God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” — (2 Corinthians 5:18b–19, emphasis mine NASB95)
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Conclusion:As objects of God’s reconciliation, we live a new identity. We are ambassadors reconciling the world to Christ by calling others to accept Christ as their life and identity, and we are also called sons of God. What is a son of God?
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” — (Matthew 5:9, NASB95)
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” — (Romans 8:14, NASB95) |
Key Verses:“The one who has been united to the Lord is one Spirit.”
— (1 Corinthians 6:17, DLC) “So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” — (1 Corinthians 15:45, NASB95) |
Questions:
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