God's Purpose: Part 2

Living for the simple things in life: God's Purpose Part 1

To conform us to Christ:

The secret is this, simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you bringing with him the hope of all the glorious things to come.Colossians 1:27

God sent His Son to show us His glory and to purchase our redemption. God's heart, as our Father, is for us to come to Him through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as His Son and His death on the cross as purification of our sins. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we become new creations and Christ begins to live within us. Only as we are in Christ, can we hope to be what God intends. His purpose becomes real and transforming as we yield to the process He chooses for us to duplicate His character. God purchased our salvation and He continues His sanctifying work in us so that we will betransformed into His image and thereby glorify Him.

God desires for us to come to Him and to know Him. He loves us and has fully provided for our union with Him. The following Scriptures reveal how God has made it possible for us to be in relationship with Him.

John 5:24 His word tells us if we hear His word and believe in God we will have eternal Life. We will not come into judgement but pass from death into life.

Colossians 2: 9-10 In Christ (The supreme being) dwells all the fullness of the Deity. Because of this we posses the knowledge to live Godly lives. We have the knowledge and wisdom because of Christ we and live a life worthy of the lord Christ posses the fullness ofthedevine nature and attributes of the God-head, the supreme being. We can posses this through Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious and exalted; but "though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor."...Poverty must be enriched by Him in whom are infinite treasures before it can venture to commune; and guilt must lose itself in imputed and imparted righteousness ere the soul can walk in fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe His people in His own garments, or He cannot admit them into His palace or glory; and He must wash them in His own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of His fellowship. O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus "became poor" that He might lift you up into communion with Himself.
Charles H. Spurgeon

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, God's Spirit immediately begins to live within us. He also begins to work in our lives, for He has a plan for us.

This is what I got out of each of the following scripture.

Romans 8:29

For whom He fore knew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Predetermined to set His love on us and establish an intimate relationship with Him. He chose us to be conformed to the Image of Christ to be like Christ.

Ephesians 4:22-24

We are to put off the old-self and put on a new attitude a new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-7

God called us to live a holy life. We should control our body in a holy and honorable way. We should not live as those who do not have Christ. We should not be controlled by lust we should not take advantage of our brother we also should not live as the heathen do We are to be conformed to the image of Christ.

To be conformed to somethings means: To be or become of the same form, to comply with, to act in accordance with.

I want to be conformed to be like Christ. I don't have the power to posses this but God tells us He gives us the power through the blood shed of His Son that we can conform to the image of Christ.

The one marvellous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you." It is His wonderful life that is imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God's grace.
Oswald Chambers

God takes responsibility for our growth and sanctification.

Ephesians 2:10 We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do.

Philippians 1:3-6 We have a partnership in the gospel. He tells us we can be confident that He sho began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of christ return.

The word "Work" refers to God sactivity in saving us.

"Day of Christ Jesus" Refers to His return, when our salvation Will be brought to completion.

I accepted Christ as my personal Saviour in my late teens. I remember our pastor asking me at a revival "Do you believe that Jesus Chrsit is the Son of God and that He died for your sins?' I have sensed the Lord's presence in my life sense that very night.

As I have mentioned before, it wasn't until I was an adult that I began to understand that God wanted to conform me to the image of His Son. He used the birth of our twins to instill the fruits of the Spirit in me! What better way for me to learn patience, self-control, gentleness, kindness, love, joy, faithfulness, and goodness. It took a
while for me to receive peace. After Boaz was born I realized my great need to fully surrender my life to God and allow Him to begin to transform my life according to His plan.

I think that is what God is after-as our Father; He wants us to have a strong family resemblance to Him. He uses all sorts of ways to mold us and to bring us to dependence up Him. For some, this sanctifying process may involve not having children, not being married. For others its marriage, children, parents, jobs that God will use to conform us to the image of Christ.

God has purchased us by the blood of His Son and as a faithful Father, He desires us to grow in Christlikeness, which is the very best and the highest good for any of us.