How to Develop the Character of Christ
Dear Believer,
One of the first things we learn when we are born again is we are supposed to be transformed into the likeness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is our destiny:
29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren ...
Romans 8:29
18But 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.
2 Corinthians 3:18
What is that image we are to be transformed into? Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15. “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” Hebrews 1:3.
The Greek term, "charakter," is what is translated as “exact representation” in Hebrews 1:3, where Jesus is said to be the exact representation of the Father’s nature. This is the word used of the impression made by a stamp which made identical copies of coins bearing the likeness of Caesar or other persons.
Thus, Jesus is an exact copy of the Father, and we in turn are destined to become a copy of Jesus. Is that just a ‘fair’ copy? Can we only hope to bear a rough resemblance? Of course not. We are to become just like our Lord. But how so?
Our character (Grk. “dokimēn”) is who and what we are in our innermost being, what the Bible usually calls our Heart. From it flows all our predispositions to think, speak, act and not act, in any of the circumstances we might find ourselves. Our outward words and actions prove what our inner character is. We are called to develop the very character of Christ.
It would be wonderful if, once we got saved, we would all automatically have the character of Jesus. But it is obvious we do not. In fact, in many ways we seem to retain much of the character we had before we were saved.
This is why we must seek ways to entreat God to change us in our character. We need to find out what the Bible says about what we can do to be transformed into the likeness of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Below are some Means or Methods various writers have suggested we can appropriate or utilize to engender our becoming like Jesus:
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Look at the glory of Christ and increasingly love Him more
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Faithfully handle difficulties/circumstances of life
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Faithfully handle discipline from the Lord
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Use the Bible with or without Prayer
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Use Bible, Prayer, Surrender, Reckoning oneself dead to sin and Offer the Members of one’s Body to Righteousness
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Be transformed by the Renewing of the Mind
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Walk by Faith in the Promises of God
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Be Filled with the Spirit/Walk in the Spirit
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Use Other Biblically Identifiable Spiritual Disciplines
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Mortify Sins
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Repent
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Use Bible Inspired Disciplines, Applying Spiritual Wisdom
This is not an exhaustive list, and it is unlikely most of us use only one of these means or methods to become more Christlike. But it is plain, unless we are doing nothing to become like Jesus, that our practical sanctification is a process we enter into through some means or method.
Now, I recommend all of these methods to participate in becoming more like Jesus. However, if the Spirit is leading you to get to the heart of your spiritual makeover quickly and deeply, there is a method not on that list. It is a discipline called Thoroughgoing Repentance, which is (12) a Bible Inspired Discipline, aimed at Heart-Level (11) Repentance.
If you want to exponentially speed up your growth at the deepest levels, pick up my brand new book,
How to Really Get Real
About Sanctification
The Top Ten Reasons Why
Thoroughgoing Repentance
is
the DEEPEST & FASTEST Way
to Engender Spiritual Growth
1. It Proactively Seeks the Lord and Receives From Him on a Specific
Growth Issue;
2. It Aims Directly at the Heart as to that Specific Growth Issue;
3. It Roots Out What in the Heart Is Blocking Growth for that individual
Believer;
4. It Instantiates Into the Heart What Causes Growth on that Specific
Growth Issue;
5. It Seeks to Exhaustively Exchange the Old Self for the New Self as to that
Growth Issue;
6. It Retains Focus on that Particular Growth Issue Until Overcoming Victory
is Achieved;
7. It Involves Follow -Through with Acts in Keeping with Repentance;
8. It Involves Confrontation of What Keeps Us From Following-Through;
9. It Involves Follow-Up Through Perseverance; and
10. After Overcoming Victory, it Proactively Seeks the Lord to Deal with All
Other Growth Issues of that individual Believer.
See the book on
Thoroughgoing Repentance:
How to Really
Get Real About Sanctification
C.A. Sparrow