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Created in the image of God.

• God’s original intent for mankind – Genesis 1:26 (NKJV) – Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
• He is love – 1 John 4:8 (NKJV) – He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
• He is Spirit and truth – John 4:24 (NKJV) – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
• He is high and lifted up – Isaiah 6:1 (NKJV) – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. – (Ephesians 5:18 is the new covenant equivalent)
• He is holy and set apart – Psalms 99:5 (NKJV) – Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool—He is holy.

How are we to obtain this image?  It is a process and that process is called sanctification.

• First it is God’s will for our lives – 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NLT) – God’s will is for you to be holy (sanctified), so stay away from all sexual sin.
• Second, sanctification is a process – Hebrews 12:14 – Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy (sanctified), life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
• And our target of the sanctification process is the image of God Himself, Jesus Christ – Colossians 2:9 – For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

Sanctification requires three things, the three H’s – humility, hunger, Holy Spirit.

• Humility gives the recognition that we have yet to have arrived – Psalm 34:18 NKJV ^– The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
• Hunger gives us the determination to go for it – Matthew 5:6 (AMP) – Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.
• The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to be it, His image – John 14:16-17a (NLT) – And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.

Romans 8:1-3 (NKJV) – There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, whodo not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.

His image is the destination yet unattainable.

• We are being changed/transformed as we go from glory to glory – 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) – So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

We are all called to be image bearers for Jesus!* The message corresponding to this post is under “media” on this site – dhfirstag.org– and is available on Monday