“…To be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (KJ)—Romans 8:29
Why do I stress and worry? Why do I feel like I have somehow failed when I can’t remember things that the Lord showed me in the mists of dreams… or when I do not understand them. Why do I feel so anxious about getting the works accomplished that He created for me to walk in before He created the foundations of the earth? He assures me that His grace is sufficient for all my needs. —Has He not commanded us to be anxious for nothing? Has He not said that He is mindful that we are but dust? We are to walk in the power of His might and by His Spirit… for are we not but clay? What can clay do?
“And God said Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” And the LORD God used clay… dirt. We are formed from the dust of the earth. Jesus signaled that twice. —Once, when He wrote in the dirt with His finger; The very hands that formed the men who threw the adulteress before Him; and He knew the imaginations of their minds. Out of clay, out of dirt they were formed by the very One they wanted to kill. —And again when Jesus made a paste of mud with the dirt beneath His feet and some spittle… and He mixed it with His fingers and gently applied the paste to the eyes of the blind man, that he may see… The Creator creating life from that which has no life in itself.
Every time a flower or a blade of grass or tree or even a weed grows from the ground, life is coming forth from that which is not life in itself. Man, and all the animals came from the ground, formed by the hands that made the stars and calls them forth by name. Yet what star, what angel, cherub or other creature did God the Father call His Son, or say, “I will make him like unto Myself… in My image and Likeness?”
No wonder Lucifer, “The anointed cherub that covereth” the one so perfect in beauty and wisdom, until iniquity was found in him, was jealous! He wanted to rise to the throne of God! He wanted to rule! He wanted to be like God; yet there was no way that he could do that, and he mounted an angelic rebellion against God when he was cast down. Elohim did not create Lucifer to be like Himself, but Lucifer / Satan wanted to be like Elohim! Satan wanted the glory and honor that belongs only to God. Yet, man rebels by not conforming into the image and likeness of the Father God who created him! Man, made of dirt, was intended to be in the image and likeness of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
When we submit unto God, that is the work, the training, refining and cleansing that is being done in our soul and spirit! It is His purpose for us—to make us more than what we are now! He desires to transform us into His image and likeness, as sons and daughters. When we rebel, we say, “We do not want to be like God!” So we turn away and follow after the serpent whose great transgression, who’s great sin and rebellion arose out of his desire to become more! He wanted to be like GOD!
What an irony! In our rebellion, we follow a fallen, corrupted being who can never, and was never intended to be like God, and rebelled against his station in heaven. He was the highest angel; but could never become more that what he was. His rebellion was in seeking to be what he was not created to be! We rebel against what we were created to become–formed into the image and likeness of Elohim!—The very thing Satan covets but can never, ever attain!
In other words, we were created to be everything that Lucifer wanted to be! No wonder he leads those who are enslaved to the darkness and ignorance, who have no idea of who or what they really are into murder, sexual perversions and filthy acts of every kind! When he looks at his multitudes of sinner slaves, he knows what we were supposed to be! He knows we are fools!! —Because who but a fool would not want to be clothed in glory and light and perfection and to share the inheritance of the SON of GOD Himself? So in his hatred of God and man, he seeks to corrupt and profane his slaves by every means possible.
That is what we have done in our own rebellion against God! We have thrown off the robe of righteousness He would have us wear as we learn to seek Him and the ways of righteousness and the Kingdom in which we have an inheritance! We said, “We will not have this man rule over us!” (Luke 19:11-27) We chose for ourselves the deceptions and lies offered by a dark, profane fallen angel. As a result, we were born into the slave camp of sin..into the tents of the enemy of God. And by the manifold deceptions and lies of the enemy, far too many remain enslaved in that camp; believing themselves to be “free.”
Yet, we are not his; we are still the children of God the Father, if we would receive His offer of sonship! He already paid the full ransom price to redeem each and every one of His children and He calls us home to His open arms. He pleads with us to come to Him. He holds forth a white robe, the ring of sonship…the privileges of royalty: Riches and honor, love and peace and wisdom and joy are His to give in abundance. And we choose wallowing in the filth of our flesh; hungry, starving, thirsty, sick, diseased, hurt, abandoned… tortured by grief and fear. Our evil Overlord convinces us that God is our enemy; that He wants to enslave us, God is bad, and the slime that we are in is good, and we believed his lie. He laughs at our ignorance and helplessness without the One who came to save us. He laughs as each and every one who believes him, dies… without the love of the Father who created them to be like Himself.
It is the most depraved and tragic reality there can be! We do not realize that Lucifer, Satan, craves, and is jealous for what we are! —For who and what God created us to be! Yes, Lucifer had great honor and beauty and power and wisdom… but that is nothing at all in comparison to being a Son! No matter the status of angels and other beings… they are not Sons! They have no inheritance of the Father! That is the crux of it…
*See Isaiah 14: 12-20 and Ezekiel 28: 12-19
We rebel from what we were created to be and become depraved slaves of Satan, who wanted to be like us! He rebelled because he wanted to be like God…That is how God created us to become!
So, how do we return to our original purpose? We simply turn back! Lift up your head like the prodigal son in the pig pen! Say, I have sinned! I will return to my Father’s house for He is good! I will receive His redemption and ask forgiveness! I want to be conformed into the image and likeness of Christ! We know that if we will confess our sins, and return to Him, He is faithful and just to take us back as His beloved children, and renew us! There is no strain, and no anxiety over it, it is a work that He does by His Holy Spirit at work in us. It is a work of His grace, not our flesh. Becoming like Him is not something we can do. It is something He does for us… an incredible priceless gift! What a wonderful amazing incredible Heavenly Father we have! –That He should call us His sons and daughters!
“Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children. The reason the world doesn’t recognize who we re is that they didn’t recognize him. Beloved, we are God’s children right now; however, it is not yet apparent what we will come. But we do know that when it is finally made visible, we will be just like him, for we will see him as he truly is.” (Passion Translation)— 1John 3:1-2
Scripture References
Isaiah 14:4-24, Ezekiel 28, Genesis 1: 25-31, Genesis 2: 7-25, Acts 16: 24-29