REAL 43 - WHAT JESUS LOOKS LIKE?

WHAT JESUS LOOKS LIKE?

Dr John Eckhardt

Hello, REAL participants. Good to finally be with you.

I thought it good to comment on what Jesus 'looks like', as he is the standard to whom we attain, and the image that we are being conformed to by Holy Spirit (according to Romans 8).

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:14, 16-17, 29-30 NIV

The Gospels reveal Jesus as a King, Warrior, Sage and Lover. As such, Jesus the Christ is the exact representation of Father, in whose image and likeness Adam/Eve were originally fashioned.

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,” Ephesians 4:11 NIV

The goal of the 5-fold ministry, according to Ephesians chapter 4, is to equip and ready us until we all attain... to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Which means until we ALL look like  God's first born son in His fullness as the Christ. (Incidentally, this is MY definition of Christian. Also note that it is free from any religious connotations).

This is about being 'little christs' in the Kingdom of our Father.

A king exercises dominion by blessing and ordering. As a citizen of God's Kingdom and member of the royal family, this is both my privilege and responsibility.

And so it is with the Sage, Lover and Warrior.... as Christ is all 4 of these, so am I. Not my religious make-up... but my in Him reality!

Luke 2:40 says "the Child continued to grow strong in wisdom, and grace was upon Him..."

It is encouraging that Jesus grew in wisdom, because we too must grow to become the sages we are born again to be.

By the age of 12, adulthood in the Hebrew culture, when young Jesus was considered to be a man, He had reached a stature of wisdom where he surpassed the sages of His day. (The scribes were the sages, expert seasoned lawyers and judges of the day). 

“After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:46-52 NIV

Holy Spirit is fashioning us into the likeness of the fulness of Christ, a Sage, the embodiment of all wisdom and understanding. 

You may not consider yourself very wise today, but that does not change the fact that Holy Spirit is working overtime to make you like Jesus the Christ. Let's be patient and press in all the more for wisdom!