Be Christlike

If I show you my biological son, what would you expect of the traits that make up who he is? You would expect for him to look like me and act like me. If I showed you somebody else’s son and told you it is my son, but that person looks nothing like me, what would you conclude? That person is not my child. In the same way, if someone is a Christian, who should they look like? Christ. If someone doesn’t look like Christ, what would you conclude? There’s a strong chance they aren’t a Christian.

The apostle John says in 1 John 2:6: “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” In other words, if we claim to be a Christian, we must be Christlike.

I want us to think about the importance of this. Our Christlikeness matters in the purposes of God from the eternal past, in the present, and into the eternal future.

We see Christlikeness is the eternal predestinating purpose of God in Romans 8:29:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

We see His present transformation of us by the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

We see in eternity future we will be with Christ and like Christ, forever. 1 John 3:2:

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

These are past, present, and future realities relating to our Christlikeness from the purposes of God. Do you think it matters that we are Christlike? The answer is, yes. Remember back to 1 John 2:6; if we abide in him, we ought to walk in the same way he walked. Well, what is the way he walked? How do we see that? We see it clearly in His incarnation.

Philippians 2:3-8:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Some ways we are like Christ in his incarnation are humility (Phil 2:6-8); service (John 13); love (Eph 5:2); patient endurance (1 Pet 2:19-20); His mission (John 20:21; 17:18).

John Stott, the great British Anglican evangelical leader, gave his final address at the age of 86. And he knew it was going to be his final address. Of all the topics he could have spoken on, such as the magnificence of the cross of Christ, like his book of that title, “The Cross of Christ,” which is now a Christian classic, Stott chose this very topic, of Christlikeness,[1] seeing it of that great importance. In it, he included three practical consequences of Christlikeness:

Firstly, Christlikeness and the mystery of suffering. Suffering is part of God’s process of making us like Christ.

Romans 8:28-29 – 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Secondly, Christlikeness and the challenge of evangelism. Christians need to look like what they are talking about. We cannot expect the world to want the Christ that we look nothing like and if we live hypocritically. Our Christlikeness matters for our witness to the world who needs Christ. And the whole world needs Christ!

Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Third, Christlikeness and the indwelling of the Spirit. In our own strength, Christlikeness is not attainable, but God has given us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to change us from within.

Philippians 2:13 – for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We are all dirty rotten sinners (Rom 3:10-11, 23; 1 John 1:8; James 3:2). None of us can look like Christ on our own (John 15:5). We are illegitimate children. Children of wrath (Eph 2:3). But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loves us (Eph 2:4-5), makes us new creations (2 Cor 5:17), calls us sons and daughters (Gal 3:26), and conforms us to His image (Rom 8:29, 2 Cor 3:18).

Let’s live like who we are. 1) Because it’s who Christ has made us through the cross. 2) Because the world needs the Christ we are supposed to look like. If the world doesn’t see Christ through you, who are they going to see Him through?

[1]https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/the-model-becoming-more-like-christ