As I was
driving along yesterday, thinking of grace, the thought came of the motto of
the Navigators – “To know Christ and to make Him known.” …okay... ?? … That thought was soon followed by
another: “Your goal should be ‘to be conformed to the image of Christ.’” Oh …
ok.
I’ve thought
before on the purpose of life, of my life, and have considered the Navigators’
motto and other things:
·
I’ve heard the part of the Shorter Catechism
that is, “Man's
chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” (Looking this up on the internet yielded
this definition for “man’s chief end”: “The
chief end of man, is that which man ought to aim at or design, to desire, seek
after, and endeavor to obtain, as his chief good and happiness; unto which his
life and his actions should be referred and directed.” )
·
Micah 6:8 (KJV) says:
He
hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
·
And Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV) says:
13 Let us
hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.
So now I’m
considering Romans 8:28-30 (KJV), which says:
28 And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate,
them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he also glorified.
verb (used without
object)
1. to act in
accordance or harmony; comply (usually followed by to ): to conform
to rules.
2. to act in accord
with the prevailing standards, attitudes, practices, etc., of society or a
group: One has to conform in order to succeed in this company.
3. to be or become
similar in form, nature, or character.
4. to be in harmony or
accord.
5. to comply with the
usages of an established church, especially the Church of England.
verb (used
with object)
6. to make similar in
form, nature, or character.
7. to bring into
agreement, correspondence, or harmony.
The Greek word
used for “conformed” in Romans 8:29 (and also translated “fashioned like unto”
in Philippians 3:21), according to Strong’s concordance (for G4832 as found on www.blueletterbible.org) is similar
in meaning to current definition:
1) having the
same form as another, similar, conformed to
noun
1. a physical likeness
or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted,
sculptured, or otherwise made visible.
2. an optical
counterpart or appearance of an object,
as is produced by reflection from a mirror, refraction by a lens, or the
passage of luminous rays through a small aperture
and their reception on a surface.
3. a mental
representation; idea; conception.
4. Psychology . a mental
representation of something previously perceived, in the absence of the
original stimulus.
5. form; appearance;
semblance: We are all created in God's image.
6. counterpart; copy: That
child is the image of his mother.
7. a symbol; emblem.
8. the general or
public perception of a company, public figure, etc., especially as achieved by
careful calculation aimed at creating widespread goodwill.
9. a type; embodiment:
Red-faced and angry, he was the image of frustration.
10. a description of
something in speech or writing: Keats created some of the most beautiful
images in the language.
11. Rhetoric . a figure of
speech, especially a metaphor or a simile.
12. an idol or
representation of a deity: They knelt down before graven images.
13. Mathematics . the point or set
of points in the range corresponding to a designated point in the domain of a
given function.
14. Archaic. an illusion or
apparition.
Although used as a noun in Romans 8:29, it was also informative to me to consider the verb usage:
verb (used
with object)
16. to make an image
of; portray in sculpture, painting, etc.
17. to project
(photographs, film, etc.) on a surface: Familiar scenes were imaged on the
screen.
18. to reflect the
likeness of; mirror.
19. to set forth in
speech or writing; describe.
20. to symbolize;
typify.
21. to resemble.
22. Informal. to create an image
for (a company, public figure, etc.): The candidate had to be imaged before
being put on the campaign trail.
23. to transform (data)
into an exact replica in a different form, as changing digital data to pixels
for display on a CRT or representing a medical scan of a body part in digital
form.
The Greek
word used for “image” in Romans 8:29, according to Strong’s concordance (for
G1504 as found on www.blueletterbible.org)
means:
1) an image,
figure, likeness
a) an image of
the things (the heavenly things)
1) used of the
moral likeness of renewed men to God
2) the image of
the Son of God, into which true Christians are transformed, is likeness not
only to the heavenly body, but also to the most holy and blessed state of mind,
which Christ possesses
b) the image of
one
1) one in whom
the likeness of any one is seen
2) applied to man
on account of his power of command
3) to Christ on
account of his divine nature and absolute moral excellence
So, I continue
seeking Him as I depend upon God’s grace to empower and direct and transform me
as my chief end becomes “to be conformed to the image of Christ.”
… and my journey with Him continues …
No comments:
Post a Comment