Ephesians 4:11-16
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
The meaning of Becoming
1. Becoming more like Christ is God’s will for us.
Romans 8:29 “29 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.”
2. Becoming more like Christ is God’s work for us.
2 Corinthians 3:18 “18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”
3. Becoming more like Christ is the ultimate express of worship for God's glory
I John 3:2
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is
Three Dimensions
1. UP
2. IN
3. OUT
Three Perspectives
1. Past
2. Present
3. Future
Christian Life is about becoming like Him!