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Introduction
I am Kyle Linville, the pastor of discipleship here at Grace.
We are in our final week of a three week study on discipleship and intentional community.
Two weeks ago, we talked together about what it means to be created in God’s image.
Being created in God’s Image actually tells us about our purpose in life - we are the visible representatives of the invisible God.
God sent Jesus as the perfect image of God and is using all things in our life to conform us into the image of God.
Discipleship is how we grow to be more like Christ.
God uses discipleship to restore us to our original purpose - representing him to the world!
Last week we saw that discipleship happens over time and it involves growing in three areas: knowing, loving and serving.
We saw that Paul’s life was changed by a conviction that led to love that lead to action.
We grow in Christ by knowing, loving, and serving.
We grow in Christ by knowing, loving, and serving.
This morning, I want to conclude our series by looking at the path of discipleship.
Discipleship is a life long journey.
We will never be completely conformed to the image of Christ on this side of heaven, but we can continue to grow towards that.
There are four key characteristics of that path - of the journey of becoming more like Christ.
I think that as we strive to grow in these areas, it will help us in our walk down that path together.
The Path of Discipleship is Progressive
The first characteristic of the path of discipleship is that it is progressive.
The path of discipleship is progressive.
Paul says in
I shared this passage with you last week.
This is a beautiful conclusion to a beautiful passage about the New Covenant in Christ.
There is a lot more that could be said, but I want to focus on what this passage has to say about discipleship.
I want us to notice four things.
We are beholding the glory of the Lord (as in a mirror)
We are being transformed into the image of God
We are bring transformed into the image of God from glory to glory
by the Spirit
First, we are beholding the glory of the Lord.
This passage describes an incredible life-altering, character-shaping transformation in our lives.
We are being conformed into the image of God.
And what is our main contribution to this transformation?
We look.
We look at what? Christ through the gospel - through the Word of God.
And what do we see?
The glory of God.
Our primary role in this transformation is to keep our eyes fixed on God through his word.
In this passage, this is really the only thing we do.
We look.
Next, we see that we are being transformed into the same image.
What is the result of beholding the glory of God?
We are transformed into the image of God.
The incredible reality of the Scripture is that it changes people.
We look to it, we see God and we are either hardened to God’s truth, or we become more like Christ.
As we see God for who he is, we cannot help but want to be like him.
John says this:
When we see Jesus in heaven we will be like him (completely).
When we see him in his word (as in a mirror), we become a little bit more like him each time.
Third, We are being transformed into the image of God from glory to glory.
That transformation is incremental.
When we see Christ in all of his glory in heaven, we will be perfectly conformed into his image, but until then it is a growing process.
We are being shaped, step by step, as we catch glimpses of his glory through his word.
Finally, we are being transformed into the image of God by his Spirit.
This is not our work; we are not able to accomplish this on our own.
The good news is that we do not have to!
As believers, we have the Holy Spirit in our life.
This gives us so much confidence in this process.
I don’t have to rely on myself to get this done.
I drop the ball.
I am sinful.
I am not that skillful.
The Holy Spirit though?
He is able!
I am confident that God will accomplish this transformation because it is not resting in my power, but in the power of God.
This passage gives us a picture of the progressive nature of discipleship.
First we see our goal; we are being transformed into the image of God.
There is a clear goal of Christ-likeness and there is real progress being made along the way.
There is noticeable movement towards that goal.
We are growing towards something.
Discipleship has an aim, a focus, a destination.
The path of discipleship is a path of growth.
We are being transformed into the image of God.
There is a clear goal of Christ-likeness and there is real progress being made along the way.
There is noticible movement towards that goal.
We are growing towards something.
Discipleship has an aim, a focus, a destination.
The path of discipleship is a path of growth.
So we ask ourselves, are we growing in Christ?
Is our life characterized by growth in our spiritual lives?
If you look back over your life as a believer, do you see yourself becoming more like Christ over time?
Do you keep the end goal in your mind?
Do you think about how you are supposed to become more like Christ?
Having the end in mind can bring the steps into focus.
Without a goal, the steps you take may feel like wandering aimlessly.
So, the path of discipleship is progressive, and it is also disciplined.
The Path of Discipleship is Disciplined
When we looked at the message in , the emphasis was on God’s work in our transformation.
And God is at work in our transformation, but we also respond to him.
We put ourselves in the path of his transformation.
Discipleship is something we also participate in and work for.
After Paul’s big discussion on, we are saved by grace through faith, not of works so that no one may boast he say this,
God has called us to good works.
What we do matters.
And growing in Christ involves skills that we must develop.
If we want to develop a skill, we know we are going to have to practice.
If we want to learn to play an instrument, we know that we will have to practive a lot in order to be good at it.
To compete in a sport, an athlete doesn’t just show up on competition day.
1 Tim
[Olympic discipline?]
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