November 18, 2013
Central Truth
If we want to be like God, we should be like Jesus. Jesus is the exact representation of God's nature.
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”?
Or again,
“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God's angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
10 And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
12
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
1
1:12
Some manuscripts omit like a garment
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”
13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
God says that Jesus is an exact representation of Him. Jesus is God, and He is perfect. I know that we are not perfect, but we should all try to be more like God. If we want to be more like God, we should just try to be like Jesus. We should act like Jesus is standing next to us.
The Bible tells us that we are not perfect like He is (Romans 3:10, 23). We are all sinners. And the punishment we deserve is death (Romans 6:23). But Jesus died for us so we could be cleansed of our sins and have the gift of eternal life (Romans 5:16-2, 6:23). He did this because He loves us. We should be more like Him because of this.
So, look at it this way: If your favorite sports stars or people you admire make a great play or do something incredible, you'll probably want to be like them. You will try to imitate them and do what they do and be like them. I do this with Tim Tebow. I try to imitate his touchdown dance. I praise him for how good he is. I try to be as good a quarterback as he is.
We should do that with Jesus. He is awesome, and He did great things that we should try to reflect. We should try to imitate Jesus and worship and praise Him.
1. Who is someone you admire? Do you try to be like this person? If so, why and how?
2. Should you admire Jesus and be just like Him?
3. Are you daily trying to be more like Jesus? If not, what can you do to be more like Him?
4. Think of five things Jesus did that are amazing.