The Daily Word of Righteousness

So Great Salvation, #6

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)

What is man?

Man is a son of God. Until we are born again we are not sons of God, neither can we see or enter the Kingdom of God. No human being is authorized to receive the extraordinary inheritance of "man" until he or she receives Christ, believing Him to be Lord and Savior.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2)

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)

Each true saint has been born of woman (son of man) and has been born of God (son of God). We must be born twice if we are to receive the salvation promised to the elect of God.

Being "born again" is not a mere figure of speech. We actually have been born of God. The Divine Nature is in us if we truly are God's children.

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)

If we never have been born of God, Christ cannot call us "brothers." But now we are the brothers of Christ.

For both he [Jesus] that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified [the saints] are all of one: for which cause he [Jesus] is not ashamed to call them brethren, (Hebrews 2:11)

The sons of God are portrayed in part by the "flying eagle," of Revelation 4:7. Man was not created to grovel in the mud of the earth but to soar in the heavens with his Father.

What is man?

Man is the image of God. Each of the elect has been predestined to be in the image of Christ.

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. (Romans 8:29)

In the beginning God declared that man is to be in His image. No animal on the earth is in the image of God. Only "man" is in the image of God. The saints have been predestined from the foundation of the world to be in the image of God.

We do not as yet behold men in the image of God, which is the image of Christ, but we do see Jesus. Our change into the image of Christ, as is true of the other four dimensions of our inheritance, was established when the world was created.

God has finished the work and now He is resting. We are not to go about working our works, attempting to be "like Christ." God from the beginning has said He would make us in His image. No person can succeed in being "like Christ." Only God's Holy Spirit can create anyone in Christ's image. Therefore we are to cease from our works and enter God's rest.

The reason we must "labor" to enter God's rest is that there are so many "enemies in our land of promise"—enemies that would provoke and distract us as we seek to work out the salvation that God gave to us in the beginning.

To be continued.