Jesus, Our Coveralls

How to books are very popular, e.g.

• Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (Paperback) , 
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity 
• How to Win Friends and Influence People (Paperback)

The list goes on and on. We're dealing with a question 1000x more important than any of the above. We ask, How can the Image of God be restored within us? Jesus, the very Image of the immortal God and Father of us all, is doing this for and in us. We continue our study of that how, borrowing from our venerable father in the faith, Athanasius of Alexandria .

We've learned in previous blogs that only Jesus, the Image of the Father, can re-create the likeness of the Image in us men. He alone can give us mortals immortality. The more we study what He did and continues to do, the more that Image is restored. Paul writes, 

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Cor 3:17-18 ESV

And again, 

"The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. - 1 Cor 15:45 ESV

The freedom we have in Christ is freedom from the fear of being punished for our sins by eternal death. In Christ we are adopted into the Father's family. The Spirit of Christ in our hearts constantly bears witness to that truth. In our joy we are empowered to cry out in our hearts, "I am a child of my heavenly Papa, my Father! (Isa. 61:1; Rom. 8:2, 15-16; Gal. 4:6). The Spirit of Christ is power within us. He gives us power to love as He loves. He enables us to bring even this sin-filled body under control. He is at work to restore the image of God within us. 

The Spirit of Christ within us is life itself. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, points this out as He says to us and to all, 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - Jhn 10:10 ESV

Since we are alive in Christ we are unafraid of death. We despise it, because it cannot threaten or harm us any longer. It has no strength. Death is our enemy completely conquered by the rightful monarch. Death is now bound hand and foot, locked safely up in God's federal prison. TV cameras are constantly scanning everything death does. We sneer at it and mock it. "Hey Death, where is your victory now? Hello Mr. Grave, where is your sting now? Hah!" 

To illustrate, consider that some people must work in conditions where their clothing might catch on fire. To protect themselves they wear fire resistant coveralls, as pictured above. Both the outward and the inward lining of such clothing is flame resistant. With such coveralls on the worker's fear of being burned alive is largely gone. 

In the same way, clothed with Christ, we walk confidently about in this world, unafraid of what the so-called god of it may do to us. Satan cannot harm us. The power to condemn us to death is gone. For millions death remains strong and terrible. But Christ by His coming, by His death and the resurrection of His body, has destroyed it. He is our coverall. We walk about unafraid. Death and the devil cannot harm us. 

Yesterday I read a book that tries to analyze why Christianity is losing influence among so many here in America. The author's point is that we no longer proclaim the depth and power of our faith. We have settled for things like the prosperity gospel or the social gospel. This is bad religion. No wonder that unbelievers mock and despise us.

It is high time that we returned to the only religion that is not religion at all, but the Word of God. Consider this Word, take it again into your heart and share it wherever you can. We are in Christ. He is our very clothing and when we take off the clothing that is this body we will be clothed forever with Him who is our life. Here's how the Apostle puts it. 

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. - 2Cr 5:1-7 ESV

Ponder this fact. Live in Christ who is your coverall. Do that and you will be changed—today and forever!