Genesis
1:26 KJV And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis
5:1 KJV This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day
that God created man, in the likeness
of God made he him;
Philippians 2:7 KJV But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the
likeness of men:
Notice that God made man in His likeness and then after man fell into
sin, He made Himself into Man's Likeness.
- And this was the incarnation, God manifest in flesh.
- What people celebrate at Christmas time.
Let's discuss the plan and purpose for all of this.
2
Corinthians 3:18 KJV But we all, with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The word GLASS in this verse is actually MIRROR.
2
Corinthians 3:18 ASV But we all, with unveiled face beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
We are said to be able to look at the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
and be changed into the same image.
- This glory is in a MIRROR.
- When we look at Jesus, we are
looking in a mirror.
- The point is that what we are
looking at when we see Jesus, is a mirror image of ourselves.
- This is because our baptism
into His death kicked off a series of events wherein God caused us to
be dead, buried and resurrected THROUGH JESUS.
- All of the things Jesus
experienced when He died to sin, was buried, resurrected and ascended
to sit in heavenly places was suddenly in a moment considered to have
happened to us.
- We literally took on the
history of Jesus' experiences from the cross onward when we were saved.
Romans
6:3 KJV Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:3 GNB For surely you
know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were
baptized into union with his death.
Paul spoke of a veil over our hearts that came off when we looked to
Jesus.
- Now that this veil is off our
hearts, we are looking with our hearts to Jesus as though we were
looking in a mirror.
- Everyone who gets the veil
off their hearts and truly and genuinely looks at Jesus with eyes of
revelation, will suddenly see themselves when they see Him.
- They will get a revelation
that will explode in their spirits and come alive so powerfully that
they will be convinced and know that when Jesus died THEY ALSO DIED
WITH HIM.
- When He was risen, THEY ALSO
RESURRECTED WITH HIM.
- And When He ascended and sat
down on the right hand throne, they also ascended and they are right
now, presently, in that position of being seated with Christ in
heavenly places.
Compare:
Romans
6:10 KJV For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that
he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Romans 6:11 KJV Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Until you really put your heart into this truth and really get a
revelation, you are not looking at Jesus like looking in a mirror.
When he is no longer just a story and no longer the Son of God whom you
know who died, was buried, resurrected and sat down on the throne all
by Himself, you will see Him as A MIRROR.
- You will see that YOU died,
were buried and risen to sit in heavenly places when He did, because
you realize THAT IS THE ENTIRE REASON HE EXPERIENCED THOSE THINGS.
- Too many only see Him as
having died alone on the cross and was buried to rise and go to glory
to the throne.
- They do not have the
revelation of their co-death and co-burial and co-resurrection to
experience a co-seating with Him.
- They do not look at Him as a
mirror.
He did not have to come to earth and die, get buried and resurrect in
order to sit on the throne of glory.
- He did that before He was
ever incarnated in the world.
- But it was because we lost
that position of glory that He did this.
- He cast Adam out of the
Garden and removed Adam's glory and dominion from him.
- And in order to get man back
to this place, He came down as a man so that He could die the deaths
that all of us had to experience due to our sin.
Hebrews
2:14-15 GNB Since the children, as he calls them, are people of
flesh and blood, Jesus himself
became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so
that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power
over death, (15) and in this way set free those who were
slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.
Philippians
2:6-9 GNB He always had the nature of God, but he did not think
that by force he should try to remain equal with God. (7)
Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took
the nature of a servant. He became like
a human being and appeared in human likeness. (8) He
was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--- his
death on the cross. (9) For this reason God raised him to
the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any
other name.
But He took that death penalty AND AS TERRIBLE AS IT WAS, HE MADE IT
THE MOST WONDERFUL THING WE COULD EVER KNOW.
- He made our death penalty His
own death penalty.
2
Corinthians 5:14 GNB We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that
we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means
that they all share in his death.
Since we had to die a death penalty due to our sins, He took all those
sins of ours and died all our death penalties in one fell swoop instead
of us.
- And because He united to our
deaths and united Himself to our sins, He who unites to someone also
causes that someone to unite to Him.
- So this union caused us to
unite to His goodness and His righteousness.
2
Corinthians 5:21 GNB Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him
share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the
righteousness of God.
He took our sins in this union that he never personally knew before,
and we took His righteousness that we personally never knew before.
- And since He died with all
our sins united to Himself, that of every man, woman and child who
lived or ever would live, when He died, He paid for it all.
- And once something is paid
for in total, it never has to be paid for again,
- Therefore, because He paid
this price, and because He was God manifest in flesh, HE RESURRECTED
again from the dead.
And due to our union to Him and His righteousness, we resurrected right
along with Him.
- And when He ascended up to
glory and sat down on the right hand throne, He was united to us and
took us right up there with Him, spiritually speaking.
- And we are presently seated
together with Him in heavenly places.
- That is how God sees it and
is waiting us to come to see it like that as well.
When you look at Jesus with your heart, God's Spirit will affect you
because you are saved, and you will suddenly understand all of this.
- And in that moment, you will
realize that you are in effect looking in a mirror when you see Jesus
in His death, burial, resurrection and seating in glory because you
will understand that if He did these things, and you are united with
Him, then YOU DID THOSE THINGS TOO.
- That is what it means when
the Bible says we died THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
- Everything you see in what He
experienced from the cross onward is what you realize is true of you as
well.
- So you know from that day
forward that whenever you look at Jesus, YOU ARE LOOKING AT A MIRROR.
That baby was born for the sole purpose of God being a human being in
order to become like us so that we would be able to become like Him.
The process of us becoming like Him is almost a reverse of Him becoming
like us.
- Think of it.
- God made Himself in the image
of man so that man might return to the image of God.
- HE HAD TO COME IN MAN'S IMAGE
IN ORDER TO UNITE TO US.
- Only a man like us could be
united to.
- It was not just the fact that
someone had to conquer death and sin to unite us to himself, but it had
to be a man who conquered death and sin.
1
Corinthians 15:21 KJV (21) For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead.
So by coming down as man, taking our sins so that he created a union
with us in order to die our deaths, His death paid for our sins.
- And that means we are no
longer responsible for those sins.
- Once death occurs for sins,
no more retribution needs to be made.
- No more judgment for them is
necessary.
- The penalty's been paid.
And normally, when a person died a death penalty due to sin, the fact
that he is dead means he cannot go out and enjoy a life free of that
condemnation later -- he's dead!
- If he could only rise from
the dead after having paid for his sins by death, he could enjoy a life
that one deserves free of sin and totally righteous.
- The judge could do nothing
since the penalty was paid in full by death, and he genuinely died.
- But the fact is that because
Jesus took our sins and died the death penalty our sins demanded of us,
and then resurrected, we united to Him when He took our sins, and
resurrected with Him TO ENJOY A LIFE free from sin because we're
totally righteous!
All of this MIRROR IMAGE revelation and accomplishment is intended to
put us in this place of SEATING ON THE THRONE OF GLORY so that WE CAN
DO SOME AWESOME THINGS IN THIS WORLD that only people in this Kingdom
seating in glory can do!
He is going to take us to heaven one day.
- But notice that the bible
teaches that before we ever get to heaven, God already worked it out
that while we are down here on earth it is still spiritually true that
we are seated in heavenly places.
Ephesians
1:18-23 GNB I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light,
so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how
rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people,
(19) and how very great is his power at work in us who believe.
This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength
(20) which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated
him at his right side in the heavenly world. (21) Christ
rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords;
he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in
the next. (22) God put all things under Christ's feet and
gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things.
(23) The church is Christ's body, the completion of him who
himself completes all things everywhere.
Ephesians
2:4-6 GNB But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is
so great, (5) that while we were spiritually dead in our
disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace
that you have been saved. (6) In our union with Christ
Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world.
Imagine what Jesus can do being seated in heaven on the right hand
throne.
- Well, that is exactly what we
can do because we are actually there spiritually.
God needs us to come to this revelation.
All of our sinfulness that caused us to be cast out of the Garden and
lose this dominion with God hindered God from using us like this.
- Since he wanted his KINGDOM
IN EARTH, our salvation caused us to be freed from those sins because
we died our death penalties through Jesus Christ's death.
- And now that we are freed
from that hindering sin, and seated back in the position of Kingdom
power as Adam once was, GOD CAN USE US IN THIS WORLD BEFORE WE DIE.
- In fact, we need to learn
about this and get with it as far away from the time when we die as
possible, so we can do as much as possible IN THIS WORLD FOR THE
KINGDOM.
That is why we read:
Romans
6:10-14 GNB And so, because he died, sin has no power over him;
and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. (11) In
the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is
concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ
Jesus. (12) Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies,
so that you obey the desires of your natural self. (13) Nor
must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked
purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been
brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be
used for righteous purposes. (14) Sin must not be your
master; for you do not live under law but under God's grace.
Now that we learn that we are dead to sin in the same way Jesus died,
and in fellowship with God the same way Jesus as a resurrected man is,
we must not allow sin to hinder us any more.
- Because it can hinder us in a
very odd way.
- IF WE THINK OF OUR SELVES
totally apart from our union to Jesus, we will feel an instinctive
unworthiness, and that is a lie from the devil.
- The devil does not want us to
believe this nor understand this.
- And we all know that God
could not use man due to his sin.
- So if we do not understand
this mirror image revelation, we will invariably think we're sinful and
not good enough.
- And that means we will not
give ourselves to God and make ourselves available for Him to use.
God needs us to make ourselves available to Him.
- The King James Version says
to yield ourselves to Him.
- He never imposes on us.
- And even if He did, if we
still were not fully throne conscious and mirror image conscious, due
to knowing this truth backwards and forwards and really having it in
our spirits, we will HESITATE to do anything for Him.
- So He waits and waits for us,
seeing us completely ready for his use.
- He sees us as dead to sin,
and fully qualified for Him to use.
He can only use folks freed from sin.
- And that means we need a
revelation that we are freed.
- And then, with that
revelation, we will make ourselves available to Him and present
ourselves to Him AS THOSE ALIVE FROM THE DEAD.
Now we have to really realize what it means to present ourselves as
people alive form the dead.
- Ro 6:7 says that he that is
dead is freed from sin.
- We need to see ourselves as
criminals who died a death penalty for our sins, paid that penalty
through Jesus, and resurrected back to life again with Jesus' own
righteousness.
- Since alive from the dead
means all of that -- it means we're freed from sin -- freed from the
hindering factor that made us useless to God...
- We will KNOW we are NO LONGER
useless to Him, and fully useful.
- And we will FINALLY yield our
selves to Him to use us in HIS KINGDOM POWER.
The fact is that we have been THAT useful ever since He saved us.
- But without this teaching and
explanation and REVELATION, we always felt unworthy and not good enough
and still sinful.
- But REVELATION drove that
misunderstanding out of us.
- We finally started seeing
Jesus LIKE A MIRROR.
- And after God had to wait all
this time until we finally got the message, and finally yielded
ourselves to Him, He IS FINALLY ABLE TO USE US IN HIS POWER TO CONQUER
STRONGHOLDS OF HELL IN THIS WORLD.
He's been waiting for us to GET IT ever since He saved us.
- So many never even study this
out to preach it to people in many circles.
- They can't make heads or
tails out of Paul's' words here.
- Or else they water them down
to nonsense that has nothing to do with victory over sin and totally
freedom from sin, that their understanding is useless.
When we get this revelation, we will be convinced we're FULLY USEFUL to
God in His kingdom.
- And we will tear up the
kingdom of hell.
That is the entire GOAL of Jesus Christ being born one day in the world
as a man.
We were made in God's likeness, and had a throne in earth as God has it
in heaven.
- But Adam lost that throne and
dominion.
- So God had to make Himself in
man's likeness.
- So he could UNITE TO US in
our sins and required deaths.
- And this union caused His
death to be our death penalties, and they were paid in full.
- And WE CAME BACK INTO HIS
LIKENESS AGAIN, for when He resurrected we resurrected, and went to sit
on the throne of heaven.