“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, MAKE YOU 1COMPLETE in every good work TO DO HIS WILL, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20-21) 1katartizō: make us into what we OUGHT TO BE in Christ. Jesus Christ, God the Son, is our Lord and Savior, and He is also God’s PATTERN FOR US. “…just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the HEAVENLY MAN (our pattern, Jesus).” (1 Corin. 15:49)
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him AS HE IS. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3) God’s love (agapē), is righteous; it is thoughtful, it is courteous. It bears the cost of pain and heartache itself. It satisfies justice, it is careful to always do the right thing. In the eyes of a stuffy, self-centered world, anyone who acts with that kind of love is always a little suspect. They appear to be slightly mad. Thus, John says, the world will not recognize us if we act this way, just as they DID NOT RECOGNIZE the Lord Jesus when He did.
“Let this mind be IN YOU which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, made Himself of NO REPUTATION, taking the form of a bondservant…being found in appearance as a man, He HUMBLED HIMSELF and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8)
-Bill Stockham