Grow in the Likeness of Christ

In 2 Peter 1:3-4, Peter reveals still more about God's call on the life of all true believers: "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

By His power, God has given us everything we need to live our life in the likeness of Christ. Everything we need to conform to the image of Christ comes through knowing the Lord. Pursue the knowledge of God and you will not be lacking in any way.

The knowledge of God comes through His Word. Study the Scriptures, get to know the Word, and you will come to know God. The Bible is our guide to life. It teaches us the way we should go. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Prov. 3:5-6).

The Lord even provides leaders to teach us His Word: "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-13).

Our pastors and teachers train us in our "work of ministry" (v. 12a), our “work of service” (NASB), and in the use of our spiritual gifts. They help us to know Christ better, enabling us to be more like Him.

God has "called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3b, NASB) into a life of godliness, and in Christ He has given us "exceedingly great and precious promises" (v. 4a). Through these promises we become "partakers of the divine nature" (v. 4b). "Divine nature" (v. 4b) refers to what comes from God, who He is and how He handles things. "Partakers" (v. 4b) means to have something in common. It refers to believers being partners with God, becoming like Jesus in our basic character and how we handle the things in life.

Considering this, Peter urges all diligence in our growing up into Christ: "Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins" (2 Peter 1:5-9; NASB).

Do these things and you will grow in the knowledge of Christ and in the likeness of Christ. In this way, you are to "be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:10-11). Amen.

Called Out of the World

It may help us understand God's call on our lives if we take a closer look at that time when God called Abraham out of the world and into a new land that God would show him. He was the first person in Scripture to be called out of the world by God. Abel lived by faith and died for his faith (Gen. 4:3-8). Enoch walked by faith and was taken into heaven without passing through death because of his faith: "Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Gen. 5:24). But it was Abraham who was the first to be "called" by God in Scripture.

It was all a matter of timing. When the time was right, when the world had again strayed far away from God and the things of God, He acted. God called Abraham out of the world. It was time. It had to take place to preserve a people for Himself. If God had waited any longer the world may have been right back where it was before the flood of Noah, another man who lived a life that was righteous (Gen. 7:1). Abraham was set apart by the call of God to leave the old world, his old life behind, and go to a new land that God would show him, where he would live a new life with God (Gen. 12:1-3).

The principles God set in motion with the call of Abraham are still in operation today. We too are called to depart from the ways of the world and be separate from it, set apart for God. "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord" (2 Cor. 6:17a). But when we separate ourselves from the world, we do not enter a void. God calls us out of the world and into a new land, a whole new life lived in the love, holiness, wisdom, and power of God. It is a new life that God gives us—a life lived by faith in Christ. It is to that life that all believers are called by God.

That means your life will never be the same. Abraham responded to God's call, went out from the world, and followed God. His life changed. Nothing was ever the same again. Slowly he became the man of God he was meant to be. We too need to recognize that, as believers, God calls us to a new life of godliness. Like Abraham, we need to go and follow Jesus into that new life, a life lived by faith in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Amen.

God's Calling Rests on All Believers

The Apostle Paul told the church in Rome that God's calling rests on all believers in Christ: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Rom. 8:28-30).

All believers are referred to as "the called" (v. 28b) and are given a special promise—God will turn "all things" (v. 28a) into good "according to His purpose" (v. 28b). Though verse 28 is about God working out His purpose in our lives, one main thought is that all believers are "the called." (v. 28b). God "foreknew" (v. 29a) and "predestined" (v. 29a) all who are born again "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (v. 29a), or to become like Jesus. We are all then "called" (v. 30a) and "justified" (v. 30b) and "glorified" (v. 30c).

The Greek word "called" (vv. 28b, 30a) means to be invited or summoned. God calls those who are the elect out of their slavery to sin and summons them to a new life in Christ. God calls His elect out of the darkness of a sinful world and into the light of His blessing. He calls us out of the world to save us and make us holy. He calls us to bring us into a loving, serving relationship with Himself.

We can see from this, that all who trust in Christ for salvation have the call of God on their life. Every believer is called by God so that he might enjoy all the benefits of redemption. Every believer is called to be saved. Every believer is called to be "conformed to the image" of the Savior, Jesus Christ (v. 29a). Every believer is called to fellowship with Him in heaven forever. Amen.

God's Call on Your Life

Survey the Scriptures, beginning in Genesis and continuing all the way through Revelation, and you will soon realize that God's call is on every believer's life. It is common to hear preachers speak about God's special call on their life to make a fulltime profession of ministry. But the Bible tells us that all who confess Jesus as Lord, all true believers in Christ are "called… with a holy calling" (2 Tim. 1:9).

Take a close look at that verse, 2 Timothy 1:9, because it is one of several key verses concerning God's call on your life, first as a sinner called to salvation, and then as a sinner saved by grace called to holy living. The context is Paul's challenge to Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. In verse eight he says, "Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God." Not only are we not to be ashamed of the gospel, but we are to understand and accept the fact that we will suffer for the sake of the gospel. We are to further understand that God will see us through that suffering by His own power.

In verse 9, Paul points out that, by His power, God has both "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." "Before time began," before anything or anyone was even created, God chose to save you from the judgment and from eternal separation from God. "Before time began," before anything or anyone was even created, God chose to call you to a life of holiness. Now our salvation and calling have "been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (v. 10).

This side of creation, in Christ, sin and death have been defeated at the cross and the empty tomb. In its place, we have been given both life and immortality. In Christ, we have been given the ability to live a life that is holy, a life of righteousness. In Christ, we have also been given life eternal, a life lived in heaven with Jesus forever. And it is all made possible through the gospel of Christ, which we believe with all our heart and for which we suffer with Christ.

Basically, Paul told Timothy that God calls every true believer to a new and different life. God is calling us to a life lived by faith in the Son of God, a life lived in the power of the Spirit. God "called you in the grace of Christ" (Gal. 1:6), and by His grace He has set you apart to live for Christ. The changed life, which is true Christianity, is part of the calling of God on the life of the believer. Follow God's call on your life and live for Him. Amen.