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What do you see when you  look in the mirror? The apostle Paul tells us that what we see in the mirror is  not what we really are – we see only a poor reflection of ourselves. But God,  on the other hand, sees us perfectly – and very differently from the way we see
ourselves.

In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul explains it in these words: “For now we see only a reflection as in a  mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,  even as I am fully known.”

God knows us as we really  are, as he has actually made us to be in Jesus Christ. But we have only an  inkling of that – a poor reflection as in a mirror.

In Colossians 3:1-4, Paul goes further. He says, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on  things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now  hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you  also will appear with him in glory.”

When you look in the  mirror, you probably don’t see the new you that is seated with Christ–sitting  at the right hand of the Father. You see the struggling sinner that you know you
are. But Paul says that we have died and have been raised with Christ, past tense, and that this new life we have in Christ is, for now, hidden. But when Christ appears, then we will appear with him as we really are, the way he has already made us to be in him.

This means that it is not up to us to get salvation, or even to get righteous or moral, or
better. Throughout the New Testament, Paul admonishes us to behave righteously because we already are in Christ. He never tells us to behave righteously in order to get Christ to accept us. Jesus Christ died for us while were still sinners, Paul says in Romans 5:6. We were reconciled to God while we were still his enemies, he adds in verse 10.

To this end, the Holy Spirit works in us, leading us into the new life of love that God has given us in Christ — not to help us “measure up” or somehow “attain” salvation, but
rather to help us learn how to be the new person that God has already made us
to be in Christ. We are a new creation — already seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father.

So the next time you look in the mirror, take a moment to think about how God sees you. He sees you as his beloved child — forgiven, clean, reconciled and made new in Jesus hrist.

— Borrowed from Joseph Tkach

 

God

Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace
by: James B. Torrance
publisher: IVP Academic, published: 1997-07-02
ASIN: 0830818952
EAN: 9780830818952
sales rank: 38628
price: $8.58 (new), $8.68 (used)

Here is a book that sets our worship, sacraments, communion and language of God back on track. In a day when refinement of method and quality of experience are the guiding lights for many Christians, James Torrance points us to the indispensable who of worship, the triune God of grace. Worship is the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father, writes Torrance. This book explodes the notion that the doctrine of the Trinity may be indispensable for the creed but remote from life and worship. Firmly rooted in Scripture and theology, alive with pastoral counsel and anecdote, Torrance’s work shows us just why real trinitarian theology is the very fiber of Christian confession.

 

God


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