Do you ever have moments of forgetting who and Whose you are in Christ, and because of that, inadvertently resurrecting the old you? I’m sad to say that I do. The enemies of righteousness, the false wisdoms of flesh, world, and demons, know just how to enliven old nature issues like insecurity, fear, pride, and on and on we could go, ad infinitum.

Jesus walked in victory, partly by refusing to forget Who He was. That strength flowed securely from assurance of WHOSE He was; and by the purpose of His life, set in Order by The One He called Father. Jesus came to set things straight, not only revealing truth and becoming our Kinsman Redeemer, but also to set the example we are called and equipped to emulate.

As Jesus lived, so must we, by knowing who and Whose we are. To do that, we look at Jesus.

Hebrews 1:3, 8-9 NASB gives us an excellent starting place. In searching for truths we must apply, we find in verse 3:

“He is the radiance of His glory”

Jesus ever lived to radiate the glory of God. His goal was to always be an expression of God’s nature. He, the Son, looked like the Father, leaving no doubt that He was God’s Son.

When we see a child that is the spitting image of a parent, we say, “Boy! You can’t deny that one!” Jesus lived a life that proved Him as Son. As children of God in Christ, we are tasked to do the same. We must grow in the knowledge of Him, becoming so much like Him, we cannot be denied as being His.

I think of a friend who, in the midst of a life threatening heart attack, was found so calm that the doctor questioned it. The nurse, in response to the doctors stunned query, said, “I’ve seen this before! You’re a Christian, aren’t you?”

We are to live our faith out so brightly that the curios onlooker sees the resemblance we possess in Christ.

“…and (He is) the exact representation of His nature….”

Watching a young child following a parent around can be enjoyable as we observe the child working so hard at being just like daddy or mommy. The child does so by watching the parent’s actions, listening to the inflections of voice tones, embracing the parent’s likes and dislikes, adopting their desires and passions.

We do the same as we look closely at scripture passages like this; closely observing the pictorial passages that describe God in all His forms and fashions.

We also grow to understand Him as we learn to follow the dictates of His Spirit in us, Who stands as intermediary, tasked with bringing out the image of the Father through us, making us one with Him. Just as Jesus is One with the Father, thus is His desire for us.

“…and upholds all things by the word of His power.”

Jesus walked in unity with the Father, being One with Him, because of His assurance and faith to believe. Having strength of character and resolute purpose because He believed in and possessed the Word of the Father, He walked in strength and power. What God proclaimed true of Him, what He authorized His Son to accomplish, Jesus took to heart and walked in the power of that Word. When He spoke, He expressed what He heard from the Father, knowing it to be a powerful and unstoppable truth.

God our Father has given us His Word. In the power of His Spirit, He gives that Word life, empowering it to be living and active in our day and in our daily lives. It cuts through all barriers to inspire our lives, opening to us the life giving morrow, instructing us so that we, too, may possess the abundance and victory He has for us today.

His word is never out of date because His breath is in it. By the power of God’s Spirit in us, we inhale and exhale the truths and wisdom of God found in His Word. As we fully possess His opinions as our own, speaking as best represents Him and His interests, we walk in His power just as Jesus showed us to do.

As we seek God’s power living in us, giving Him full sway to grow and mature us, we, too, can be an expression of the radiance of His glory, rightly and truly representing His nature, being empowered to make full use of His Word to us, fulfilling His purpose in the strength of His supply, to the glory of our God, Father, and King. In Jesus, Lord, make it so!