Imputation and Transformation 6

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26—NASB)

The opening chapter of Ezekiel reveals the external glory of the Lord while the temple of Ezekiel, in symbolic terms, portrays the internal character of the Lord. We must be like the Lord Jesus internally before it will be granted to us to be like Him externally.

"The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way." Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown. (Ezekiel 44:3,4—NIV)

Such verses as the above, and the passages concerning the guardrooms, the stone tables of sacrifice, and so forth, are referring to the inner character of the believer who has been conformed to the image of Christ.

The Prince, Jesus, is the only One who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the Presence of God. The Glory of the Lord fills us when Jesus Christ is eating bread and worshiping the Father in us.

We must have guardrooms and be experienced in the devices of the enemy. We must have created within us the stone tables of sacrifice. All we are and possess must be offered continually to the Father. He will have no idols vying for our attention and affection.

The outer image reveals in a glorified manner what has become true of us inwardly. Remember, this is not going to be accomplished overnight. We have all eternity to grow in the image and likeness of God.

Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. (Ezekiel 1:10—NIV)

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect Man, Lion, Ox, and Eagle. To be in His image we must have these four personalities formed in us.

We must be perfect as the man. This means we have a heart of compassion and love, being filled with moral righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God so God may find rest in us, in His chariot.

We must be perfect as the lion. We have many enemies and through Christ we are to govern them all. The individual who fears man or Satan will end up denying His Lord. The first class of people over whom the Lake of Fire maintains authority is the fearful.

We must be perfect as the ox. We must learn to work, to bear burdens, and to do so sacrificially. As was true of the oxen of Elisha, we must work in order to provide food and then be sacrificed to the Lord. Our God is a burden bearer!

Continued. Imputation and Transformation 7