We Take On God’s Likeness When Born Again

Recall that God made human beings in His “image” and “likeness.” But this process of growing and developing in the womb will not be complete until the resurrection—when we are no longer composed of “flesh and blood.” Those who are members of the Church are flesh-and-blood children of God, not yet spirit-composed children.

But understand this vital point. God created you to become “like” Him in every way. Through His Spirit entering the mind of newly converted children, a new spirit life begins. A tiny, spirit-begotten embryo comes into existence. But it does not stop there. In the same way that little children grow to look like their physical parents, so also do God’s children gradually take on the spiritual likeness of God (also their Parent), in nature and character, as much as in image and form (II Pet. 1:4). But this development process is completely separate from when they appear, in spirit, from the womb—when born again.

Both the Old and New Testaments make this process absolutely plain! While many have a vague idea that Christians are “sons of God,” none consider: “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of god…Beloved, now are we the sons of god, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:1-2).

This is an extremely important verse for another reason. While we are called sons “now,” notice that it does “not yet appear what we shall be.”

Then John adds, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (I Jn 3:9). We will one day have the very likeness of Christ. At that time, we will be born of God. Remember, Romans 8:16 states that we are “children” of God and “heirs with Christ.”

These verses in I John 3:1-24 are staggering in overall importance. Did you notice that John said, “now are we the sons of God.” Just as parents speak of a child not yet born as their son or daughter, God speaks of His begotten children as sons of god now!

David understood this very point of taking on God’s likeness: “As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness” (Psa. 17:15).

David and John understood that they would “awake” at the resurrection and look exactly like God in image, form, character—and spirit composition—born again!

Let me also repeat this—God is reproducing Himself in human beings who have received His Holy Spirit. He is creating children that will look and be just like Him!

Paul amplifies what John and David meant: “For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from where [He is coming here] also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).

This is awesome knowledge! Nothing compares to it! But let’s make it even clearer.

The following is a direct description of Jesus Christ, as He now exists in full glory, after being born again. Meditate on it, realizing that you can be like Him: “His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in his strength” (Rev. 1:14-16).

What this astounding description reveals about your future is not my personal opinion. It is what your Bible reveals! This is what Paul meant when he wrote, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (I Cor. 15:49).

While we are physically formed and shaped like God now, we shall later become Spirit, taking on the “image of the heavenly.”

The Church, as Mother, Feeds Her Children

Jesus promised, “I will build My Church” (Matt. 16:18). The New Testament describes God’s Church as the “body of Christ” (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Paul taught, “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (I Cor. 12:13).

The Church is described as “Jerusalem above,” and directly referred to as “the mother of us all” (Gal. 4:26). Hebrews 12:22-23 makes this clearer: “But you are come unto…the heavenly Jerusalem…the…church…which are written in heaven.” It does not say that the Church is in heaven, but rather that those of the Church are “written in heaven.” This is because the dead in Christ are now awaiting the first resurrection!

Like any good mother, the Church nurtures and feeds her unborn children so that they may grow within her “womb.” She has been doing it for 2,000 years. Peter instructed the ministry to “feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight…willingly” (I Pet. 5:2).

Paul amplified the Church’s role as Mother: “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto…the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13).

The context continues with two additional verses demonstrating that God’s “children,” like any other children, are supposed to “grow up.” Notice that the Church is also responsible for protecting God’s flock from false doctrine: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ” (Eph 4:14-15).

The ministry’s duty is to teach the Church the truth and to warn of the dangers of being deceived by false doctrine. (Take time to carefully read our booklet Where Is God’s Church? to learn how to identify Christ’s Church.)

The Unborn Must Mature Toward Birth

Like the newly begotten baby grows in its mother’s womb, the Christian must also grow before he can leave the womb. Peter wrote, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18).

Christians must grow in this lifetime. To be given awesome divine authority and power, as “joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17), they must qualify, by building God’s holy, righteous character in their lives now!

Doctors understand that a human fetus cannot survive outside the womb unless it has sufficiently developed prior to delivery. The “heroic” efforts of medical science have limits in terms of saving a premature child. It is the same with the begotten children of God, who must grow during the gestation period. Like human fetuses, they must also be fed all the necessary spiritual nutrients to grow sufficiently to be born into the kingdom as incorruptible Spirit Beings.

Christians must grow, develop and fully mature, spiritually, while in the womb. Human fetuses begin at microscopic size and grow to the time of birth. The newly-begotten Christian grows in the same way. He starts out 99.9% spiritually immature and slowly progresses to full spiritual maturity—and birth!

Surely God is as wise as human doctors. He recognizes that His children must grow sufficiently before He can deliver them—bring them to birth!

Peter includes several passages explaining the importance of the begotten Christian growing within the true Church of God. How and when one is born again cannot be understood without some discussion of various Greek words and how they are or should be rendered in English.

If the Bible discusses being born again, it would have to also mention that one is also “begotten again,” for begettal must precede it. It does mention this!

Notice: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again [anagennao] unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (I Pet. 1:3-5).

The Greek word used here is anagennao. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines it as: “to beget or (by extension) bear (again): beget, (bear) again.” It also means “to beget anew” (Young’s Concordance). Humans are begotten for the first time in the womb of a human mother, and “begotten again”—or anew—by receiving God’s Spirit at conversion.

Peter makes another reference using the word anagennao. But it has been mistranslated as born: “Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born [begotten] again [anagennao], not of corruptible seed [human sperm], but of incorruptible [the Holy Spirit], by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.” (I Pet. 1:22-23).

Those called now have been begotten by both “corruptible” seed (human sperm), which led to a physical birth, and “incorruptible” seed (the Holy Spirit), which will lead to a spiritual birth if one continues to grow in the womb. Peter writes that, for instance, those who are begotten again grow in love of the brethren. Notice how Peter uses the analogy of milk to bring growth: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2:1-2).

Bible analogies can also have multiple applications with no contradiction. Satan is like a lion (I Pet. 5:8)—but so are the righteous (Prov. 28:1). The newborn babe analogy is used to refer to the newly converted, but Christ Himself used it when referring to His own imminent resurrection to spirit life.

Notice: “‘A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you’” (John 16:21-22, NKJV).

Understand. The reference to “newborn babes” is an analogy, and only an analogy. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines analogy as: “resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike.”

The old Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: “likeness between two things…consisting in the resemblance not of the things themselves, but of two or more attributes, circumstances or effects.”

I Peter 2:1-2 unnecessarily confuses some readers, causing them to throw aside every previous verse explaining when rebirth occurs.

But it is obvious that Peter is not saying that Christians are babies, rather that they grow like or as babies grow through drinking nourishing milk. Recall II Peter 3:18, which also exhorts Christians to “grow in grace and knowledge.”

Like babies nourished in the womb, Christians grow toward birth!