Week 8
Conformed to the Image of the Firstborn
Romans 8:29
“Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;”
Group Introduction
If there is anyone in your group you have not met, introduce yourselves to each other.
Outline & Scripture Reading
​​I. Being conformed to the image of Christ
Romans 8:28-30
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.​
29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;
30 And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.​
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2 Corinthians 3:16-18
16 But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.
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Romans 12:2
And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.
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1 Corinthians 2:16
For who has known the mind of the Lord and will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
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Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Discussion
1. What does it mean to be conformed to the image of Christ and how is being conformed to the image of Christ related to the divine life we have received through salvation?
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2. What does conformation look like in our experience?
Ministry Portion
Life-Shape, Life-Power, and Life-Essence
Every life has its own form. For example, a dog has one form and a chicken has another. The growth of a certain life brings in the full form of that life. Today we are sons of God, but we do not yet have the full form, the complete shape, of sons of God. Therefore, by growth and transformation we need to be conformed to the image of Christ. Eventually, we shall be completely conformed to His image. Then we shall possess the full life-shape which comes from the life-power with the life-essence. A carnation, a chicken, and a dog all have a different life-form according to their life-essence. A carnation has the form of a carnation because it has the life-essence of a carnation. The carnation essence develops into the carnation form by means of the life-power within the carnation. Praise the Lord that we have the life-essence and the life-power within us! This life-power is shaping us into the image of the Son of God. Through this shaping function of the life-power, we shall be fully conformed to the image of Christ.
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Being Conformed to the Image of Christ
Conformation follows sanctification and transformation. Second Corinthians 3:18 puts transformation and conformation together. It says, “...being transformed into the same image.” This is conformation. This is not only to be transformed but also to be shaped. This requires our experiences. After listening to these words, gradually you will experience these items step by step. We need to open up ourselves to the Lord and let the living Spirit of the Lord penetrate us, adding the divine element into us. Thus we will be sanctified. Thank the Lord that when we have this experience, deep within us we can feel that we are different from others. This is not to be proud, not at all; this feeling comes from the reality of sanctification within us.
When you let this sanctification linger within you for a while, this sanctification will bring in a metabolic process, causing you to have an organic change. This is transformation. Your mind will be transformed, your emotion will be transformed, and your will also will be transformed. The way you look at things and the way you consider matters will be different from the way you did before. Your feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and delight will be different from before. Also your decisions, resolutions, and choices will be different from before. This is because a process of metabolic transformation is taking place in your mind, emotion, and will.
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As a result, when you consider a certain matter, your thought will be the same as that of the Lord Jesus. The way you think when you consider any matter will bear the stamp of the Lord Jesus. The way you love people and the way you decide any matter will also be the same as that of the Lord Jesus. This means that in your practical living you will bear the image of the Lord. This is not an outward improvement, nor is it an outward imitation. Rather, it is that you are inwardly being possessed by the Lord and permeated with the Lord, and His element is permeating your mind, emotion, and will. At this time your thoughts, preferences, and decisions are all the same as the Lord’s thoughts, preferences, and decisions. Thus, spontaneously you have the image of the Lord; this is conformation.
Outline & Scripture Reading
II. The indwelling Spirit and "all things" conforming us to the image of the Firstborn​​​
Romans 8:16-19
16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.
17 And if children, heirs also; on the one hand, heirs of God; on the other, joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed upon us.
19 For the anxious watching of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God.
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Romans 8:28-30
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.​
29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;
30 And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.
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2 Corinthians 4:15-18
15 For all things are for your sakes that the grace which has abounded through the greater number may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our momentary lightness of affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory,
18 Because we do not regard the things which are seen but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Discussion
1. What is the “good” that is spoken of in Romans 8:28?
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2. How does the Lord use all things to gain that good?
Ministry Portion
All Thing Working Together for Good — Conformation
God’s goal in giving us “all things” is not that we would have comfort or profit. Rather, His goal in giving us all things is that we would be conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God (v. 29). This conformation is the “good” that is spoken of in verse 28. The Lord has given us a wife or husband, children, parents, the brothers, our job, and our circumstances, and He causes these “all things” to work together for the purpose of dealing with us and causing us to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is the unique purpose, the ultimate goal, that God seeks to attain. The Holy Spirit within us and the “all things” outside of us work together, like the water in the pot and the fire under the pot, to conform us to the image of Christ. The eternal purpose of God is not that we would be able to keep the law. Remember, the law is only something that came in alongside.
The eternal purpose of God is that we would be conformed to the image of His Son so that His Son would be the Firstborn among many brothers. How does God complete this work? On one hand, the Spirit of His Son dwells within us. On the other hand, He assigns to us a certain amount of “all things.” These “all things” outside of us cooperate with the Holy Spirit within us to work together and conform us to the image of Christ. This is the way to be matured in the life of Christ.
Focus
Conformation is the result of transformation and is a matter of being shaped into a certain image through our growth in the divine life. The Lord is sanctifying us and transforming us so that we may be conformed to His image. As the Spirit dwelling within us works together with the "all things" God assigns to us in our circumstances, we are being conformed to the image of Christ.