The Only Carbon Copy by Nancy White
Speaking of Jesus, Hebrews 1:3 [KJV] says, Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
The words “the express image” here are from the Greek word charaktēr. Part of the definition of this word is: “exact expression (the image) of any person or thing, marked likeness, precise reproduction in every respect, i.e. facsimile.”
This is the only place this word is used in the Bible. Fitting, don’t you think, since Jesus is the only exact replica of God the Father?
Jesus was so much of an exact replica that He had this exchange with Philip in John 14:-8-9
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus was no vague representation of God the Father. He was a “precise reproduction” here on earth.
Philippians 2:7-8 tells us, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” So, we know He physically looked very human.
What Phillip should have seen in Jesus was not simply a photocopy of the physical makeup of God. We know we all have that similarity in makeup, because God made us in His image from the beginning – as it says in Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them., What Phillip should have seen is that Jesus was an exact replica of the character of God.
Jesus lived as the Father would have and spoke exactly what the Father would have spoken, because He was the express image of God the Father in every way.
What about me? Can people see the Father at all when they look at me? Can they see Him only a little? Or would they say, in the modern vernacular, “she is the ‘spittn’ image’ of her Father?”
Romans 8:29 tells us: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to{or “fashioned like unto”} the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. {Emphasis mine.}
“Image” here can be translated likeness, statue or representation. We are to be becoming, or being shaped into, the image of Jesus, who is the image of the Father.
Jesus filled some really big shoes by taking on the task of showing us an exact replication of the Father while He was here on earth living the life of a human being and being subjected to all the flaws and faults of the people around him, as well as the troubles and trials of mortal life. Yet, He remained, through it all, the express image of the Father. He is still today the only “carbon copy” of the Father.
My goal, as one who calls herself a follower of Christ, must always be to daily work at being formed into the image of Christ Jesus. Through that process, I begin to “look” more like Him in thought, word and deed.
Every decision I make, every thought I wrestle into subjection, every deed I submit to obedience to the Father’s law and His will, is a step closer to being made into the image of His Son. This is the work that the Holy Spirit is to be doing in me.
2 Corinthians 3:18 [ESV] And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. {Emphasis mine.}
This age will only ever see one “express image” of the Father. But, when I submit daily to the will of the Father, I get closer every day to looking more like Dad.
Praise God, that in Jesus’ life, we can see exactly how the Father would respond to every situation Jesus faced. In copying Jesus, I copy the Father. A copy of THE copy is what I would like to be. How about you?
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