What does it mean to be a Christian?

So, you've been a Christian for a long time now or maybe you just became a Christian. What does it mean to you that you are Christian? What does that word even mean?

Literally, the word Christian originates from a greek word which is translated Christianos, and this means to be a follower of Christ. Now that you are Christian, you need to ask yourself this question: why should I become a follower of Christ?

The answer to this question is simple. It is because Jesus came to reveal the father, and we have been created to look like God. Genesis 1: 26 says, "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." When God was discussing with himself (the Trinity), the people He thought of creating were people that would look like him. Holy people. People filled with love, Joy, and peace etc. In order to bring this to pass, Genesis 2:7 says, "then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." The word breath in this verse is a Hebrew word translated "Spirit of God." So, in order for God to make us look like Him, He had to put his Spirit within us. It was the Spirit of God that caused Adam to be in the likeness of God. Without the Spirit of God, we can never be like God and reach the fulness of who we are supposed to be.

The fall of man into sin is the reason why we no longer look like God and there's so much chaos everywhere. Remember that God is holy, and this means He has no relationship with sinners. Since we were born into sin and grew up in sin, we could no longer be conformed to the image and likeness of God because the Spirit of God wasn't in us. This is the reason why Christ came to die for our sins--that we may be redeemed back to God, and the Spirit of God might dwell in us again. Remember 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, "But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him." For this reason, if you are born again, the Spirit of God comes to live in you and He gives us that ability to become like God and come into the fulness of who we are supposed to be. You might be thinking, "I'm already born again, but I'm not yet holy, or I still live in depression and anxiety instead of love, joy, and peace." The answer to that is because when we become born again, the Spirit of God comes to live in us and renews our Spirit but our flesh doesn't become renewed. Our mind doesn't become renewed. This is a colossal problem because we've gone too far in sin and our way of thinking and deeds is not in conformity to the Spirit of God inside us and for us to look like God again, we have to surrender to the Spirit of God. We have to take that long journey back into alignment with the Spirit of God in us, so we can look more like God.

Genesis 17: 1-3 ESV

1 "When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”

3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,"

In the passage above, we see how God told Abraham that in order for a covenant to be made between them Abraham had to be blameless. He had to conform to the image of God. The next thing Abraham did is what we need to learn from as Christians. Verse 3 says that he fell on his face . The amplified version of v3 says, "Then Abram fell on his face [in worship]. The message bible version says, "Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face." Abraham knew he couldn't be blameless, so he surrendered to God. This is what we need to learn. As Christians we need to live a life of worship to God. A life of surrender to the Spirit of God in us because that's the only way to look like God.

The understanding that we've gone far in sin, and the only way to be restored to the likeness of God is surrender will help your relationship with God in no small way. We need to understand that God has created us for himself. Colossians 1:16 says, "For by [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him." In our first blog post, we spoke about how God loves us so much that he thought about us and created us. One thing we didn't say is that He created us for himself. Pauls letter to the Colossians tells us that all things were created for God. The angels were created for God. The elders were created for God. You and I are also created for God. This is why the angels and elders worship God. This is why we should worship God. Every time we spend time with God, we should go with a mindset of being for God. We should go with a mindset of worshipping God because He wants us to be with Him. Isaiah 43:6-7 says, "...bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” So more than our requests, we surrender and worship God, and this is the foundation of our relationship with God because in the place of surrender, we invite Him to every area of our lives that He's not ruling over.

In our filthiness, we praise God's Holiness. In our weakness, we praise His almightiness, and in the process of worshipping God, a relationship is birthed with Him and He conforms every aspect of our lives to Him. Since there's no relationship between light and darkness (2 Corinthians 14-16), our darkness flees in His light, and we come into the fulness of who we are in Him.

To be a Christian, in order words, is for us to live a surrendered life to the Spirit of God, so that we can become like God, and we can have a relationship with Him which is the reason why we've been created.

Tips

When you sin, don't run away from his presence; instead, go to His presence with a surrendered heart and let his light take away that darkness in you.

Instead of always asking God for things, take time to give him glory since that's what you were created for. Take time to worship Him and watch how your relationship with Him blossoms.

Always remember that you're dust, and it's only God's Spirit within you that can make you like Him.

*If you have come to the realization of God's love for you, His desire for you to be like Him and enjoy the fulness of life, and you know you have not accepted Jesus as your savior, please take a moment to turn to Him today because He promises to accept you and save you. He said, "...and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." John 6:37. Repent from your sins, confess them to God and accept Jesus as your Lord and savior* Please contact the number on the blog's top page if you have taken this step!