S17P11 – When Jesus walked in: our new clothes

Gal. 3:26-27
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Before coming to Christ, we are clothed in imperfection. Looking back on myself prior to salvation, it was clear that my life had not been committed to God. Yes, one might say that I was nice, helpful, respectful and kind. Those opinions, however, would have been formed according to the world’s standards. Knowing what I know now, I can see that the imperfect clothing I once wore, the bad character I carried, was obvious. The character in which I was clothed was at odds with Christ’s.

Jesus has a perfect character. We know the attributes of his character by what the bible says the indwelling of his Holy Spirit produces in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This passage tells us that those who have been baptized into Christ are clothed in him. The Father has placed on us the vestiges of his Son so that the world would know who we are. Christ’s character is like our spiritual uniform, identifying who we are and the work that we do.

It is a glorious blessing that God would want to impart to us his character, allowing imperfect man to wear the righteousness of our perfect Savior. Being transformed into the image of Christ as we work out our salvation is an internal process that should produce external evidence. Father, thank You that You clothe us in the character of your Son, and give us the desire to grow more and more into his image as we produce the fruit of your spirit as evidence of the development of this character