When Peter and John healed a man who had been lame since birth at the Beautiful Gate, the rulers, elders, and scribes recognized them as uneducated men. What gave them away? Was it their Galilean accents or their less-than-fashionable robes? We don’t know for sure, but something about the two men’s appearance, boldness, and eloquence didn’t fit with who the religious elite assumed they would be.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition” (Acts 4:13-14).
There’s no greater compliment than to be recognized as having been with Jesus! For Christians, this means that we’re becoming more like him, and he’s changing us. Luke 6:40 says, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Peter and John were not trained in the Ivy League religious schools of the day, but they were trained by the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ. As they went out and engaged with the world, it was recognizable who their teacher was—they were becoming like him.
Do you want to grow in the likeness of Christ? You may not walk the same dusty Judean roads with Jesus as Peter and Paul did, but you can get to know your Master Teacher as you walk through the pages of the Word. Here are 20 Bible verses that explain how we change as we grow more like our Lord.
20 Bible Verses About Becoming Like Christ
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 (ESV)
“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. - Philippians 2:5-10 (ESV)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - 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. - Colossians 3:2 (ESV)
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. - Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. - Matthew 5:48 (ESV)
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - 1 Peter 4:1-2 (ESV)
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. - Matthew 11:29 (ESV)
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. - Ephesians 5:1 (ESV)
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. - Luke 6:40 (ESV)
A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. - John 3:30 (ESV)
He must increase, but I must decrease.” - Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV)
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, - Psalm 17:15 (ESV)
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. - Galatians 4:19 (ESV)
My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! - 1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV)
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. - 1 John 2:6 (ESV)
Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. - Romans 8:29 (ESV)
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. - Galatians 3:27 (ESV)
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. - 1 John 3:2 (ESV)
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
How Will People Know You’ve Been with Jesus?
Spending time with Jesus changes people from the inside out. Like Peter and John, maybe you’re bolder and share the gospel with others more freely. Perhaps you were once anxious and afraid, and now you’re marked by peace and joy. Instead of being impatient, now you love people with the love God’s shed abroad in your heart. When Moses had been with God on Mount Sinai, he came down with his face glowing. As you and I spend time with the Lord in his Word, we, too, will glow from the inside out—marking us as disciples who have been with Jesus. May it be so!
Cara
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