Developing the Character of God Within: Jesus’s Part is Done! But Our Part is Not!

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As I say multiple times in my book,?The Pursuit of Freedom, we already have the mind of Christ, His freedom and His character. He died so that we could be restored to God’s original plan and glory, and so we can be fully alive. He is not dying again—His part is done—but we are not done. While we live here on earth, there is always more growth and more glory for us to step into.

His character is in us already, as we are made in His image and have the fruit of the Spirit. It is now our responsibility to develop that character within us and reach our potential.

2 Peter 1:4 (TPT) “As a result of this, he has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises we can experience partnership with the divine nature, by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are of the world.”

Let’s look at the definition of “develop.”

to develop (verb)

make grow or grow, become bigger, stronger.

Ex.: body, muscles.

Cause to increase or increase the capacity or possibility of; make progress.

In the definition above, the dictionary uses the body as an example—muscles, to grow, to become bigger and stronger. In other words, we are all born with muscles. But we are not born with strong, defined muscles and six-pack abs! To acquire that, we need to EXERCISE, to develop our muscles, make our muscles grow and become stronger.

Suppose, then, that if we are the body of Christ, the character of God in us is like our spiritual muscles. We already have it in us, it is part of the DNA that God gave us, we were born with it. And when we are born again in Jesus, we have the nature of God. But just like our natural muscles, we are not born again with a spiritual six-pack...

God makes the grace of Jesus Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit available to us so that we can imitate Him, so that our task of DEVELOPING our character—that is, the character of God in us—becomes possible. Our muscles won't get stronger just by knowing that we have the right and access to go to the gym. We have to actually go and exercise.

Sometimes, we go for a week and do fifteen minutes of leg exercises, our legs hurt, and we end up frustrated because the muscles are not yet fully defined... Or does that only happen to me?

I believe that sometimes we are looking for shortcuts and quick fixes. We do that in the natural world as well as in the spiritual one. But it doesn’t work that way. To develop the character of God in us takes time, exercise, and often challenges. We must be willing to get out of our comfort zone.

I have a trainer at my bootcamp that always says, “Do not compromise your posture for the sake of adding more weight. You will hurt yourself.”

This is true for our spiritual walk as well. We cannot compromise the posture of our hearts for the sake of “religious duty,” because we will end up hurting ourselves. The development of our character in God is dependent on a daily walk and constant relationship and connection with Him.

I would like to talk a little bit about three simple ways we can imitate Jesus and be more like Him, by practicing some of the things He did while He walked the earth. But remember, it’s not a to-do list or religious duty. It is all about developing a true and intimate relationship with Him.

1. Having a Lifestyle of Prayer

Jude 1:20 (ESV)“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit…”

Praying in the Spirit is one of the most effective ways of developing our character. Sometimes, we don’t even know what to pray, or what to say, and when we partner with Holy Spirit and pray in the Spirit, we align ourselves with God’s will and desires. It is an act of surrender to God, allowing Him to have His way, even when we have no idea what that may be.

1 Thessalonians 5:17?tells us to pray without ceasing. I believe that is to live a lifestyle of prayer, a lifestyle of open communication with God, as if you had a cell phone connected to God all the time and were always speaking with Him. Asking for advice, asking His opinion, listening to what He has to say.?

It is important to stop and take the time exclusively to talk to God and connect with Him, without any distractions. But to me, praying without ceasing is to be fully conscious of God’s presence at all times. Fully aware. Regardless of what we are doing, we have Him in mind, we count on Him, listen to Him, and talk to Him.

2. A Lifestyle of Holiness

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV) “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

To be holy, and to live a lifestyle of holiness, is simply to be separate from worldliness—to live for God. Our source of holiness is a relationship with Jesus, not a religious system of rules and prohibitions. It's not about what we can or can't, should or shouldn't. It is between each of us and Jesus.

A lifestyle of holiness requires intimacy, because it is in that intimacy that He will show you what holiness looks like for the season you are living in.

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