The new man

Jesus Christ is the prototype of the new man. God's purpose is that people should be changed to be like his Son (Romans 8:29). We are not supposed to be clones of Jesus. Just like children of the same father are not identical, Christians all carry "Jesus' genes", yet each is unique.

Originally man was made in God's image. This image was marred when Adam and Eve decided to know better than their Creator (Genesis 3:5). An evil influence entered the very core of our ancestors. It gets passed on from generation to generation. To be recreated in God's image requires our cooperation with him (Colossians 3:5, 12).

Jesus lived the life of an average Jew till he was about 30 years old (Mark 6:3). Then he started preaching about the new life intended for all who were willing to live as he prescribed. He spoke about life in the kingdom of God. Since Jesus claimed to be one with God (John 10:33), he was obviously the sovereign of this realm.

As representative of the human race Jesus had the task of conquering death. He had raised a few dead people but the final triumph was when he came back from the grave himself (John 10:17-18). Those who are "in Christ" will have the same experience, though our resurrection does not happen 3 days after death.

Emulating the lifestyle of Jesus is only possible with the help of his Holy Spirit. This help is freely available to anyone who asks (Luke 11:13).