The Word of God calls us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and give no forethought to fulfill the lusts or desires of the flesh (Rom.13:14; Gal.5:16, 24; Eph.2:3; 1 John 2:16). The call to put on Jesus Christ is clear, it is our personal responsibility to put the Lord Jesus Christ on. We are not to plan out or scheme how we are going to sin against the Lord, rather we should be planning how we will put Him on each day. It begins with you as an individual in your heart and in your home. You are the one responsible to set the tone in your life and your home. We are called to renew our minds with God’s Word and learn what pleases Him and what displeases Him (Rom.12:1-2; Eph.4:21-24; 5:8-12; Col. 3:8-10). It is through the process of renewing of our minds we develop the mind of Christ, but only to the degree that we renew our minds and learn to think as He thinks (1 Cor.2:16). As we develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord, we become sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice in our daily walk (John 16:13; Acts 8:29; 10:19; 13:2; 21:11). As the Holy Spirit teaches and guides us into all truth, we learn to be led by the Holy Spirit of God in our daily lives (Rom 8:14; Heb.8:10-12; 1 John 2:27) . As the Holy Spirit changes and transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ, we will develop the fruit of the Spirit and eventually Christ-like character in our lives (Gal. 5:22-25; Eph. 5:9).
All true spiritual growth in becoming Christ-like is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work of grace in our lives. The key to receiving God’s grace is found in James 4:8,"But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Only the humble receive His grace which in turn enables to walk in newness of life and continued growth in Him (Rom.6:4-7). The moment we say "No" to Him and His revealed will for our life, we are in pride which stunts and prevents our growth in the Lord. If we are not careful, we will continue to go around the same mountain as the Israelites did due to our pride, rebellion, selfishness, and disobedience. Remember, if we refuse to obey and do it His way, according to His will, our disobedience will have consequences (Heb.12:14-17, 25). We must humble ourselves and submit to God and the authority of His Word in order to receive the grace we need to overcome our flesh and the devil (Heb.12:28). For instance, we must forgive those who sin against us in order to be forgiven by God (Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26 Cor. 2:10-11). We cannot stand in our pride and selfishness and say to the Lord, ‘no I will not forgive that person for what they did to me’. God knows our hearts and will not allow us to just say the empty words that you really don’t mean either, we must mean them in our hearts. We cannot pretend and try to fool the Lord; we must humble ourselves, submit and obey Him (James 4:6-9; 1 Peter 1:14-17).
It is through the grace of God given to us that we are able to obey and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must live according to the truth that has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word. We are called to be an example in both our conduct and our speech, an example for others to follow. We are to be a vessel or instrument of righteousness the Lord can use to work through and accomplish His will. As you put on the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in the fruit of the Holy Spirit you will over time develop Christ-like character and grow up into maturity (Gal. 5:22-25). The apostle Paul said in 2 Cor. 3:18, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image form glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." As we behold the Lord, we are being metamorphosed, changed, transformed, and formed by the Holy Spirit into the same image of the Lord.
Be encouraged, put on the Lord Jesus Christ every day and you will see growth in your walk with Him like never before!