Different: Believing and accepting Jesus’ love for you in all your imperfections, and then living generously by becoming, with the knowledge of His love, a lamp lighter
Peter proclaims!
…as one who shares in the glory to be revealed…[set a pattern of integrity (that of Christ Jesus) for your congregation]… Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time,
casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. Greet one another with a kiss of love. To all of you who are in Christ, may there be peace. 1 Peter 5:1, 2-3, 5-7, 10, 14 AMP
Peter identifies himself as a sharer “in the glory” to be revealed. He states we are each “called to [God’s] own eternal glory in Christ” and as such should be modeling Christian living with the goal for all involved being the glory of God revealed.
The glory of God is His presence. To have His presence within you is to have taken on the image of His Son.
… the glory and beauty of the heavenly is one kind, and the glory of the earthly is another. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body . So it is written [in Scripture], “The first man , Adam, became a living soul (an individual);” the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life]. As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven]. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, “Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever). O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:40, 42-45, 48-49, 52, 54-55 AMP
To take on the image of the Man of heaven is to take on the image of God. Jesus Christ is the perfect representation of the Father.
The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]… Hebrews 1:3 AMP
Jesus is the “exact representation and perfect imprint” of Father God. God is love.
…God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him. I John 4:16
[Jesus] endures with patience and serenity, [Jesus] is kind and thoughtful,
[Jesus] is not jealous or envious;
[Jesus] does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.
[Jesus] is not rude;
[Jesus] is not self-seeking,
[Jesusi] s not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered];
[Jesus] does not take into account a wrong endured.
[Jesus] does not rejoice at injustice, but
[Jesus] rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].
[Jesus] bears all things [regardless of what comes],
[Jesus] believes all things [looking for the best in each one],
[Jesus] hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times],
[Jesus] endures all things [without weakening]. [Jesus] never fails [(He) never fades nor ends]. But as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for the gift of special knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMP
To bare the image of Jesus is accept that this is the love He has for you, to take the love He has for you into your heart, to believe His love for you and have complete confidence in it. If you do not trust and accept His love for yourself, just as you are, then how will you ever be able to reflect it?
Love is completed and perfected with us in union and fellowship with Jesus Christ.
In this [union and fellowship with Him], love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him]; because as He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17 AMP
For,
…we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 AMP
The apostle Paul longs for the church in Phillipi to be filled with the love of Christ Jesus, as he is.
For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus [whose great love fills me]. And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight, so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences],
and
that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin]; filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized]. Philippians 1:8-11 AMP
Therefore, accept His light, and then live generously, becoming a lamp lighter, sharing the light of the divine, the true knowledge of God in all His goodness.
Yes,
Greet one another with a kiss of love. I Peter 5:14