For those who have responded to God's call, been baptized, and received God's Holy Spirit, He has made them alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins. Through union with Christ, believers undergo regeneration, a spiritual change where their sinful nature is transformed, enabling them to respond to God in faith. This process, originating with God through the Holy Spirit, implants a new principle in the heart, imparting spiritual life to those previously dead in sin. As a result, they are raised up together with Christ, sharing in His life and becoming like Him. This transformation means Christians are no longer spiritually dead or in a spiritual grave, having left behind the realm of sin. They are alive to God, awakened to a new relationship with Him, free from enmity and filled with a desire for righteousness and intimacy with their Father. Their minds are renewed, thinking in terms of eternity rather than being bound by time, assessing life with a new standard of values focused on glorifying God. Their hearts manifest new desires for holiness and prayer, longing to be well-pleasing to Him, while their will is directed toward conforming to God's will, developing righteous character through discipline and perseverance. Though human nature and external influences still exert a pull, believers are no longer under the dominion of sin, having been reclassified from being in Adam to being in Christ. They are called to walk in newness of life, living under God's government, growing in grace and knowledge, and overcoming sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. This ongoing process of conversion changes their perspective, priorities, and actions, aligning them with God's way of life as they strive toward the promise of eternal life.

We are being brought to a place where we will be conformed to the image of Christ, and we will share in the glory of God. This is a profound and shocking truth when we consider God's glory, yet we are destined to participate in it. Romans 8:29 declares that those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Additionally, in verse 30, it speaks of us being glorified. God desires us to become like His Son, molded and shaped by His hand. As a clay sculpture in the hands of our Creator, we lack the inherent power to shape ourselves, but He possesses the love, wisdom, and multiple powers necessary to form us into His image. During the sanctification process, we are required to cooperate with Him, and it is in this time that we literally become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, preparing us for the Kingdom of God.

The goal of Christianity, once understood as becoming like God, has been altered, leading to significant adjustments in related teachings. God has declared us His children, with Him as our Father, granting us His Spirit. Yet, it is now suggested that we will not be in His image, that we will not be God as He is God, despite the clear patterns in creation where offspring reflect their parents. Bears beget bears in their likeness, and so it should be with us as God's children. God's revelations consistently show Him with form and shape like a man, as seen in numerous accounts from Abraham to the apostles. Abraham saw the Lord as a man, conversed with Him, and served Him food, demonstrating His tangible presence. Moses, the seventy elders, Gideon, and others witnessed God with form, describing Him consistently as having a human-like appearance with feet, hands, and a face. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, emphasized His corporeal nature to His disciples, showing He was not a ghost but had flesh and bone, a body with shape and substance. We are to be transformed to be like His glorious body, as Jesus Christ is now, restored to the form He had before the world was, serving as the model for Adam. The Bible states we are to be conformed to His image, an image that includes not just form but also personality and character, as indicated by the Greek word "icon" used in scriptures. This likeness extends beyond mere shape to the entire person, aligning with God's consistent self-revelation. The redeemed will see God's face in the kingdom of God, a direct and literal depiction without need for figures of speech. Paul speaks of a time when we will see face to face, no longer through a mirror darkly, affirming that God's form is real and comprehensible. God's own testimony, supported by numerous witnesses in scripture, shows Him as having bodily form, a truth that stands clear against notions of Him being an incomprehensible essence. We are called to believe what God reveals about Himself and strive toward the goal of being conformed to His image, a goal made plain and attainable through His word.