Romans 8:29
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

In the gospels we gaze at Jesus through different lenses to get to know Him better. Each different writer provides us with a unique picture of Jesus’s doctrine, His actions, and His heart. When lined up with the others, the image of Jesus develops and solidifies as the Messiah, our Immanuel, the fulfillment of both the law and the prophets. He is the express image of God in whom all the fulness of His glory dwells bodily. He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. In Christ, the image of God comes into focus. Amazingly, this means that in Christ we find the image of God we were created in, the image we have lost, and the image God is restoring in us.

Perfect in holiness, Jesus’s doctrine, actions, and affections were perfectly aligned by His love for His father. He exhibited right doctrine – orthodoxy. He exhibited right practice – orthopraxy. He was fueled by the right affections – orthopathy. His orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy were one without discrepancy. He defines integrity. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, we must seek the same integrity.

We are unbalanced. We value the “ortho” we are the best at. This unbalance can be seen in each individual member and throughout the Church at large. Brothers and sisters, to be conformed into the image of Christ, we must not exalt or put down the pursuit of right doctrine, right practice, or right affections. He is coming for a pure bride. We must humbly recognize strengths and weaknesses. Keeping Christ at the center, He will pull our doctrine, practice, and affections together until the image He has reclaimed and redeemed is renewed and perfectly restored. To God be the Glory.

For the love of Christ,

—Roger Garrison