The letters of Paul packs a lot of Christian teaching that we're privileged to have.
The Lord knew that the church would need this information as centuries would pass.
In fact, it was God's plan all along to give us Paul's letters, as well as the general letters from Peter, John, Jude, the undetermined writer of Hebrews, and James.
Of course the early church fathers such as Polycarp (personally discipled by John the apostle of the Lamb) and Justin the Martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, which predated Catholicism, also sent letters to fight the Gnostics and other false doctrines of the day.
As time proceeded, the more you put distance from the eyewitnesses of the apostles of the Lamb, false doctrine infiltrated into the church. But one thing is certain. The Lord knew that this would happen. The Lord taught that there would be false prophets and teachers. Tares among wheat and bad trees yielding bad fruit.
The Lord also knew that wheat and good trees would still be around.
But one thing that we have to note. Bad doctrine may have been taught and they may have been written down, but the Bible is still the number one best selling Book in the world.
Another thing is that false doctrine is dependent upon Biblical doctrine.
Why?
False doctrine first entered the Garden of Eden. Truth will never go away and false doctrine needs the truth to clandestinely sell false doctrine. It needs a little bit of truth in order to deceive the unsuspecting.
So in Ephesians 5:1-7 we see that Paul, by the Holy Spirit tells us....."Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them."
When Paul tells us to imitate God, he is telling us that like children imitate their parents, we imitate God.
How?
In application of the Word in our lives.
Hebrews 1:1-4 says "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."
The Lord Jesus is the "brightness of His glory and the express image of His person..."
The Lord Jesus is the perfect imprint of the Father.
When the Lord made man, man, before the fall, was made in the image of God.
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV) "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
The word "image" is Strong's Concordance #h6754. צֶלֶם ṣelem; from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e. (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol: — image, vain shew.
Man is the "resemblance" of God.
"after Our likeness."
The word "likeness" is.....
h1823. דְּמוּת ḏemûṯ; from 1819; resemblance; concretely, model, shape; adverbially, like: — fashion, like (-ness, as), manner, similitude.
Man is also the "similitude" of God.
When sin came into the world by Adam's transgression (see Romans 5:12), man became the image and child of satan (see John 8:44).
That's why John 3:3 is a necessary irreplaceable component of being a Christian.
"You must be born again."
Man was born once, in the image of God, but when sin came, his nature changed from God's character to satan's character. The image of God could only be regained by the death of the old nature and being born again (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Lord God required that sin be paid for first because justice must be fully satisfied. Once sin is paid for, man then, must turn from the evil nature of satan in repentance, place faith on the finished work of Christ, and be born from the Holy Spirit.
The finished work of Christ begins at the cross. Sin must be paid in full. The debt of sin must be satisfied. This is where the grace or benevolence, and mercy of God comes into play because man is incapable of paying the debt himself. The sinful man's life and blood doesn't qualify.
The righteous requirement of God's justice demanded sinless blood to fully satisfy the eternal debt of sin. Therefore, the Father sent the Lord Jesus to pay that debt as an act of His eternal immeasurable kindness. The depth of which we'll never fathom or understand.
Titus 3:4-7 (NKJV) "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
The evil nature of man must be crucified (Christ's death on the cross, see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and Romans 8:3-4), and the Holy Spirit must give us a new nature (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Being born again is instantaneous (see John 3:3-8), but the maintenance of the new creature, with the help of the Holy Spirit now begins.
As we mature in the divine nature, given to us by His grace, as we grow in Him, we become imitators of God as dear children.
Romans 8:12-17 (NKJV) "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
From here on out, we train or exercise ourselves to discern the difference between "good and evil."
Hebrews 5:12-14 (NKJV) "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God;
and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
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