Romans 8:29-30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
29 [a]For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.(A) 30 And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.(B)
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- 8:29 Image: while man and woman were originally created in God’s image (Gn 1:26–27), it is through baptism into Christ, the image of God (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15), that we are renewed according to the image of the Creator (Col 3:10).
Romans 12:2
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2 Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.(A)
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Galatians 4:19
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19 My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!(A)
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Philippians 3:10
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10 to know him and the power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,(A)
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Philippians 3:20-21
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20 But our citizenship[a] is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.(A) 21 He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.(B)
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- 3:20 Citizenship: Christians constitute a colony of heaven, as Philippi was a colonia of Rome (Acts 16:12). The hope Paul expresses involves the final coming of Christ, not a status already attained, such as the opponents claim.
2 Corinthians 4:4-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.(A) 5 For we do not preach ourselves[a] but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. 6 [b]For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of [Jesus] Christ.(B)
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- 4:5 We do not preach ourselves: the light seen in his gospel is the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:4). Far from preaching himself, the preacher should be a transparent medium through whom Jesus is perceived (cf. 2 Cor 4:10–11). Your slaves: Paul draws attention away from individuals as such and toward their role in relation to God, Christ, and the community; cf. 1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 4:1.
- 4:6 Autobiographical allusion to the episode at Damascus clarifies the origin and nature of Paul’s service; cf. Acts 9:1–19; 22:3–16; 26:2–18. “Let light shine out of darkness”: Paul seems to be thinking of Gn 1:3 and presenting his apostolic ministry as a new creation. There may also be an allusion to Is 9:1 suggesting his prophetic calling as servant of the Lord and light to the nations; cf. Is 42:6, 16; 49:6; 60:1–2, and the use of light imagery in Acts 26:13–23. To bring to light the knowledge: Paul’s role in the process of revelation, expressed at the beginning under the image of the odor and aroma (2 Cor 2:14–15), is restated now, at the end of this first moment of the development, in the imagery of light and glory (2 Cor 4:3–6).
1 Corinthians 15:49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image[a] of the heavenly one.(A)
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- 15:49 We shall also bear the image: although it has less manuscript support, this reading better fits the context’s emphasis on futurity and the transforming action of God; on future transformation as conformity to the image of the Son, cf. Rom 8:29; Phil 3:21. The majority reading, “let us bear the image,” suggests that the image of the heavenly man is already present and exhorts us to conform to it.
Colossians 1:15
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II. The Preeminence of Christ
His Person and Work
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- 1:15–20 As the poetic arrangement indicates, these lines are probably an early Christian hymn, known to the Colossians and taken up into the letter from liturgical use (cf. Phil 2:6–11; 1 Tm 3:16). They present Christ as the mediator of creation (Col 1:15–18a) and of redemption (Col 1:18b–20). There is a parallelism between firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15) and firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18). While many of the phrases were at home in Greek philosophical use and even in gnosticism, the basic ideas also reflect Old Testament themes about Wisdom found in Prv 8:22–31; Wis 7:22–8:1; and Sir 1:4. See also notes on what is possibly a hymn in Jn 1:1–18.
- 1:15 Image: cf. Gn 1:27. Whereas the man and the woman were originally created in the image and likeness of God (see also Gn 1:26), Christ as image (2 Cor 4:4) of the invisible God (Jn 1:18) now shares this new nature in baptism with those redeemed (cf. Col 3:10–11).
Colossians 3:9-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices(A) 10 [a]and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.(B) 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,[b] slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.(C)
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1 John 3:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.(A)
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- 3:2 When it is revealed: or “when he is revealed” (the subject of the verb could be Christ).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.