Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Godliness (god/li/ness) means god-like-ness, when God created Adam He made man after His “likeness”. Godliness is made up of three components also: thinking like God does, doing things His way, and working together with Him in what He is doing. That’s how He intended for man to be, but man sinned, and instead of man thinking “like” God does, he started to think “like” Satan. When a person does not think like God does; he cannot do things His way, or work together with Him, but in turn he will think like Satan, and do things his way, and work together with Satan in what he is doing today.

Gen 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.

When Adam sinned, man was born “in Adam” and born after his “likeness”, not God’s “likeness” anymore. Before Adam sinned he was a “help-meet” to God, Adam thought like, and did things God’s way, and he worked together with Him, but man began to learn Satan’s thinking, and go after his ways, and do his works. God gives us outline of godliness from Romans- Philemon:

Rom 1:8  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Rom 1:9  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Rom 1:10  Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Rom 1:11  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

Rom 1:12  That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Rom 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Godliness is the issue of ‘thinking like God does,’ ‘doing things His way,’ and ‘working together with Him in what He is doing.’ This will be part one in a three part lesson on Godliness where we will look at how to think like God does and why He desires “sons” to possess His thinking. We will also go over ungodly thinking and its effects on your edification from taking place, and Satan’s role in hindering your growth from getting off on the right foot. The book of Romans is the foundational epistle for establishment within the believer, it is the ‘first things first’ in the Father educating you as His “sons and daughters.” The first thing that Paul wants to make known is God the Father’s designed will and desire to edify the saints, and that they have the “mutual faith” together with the apostle Paul. The “mutual faith” is the saints and Paul being on the same ‘Godly page’ in their establishment, Paul says that the establishment of their souls in the doctrine according to Godliness would cause a ‘comforting’ with Paul, just as it is designed to cause “comfort” within the saint who has just begun his education for his “establishment” as a “son.” The apostle Paul says that we should not be ignorant concerning the fact that he “oftentimes” tried to come unto the saints but he was “let hitherto.” Paul does not want the saints to be ignorant concerning Satan’s attack on the establishment of the wisdom and knowledge of God being ‘imparted’ unto the saint, and by that; hindering the saints to mature doctrinally.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Paul uses the rest of the chapter to identify ungodly thinking within the natural man, and God judging them according to their unrighteousness and their ungodly hearts and minds. The ungodly thinking of man is deserving of God’s wrath against him and he is “without excuse,” which is contrary to the way our Father would have His sons to think.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Throughout the book of Romans Paul brings up a question based upon man’s natural way of thinking, and as we can see there are more question marks in the book of Romans than any of Paul’s 13 epistles. Paul does this for a specific reason; God knows the thinking that can come across the minds of the man, so when Paul brings up a question in view of the good news that he just set forth, he knows what man’s response would be based on his ungodly thinking. Paul would bring up a question based upon the natural response to the gospel, and then he would say “God forbid,” meaning ‘God would forbid you to think that way.’

Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

As “sons” we are to be “led by the Spirit of God” in the details of our life, we should have the “mutual” thinking that Paul has concerning the things we encounter during our daily lives, and toward the word of God. The book of Romans deals with the carnal thinking of man in view of the good news that God has for him, and God’s response to his carnal thinking. But we also see how we ought to think, and about the “mind” that “after God, and that will please Him. We ought to possess a ‘Spiritual mind,’ knowing that we ought to be “debtors” to live “after” the Spirit, (the Living Word of God) and to be “led by the Spirit of God” as His sons and daughters in Him. It is this ‘thinking’ that we ought to have within our minds as saints who desire to live unto Him, and have received the “adoption,” and desire to “cry Abba Father,” and to “established,” and “transformed” by the renewing of our minds by Him, and in Him as we begin to think like He does.

Rod Jones