Where the creature ends, the Creator begins.
Jn. 1:3 says, All things came into being through Him; and the part from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Jesus said in John 15 that apart from Him we can do nothing. It may seem like humans can do a lot of things by Their own good intentions and self effort, but the truth is if anything we do doesn’t find its origin and ability in Jesus, as far as God is concerned, has no eternal value.
Just like nothing “came” into being apart from the activity of Jesus; nothing still “comes” into being apart of the activity of Jesus
In other words, you cannot transform yourself into Christ likeness by your own good intentions and self effort. Instead, only Christ himself can manifest His image in us in all the different areas of our lives. Of course there’s a part we play by cultivating intimacy with Him, and cooperating in obedience to Him by faith; but in the end, the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is just that; fruit that the Holy Spirit produces; not fruit that is produced by our own self effort. Colossians 2 says that we grow by simply holding fast to the head; who is of course Jesus. It’s liberating to know and I can stop feeling guilty that I can’t produce transformation in my life by my own self determination, and that nothing Holy can come into being in my life unless less Jesus does it. The good news is Jesus isn’t just with me but he’s in me, prepared, and able to bring into being experientially the image of God in all the areas of my life. When you finally give up on your own ability to be Christlike, laying down all the shame and frustration of continual failure, and are prepared to trust in his ability, then the transformation truly begins. Where the creature ends, the Creator begins.