What does the Bible say about transformation?
In the Bible transformation means “change or renewal from a life that no longer conforms to the ways of the world to one that pleases God” (Romans 12:2). This is accomplished by the renewing of our minds, an inward spiritual transformation that will manifest itself in outward actions. The Bible presents the transformed life in Christ as demonstrated through our “bearing fruit in every good work [and] growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Transformation involves those who were once far from God being “drawn near” to Him through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).
Moreover, evidence of transformation within us is seen in the way we increasingly reflect the likeness and glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). For as the apostle Paul said, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). To be considered as children of God, we must be led by the Spirit of God. And it is through the power of God’s Spirit that Christ lives within us. The transformed life mirrors the attitude of the apostle Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
This power of transformation comes from one source. Paul said, “For the message of the cross [the gospel] is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). In speaking of Jesus, the apostle Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, boldly declared this truth: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Transformed lives begin with the gospel message of Christ, for in it is the power of God. It is the gospel that brings us salvation: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17).
Through the gospel message of Christ, we learn “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14).
Just before he died, the apostle Peter provided us specific instructions on how we are to live out our transformed lives: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness … for if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:3-11).
We are being transformed [2 Corinthians 3:18]
“But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.”
This verse doesn’t say we “are being transformed by improving our behavior.” Here, being transformed is connected to our beholding the glory of the Lord. When we behold the Lord in our fellowship with Him, something wonderful happens. Note 7 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version explain:
“When we with unveiled face are beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord, He infuses us with the elements of what He is and what He has done. Thus we are being transformed metabolically to have His life shape by His life power with His life essence; that is, we are being transfigured, mainly by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2), into His image. Being transformed indicates that we are in the process of transformation.”
This note says that when we behold the Lord, He infuses us with all He is and has done. To infuse means to fill, pervade, and soak. So how do we behold the Lord?
Beholding the Lord in our spirit
2Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” When we were saved, the Lord as the Spirit came to live in our spirit. So we can behold Him in our spirit by fellowshipping with Him in prayer and in the Word. As we behold the Lord, He soaks us with all He is.
Those soaking results in us being transformed metabolically. This is God’s way of changing us: by an inward, spiritual metabolic process of His life operating in us.
Physical metabolism is the process that maintains the life of an organism. Through metabolism, an organism lives, grows, and develops. Lifeless things like rocks don’t undergo metabolism.
We, God’s children, aren’t lifeless. We received the divine life of God in our spirit when we were born again. Now God wants His life to spread from our spirit into every part of our being, especially our soul. This is how we’re inwardly transformed, and God is actually expressed in our living outwardly.
Metabolism is a good picture of this transforming work in us. Physical metabolism consists of two actions: the breaking down and discharging of old elements and the building up of new ones. As we behold the Lord, more of Christ is infused into us and spreads in our soul, replacing our old, natural element. Spontaneously, we begin to live a different way than we did before.
The illustration of a caterpillar
A good illustration of being metabolically transformed is the change a caterpillar undergoes. At birth, a caterpillar has the life that will transform it into a butterfly. It doesn’t put on a butterfly costume or try to act like a butterfly.
The caterpillar simply eats. As it eats the needed nutrients, it grows. And then it makes a cocoon where it remains as little by little, changes take place in its body. Eventually, the caterpillar emerges as a butterfly. The dramatic change of a crawling, wormlike creature into a graceful, beautiful butterfly is the result of an organic process.
At our spiritual birth, we received the life of God, which can transform us. Now like the caterpillar, our need is to eat. We need to eat spiritual food so we can grow and develop in the Lord’s life. As we grow, we’re gradually changed inside.
The Lord wants us to take Him in as our real food and drink. In John 6:35, Jesus said: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst.”
In the Gospel of John, we see that the Lord is living bread for us to eat and living water for us to drink. He’s the spiritual nourishment we need to take in every day so we can grow in His life and be transformed.
Transformed into the same image
So what are we transformed into? 2Corinthians 3:18 tells us we’re “being transformed into the same image.”
Note 8 on this verse say: “To be transformed into the same image is to be conformed to the resurrected and glorified Christ, to be made the same as He is (Rom. 8:29).”
When we read the four Gospels, we can see the glorious image of the Lord. What a life Jesus lived as a man on earth! It was a life without any defect, failure, or imperfection of any kind. His behavior, attitude, and care for people are all too wonderful for words. He’s the only man who ever lived a life that fully expressed God.
And today, Jesus is living in us as the Spirit. As we contact Him and behold Him in our spirit, He soaks us with who He is and all He’s done, conforming us to His image to make us the same as He is!
This transformation far exceeds any goal we might have to improve ourselves or to live the way we think we should. As we undergo this process, we’re not merely becoming a better person. The way we think and view things, our attitude and feelings about people, and the decisions we make gradually change to match the Lord. This is because bit by bit, we’re being conformed to His image and being made the same as He is.