THE NATURE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE -- Tomorrow:
"But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor 3:15-18, KJV)
Devotion 24 of 33
" . . . are changed into the same image . . . "
Other versions read, "are being transformed into the same image" (NKJV), "are being transformed into the same likeness" (NIV), "are being changed into His likeness" (NRSV), "are transformed into the same image" (ASV), "are changed into the same image" (GENEVA), "are being transformed into His likeness" (NIB), "we become more and more like Him" (NLT), "to the same image are being transformed" (YLT), "we are being changed to look more like Him" (IE), "are ourselves continually being transformed into the same likeness" (MONTGOMERY), and "are constantly being transfigured into His very own image" (AMPLIFIED).
ARE CHANGED
Here we learn that conversion, or being "converted" (Acts 3:19; 28:27) is not a single of isolated event. Being "saved" is not fulfilled at a point in time. Rather, it is the initiation of a process in which continual moral and spiritual change is experienced. Strictly speaking we are "being saved" (Acts 2:47; 1 Cor 1:18; 2:15, NKJV). There is a sense in which salvation is being "worked out" (Phil 2:12). It is a work that Christ Himself is finishing (Heb 12:2) – a work that is being performed "until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6). There is a sense in which Jesus is presently saving those who are in Him, for "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:25).
This process is now referred to as being "changed," "transformed" (NKJV), or "constantly transfigured" (AMPLIFIED).
The word "changed" is taken from a Greek word that means"to change to another form, to transfigure, transform" (THAYER), "be transfigured, be changed in appearance, of an inward change of nature, be changed, be transformed" (FRIBERG), and "to change one's way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness" (LOUW-NIDA).
The Greek word used here is the one from which we get our English word "metamorphosis." The meaning of this word is, "a change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means; a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances; a typically marked or more or less abrupt change in the form or structure of an animal (as a butterfly or a frog), occurring subsequent to birth or hatching" (MERRIAM-WEBSTER).
God has placed in nature two examples of the kind of change to which this refers. It is not the mere adopting of some new habits. The change is of a miraculous nature, as seen in the butterfly and the frog. It also takes place in distinct stages, gradually moving from one form to another. Upon their change, both of these creatures take an altogether different appearance, have radically different abilities, and subsist in a different environment.
This is the kind of change that takes place as we steadfastly behold the glory of the Lord in the mirror of the Gospel. It is a very real moral and spiritual change. Our thinking is changed, so that God's thoughts are now our thoughts – quite unlike the condition of those under the Old Covenant (Isa 55:8-9). His ways become our ways. His laws are in put into our minds and written upon our hearts.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the change that is wrought in the new birth.