What the Bible says about Process of Transformation
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Paul writes in II Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (emphasis ours). Transformation is a process, as is redemption. We should be able to understand this fully from our own experiences since being converted. We know that we are not completely free from Satan and this world.
The apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." This verse indicates that everything concerning salvation is undergoing a process of transformation. Human nature and this world have their hands upon us, and we have to fight them off. We know that if we do not, we will conform to them and their ways. Gradually, as we learn and overcome, the veil is removed, but a time is coming when we will have fullness of everything promised.
Paul relates his experience in Romans 7:23, "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." He writes that the law of sin brought him into captivity. A person in captivity is not free, is he? In verse 24, he continues, "Who shall deliver me [redeem me completely] from this body of death?" A person in need of deliverance is not free. Even as a long-time apostle, Paul was not truly as free as God fully intended him to be.
We see this pictured in the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were physically free—that is, they had fled beyond the boundaries of Egypt—but they were still not free from Egypt's influence, which they carried right with them in their minds and displayed in their conduct and attitudes. This is why God urges us to flee Babylon (see Jeremiah 51:6; Revelation 18:4). We cannot physically escape from its borders because Babylon's influence is worldwide, but we can escape spiritually by not permitting it to influence our conduct and attitudes.
All this means that we will not truly be redeemed until we fully come into our inheritance. Then we will be completely released from all the effects of sin, and it will be plain to all that we are indeed God's peculiar treasure.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Our Uniqueness and TimeRelated Topics: Egypt as a Type of Sin | Egypt as Sin | Egypt as Symbol of Sin | Fleeing from Sin | Law of Flesh | Law of Sin | Mirror, Seeing in a Mirror | Overcoming | Peculiar Treasure | Process of Transformation | Redemption as a Process | Resisting Babylon's Influence | Seeing in a Mirror, Dimly
Technically, discussion of personal will involves an individual's volition: the ability to make conscious choices and decisions, including communicating intentions (wishes, desires, plans) and issuing commands to make his will known. God created human beings in His image and likeness, and since men and women have personal wills, we can be sure that God does as well. As He is the Supreme Being, His will prevails in the universe. He has revealed His will throughout His Word, the Bible, and it will be done (Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 6:17). His will, then, is what God wants to occur both in His overarching purpose (see Ephesians 1:11; Revelation 21:1-7) as well as in individual lives (see Jeremiah 28:11; I Timothy 2:4).
The apostle Paul assures Christians that God's will is “good and acceptable and perfect.” In one sense, our lives as servants of Christ, through a process of transformation of the mind from carnal to godly, are dedicated to discerning His will, realizing its wonders and benefits, and conforming to its demands until we share the mind and character of God (Hebrews 13:20-21). As Jesus says in John 7:17, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Five): Your Will Be Done
One translator describes what "we see in a mirror, dimly," as "a riddle and an enigma." Paul suggests that now we do not see God nearly as clearly as we would like, but the time is coming when we will see Him in startling and bold clarity. He is illustrating a time-consuming process of change that gradually transforms.
The important element for us is that now, because of His merciful revelation of Himself to us, we do see a portion of His eternal glory, even if imperfectly. Others are totally blind to even the part we see imperfectly. We are in the process of becoming just like Him, and we will share His very life in glory, as I John 3:2 assures us: "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
in Jude 24 we find measureless encouragement if we will believe what it says: "Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. . . ." We will be without spot, blemish, or wrinkle; we are going to experience perfection.
This is what is promised to us to enjoy when we see Him as He is, when we have the fullness of His Spirit, when we are fully redeemed. Moreover, because of the gift of God's Spirit, we are also promised a small foretaste in this life. We can know something of the joy of holiness and the hatred of sin as Christ knew them. God wants us to experience the love, joy, and peace that passes all understanding. At the time of our full redemption, God will wipe away all tears, and our joy will be unmeasured and unmixed.
Do we love God and our brethren? As the apostle John teaches, they go together; they cannot be separated. We have our failings on both scores. Because we belong to Christ, we can experience that love. Its fruits are just budding, but in the Kingdom of God, we will experience it in full flower.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Our Uniqueness and Time